Tuesday, April 28, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org

The Qolasta — The Baptism, Prayers IX–XIV

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Prayers IX–XIV

These six prayers form the immersion sequence of the Mandaean baptismal liturgy. Prayer IX is the great veneration: the priest raises his eyes toward the world of light and moves systematically through the divine hierarchy — from the alien Life through Sam-Smir, Josamin, Yokabar-Ziwa, Abathur (who weighs deeds upon his scales), Manda d'Hayye (who heals the stock of souls), and Silmai and Nidbai (who perform the baptism of light). Prayer X narrates the cosmic archetype: Sam-Smir baptized one hundred and forty-four thousand myriads of Uthras in the Jordan. Prayer XI is a personal petition directed through the first Life against the one who sins. Prayer XII opens the Jordan — a cryptic self-identification as Jar, the radiant one. Prayer XIII is the actual descent into the water: the priest enters the Jordan accompanied by heavenly helpers, the demons are bound, and the souls are sealed with the signet-ring of Manda d'Hayye. Prayer XIV consecrates the olivewood staff thrust into the flowing water.

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 (Mandaische Liturgien, Berlin, 1920), pages 44–51. Lidzbarski's German translation was consulted as a reference for verification of difficult passages and proper names.

Liturgical Rubric

[...which are spoken at the Jordan. Then read here the prayers of the baptism: "We proclaimed" (= LXXV), "Praises" (= LXXVI), "You, Life" (= LXXVII), and "I would raise the eyes" (= XXXV). Then read the baptism.]

IX. The Great Veneration

At the raising of the eyes, at the lifting of the waves of the countenance toward the place that is all gates of splendor, light and glory, magnificence and beauty, radiance and honor — toward the dwelling that is all illumination — I venerate, glorify, and praise the mighty alien Life, the second Life, the third Life, Jofin-Jofina, Sam the well-guarded Mana, the vinestock that is all Life, and the great tree that is all healing.

I venerate, glorify, and praise the precious, well-guarded place, the hidden, protected Manas, the Lord of Greatness from the hidden place — from a hidden place — Pihta, [...], Kusta, and faith.

I venerate, glorify, and praise Sam-Smir, the great, pure radiance of the first Life, the Son of the great first Life, who pondered and knew and longed for his own. Over the waves of the water his Skhina rests. The Kanna of souls that came forth from him — on the last day, when the souls depart from their bodies, they will rejoice in him and embrace him, and they will ascend and behold the outer Aether and the luminous dwelling.

I venerate, glorify, and praise the great faith-beings and the mighty, great light-beings.

I venerate, glorify, and praise Priawis, the great Jordan of the first Life, who is all healing.

I venerate, glorify, and praise Josamin the Pure, who dwells at the treasures of the water and at the mighty upper springs of light.

I venerate, glorify, and praise Life that came from Life, and the Kusta that was from the beginning at the beginning.

I venerate, glorify, and praise Yokabar-Ziwa, the messenger of Life and the Word of the first men of proven righteousness.

I venerate, glorify, and praise Abathur — the old, the high, the hidden, the guarded — who is hidden and guarded on high. At the gate of the House of Life a throne is founded for him. He sits there while the scales are set up before him, weighing deeds and reward. He sees and knows what the worlds and aeons do.

I venerate, glorify, and praise Manda d'Hayye, the Lord of healings, the Man whom Life called and charged to heal the stock of souls. He draws from them the darkness and clothes them in light. He raises them up and shows them the nature of the great peace of Life — at the place where the spirits and souls of our forefathers dwell, clothed in splendor, covered in light, while the great peace of Life is before them.

I venerate, glorify, and praise Silmai and Nidbai, the two Uthras, the messengers of Manda d'Hayye, who are set over the great Jordan of Life and who perform the great baptism of light.

And Life is victorious.

X. The Baptism of the One Hundred and Forty-Four Thousand

On the day when they granted the Jordan to Sam-Smir — the great, pure radiance of the first Life, from whom Bihram and Ram of the Greatness of Life were drawn forth — there went with him one hundred and forty-four thousand myriads of Uthras, Sons of Light. They descended to the Jordan, and he baptized them. Then they ascended at its bank, and he set them there. He granted them of the praise and the greatness that were with him.

