The post-communion and catechetical sequence of the Mandaean canonical baptism — from the great doxology through the four sealing prayers, the erection of the baptized, and the catechetical dialogue of the soul tested by mountain, fire, and sea. From the Qolasta, the canonical prayer book of the Mandaean religion, preserved in the liturgical manuscript Bodleian MS Marsh 691. Translated from Classical Mandaic.
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 41–49. Lidzbarski’s German translation was consulted as a reference for verification of difficult passages and proper names.
XXV. The Great Doxology and Confession
[The opening of this prayer (approximately six lines) is on book page 40 of Lidzbarski’s edition, which is absent from the available scan. The translation begins at text section 15, line 7.]
...The Uthras, Sons of the Light, opened their mouths and praised Manda d’Hayye:
Praised be Manda d’Hayye,
praised be Jawar-Ziwa,
praised be Sührum and Ram,
praised be Tarwan the Light,
praised be Nbat, the great, first radiance,
praised be Nsab and Anan-Nsab,
praised be Sar and Sarwan,
praised be that great, mighty Mana,
praised be that great countenance of glory,
praised be that whole dwelling of the blessed,
praised be all the paths and ways of the mighty,
praised be all the mighty, upper light-worlds,
praised be all those hidden Shekinas,
praised be his voice, the power, the speech, and the command that come from the House of Abathur,
praised be the high Abathur,
praised be the ten thousand Uthras who stand before Abathur,
praised be the Uthras Silmai and Nidbai, the guardians of the Jordan,
praised be our father Hibil, Šitil, and Anōš, the head of the whole tribe.
Ban and remove from me NN and from these souls who descended to the Jordan and were baptized — the anxiety, the fear, and the dread before the demons, Dews, Seden, spirits, amulet-spirits, Liliths, gods, angels, temple-spirits, chapel-spirits, and idols, which the seven planets, the lords of the house, let loose against the souls in this world.
Manda d’Hayye! Turn your eyes upon your friends, your sprouts, and your disciples. Look upon us, who stand at this place which is all of evil, and at the great gate which consists entirely of worldly kingdoms. We stand among the evil and dwell among sinners. Redeem us from the world which consists entirely of evil, and from the wicked sorcery of the sons of Adam and Eve. What we have done, forgive us, and what we do, forgive us. Forgiver of sins and transgressions, forgive us our follies, our stumblings, and our errors. If you do not forgive us our sins — transgressions, follies, stumblings, and errors — then no one stands before you, Manda d’Hayye, free of sin.
Life, receive your command from the hidden and attain blessedness upon your light. In the name of Sarhabel, the great, first radiance. The words of Sarhabel, the great, first radiance, are established upon all who love the name of Kushta, and upon me NN. Held down is the darkness and established is the light.
And praised be the Life.
XXVI. The First Sealing
In the name of Life.
Bound and blessed be these souls who descended to the Jordan and received the baptism, by the power of the name of the great Life. They are baptized with the baptism of the great Bihram. Their souls are bound with the bands of righteousness, with the bands of truth, with the bands of Zhir, the great light of Life.
And praised be the Life.
XXVII. The Treasure of Life
In the name of Life.
Through the Treasure of Life we were erected and established. Through Osar-Hai and Pta-Hai came to us the entrance from the House of Life. Manda d’Hayye brought out with radiance in abundance and light in plenty our Mana, our sign, our way, our Jordan, our baptism, our garment Hauran, our covering Hauraran, our wreath Hazazban.
I call upon the mighty, alien, exalted Life, which stands above all works, and say to it: “See, see, great Life — for your sake, Life, have we descended to the Jordan; for your sake, Life, have we taken on our names and our sign from the great Jordan of Life and from the great vessel of healings, by the power of the truthful speech and the erecting of Jokabar-Ziwa.”
And the Life is victorious.
XXVIII. The Great Sealing
Bound and sealed be these souls who descended to the Jordan and received the baptism, through Hauran-Hauraran-Ziwa, the emanation from the great Life as its surname, through Join-Jofain and Sam, the well-preserved man, through Jmute, the archetype of radiance, through Jokabar, the armored Uthra. Bind, seal, and guard these souls who descended to the Jordan and received the baptism, from all the idolatry of the house, that no power be upon them through their demons and their Dews, that they not approach them, not sin against them, and not corrupt them. From them shall be taken away all pains, plagues, chastisements, and woes. Cast away and banished from them be all hideous diseases and evil curses of the body. Those who sit before you as guilt-laden may rise as guiltless. And healing be granted to these souls who descended to the Jordan and received the baptism.
And the Life is victorious.
The Communion Rubric
These four sealing prayers — “As they were arched,” “Bound and blessed,” “Through the Treasure of Life,” and the great “Bound and sealed” — read with full voice over the souls whom you baptize, after you have given them Pihta and Mambuha. Over additional souls whom you baptize, read as written; if it is one soul, say “this soul of NN.” Then they shall stand up, and read “You are erected.”
