36.

In the name of God, the Ever-Living, the Great, may the sublime Light be glorified.

A fisher am I, a fisher chosen from among the fishers. A fisher am I, chosen from among the fishers, the head of all who catch fish. I know the pools, I fathom their depths; I enter the fishing-grounds, the pools and all the places of catching, and I search the marsh in the darkness. My ship is not cut off, and I am not hindered in the night. I see the fish in the rubble. I pressed forward on the way with a pole that was not of iron. I covered the snare that was an obstruction for us. I pushed aside the floaters that hinder the way of life. Upon my head I set up a hat, in whose shade the fishes sit. The fishing-fork I hold in my hand is a staff chosen for its place, a staff of pure water, at the sight of which the fishermen tremble. I sit in a boat of splendour and I come into the world of perishing. I come upon the surface of the water; I move along the surface of the water, and move along the surface of the crossing. I come in a vessel, in slow and sure motion. The water is not stirred by my boat, and from my boat no sound is heard. Before me stands Abel; at my side, in plain sight, is Seth of the lovely name; close beside me, close before me, sits Enosh and preaches. They say: "O father, good fisher, O fisher of the lovely name!" Close beside me, close beside my boat, I hear the clamour of the fishermen, of those who eat fish, and their stench reaches me; the clamour of the fishermen and the clamour of their dealers, who revile and curse one another. Each one accuses the other. The buyer says to the fisher: "Your fish already stank, and no one will buy them from me. You made the catch on the high sea, so that the loss falls upon the buyer."

Then the fisher speaks, and lets the man, his customer, hear: "A curse upon you, a curse upon your buyers, a curse upon your bell, a curse upon your boat, that it may never be filled. You did not bring salt and pour it over the fish you bought, so that the fish of your boat would not rot and you could then sell them for a heavy price. Then you brought neither flour nor dates, you brought no salt. And when you come with empty hands, no one who is gracious will come near you. Go, go, you godless one, do not buy from us, to do business with your deceitful scales. You hold them so as to buy falsely, you prop them with your elbow and take ten for five. Now your purchase flies away, and your buyer, and it will be as though he had never been. You scheme against the people and harbour no good thoughts."

When the chief fisher, the head of the living race, the highest among all who catch fish, heard this, he said to him: "Bring me my horn, hand me the squbra, so that I may send a cry out into the marsh, that I may warn the fish of the deeps and drive away the foul birds that pursue my fish. I will catch the great Sidma and break his wings on the spot. I will take from him what he has and blow into my squbra. A true squbra it is, so that water may not be mixed with pitch."

When the fishermen heard the cry, their hearts fell from their support. One calls to another and says to him: "Go into your inner station. For there is the cry of the fisher, the fisher who eats no fish. His voice is not like that of a fisher, nor his squbra like our squbra. His voice is not like our voice, his speech is not of this world."

The fishermen were still standing there; they did not seek protection in their inner station. As the fishermen stood and considered, the fisher quickly overtook them; he spread out his casting-net and parted them, bound them and cast them into the pit. He fettered them with knots. They say to him: "Loose us from our fetters, so that your fish do not leap up into our boat. We do not catch those who call upon Your name."

When the fishermen spoke to me thus, I struck them with an iron club. I bound their dealer at the shore, who would not lend. I wrapped them in ropes of bast and broke their ships. I burned all their netting and what holds the nets together. I cast chains upon them and hung them at the stern of my ship. I made them swear an oath and took from them their secret, that they would not catch the good fish. So that they would not steal them from me, nor stick them on a reed, hang them high, cut them up and beat them, with laurel and aloe, they are laid low and cannot rise. They no longer let their nets or the fishing-fork into the Jordan. They do not cut off, and they do not stand in the river-land and make their catch in the pools. They no longer cast the casting-net, and take no laurel and aloe.

I spoke to those who eat the fish whose name is eel. They eat the eel and the creature that stands upright on its forefeet. I bound them in the marshes of deceit, and they are caught and fettered. They do not drink water from the Ulai, and do not know the way to the river. I bound them fast in their ships and cast my ropes to the good ones. I say to them: "Set your boat here, that it may not fall into the rubble."

When the head of the fishers spoke thus, the fishermen answered him and said: "Blessed be you, fisher, and blessed be your boat and your vessel. How beautiful is this your casting-net, how beautiful the cord that is on it. Beautiful is your line and your noose, for you are not like the fishermen of the earthly world. There are no shells on your meshes, and your fishing-fork catches no fish. Where have you come from? Tell us; we will become your hired servants. We will bake and stir porridge and set it before you. Eat, and the crumbs that fall from your hand, those we will eat and be satisfied."