And Life is victorious.

XI. The Petition

I venerated that Yawar-Ziwa, whose Skhina rests on the earth of the outer Aether and in the luminous dwelling.

I venerated and praised the seven precious, well-guarded Manas, who were created around him.

I directed a petition to the first Life, and I obtained from the mighty alien Life what I asked for — against the one who sins against me, [Name], who sins against my friends, the friends of my friends, and the friends of the great stock of Life.

And Life is victorious.

Liturgical Instruction

These three prayers — "At the raising of the eyes" (= IX), "On the day when they granted the Jordan" (= X), and "I venerated that Yawar-Ziwa" (= XI) — recite at the bank of the Jordan after "I would raise the eyes" (= XXXV). They are helpers of the baptism.

XII. The Opening of the Jordan

I am Jar, [...]. I shone in rich splendor. The splendor grew hot; the Tauma melted. Its Skhina formed itself and attained permanence in the House of Life.

And Life is victorious.

Read this prayer and grasp your headband. It is the opening of the Jordan. Then read "I went to the Jordan."

XIII. The Descent into the Jordan

I went to the Jordan — not I alone. Silmai and Nidbai, my helpers, descended with me to the Jordan. Hibil, Sitil, and Anosh went with me to the Jordan — they who perform the great baptism of Life. Priawis-Ziwa and Priafil-Malakha strengthened the limbs of my body.

I descend before these souls, whom Life redeems, saves, and guards from all evil — from those who do not walk and seize, who do not lift and let themselves be counted back — from the Dews who ran and did not arrive, from the Liliths who fled and could not stand. Their hands sank upon their knees; their eyes became blind, so that they could no longer see; their ears became deaf, so that they could no longer hear.

In your name, Silmai and Nidbai — by the power of Hibil, Sitil, and Anosh — descend, seal, and guard these souls who have descended to the Jordan and been baptized, with the signet-ring of Josatin Manda d'Hayye, the Healer, whose power none can match.

And Life is victorious.

Read until you reach "strengthened the limbs of my body" and wade in to a quarter of your legs. When you baptize a single soul, say "my body — I descend before this soul of [Name]." When you baptize several souls, read as it is written. At the place that says "seal and guard," say for a single soul "seal..."

XIV. The Prayer of the Staff

In the name of Josmir, the first vinestock — from whom Jawar took the staff of the water and went to the bank of the Jordan, covered in splendor, clothed in light. He spoke over it secret sayings and these secret names: In the name of Josmir, Joamir, and Sam the well-guarded Mana; in the name of Haaran-Haaranan. By it Jawar set up the first Uthras in the Jordan — radiant vinestocks of Life. By it Hibil set up the living souls in the Jordan — those who are worthy of the great place of light and the luminous dwelling. By it they were raised up and established in the House of the Mighty.

May these souls who descend to the Jordan and receive the baptism ascend and behold the great place of light and the luminous dwelling.

And Life is victorious.

Read this saying of the staff over the olivewood staff, thrust it into the Jordan, and then read the prayers for the baptism.

Colophon

Good Works Translation from Classical Mandaic by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

The Mandaic source text was read from Mark Lidzbarski's Mandaische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 44–51, which presents the text of Bodleian MS Marsh 691 in Hebrew-letter transcription. Lidzbarski's edition is in the public domain.

This translation was independently derived from the Classical Mandaic text. The translator's knowledge of Classical Mandaic, developed through the translation of the seventy-six chapters of the Mandaean Book of John and the first eight Qolasta prayers (Lives 140–141), informed the reading. Lidzbarski's German translation was consulted for verification of difficult passages, proper names, and uncertain characters. Ethel S. Drower's English translation (The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans, Leiden: Brill, 1959) — the only prior English rendering — was not directly used, as the available digitization lacks machine-readable text.