XXIX. The Erection
In the name of Life.
You are erected and established at the place where the good have been established between the Mana of the Light. These souls who descended to the Jordan and received the baptism, as well as the souls of our parents, teachers, brothers, and sisters — those who have departed from their bodies and those who still dwell in their bodies — you shall be established there in the light.
And the Life is victorious.
Here read “What has your father done with you, o soul.”
XXX. The Catechetical Dialogue
In the name of Life.
“What has your father done with you, o soul,
on the great day when you were established?”
“He led me down into the Jordan and planted me there,
then he led me up to its bank and set me upright.
He prepared Pihta and handed it to me,
spoke the blessing over the cup and gave me to drink.
He set me between his knees
and spoke the name of the mighty Life over me.
He shook the mountain and shook it again;
he cried with full voice and let me hear.
He cried and let me hear with full voice:
‘If strength is in you, soul, then come.’”
“If I climb the mountain, I will fall
and vanish again from the world.”
I raised my eyes to the height;
with my soul I hoped for the House of Life.
I climbed the mountain and did not fall,
but arrived and found my own Life.
“What has your father done with you, o soul,
on the great day when you were established?”
“He led me down into the Jordan and planted me there,
then he led me up to its bank and set me upright.
He prepared Pihta and handed it to me,
spoke the blessing over the cup and gave me to drink.
He set me between his knees
and spoke the name of the mighty Life over me.
He shook the fire and shook it again;
he cried with full voice and let me hear.
He cried and let me hear with full voice:
‘If strength is in you, soul, then come.’”
“If I go through the fire, I will be scalded
and vanish again from the world.”
I raised my eyes to the height;
with my soul I hoped for the House of Life.
I went through the fire and was not scalded,
but arrived and found my own Life.
“What has your father done with you, o soul,
on the great day when you were established?”
“He led me down into the Jordan and planted me there,
then he led me up to its bank and set me upright.
He prepared Pihta and handed it to me,
spoke the blessing over the cup and gave me to drink.
He set me between his knees
and spoke the name of the mighty Life over me.
He shook the sea and shook it again;
he cried with full voice and let me hear.
He cried and let me hear with full voice:
‘If strength is in you, soul, then come.’”
“If I go into the sea, I will drown
and vanish again from the world.”
I raised my eyes to the height;
with my soul I hoped for the House of Life.
I went into the sea and did not drown,
but arrived and found my own Life.
O Life, o, o Life — the Life was victorious over this world. The Life is victorious.
The Baptismal Hymnal Rubric
This is the Hymn of the Baptism. Present the hymns in order. Where it says “souls,” read as written; if the soul is one, say “between the Mouth of the Light, the soul of N., son of N., who descended to the Jordan, was baptized, and received the pure sign.” Present “What has your father done with you, o soul.”
Sing the Song over the Jordan: “How beautiful are the plants” (LXXXIII). “My baptizer rightly baptized me” (LXXXIV). “Silmai baptized us with the baptism” (LXXXV). “The Jordan in which we were baptized” (LXXXVI). “I rejoice in my disciples” (LXXXVII). Present also other hymns: “Three times I exhort and adjure” (LXXXVIII). “You I call upon and declare to you” (LXXXIX). “A disciple am I, a new one, who went to the bank of the Jordan” (XC).
Then read “Blessed and praised be the Life” of Šum bar Na (LXXI). Where it says “A wreath from the vine Ruaza” shall be erected upon the heads of these souls who descended to the Jordan and were baptized.
Colophon
Good Works Translation from Classical Mandaic by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
The Mandaic source text was read from Mark Lidzbarski’s Mandäische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 41–49, which presents the text of Bodleian MS Marsh 691 in Hebrew-letter transcription. Lidzbarski’s edition is in the public domain.
Note on the missing page: Book page 40 of Lidzbarski’s edition is absent from the available scan (Internet Archive copy), as is book page 23 (noted by previous translators). Page 40 contained the opening of Prayer XXV (approximately six lines, Lidzbarski text section 15, lines 1–6) and the Roman numeral heading. The translation of Prayer XXV begins at text section 15, line 7. The missing opening likely contained an invocation formula and initial praising lines.
Blood Rule statement: This translation was independently derived from the Classical Mandaic text as presented in Lidzbarski’s Hebrew-letter transcription. The Mandaic was read visually from high-resolution rendered images (300 DPI) of the 1920 edition. Lidzbarski’s German translation was consulted as a reference to verify difficult readings and confirm proper name identifications, but did not generate the English. The translator’s Mandaic vocabulary was developed through 76 chapters of the Book of John and 24 previous Qolasta prayers in the pipeline. Key rendering choices: “erected” for Mandaic qam (causative: to cause to stand); “established” for ṣbt (to make firm); “bound” for asr; “sealed” for ḥtm; “sprouts” for šišlia (a term of endearment for disciples); “bands” for asria; “erection” for qiamta (the ritual act of causing the baptized to stand).