But I answer them: "O fishermen, who gulp down filth, I am no fisher who catches fish, and I was not created to eat filth. A fisher of souls am I, souls that bear witness to the truth. A poor fisher am I, who calls the souls, gathers them and teaches them. He calls them and tells them to come and gather about him. He says to them: When you come, you will be rescued from the foul birds. I will rescue my friends, bring them up and set them upright in my ship. I will clothe them with garments of splendour and cover them with precious light. I will set a crown of ether upon them, and whatever else the Great One sets upon their heads. They will then sit upon thrones and shine in precious light. I carry them away and raise them up, but you Seven shall remain behind here. The portion of filth and defilement shall be your portion. On the day on which the light ascends, the darkness will return to its place. I and my disciples will ascend and behold the place of light."

God is exalted and victorious, and victorious is the man who went forth to this place.

37.

In the name of God, the Ever-Living, the Great, may the sublime Light be glorified.

A fisher am I of God, the Great Living One; a fisher am I of the mighty Living One; a fisher am I of God, the Great, a messenger whom God has sent. He said to me: "Go, catch fish that eat no filth, fish that eat no water-fennel and smell no foul fennel. They do not approach the food of bad dates, and do not fall into the nets of the marsh." God knotted a noose for me and built me an imperishable ship. A ship whose wings are of splendour, which goes as if in flight, and whose wings are never torn out. A well-equipped ship it is, and it moves along in the heart of heaven. Its ropes are ropes of splendour, and a rudder of truth is upon it. "Sunday" holds the pole; Bar-Haije took hold of the rudder. They journey to the dwellings and distribute light among the angels. In them they set up thrones, and the Jordans came drawn out in length. On the prow lamps are set which do not go out in the fiercest storms. All the ships that see me humbly bow and come to show me their allegiance. At the prow stands the fisher and speaks wondrous words. There are lamps whose wicks do not flicker to and fro, and deceit is not with him. He wears no ring of deceit, and he is clothed in white garments. He calls to the fish of the sea and says to them: "Take heed in the world! Take heed of the foul birds that are above you. If you take heed, my brothers, I will be a helper to you: a helper and a support, from the place of darkness to the place of light."

God is exalted and victorious, and victorious is the man who went forth to this place.

38.

In the name of God, the Ever-Living, the Great, may the sublime Light be glorified.

The fisher clothed himself with garments of splendour, and an axe hung from his shoulder. When the fishermen saw the fisher, they came and gathered round him. "It is you," they say to him, "O fisher, who have caught no fish of the marsh. You have not seen the places in which the fish gather. We will make you familiar with the fishermen; be our great partner and take a share as we do. Grant us a share in your ship, and take a share in our ship. Come, accept us as partners and grant us a share in your ship. Grant us a share, and we shall give you a share in what we have. Join your ship with ours and clothe yourself in black like us, so that when you raise your lamp you may find something, so that the fish do not see your brightness and your ship takes in fish. If you listen to us, you will catch fish, throw them into your ship and do business. If you do not listen to our word, you will eat salt; but if you do our works, you will eat oil and honey. You stir a porridge, you fill cups and distribute them among all the fishermen. We set you as head over us all. The fishermen gather to you, the first follow behind you, they become your slaves, and you take three parts of what falls to us. Our father shall be your servant, and we will call ourselves your dependants. Our mother shall sit on your couch and knot nets; she shall be your maidservant and knot you nets of every kind. She shall distribute the pieces of cedar and put pieces of lead in the meshes; meshes, meshes, that then are heavier than the whole world. She shall divide the water with the nets, and when the fish get into them, they shall be hindered. They will not know the way they seek, and will not know how to return to their way. Like walls that collapse, they come and fall upon the good ones. They do not let the fish raise themselves, nor turn their faces toward the gravel. They let them sink deep under the mud and shut them in. They carry them together in heaps and shake them out. There is a trap into which the fish fall and are held fast. Upon the ... wickerwork is set up, between two contrivances. Nets are cast, and baskets filled with bad dates as bait, which make them eat death. Woe to the fish that is blinded by them, whose eye does not see the light. Wise are the fish that know them. They pass by all the baits. They go, and the nets become their bed there. One in a thousand sees it, and two in two thousand see it. Its entrance is shut, and a bell is hung at its little door. A bell forged in wickedness, which snares the whole world. There the water is mixed with ... Woe to the fish that fall into them."

When the fisher heard this, he stamped upon the prow of the ship. The fisher stamped upon the ships of the fishermen, and there the fishermen lay packed closely together in the pools, bound together like sheaves of grain, and unable to rise. The reed strikes, and the fish of the seas lie above the fishermen. They murmur in the marsh, and the water encircles them.

