THE OSIRIAN BIBLE OF ARABIN'YA, AND VIND'YU, AND CHINA
.1. ON the following day the three false Gods, Osiris and Te-in and Sudga, wrote their account, each in his own way. And when they were read, Osiris' stood clearer than either of the others'; but nevertheless, Te-in's and Sudga's had much of merit. So it came to pass Osiris' account was adopted, with interpolations from the others'.
2. This, then, is the completed report, to wit:
3. These are the times of earth and heaven when created; the time the Lord God created them. And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the earth, and quickened him through his nostrils with the breath of life, and man became a living creature.
4. And God caused mists to rise up from the waters, and spread over the earth, and rain upon it. And he caused trees and herbs to grow up out of the ground; everything that is pleasant for the sight and good for food. Thus out of the ground the Lord God caused man to come forth, being of the earth, of the land of Eden (Spe-a).
5. To dress the land and keep it pleasant, the Lord God commanded man, saying: This shall be thy labor, in which thou shalt be perfected unto everlasting life. Of all things in the land of Eden mayst thou freely take and enjoy.
6. And man prospered on the earth for a long season; and he was naked and not ashamed. And God planted the tree of knowledge in the land of Eden, and he said unto man: This tree have I planted; partake thou not of it, for it pertaineth to life and death.
7. And God called the name of the first man A'su (Adam). And the Lord God caused man to name all things on the earth, and in the waters, and in the air above the earth, and whatsoever man called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
8. And the Lord God caused A'su to fall into a trance; and an angel of heaven came and stood by his side. And the Lord God drew from the flesh, and from the bones, and from the blood of p. 409 A'su, and thus made woman, and brought her unto A'su.
9. And the Lord God repeated his commandment unto woman, saying: Thou shalt sojourn for a season on the earth, and cleave unto A'su, for he is thy husband, and thou art his wife; and thou shalt partake of all things on the face of the earth, save of the tree of life, which is of both good and evil, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
10. But because of the serpent (the earth) of the woman, she hearkened unto him, and he said unto the woman: I say unto thee, in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt have thine eyes opened, and shalt become as a Goddess, creating offspring.
11. And the woman was more easily persuaded than man, for she had confidence in the serpent; and they partook of the fruit thereof; and, of a truth, their eyes were opened, and they beheld their nakedness.
12. And presently they heard the Lord God walking in Eden, and they hid themselves in the bushes. And the Lord God said: Where art thou, A'su? And A'su said: Because we heard thee walking, we hid ourselves, for we were naked.
13. The Lord God said: Who told thee thou wert naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I told thee thou shouldst not eat? A'su said: The woman thou gavest me to be with me, led me, saying: Behold, it is good fruit; and we ate thereof.
14. The Lord God said: Woman, what hast thou done? And the woman answered, saying: The serpent beguiled me. And the Lord God said unto the serpent: Because thou hast done this, thou art accursed, and thou shalt not rise up from the earth, but return to dust whence thou camest.
15. Unto the woman the Lord God said: Because thou hast conceived, thou shalt have great sorrow; in sorrow bring forth children; thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And I will put enmity betwixt the serpent and thine offspring; and the flesh shall call one way, which is unto earth, but the soul of man shall call unto me, the Lord God. And though the serpent bite, yet man shall bruise him, and subdue him.
16. And God taught man to make coats of skins and be clothed. And the Lord God said: Lest man partake further, becoming as one of us, he shall go out of Eden, where I created him. So he drove man out of Eden backward, and gave him cherubims to hold him on every side, to preserve unto man the tree of life, that man might not only fulfill the spirit, but the flesh also.
17. When Osiris had gone thus far, Sudga interposed, saying: If we say, Becoming as one of us, will not man say: Behold, there are more Gods than the Lord God?
18. Te-in said: Because De'yus said: Let us make man, shall we not use US in this instance?
19. Osiris said: Hear me, my brothers, yet further; for I previously found a way out. For I have divided the Lord from God; that is to say:
20. And the Lord God said: Because man hath learned good and evil, I am as twain unto him, for I am Lord of the earth and God of heaven. And that which is on the earth is the Lord's, and that which is in heaven is God's.
21. And A'su called his wife's name Eve (We-it), for she was the fountain of all men. And Eve brought forth a son, Cain, saying: I have begotten a son from the Lord. And she brought forth another son, Abel. And the first-born was begotten in darkness, but the second of the light of the Lord. And the Lord had more respect unto the second, Abel, than unto the first, Cain.
22. In course of time Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offered it unto the Lord. And Abel brought for the Lord, as his offerings, the firstlings of his flocks. And Cain perceived that the Lord had more respect for his brother, and Cain was wroth, and his countenance fell.
