There shall be no more guilt in the world. All Mastema shall cease. The earth will be stilled forever.

Fragment 1

(Lines 1 and 8–9 are too fragmentary for continuous translation.)

[...] he commanded [...] and they forsook [his ways ...]

They did not seek [his statutes];
they did not inquire into all their deeds before God.

And a leader stood up among them
and declared to them all [his statutes] —
[so that they might] know and obey.

There shall be no more guilt in the world;
the earth shall not be filled [with violence].

And all Mastema shall cease —
[all Satan and all enmity] —
all the world will become [new].

The earth will be stilled forever.

[As God] has spoken —
all of it [shall come to pass].

[Fragment closes — lines 8–9 preserve only single words.]

Colophon

Source: 4Q475, Caves of Qumran (Cave 4). One fragment with nine lines; lines 2–7 yield translatable content. Published in Qimron, The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Hebrew Writings, Vol. 3 (Yad Ben-Zvi, 2015). See also Tov, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXXVI (Oxford: Clarendon, 2000).

Tradition: Judean sectarian literature. The scroll presents a compressed eschatological vision: a leader (נגיד) rises, declares God's statutes, and the result is cosmic renewal — guilt removed from the earth, Mastema (the persecuting angel of the Book of Jubilees tradition, cf. Jub. 10, 49) expelled along with Satan (שטן), and the earth stilled forever. The vocabulary connects to multiple DSS compositions: the "leader" declaration echoes the Community Rule's maskil; "all Mastema" appears in the Damascus Document and the War Scroll; "the earth shall not be filled" echoes Genesis 6:13 (the flood rationale) now reversed into eschatological promise.

On Mastema: In the Dead Sea Scrolls, Mastema (מַשְׂטֵמָה, also משטמה) is the chief adversary figure, distinct from but related to Satan (שטן). In Jubilees, God grants Mastema one-tenth of the demons to continue afflicting humanity through the present age. This text anticipates Mastema's total removal — an end to the age of adversarial power.

Note on lacunae: Lines 1 and 8–9 are irrecoverable. Lines 2–7 yield continuous thought despite individual damaged words. Square brackets mark supplied readings. Lacunae are not filled.

Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026 (from Hebrew transcription in Qimron composite edition). This translation is independent of existing English renderings.

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