May God the Wise Lord be glorified! . . .

Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good. . . .

I confess myself a worshipper of God, a follower of the messenger Zarathushtra, one who hates the devils and obeys the laws of God;

For devotion, prayer, thanksgiving, and glorification unto God, the holy and master of holiness. . . .

Unto God, the Giver of Wholeness, the master; for the prosperity of the seasons and for the years, the masters of holiness;

Be thanksgiving, with devotion, prayer, thanksgiving, and glorification.

Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness. . . .

We offer devotion to God, the Giver of Wholeness; we give thanks for the prosperity of the seasons; we give thanks for the years, the holy and masters of holiness.

1 God the Wise Lord spoke unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: "I created for the faithful the help, the enjoyments, the comforts, and the pleasures of Wholeness. We unite them with him who would come up to thee as one of the holy qualities, as he would come to any of them: the Good Mind, Righteousness, the Kingdom, Devotion, Wholeness, and Immortality.

2 "He who against the thousands of thousands of those devils, against their ten thousands of ten thousands, against their numberless myriads would invoke the name of God, the Giver of Wholeness, he would smite the corruption of the dead, he would smite the demon of scepticism, he would smite the demon of the barking disease, he would smite the demon of harm, he would smite the demon of prey.

3 "I proclaim the faithful man as the first of men; if I proclaim the faithful man as the first of men, then the Most Just Judge, then every heavenly angel of male nature in company with the holy angels will free the faithful man

4 "From the corruption of the dead, from the demon of scepticism, from the demon of the barking disease, from the demon of harm, from the demon of prey, from the hordes with the wide front, from the hordes with the many spears uplifted, from the evil man who oppresses, from the wilful sinner, from the oppressor of men, from the sorcerer, from the witch, from the straying way.

5 "How does the way of the faithful turn and part from the way of the wicked?"

God the Wise Lord answered: "It is when a man pronouncing My prayer, either reading or reciting it by heart, draws the furrows and cleanses himself there, saying:

6 "'I will smite thee, O Falsehood! whomsoever thou art, whomsoever thou art amongst the Falsehoods that come in an open way, whomsoever thou art amongst the Falsehoods that come by hidden ways, whomsoever thou art amongst the Falsehoods that defile by contact; whatsoever Falsehood thou art, I smite thee away from the Aryan countries; whatsoever Falsehood thou art, I bind thee; I smite thee down, O Falsehood! I throw thee down below, O Falsehood!'

7 "He draws then three furrows: I proclaim him one of the faithful; he draws six furrows: I proclaim him one of the faithful; he draws nine furrows: I proclaim him one of the faithful.

8 "The holy qualities that I have named smite the men turned to corruption by the Falsehoods; the seed and kin of the deaf are smitten, the scornful are dead, as the priest Zarathushtra blows them away to woe, however fierce, at his will and wish, as many as he wishes.

9 "From the time when the sun is down he smites them with bruising blows; from the time when the sun is no longer up, he deals deadly blows on the corruption with his club struck down, for the thanksgiving and glorification of God and the heavenly angels.

10 "O Zarathushtra! let not that prayer be shown to any one, except by the father to his son, or by the brother to his brother from the same womb, or by the teacher to his pupil in black hair, devoted to the good law, who, devoted to the good law, holy and brave, stills all the Falsehoods.

11 "For the brightness and glory of Wholeness I will offer unto God a sacrifice worth being heard, in thanks for Wholeness. For the gift of Wholeness we offer up the libations, the Haoma-drink and meat, the sacred twigs, the wisdom of the tongue, the holy prayers, the speech, the deeds, the libations, and the rightly-spoken words, to God alone.

12 "Yatha ahu vairyo: The will of the Lord is the law of holiness. . . .

"I bless the devotion and prayer, and the strength and vigour of God, the Giver of Wholeness, the master; and I give thanks for the prosperity of the seasons and for the years, the masters of holiness.

"Ashem Vohu: Holiness is the best of all good. . . .

"O God, give unto that man brightness and glory, . . . give him the bright, all-happy, blissful abode of the holy ones."