23. And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou jealous? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at thy door.
24. But Cain would not be reconciled (because of the darkness in him), and when he and his brother were walking in the fields, Cain turned upon Abel and slew him.
25. God said: Behold, darkness is between men; the son begotten in darkness falleth upon him begotten in the light. And it shall come to pass on the earth from this time forth that the righteous shall be persecuted by the unrighteous.
26. And the Lord said unto Cain: Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said: I know not. Am I my brother's keeper? The Lord said: The voice of thy brother's blood crieth out unto me from the ground: Now art thou accursed from the earth, for it hath opened to receive thy brother's blood p. 410 from thy hand. In my sight thou shalt be a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth. And because thou hast shed blood, blood shall not cease to flow from thy sons and daughters forever.
27. Cain said: O Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear. For I am become the first foundation of all the wars on the earth; for thou hast hid thy face from me; and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth of me in them shall be slain also.
28. And the Lord said unto Cain: Whosoever slayeth thee or thine, vengeance shall be upon him seven-fold. And the Lord wrote upon Cain's forehead the word Asugasahiben, signifying, BLOOD FOR SAKE OF SELF, a mark, lest any finding him might kill him.
29. And from this time forth Cain lost the voice of the Lord, because he went off into Nod (darkness). And Cain took a wife and begot heirs unto himself after his own manner, and they were called Cainites, and the heirs after them were called the tribe of Cainites, which survived him nine hundred and ten years, after which they were divided into six and twenty tribes. (And the name Cain was lost. But the people survived, and are known to this day as THE WORLD'S PEOPLE.)
30. And We-it bore another son, Seth, in place of Abel, whom Cain slew. And after these came the generations of men, good and evil. And the Lord God said: Behold, I created man without sin, and I gave him warning, that he might remain holy on the face of the earth. But woman hearkened not to my counsel, but to the serpent, and sin came into the world. Therefore shall woman bring forth in pain all the generations of the earth.
31. Thus it was that the Lord God created man; in the likeness of God created he him.
32. And the sons of Cain were called tribes, even unto this day, but the sons of the righteous were sons of God; wherefore it was said of old: Behold the sons of earth and the sons of heaven.
33. And the Lord said: Shall I not accord to myself to choose what I will? For this right I gave to man also. And from that time after the sons of God were called God's chosen.
34. And it came to pass that man multiplied on the face of the earth; and the tribes were mightier than the sons of the Lord God, and the wickedness of man became great in the earth, and the desires of his heart were evil continually.
35. And the Lord God repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord God said: I will destroy man whom I have created; nor will I spare beast nor creeping thing in the place I gave.
36. Behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the lands of the earth, and I will destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life. But my covenant is with my chosen, who shall not be destroyed by the flood of waters.
37. And God's sons in Noe took with them pairs of the living, of beasts and birds, according to the commandments of God, to keep the seed alive on the earth.
38. And when the earth was six hundred years in Noe, the flood of waters was come upon the earth. And for forty days and forty nights the rain fell, and the fountains of the sea came up on the lands of the earth. And man and beast alike, that drew the breath of life, died, for the land was no more.
39. But the heirs of Noe suffered not; and the ships of the arc, whither the Lord had concealed them, rode upon the waters. And God made a wind to pass over the earth: and the fountains of the deep were stopped, and the rain of heaven restrained, and the ships of the arc borne upon dry land.
40. And the Lord God said: Behold, I will build a new earth and a new heaven. For these, my sons, have proven their faith in me. Neither will I again destroy the tribes of men because their hearts are set on evil. And the Lord God swore an oath by the bow of the arc, saying: This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. And by the sons of Noe was the whole earth overspread, and the Lord blessed the earth, and said: Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for man; even as the green herb I have given. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall men not eat.
41. For surely your blood of your lives will I require; of every beast will I require it; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man that feedeth on living flesh and blood.
42. And whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in my image made I man. And ye, be ye fruitful, and multiply, and bring forth abundantly in the earth, and inhabit it, for it is yours for perpetual generations.
43. Thus ended the words of Osiris. p. 411 Te'in said: Because of flesh blood, thou art wise, my brother. Sudga said: Hereon hangeth the glory of our enterprise. For man being less restrained than in the Divan laws, will accept the new readily.
44. After this, Osiris prepared a book of generations of men on earth; and these were the substance of the doctrines of De'yus and his Gods. And Osiris and Te-in and Sudga departed, and came down to the earth, to their mortal wards, and by virtue of their presence inspired they their wards to write them in mortal words, according to the languages in the places where they lived. And they were so written by these seers; and copies of them were made and put on file in the libraries of the records of the kings and queens of the earth, in Arabin'ya, Jaffeth and Shem. And these became the bible of that day.