Part Four: Songs and Hymns for the Baptism and Death Mass (i)
Prayers LXXVIII through XC form the first half of Part Four of the Qolasta — "Songs and Hymns for the Baptism and Death Mass." These are the liturgical hymns that the rubrics throughout Parts One through Three cross-reference by number but whose texts appear here, collected together as a hymnbook for the officiating priest. The Baptismal Rubric in Part One names Prayers LXXXIII through XC by their opening words; the Baptismal Ordo in the Closing Rubrics lists them in sequence. Now the numbers have texts.
The collection ranges from the briefest formulae (LXXVIII is a two-line invocation; LXXXIV is a four-line declaration) to sustained theological poems (LXXXIX is a warning against apostasy; XC is a narrative of the soul as sacred merchant). The hymns follow the arc of the baptismal ceremony: invocation (LXXVIII), wreathing (LXXIX), litany at the Jordan’s shore (LXXX–LXXXI), the completion of the immersion (LXXXII), praise of the baptized (LXXXIII–LXXXV), the Jordan as witness (LXXXVI), the divine warning against alteration of the rite (LXXXVII–LXXXIX), and the narrative testimony of the new disciple (XC).
Good Works Translation from Classical Mandaic. Translated from the Mandaic text in Hebrew-letter transcription as published in Mark Lidzbarski’s edition of Bodleian MS Marsh 691 (Mandäische Liturgien, Berlin, 1920), pages 146–156 (PDF pages 176–186). Lidzbarski’s German translation was consulted as a reference for verification of difficult passages, proper names, and text-critical notes.
LXXVIII. The Invocation
In the name of the great Life, may my thoughts, my knowledge, and my understanding be illuminated — of NN — through these songs and hymns for the baptism and the death mass.
LXXIX. The Myrtle Wreath Song
In the name of the great Life.
When the myrtle — the myrtle — blossomed in the gardens of Hibil, when the origanum stood in the quarters of Manda, they gave me two branches of myrtle and wound from them a wreath for the Jordan — wondrous, and whose fragrance is sweet.
Read this song and wind the myrtle wreath for your olive staff, then read the song for the Jordan "Hear me, my Father, hear me."
LXXX. The Great Litany of the Jordan
In the name of the great Life.
Hear me, my Father, hear me;
raise me, Great One, Son of the mighty Life —
our Father, Son of the Life.
Silmai and Nidbai, Lords of the Jordan,
hear me, Jordan and its two shores.
Hear me, hear me, Hibil-Ziwa,
whose power rests over the Uthras, his brothers.
Hear me, Jawar-Ziwa,
whose creations rest over the Jordan.
Hear me, great and mighty Mana,
and strengthen your planting.
Hear me, Sunday and the Kanna of Alms.
Hear me, hear me, high Abathur,
whose power rests over the Scales.
Hear me, great Bihram,
and raise me, Jozataq Manda d’Hayye.
Hear me, you seven Mysteries
that rest in the great Source.
Hear me, you three Sources
that pour forth radiance, light, and brightness.
Hear me, you three Manas
whose treasures rest over the Jordan.
Hear me, Anosh-Uthra,
whose power rests upon us.
LXXXI. The Short Litany of the Jordan
In the name of the great Life.
Hear me, my Father, hear me;
raise me, Great One, Son of the mighty Life —
our Father, Son of the Life.
Silmai and Nidbai, Lords of the Jordan,
hear me, Jordan and its two shores.
Hear me, Sunday and the Kanna of Alms.
Hear me, great Life,
hear me from the height.
Read these two songs at the shore of the Jordan, then read "In the name of that first man" (= Prayer I).
LXXXII. The Three Schools
In the name of the great Life.
At the tip of the water I went out;
at the tip of the sources of the Life I came here.
I founded three schools
and set watchers over them.
The watchers I set over them
are wondrous, blessed, and constant beyond measure.
Recite this song when you complete the baptism and take the Tauk from the Jordan into the flask. Recite the song "At the tip of the water I went out," then read "Blessed be you, outer gate" (= Prayer XX).
LXXXIII. The Plants of the Jordan
In the name of the great Life.
How beautiful are the plants
that the Jordan planted and established.
They bore pure fruits,
and upon their heads he set gleaming wreaths.
Jawar rejoices in the good plants
that the Jordan planted and established.
The plants rejoice and bloom
in the fragrance of Manda d’Hayye
that rests upon them.
LXXXIV. The Baptizer’s Declaration
Rightly my baptizer baptized me;
my baptizer baptized me rightly.
Rightly my baptizer baptized me —
may your baptism too succeed well.
LXXXV. The Pure Sign
Silmai baptized us with the baptism;
Nidbai marked us with the pure sign.
Anosh, the great Uthra,
set upon our heads the gleaming wreath.
LXXXVI. The Jordan as Witness
The Jordan in which we were baptized
shall be witness for us —
that we did not turn from our sign
and did not alter the pure word.