Reference consulted: Ethel Stefana Drower, The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans (Leiden: Brill, 1959), was staged as a PDF scan but is image-only with no OCR layer and was not used as a text source.
Translated by Tulku Tanbō (Expeditionary Tulku, Life 145). 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, Mandäische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 41–49, 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. The complete and authoritative text for all prayers spans pages 41–49 of Lidzbarski’s edition (with page 40 missing from the available scan). Lidzbarski text section numbering: 15.7 through 18.25.
XXV (partial, from line 7)
Praising litany opening (p. 41):
The Uthras, Sons of the Light, opened their mouths: ʾūtria bnia ḏnhura ptahu pumaihu ušabhiata lmanda ḏhiia
Praised-be refrain:
mšabba manda ḏhiia (Praised be Manda d’Hayye)
mšabba yawar ziwa (Praised be Jawar-Ziwa)
Eighteen lines of praise descending through: Sührum, Ram, Tarwan, Nbat, Nsab, Sar, Sarwan, the Mana, the countenance of glory, the dwelling of the blessed, the paths and ways, the light-worlds, the Shekinas, Abathur’s voice, Abathur, the ten thousand Uthras, Silmai and Nidbai, Hibil-Šitil-Anōš.
Banishing formula (p. 42):
garsi u parsi min NN u min nišmata halin ḏlaiardna naḥtin uṣbia (Ban and remove from me NN and from these souls who descended to the Jordan and were baptized)
Confession (p. 42):
manda ḏhiia! puṭṭ ʾainiak ʾal raḥmāk ušišliak utarmidaiak (Manda d’Hayye! Turn your eyes upon your friends, your sprouts, and your disciples)
Closing formula (p. 43):
bšuma ḏsarhabil ziwnana rba qamdaia ... uḥašuka mitkabba unhura mitqaima (In the name of Sarhabel, the great, first radiance... the darkness held down and the light established)
uhiia zakin (And praised be the Life)
XXVI
bšma ḏhiia (In the name of Life)
asrin ubrikhin nišmata halin ḏlaiardna naḥtin uṣbia bamṣbihon bḥila ḏšuma ḏhiia rba (Bound and blessed be these souls who descended to the Jordan and were baptized, by the power of the name of the great Life)
ṣbiʿin bṣbiʿuta ḏbirham rba (Baptized with the baptism of the great Bihram)
uhiia zakin (And praised be the Life)
XXVII
bšma ḏhiia (In the name of Life)
min aṣar hiia abad niʿba (Through the Treasure of Life we were erected)
Key formula (p. 44):
qaria ana lḥaila ʿlaiia nukraiia ušbia rba ḏʿal kul ʿbidta qaim (I call upon the mighty, alien, exalted Life, which stands above all works)
uhiia zakin (And the Life is victorious)
XXVIII
asrin uṣbiʿin nišmata halin (Bound and sealed be these souls)
uhiia zakin (And the Life is victorious)
Communion Rubric (p. 45)
arba ṣbiʿata ... piḥta umambuha (Four sealing prayers... Pihta and Mambuha)
XXIX
bšma ḏhiia (In the name of Life)
atun bnia brukia (You are erected, blessed ones)
uhiia zakin (And the Life is victorious)
XXX
Opening refrain (p. 46):
ma ʿbad abuk ʿmak nišmata biuma rba ḏnatʿbitun (What has your father done with you, o soul, on the great day when you were established?)
Baptismal description refrain:
laiardna anḥatn uaṣʿbitni (He led me down into the Jordan and planted me there)
lgadpa asiqn uauqimn (He led me up to its bank and set me upright)
piḥta amadalri abad niʿba (He prepared Pihta and handed it to me)
šaba bkasa uaštiian (He spoke the blessing over the cup and gave me to drink)
ušum ḏhurba adkar ʿlai (He spoke the name of the mighty [Life] over me)
Three elements:
ṭura (mountain) — “If I climb the mountain, I will fall and vanish again from the world”
nura (fire) — “If I go through the fire, I will be scalded and vanish again from the world”
iama (sea) — “If I go into the sea, I will drown and vanish again from the world”
Triumph refrain:
sliqt lṭura ula naplit (I climbed the mountain and did not fall)
ʿalt bnura ula nišlaqt (I went through the fire and was not scalded)
ʿalt biama ula ṭbaʿt (I went into the sea and did not drown)
Closing (p. 49):
ʿin hiia ʿiin hiia ḏhiia ikpil lʿalmin alma uhiia zakin (O Life, o, o Life — the Life was victorious over this world. The Life is victorious)
Source Colophon
Classical Mandaic text from: Mark Lidzbarski, ed., Mandäische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 41–49 (section numbering 15.7 through 18.25). 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.
Book page 40 is absent from the available scan, resulting in the loss of the opening lines of Prayer XXV (text section 15, lines 1–6). This page was also absent for previous translators (cf. book page 23, also missing). The missing content does not affect the remaining five prayers or the two liturgical rubrics.
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