Then he spoke, crying out with his voice. He spoke with his sublime voice and said to the fish-catchers: "Away from me, you foul fishermen, you poison-mixing fishermen. Go, go, catch fish that ... your own filth. Go down to your ... and go to the end of the crossing. I am no fisher who catches fish, and my fish are tried and proven. They are not caught by the hook with bad dates, a food which my fish do not eat. They do not fall into the coloured nets, and they do not turn toward the lamps of falsehood. They do not sink down from the mud of the water, and they do not go toward the ... of deceit. They do not part the water ... that is to fall upon the good. When the fishermen cast the casting-net over them, they tear the net apart and free themselves. There will be no day in the world on which the fish catch the fishermen. There will be no day in the world on which the dove loves the raven. Cursed are you, you foul birds, and cursed be your nest, that it may never be filled. Woe to your father Sirma, whose bed is in the reeds. Woe to you, hungry Safna, whose wings in the world are never dry. Woe to you, foul Sagra, who see the fish and sigh. He cries and weeps bitterly when he strikes at the fish and reaches none. Woe to you, Arband, who bring up the fish from the depths. Blessed is he who frees himself from the claws of those who catch fish. Blessed is he who frees himself from the men who guard the world. Away, away, you who follow the stars, have your portion in your own houses. Water does not mix with pitch, and light is not counted as darkness. The partner of the perfect cannot be called your partner. The good cannot belong to the wicked, nor the wicked to the good. Your ship cannot join with mine, nor your ring be laid to my ring. There is the head of you all; count yourselves to his dominion. This your coarse father stuck fast in the black water. Your mother, who knots nets and heavy double meshes, I have chastised with the staff of living water and split her head open. I lead my friends, raise them up in my ship and bring them past all the toll-keepers. I bring them through the passage of wickedness, the place where the fish are caught. I let them escape from the fish-eaters, and you will come to an end in your dwellings. I and my friends of truth will find a place in the dwelling of God. I will draw them up on thrones beneath shining banners." The Seven were defeated, and the stranger remained victorious. The man of proven piety was victorious and brought his whole people to victory.

God is exalted and victorious, and victorious is the man who went forth to this place.

39.

In the name of God, the Ever-Living, the Great, may the sublime Light be glorified.

It is the voice of the pure fisher, who calls and teaches the fish of the seas in the pools. He says to them: "Raise up your ..., stand upright on the surface of the water, then your strength will be doubled. Beware of the fishermen who catch the fish and strike the Jordan. Silmai and Nidbai curse them, and they went and settled a mile away behind me. The fish curse their casting-net in every place."

As the fisher spoke thus, warning them all, when the fishermen heard his voice, they came near and gathered round him. They stood to question him, and did not know where he had come from. "Where were you, fisher," they ask him, "that we did not hear your voice in the marsh? Your ship is not like our ship, and your ... is not between ... Your ship is not smeared with pitch, and you are not like the fishermen of this world." The fishermen see him, turn deep red with shame and remain standing in their place. They say to him: "How is it that you fish without finding? Your ship is not like our ship; it shines by night like the sun. Your ship is perfected in ether, and wondrous banners stretch above it. Our ship goes in the water, but your ship between the waters. Our reeds, from our marsh, murmur against one another and break. Beneath them is the fishing-fork of wrath, ... Your zakkaita, fisher, is such that when the fish see it they draw away. We have never seen fishermen like you. The wind carries your ship along, the mast is for the fisher, and a rudder that shines in the pools. On your casting-net there is no cord, and they have laid no ... around it. There are no ... on it, which are a cunning plot against the fish. You hold the ... and have no mallet and no axe. Your net does not fish in the water and is not dyed in order to catch fish."

As the fishermen spoke thus, the fisher answered them: "Come now, you fishermen and sons of fishermen, away, depart from me. Away, go up to your township, the ruin of Jerusalem. Ask your father about me, he who knows me; ask your mother, who is my maidservant. Tell him: There is a fisher in a boat ... a rudder, and it stands in it, ... the mast ... and ... They destroy the land of Jerusalem."

When they heard this from the fisher who went forth to this place, and recognised him, they said to him: "Have compassion, forbearance and mercy on us, and ask God to forgive us our sins and transgressions. We are your servants; show yourself gentle toward us. We will watch over your fish, that none of them be missing. We will be servants to your disciples, who call upon your name in truth. We will keep constant watch over all who call upon your name."

God is exalted and victorious, and victorious is the man who went forth to this place.