Chapter XXIV

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The dove flew upon the head of our Lord ¹ the head of our Lord: om. H. Christ, Because he was her head. ² And she sang over him, And her voice was heard. ³ And the inhabitants feared, And the settlers trembled. ⁴ The birds ² So H: B ‘It flew and’. forsook their wings, ³ The exact meaning of these three words is uncertain: the translation ‘took to flight’ has also been suggested. And all the reptiles died in their holes. ⁵ And the depths were opened and were covered again, And they sought the Lord like those in travail; ⁶ But he was not given to them for food, Because he was not theirs. ⁷ But the depths were immersed in the immersion of the Lord, And those who existed from of old perished in that thought; ⁸ For they became corrupt ⁴ Or ‘travailed’. from the beginning, And the completion of their corruption ⁵ This is the usual meaning. But the cognate verb can mean ‘travailed’ (cp. note4), and so perhaps this noun means ‘travail’. was life. ⁹ And every one of them that was lacking perished, Because they were not permitted to utter a word ⁶ Or ‘Because they had no word to utter’. in order to remain. ¹⁰ And the Lord destroyed the thoughts Of all those with whom the truth was not; ¹¹ For they lacked wisdom, Those who were proud of heart. ¹² And they were rejected, Because the truth was not with them, ¹³ Because the Lord made his way manifest, And enlarged his grace. ¹⁴ And those who perceived it Know his holiness. Hallelujah.