the place where the good dwell.

I stepped before them and wanted to tell them

how it was at the beginning.

When I wanted to speak to them,

they caressed and kissed me,

made me firm in my place and said:

"We give you permission, Kbar-Ziwa,

you gentle, steadfast Uthra.

We give you permission, Kbar-Ziwa,

Uthra who makes his friends firm.

We give you permission, vigorous Uthra,

you vigorous, steadfast Uthra.

We give you permission, vigorous Uthra,

to say how it was,

to teach the hidden Uthras.

When you go to that place,

teach your friends,

teach the men of tried righteousness,

the truthful, believing men.

We shall tell you, for your honour,

that there was no limit to the light.

For the light there was no limit,

and it was not made known when it came into being.

Nothing was when the light was not,

nothing was when the splendour was not.

Nothing was when the Mighty One was not;

a limit for the light there never was.

Nothing was when the water was not;

the water is older than the darkness.

Older than the darkness is the water.

There is no number of which we could tell you

how great it was when the Uthras were not yet there.

The Uthras are older than the darkness,

older than the darkness are the Uthras,

older than its inhabitants.

Goodness is older

than the wickedness of the place of darkness.

Gentleness is older

than the rebellion of the place of darkness.

The living fire is older

than the consuming fire of the place of darkness.

Praise is older

than the sorcery and witchcraft that the wicked practise.

The third river is older

than the consuming water of the place of darkness.

Insight is older than this and that

which the wicked of the place of darkness practise.

The voice of the Uthras is older

than that of the mighty wicked of the place of darkness.

We have given you instruction about the first things;

now we shall give you instruction about the second, how they were.

The gentle throne is older

than the rebellious throne.

The hymns and orders of prayer are older

than the sorcery of the dreadful woman Hewath.

The vessel of the ether is far older

than the talk that Ruha speaks.

We have given you instruction about the second;

now we shall give you instruction about the third, how they were.

B'hag-Ziwa is older

than Ruha, as she was.

The thought of all the Uthras

is older than the rebellious cry.

The domain of the good is older

than the lord of the whole place of darkness.

The men of tried righteousness are older

than all creations of darkness, however they may be."

When the Great One had so spoken to me,

when the Mighty One, my Lord, who created me, had so spoken to me,

when the Great One had so spoken to me,

I grasped it in my mind.

When I grasped it in my mind,

I said to him: "How did the darkness come into being?

How did the darkness come into being,

from what was it formed in its place?

Since You, O Chosen One, are so great,

why does the darkness not cease?

Why does the darkness not cease,

while the light is perfectly set up?"

Before I spoke to the Great One,

the Great One spoke to me:

"O ordered Uthra,

ordered, well-ordered Uthra,

O ordered Uthra,

Uthra who makes his friends firm!

In the Good One, in His goodness,

there was neither lack nor fault.

The Good One is, by His goodness,

firm beyond measure.

For the Good One, by His goodness,

the root is firmly planted in its place.

The Good One blazes in His splendour;

the water is hidden in His garment.

The hidden words

are hidden and preserved in their books.

Water does not mingle with pitch,

and the darkness is not counted with the light.

The darkness is not counted with the light,

the dark dwelling is not made bright.

The dark dwelling is not made bright,

and the turbid water does not shine.

The darkness spread itself,

and its inhabitants were formed.

The darkness was formed,

and when it was formed, it mustered its host.

Because of the wickedness it has in mind,

it will be shut up in its own vessel.

It will be shut up in its own vessel,

and all its works will pass away.

The children of darkness pass away,

but the servants of the Mighty One endure.

The house of the wicked passes away,

and the consuming fire is extinguished.

Their sorcery dies away and is extinguished,

because it did not exist from before.

Their creatures come to an end,

but the tribes of life endure for ever.

The living teaching arises

and lights up the vain dwelling."

When the Great One had so spoken to me,