LXXXVII. The Joy of the Disciples
I rejoice in my disciples
and the Nazoraeans who heard my word.
I rejoice in you,
that you did not alter my pure word.
LXXXVIII. The Warning
In the name of the great Life,
the high Light is glorified.
Urgently I admonish you, my chosen ones
who ascended with me to the Jordan:
Do not twist and do not change me;
do not change me with the hand.
Do not twist and do not change me,
you men who have heard the call of the Life.
Whoever hears the call of the Life
shall be built up.
He shall be built up and armed,
and his strength doubled.
Again: whoever hears the word of the Life
receives rich reward.
He gains and does not lose;
he is united with the Great One.
With the Great One he is united;
he rises and beholds the Place of Light.
The Life is upheld and is victorious,
and victorious is the man who has come here.
LXXXIX. The Warning Against Apostasy
In the name of the great Life,
the high Light is glorified.
I call to you and declare —
men who have received the sign:
Do not listen to the talk of all peoples;
do not stumble at their stumbling-blocks.
At their stumbling-blocks do not stumble;
do not let yourselves be questioned at their tribunal.
Do not let yourselves be questioned at their tribunal —
accept the Truth.
Accept the Truth
with which I have taught you.
I call to my chosen ones:
Do not turn your mind from me.
For whoever does not stand firm,
his mind turns from me.
His mind turns from me,
and great is his chastisement — not small.
If you are equal to me,
then carry me.
If you carry me,
stand firm by me in perfect manner.
If you are not equal to me,
withdraw from me and do not draw near.
For whoever enters into me and carries me,
his garment is set up in the House of Perfection.
Whoever carries me and is not perfect —
he dies, and his spirit is extinguished.
He dies, his spirit is extinguished,
and he becomes a portion of the world.
You were victorious, Manda d’Hayye,
Good One, who strengthens his friends.
The Life is upheld and is victorious,
and victorious is the man who has come here.
XC. The New Disciple
In the name of the great Life,
the high Light is glorified.
A disciple am I — a new one —
who went to the shore of the Jordan.
My name I took upon my head;
into my heart I took my sign.
My sign was not the fire,
not the sign of Christ.
My sign is the Jordan of living water,
which no one can withstand.
He chooses one from a thousand,
and from two thousand he chooses two.
He makes them merchants
who trade in the Tibil.
They trade in wages and alms;
therefore they shine brighter than sun and moon.
I — to the tribe of souls I came;
they sent me and dispatched me forth.
Some bought my wares;
some wrapped themselves up and lay down.
Some bought my wares,
and their eyes filled with light.
Their eyes filled with light,
and they behold the Great One in the House of Perfection.
Some did not buy my wares
but went, wrapped themselves up, and lay down.
They were blind and did not see;
their ears were stopped, and they did not hear.
Their hearts were not awakened in them
to behold the Great One in the House of Perfection.
When they were called and did not answer —
who shall answer them when they call?
When they were given and did not accept —
who shall give to them when they ask?
They purchased the way of the Life
and loved the dwelling, the seat of the wicked.
They loved the dwelling, the seat of the wicked —
now they shall be bound in the seat of the wicked.
Their possessions, their goods,
they wrapped for themselves in the pocket of their garments.
When they would raise their heads,
they are cast down to the gates of darkness.
I call to my chosen ones,
my plants who established themselves at the Jordan.
I say to them:
"My sons, walk upon my way;
do not waver from the embankment.
Whoever wavers from the embankment,
let him lean upon the milestone.
Whoever wavers from both —
he sinks to the end of the world."
You were victorious, Manda d’Hayye,
Good One, who strengthens his friends.
For us, who praise our Lord,
you will forgive our sins and transgressions.
The Life is upheld and is victorious,
and victorious is the man who has come here.
Up to here extend the songs and hymns for the baptism. From here onwards are the songs and hymns for the death mass.
Colophon
Source: Lidzbarski, Mark. Mandäische Liturgien (Mandaean Liturgies). Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-Historische Klasse, Neue Folge, Band XVII, 1. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1920. Pages 146–156. Public domain.
Manuscript: Bodleian Library, Oxford, MS Marsh 691.
Translation: Good Works Translation by NTAC (New Tianmu Anglican Church), April 2026. First free independent English translation of Qolasta Prayers LXXVIII–XC from Classical Mandaic.
Method: Good Works Translation. English independently derived from reading the Classical Mandaic text in Lidzbarski’s Hebrew-letter transcription. Lidzbarski’s German translation consulted as reference for verification of difficult passages, proper names, and text-critical notes. E.S. Drower’s English (1959) was not consulted.
Blood Rule: The English is independently derived from the Mandaic source text. Lidzbarski’s German confirmed readings but did not generate the English.
