Ginza Rabba: The Sabian Mandean Holy Book Full English Translation

The First Glorification Hymn: Monotheism

In the name of the Great Living One, I glorify my Lord with a pure heart. He is the Great Living One, the All-Seeing, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the Almighty, the All-Wise. He is the Eternal, the Ancient, the Stranger to the realms of Light, the Self-Sufficient beyond the realms of Light.

He is the Word, the Hearing, and the Sight; He is the Healing and the Triumph, the Strength and the Steadfastness.
He is the Great Living One, the Delight of the Heart and the Forgiver of Sins. I glorify my Lord with a pure heart. O Lord of all realms, glorified are You, blessed, exalted, magnified, revered, eternal, the Great and Sublime. King of the Sublime Light, the Compassionate, the Oft-Returning, the Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Great Living One, whose splendor has no limit, nor any bounds to His radiance. His power is all-pervading, His might is immense. He is the Great One who is unseen and unconfined. He has no partner in His dominion, nor consort in His scepter. Whoever places his trust in Him shall never be forsaken, and whoever glorifies His name shall never doubt. Whoever calls upon Him finds Him the All-Hearing, the Ever-Responding.

He was not, for He has ever been, nor shall He cease to be, for He is. Eternal above all realms. Death cannot approach Him, nor can nullity. Before Him the angels stand, resplendent in their light, prostrating, humbled, grateful, and glorifying. He is the One without limit or measure, whom neither darkness nor night can approach. He is Majesty and Perfection. He is Justice and Safety. He is Tenderness and Compassion.

The First since eternity, Creator of all things, Possessor of power without equal. Maker of all that is beautiful, Lord of all the realms of Light. Higher than all the angels, their God entirely. He is the Light in which there is no darkness, the Life in which there is no death, the Goodness in which there is no evil.

He is the Guide without wrath, the Sweetness that never runs dry, the Radiant One, Dweller in the Upper North, Origin of all luminaries, Father of all the angels. Abiding in His kingdom, Just in His omnipotence. He sent forth the Perfect and the Truthful, and imprinted His name upon the lips of the believers, and blessed them all with His blessing.

His power cannot be encompassed by number or reckoning. The flashes of His crown burst forth to every place, and the rays of His light stream from between the leaves of His diadem to fill all realms.

“Who can glorify You with Your due glorification?” said the angels, “for Your glorification is boundless. Who can bless You with Your due blessing, for Your blessing is countless. Who can magnify You with Your exaltedness, for Your exaltedness is beyond measure. Your depth cannot be fathomed, Your power cannot be contained, Your greatness cannot be beheld, and Your loftiness is greater than all things.”

Behold, they are all humbled. They know not Your name, nor can they discern Your form. Blessed are the Perfect who knew You with a pure heart, and believed in You sincerely, and bowed before Your greatness in truth. Blessed are the Perfect, the Truthful.

He is King since eternity. Steadfast is His throne. Vast is His kingdom. He has neither father nor son, and none shares His dominion. Blessed is He in every age, and glorified is He in every age. Existent since antiquity, enduring unto forever.

He said to the angels, “Be,” and they were. By His word the angels of Light came to be. From His pure radiance emerged the angels of Praise — boundless, countless, and imperishable. From His great light they emanated, brimming with glorification.

Perfect is His radiance. Resplendent is His light. Perfect and resplendent is their abode within Him. A light in which there is no nullity, a reverence in which there is no disobedience, a righteousness in which there is no discord, a faith in which there is no deceit, a truth in which there is no falsehood. He is the Good in which there is no evil, and therein they dwell, glorifying the Living One.

The angels of Radiance glorify the King of Light with the radiance He bestowed upon them.

The angels of Radiance glorify the King of Light with the raiment of radiance He granted them.

The angels of Radiance glorify the King of Light with the robes of light He gave them.

The angels of Radiance glorify the King of Light with the girdles of radiance He conferred upon them.

The angels of Radiance glorify the King of Light with the crowns of radiance He bestowed upon them, and wrought for them.

The angels of Radiance glorify the King of Light with the strength and steadfastness He granted them.

The angels of Radiance glorify the King of Light with the truth, loyalty, and faith He gifted them.

All of them are gentle and benevolent, wise and truthful. There is no malice in them, nor deceit. Each dwells in the abode of the other without error, nor do they wrong one another. Honored and exalted, they are alike as the lashes of the eye. Their intentions are revealed to one another, and the tidings of what has passed and what is to come are known among them. They illuminate one another, they perfume one another, and they extend the handclasp of truth to one another. By the will of God they are eternal — they neither vanish nor grow old, they neither ache nor weaken.

Their garments are purer, their crowns more enduring, their progeny more pious. They neither hunger nor thirst, they neither burn nor freeze, they are neither wronged nor do they anger. No corruption lies in their trees, no bitterness in their fruits, no withering in their blossoms.

Their stations are sublime, their seas are serene, their waters flowing — sweeter than milk and cooler still. Whoever drinks of them shall taste no death, nor hear the sound of sorrow. Their years are beyond number, their lives beyond measure. Joyous and exultant, they set forth with swift steps, and over the white land of Ayar they soar — where Light is complete, with neither sunset nor shadow. Their faces are of light, translucent as crystal. All of them are humbled, glorifying God.

God, King of the Sublime Light, King of the Angels and the Uthras, praised be His name unto the eternity of eternities. And the Uthras, and the Angels, and the Messengers, and the Rituals, and the Proverbs, and the flowing Clouds, and the running Waters, and the towering Trees, and the Radiance with which they are adorned—all are from God, King of the Sublime Light.

And the Living One is the Purifier.

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