Odes of Solomon/Ode 12

And It Knows Neither Its Descent nor Its Course

¹ He has filled me with utterances of truth,

so that I could speak it.

² And like the flowing of water,

truth flowed from my mouth,

and my lips declared its fruits.

³ And he caused his (or: truth’s) knowledge to abound in me,

because the mouth of the Lord is the truthful utterance,

and the opening of his light.

⁴ And the Most High gave the message to his ages,

the interpreters of his splendor,

and the narrators of his glory,

and the praisers of his thought,

and the proclaimers of his mind,

and the explainers of his works.

⁵ For the utterance’s fluent eloquence is beyond expression,

and like its expression, so are its swiftness and sharpness,

and its course is endless.

⁶ And never does it fall, but it remains standing,

and it knows neither its descent nor its course.

⁷ For like its work, so is its hope,

for it is the light and the dawning of thought.

⁸ And by (the utterance) the ages spoke to one another,

and those who were silent acquired speech.

⁹ And from it came love and harmony,

and they spoke to each other the message they had.

¹⁰ And they were urged on by the utterance,

and they knew him who had made them, because they were in harmony.

¹¹ Because the mouth of the Most High spoke to them,

and by it his interpretation flowed quickly.

¹² For the Tabernacle of the utterance is the bar nasha,

and (the utterance’s) truth is love.

¹³ Blessed are they who by means of it have understood everything,

and have known the Lord in his truth.

Hallelujah!