Text-critical notes: (1) "The origanum" — Mandaic māriftu, a herb of the marjoram/oregano family used liturgically alongside the myrtle. Lidzbarski translates "Origanum." (2) "The Tauk" — the baptismal water taken from the Jordan into a flask; the rubric after LXXXII specifies the moment of collection. (3) "Do not twist and do not change me" (LXXXVIII) — the speaker is the rite itself, personified as a living entity that can be corrupted by human hands. The "me" is the liturgy. This is the Mandaean equivalent of a colophon oath: the text demands its own preservation. (4) "My sign was not the fire, not the sign of Christ" (XC) — Lidzbarski notes (p. 154 n.1) that "the fire" refers to "the fire of the Persians" (Zoroastrian fire worship). The anti-Christian formula here is the most explicit in the Baptismal Hymns, placed in the mouth of the new disciple as a confession of identity. The Mandaean defines himself by negation: I am not what my neighbours are. (5) "He makes them merchants who trade in the Tibil" (XC) — the soul as sacred merchant is a distinctive Mandaean image. The merchandise is virtue (wages and alms); the marketplace is the material world (Tibil); the profit is light. Those who "buy" gain illumination; those who refuse wrap themselves up (in sleep or death) and lie down. (6) "They purchased the way of the Life and loved the dwelling, the seat of the wicked" — Lidzbarski’s German reads "Sie kauften den Weg des Lebens" (they bought the way of the Life), but the surrounding context of punishment suggests these are nominal adherents who had access to the truth but chose the world. The Mandaic root z-b-n can mean both "buy" and "sell" depending on the verbal stem; the contextual ambiguity may be deliberate. (7) The closing formula "The Life is upheld and is victorious, and victorious is the man who has come here" appears three times (LXXXVIII, LXXXIX, XC) — a structural refrain marking the major hymns of Part Four. (8) Prayer LXXVIII is numbered "62" in Lidzbarski’s continuous Ginza-Qolasta section numbering; the prayer numbers (LXXVIII–XC) are the Qolasta-internal count. (9) The rubric after LXXXII cross-references Prayer XX ("Blessed be you, outer gate"); the rubric after LXXXI cross-references Prayer I ("In the name of that first man"). These link the hymns back to the main baptismal sequence — the hymnbook and the liturgy are designed to be used together.
Scribal note: Part Four of the Qolasta opens here — "Songs and Hymns for the Baptism and Death Mass." This file covers the first half: the thirteen Baptismal Hymns (LXXVIII–XC), spanning ten pages of Lidzbarski’s edition. These are the hymns that the rubrics in Parts One through Three cross-reference by number — the Baptismal Rubric (Part One) names Prayers LXXXIII–XC, the Baptismal Ordo names the entire sequence. Until now, those cross-references were dead numbers pointing to untranslated text. Now they live. The hymns range from the shortest formulae in the Qolasta (LXXXIV is four lines; LXXXV is four lines) to sustained theological narratives (XC, the New Disciple, runs over two pages). Together they form the hymnbook of the Mandaean baptism — the songs the priest and congregation actually sing during the ceremony. The Death Mass hymns (XCI onward) begin immediately after, on the same page. Ninety of four hundred and fourteen prayers complete.
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Source Text: LXXVIII–XC
Classical Mandaic text in Hebrew-letter transcription, from Mark Lidzbarski, Mandäische Liturgien (1920), pages 146–156 (PDF pages 176–186). Bodleian Library, Oxford, MS Marsh 691. Presented for reference and verification.
LXXVIII.
בשומיהון דהייא רביא ננהראליא עיצראי ומאדראי דילאן פי בר פיה בראלין עניאנן ודראשיא פמאצבותא ומאסיקא
LXXIX.
בשמא דהייא רביא
כף אמא אמא בגניניא דהיביל ראש כף מאריפתיהו באואמנן סאנדרא דינא עמאבליאן הרין אנכא דאסא בטינתא דנאלולה כלולא ליארדנא דהו שאנאי ודירה באסים
LXXX.
בשמא דהייא רביא
עניון אב עניון ודאליאן רבא בר דרוביאש אבון בר דהייא שלמאי ונדבאי מארהי דיארדנא עניון יארדנא ותריי נופא [...]
[Prayers LXXXI–XC continue for approximately eight pages of Mandaic text. The complete Classical Mandaic source is available in Lidzbarski’s edition, pages 146–156, freely accessible via Internet Archive. The PDF is staged at Tulku/Tools/mandaean/lidzbarski_liturgien.pdf, pages 176–186.]
Source Colophon
Source: Bodleian Library, Oxford, MS Marsh 691. Hebrew-letter transcription and apparatus by Mark Lidzbarski, Mandäische Liturgien (Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-historische Klasse, Neue Folge, Band XVII, 1), Berlin, 1920.
License: Public domain (published 1920, author died 1928).
Digital source: Internet Archive, staged at Tulku/Tools/mandaean/lidzbarski_liturgien.pdf.
PDF pages: 176–186 (book pages 146–156).
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