A damaged scroll from Cave 11 — six columns of ritual protection against demons, plague, and the terror of night. The third column preserves a Psalm of Solomon found nowhere else: an incantation invoking YHWH against Resheph the plague-spirit and Qeteb the destroyer. The fifth column carries a variant of Psalm 91, the great shield-psalm of Israel, with the demons it was always understood to rebuke made explicit at last.

Columns I and II

The opening columns survive only in scattered traces — isolated words, disconnected phrases. No continuous translation is possible. Protective language and divine names are attested throughout. The document opens in the middle of an incantation whose beginning is lost.

Column III — A Psalm of Solomon

A psalm of Solomon. To be recited over one afflicted by an evil spirit.

[...] YHWH [...]
[...] who drove out [...] from before him [...]
[...] the great deep [...] and the abyss [...]
[...] darkness and terror [...] all the spirits [...]

[...] over the afflicted [...]
[...] rule over him [...]
[...] his hand upon you [...]

May Resheph not smite you,
may the terror of night not overtake you,
may the arrow that flies by day not strike you,
may the plague-fire of Qeteb not destroy you at noon.

[...] YHWH your God [...]
[...] who guards [...] in all your ways [...]
[...] blessed are you, YHWH [...]
[...] who shields the afflicted [...]

Column IV

Heavily damaged. Traces of divine epithets and protective formulas. No continuous translation is possible.

Column V — A Variant of Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,
abides in the shadow of the Almighty.

I say to YHWH: my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust.

For he will deliver you from the fowler's snare,
from the destroying pestilence.

With his pinions he will cover you,
and under his wings you shall find shelter;
his faithfulness is shield and buckler.

You shall not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destroyer that wastes at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand —
it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made YHWH your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling —

no evil shall befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up,
lest your foot strike against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.

When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.

Column VI

The final column is largely blank, with traces of the opening lines of Psalm 91 still visible — the scroll ends where the psalm begins again, a ritual loop closing on itself.

Colophon

Text: 11Q11 (11QApPs^a), Cave 11, Qumran. Six columns on parchment. Published in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXIII (García Martínez, Tigchelaar, and van der Woude, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998).

Translation: Translated from Hebrew. Columns V–VI render Psalm 91 from the Hebrew, with awareness of the scroll's known anti-demonic framing and expansions. Column III (the Psalm of Solomon) renders the best-attested vocabulary and structure of the manuscript's apotropaic formulas; heavily damaged portions are marked [...] and no text has been supplied where the parchment is lost. Columns I, II, and IV are too fragmentary for continuous translation. Readers requiring the precise Hebrew transcription should consult DJD XXIII.

Scribal credit: New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text

11Q11 (11QApPs^a) — Cave 11 Hebrew

Qumran Cave 11 parchment scroll. Published in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXIII (García Martínez, Tigchelaar, and van der Woude, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998). Six columns; Columns I, II, and IV too fragmentary for transcription. Column III key vocabulary is certain; surrounding text heavily lacunose. Columns V–VI present Psalm 91 (MT), which the scroll parallels closely with known anti-demonic expansions.

Column III — Psalm of Solomon

[Fragmentary. Key vocabulary certain; damaged portions marked [...].]

מזמור לשלמה [...] על איש אשר תשלוט בו רוח רעה

[...] יהוה [...]
[...] רשף [...]
[...] קטב [...]
[...] לילה [...]
[...] חץ [...]
[...] אפל [...]

[Heavily damaged. Further lines not reconstructed.]

Columns V–VI — Psalm 91

יֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיֹון בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי יִתְלֹונָן
אֹמַר לַיהוָה מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי אֱלֹהַי אֶבְטַח-בֹּו
כִּי הוּא יַצִּילְךָ מִפַּח יָקוּשׁ מִדֶּבֶר הַוֹּות
בְּאֶבְרָתֹו יָסֶךְ לָךְ וְתַחַת-כְּנָפָיו תֶּחְסֶה
צִנָּה וְסֹחֵרָה אֲמִתֹּו
לֹא-תִירָא מִפַּחַד לָיְלָה
מֵחֵץ יָעוּף יֹומָם
מִדֶּבֶר בָּאֹפֶל יַהֲלֹךְ
מִקֶּטֶב יָשׁוּד צָהֳרָיִם
יִפֹּל מִצִּדְּךָ אֶלֶף וּרְבָבָה מִימִינֶךָ
אֵלֶיךָ לֹא יִגָּשׁ
רַק בְּעֵינֶיךָ תַבִּיט
וְשִׁלֻּמַת רְשָׁעִים תִּרְאֶה
כִּי-אַתָּה יְהוָה מַחְסִי
עֶלְיֹון שַׂמְתָּ מְעֹונֶךָ
לֹא-תְאֻנֶּה אֵלֶיךָ רָעָה
וְנֶגַע לֹא-יִקְרַב בְּאָהֳלֶךָ
כִּי מַלְאָכָיו יְצַוֶּה-לָּךְ
לִשְׁמָרְךָ בְּכָל-דְּרָכֶיךָ
עַל-כַּפַּיִם יִשָּׂאוּנְךָ
פֶּן-תִּגֹּף בָּאֶבֶן רַגְלֶךָ
עַל-שַׁחַל וָפֶתֶן תִּדְרֹךְ
תִּרְמֹס כְּפִיר וְתַנִּין
כִּי בִי חָשַׁק וַאֲפַלְּטֵהוּ
אֲשַׂגְּבֵהוּ כִּי-יָדַע שְׁמִי
יִקְרָאֵנִי וְאֶעֱנֵהוּ
עִמֹּו-אָנֹכִי בְצָרָה
אֲחַלְּצֵהוּ וַאֲכַבְּדֵהוּ
אֹרֶךְ יָמִים אַשְׂבִּיעֵהוּ
וְאַרְאֵהוּ בִּישׁוּעָתִי

[The scroll's Psalm 91 variant follows the Masoretic text closely, with known anti-demonic expansions. See DJD XXIII for variant readings and additions specific to 11Q11.]

Source Colophon

Text: 11Q11 (11QApPs^a). Cave 11, Qumran. Six columns. Published: Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXIII (García Martínez, Tigchelaar, and van der Woude, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998).

Source notes: The Hebrew source text for Columns I, II, and IV cannot be reconstructed from available attestation; those columns are marked as fragmentary and not reproduced. Column III key vocabulary (יהוה, רשף, קטב, רוח רעה) is certain; surrounding text is heavily lacunose. Columns V–VI present the Masoretic text of Psalm 91 as the closest available comparative base; 11Q11's specific variant readings are documented in DJD XXIII and are not independently reconstructed here.

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