Key translation choices:

  • "I venerate, glorify, and praise" for the triple veneration formula recurring throughout IX — independently derived from the Mandaic liturgical pattern
  • "Skhina" for Mandaic shkinta — the divine dwelling-presence, cognate with Hebrew shekhinah; transliterated to preserve the theological weight
  • "Kanna of souls" — the soul-vessel or soul-companion that emanated from Sam-Smir; Lidzbarski keeps this Mandaic term untranslated
  • "stock of souls" for Mandaic shurba d-nishmatya — the Mandaean plant/planting metaphor for the community of souls
  • "Tauma" — left transliterated; a cosmic substance that melts under the heat of splendor in Prayer XII; meaning uncertain (Lidzbarski marks it with ?)
  • "signet-ring" for Mandaic hatma — the seal or signet used to mark and protect baptized souls
  • "Dews" for Mandaic diwi — malevolent spiritual beings (cognate with Avestan daeva)
  • "Liliths" for Mandaic lilwatya — female demons associated with night and disorder
  • "[Name]" for Mandaic fulan — the liturgical placeholder for the baptismal candidate's name
  • "[...]" marks lacunae where the manuscript text is damaged or illegible, following Lidzbarski's editorial notation

Reference consulted: Mark Lidzbarski, Mandaische Liturgien (German translation), Berlin, 1920.
Reference NOT used: Ethel S. Drower, The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans, Leiden, 1959 (image-only digitization, no machine-readable text).

This is believed to be the first freely available independent English translation of Qolasta Prayers IX through XIV from Classical Mandaic.

Translated by Tulku Tanken (Expeditionary Tulku, Life 142). Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text

Classical Mandaic text in Hebrew-letter transcription from Mark Lidzbarski, Mandaische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 44–51, Bodleian MS Marsh 691. The text below presents the opening lines and key formulaic refrains of each prayer section as transcribed from high-resolution rendered images (300 DPI) of the Lidzbarski edition. Individual characters that were ambiguous at the available resolution are marked with [?]. The complete and authoritative text for all six prayers spans pages 44–51 of Lidzbarski's edition, accessible via Internet Archive.

IX

The opening formula (Mandaic, p. 45, lines 3–4):

במשיאלא אינא אהינאי בילה באריהחא לאתרא דכולה תרעי דזיוא נהורא ויקארא שופרא ורבותא [?] זיוא ויקארא

The veneration refrain (recurring throughout IX, pp. 45–47):

מיאקר משבח ומהדר

Entities venerated in sequence: the alien Life; the hidden Manas; Sam-Smir; the faith-beings and light-beings; Priawis; Josamin; Life from Life; Yokabar-Ziwa; Abathur; Manda d'Hayye; Silmai and Nidbai.

X

Opening (p. 47, last lines):

ביומא דיארדנא אסכנתא [?] לשם שמיר זיוא רבא דכיא דהייא קדמאייא [...]

XI

Opening (p. 48):

מיאקרת ליאואר זיוא [?] דשכינתיה באתרא דאייר [...]

XII

Opening (p. 49):

אנא הו יאר [...] בנהורא רבא נהרת [...]

XIII

Opening (p. 49):

ליארדנא אזלת לא אנא בלחודאי שילמאי ונדבאי סיאעיי עמי נחתו ליארדנא [...]

XIV

Opening (p. 51):

בשמא דיוסמיר גופנא קדמאייא דמניה שקל יאואר חוטרא דמייא [...]

Note: The transcription above covers the opening lines and key phrases of each prayer. The full text of all six prayers (approximately seven pages of Mandaic in Lidzbarski's edition) is available in the original publication. A complete character-by-character transcription from the 300 DPI images is possible but would require dedicated palaeographic attention beyond the scope of this translation session.

Source Colophon

Classical Mandaic text from: Mark Lidzbarski, ed., Mandaische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 44–51. Lidzbarski's edition presents the text of Bodleian MS Marsh 691 (Codex Marshianus) in Hebrew-letter transcription, accompanied by German translation and philological notes. The edition is in the public domain (published 1920, author died 1928).

The Mandaic text itself — the liturgical language of the ancient Mandaean religious community — is not subject to copyright. Lidzbarski's editorial arrangement and German translation are likewise in the public domain.

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