First Book, Prayers XV–XXV
The Oxford Collection continues with eleven prayers organized into two liturgical sets: the Sunday set (Prayers XV–XIX) and the Monday set (Prayers XX–XXV). Each set closes with a rubric assigning its prayers to the appropriate day of the week. The liturgical calendar of the Oxford Collection is now emerging: the daily cycle (Prayers I–XIV) gave the framework; these weekly sets assign specific prayers to Sunday and Monday.
The Sunday set contains brief liturgical pieces: a hymn to Sunday as the day of Manda d-Hayye's splendor (XV), a fragment asserting divine pre-existence (XVI), the Voice of Living Water that transforms turbidity into brightness (unnumbered), a four-line invocation to the Lord of Prayers (XVII), a cascading poem of the cosmic tree and throne (XVIII) with its associated homily on the gentle and the ungentle, and a brief petition closing the set (XIX).
The Monday set opens with the longest and most dramatic prayer in this sequence: The Cloud and the Planter (XX), a cascading cosmological poem in which the divine messenger describes his descent in a cloud, the building he raised upon it, the plants he set in it — followed by the most explicit anti-Christ polemic in the entire Mandaean liturgy, warning the faithful against "the vain Jesus Christ, who twists the forms and alters the words of my mouth." Further prayers develop the themes of the Sprout from the Jordan (XXI), the man of proven righteousness persecuted by all the worlds yet supported by the Life (XXII), the Chosen One clothed in splendid garments (XXIII), the farewell dialogue of the departing teacher who commands the world to hold fast to the olive staff (XXIV), and the cosmogonic opening of the gate of the Eggs (XXV).
Good Works Translation from Classical Mandaic. Translated from the Mandaic text in Hebrew-letter transcription as published in Mark Lidzbarski's edition, Mandaische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 186–196 (PDF pages 216–226). Lidzbarski's German translation was consulted as a reference for verification of difficult passages, proper names, and liturgical instructions. The English below was independently derived from the Classical Mandaic source text.
The Sunday Set
XV. My Day
What is my day among the days? A day.
What is my hour among the hours? An hour.
What is my day among the days?
The day on which the splendor of Manda d-Hayye arose.
My day is Sunday, the head of the days —
the day on which the splendor of Manda d-Hayye arose.
On my day the splendor of Sunday rose over us
and illuminated us beyond all measure.
XVI. Before You Were
Before the eyes . . .
before my heart . . .
before you were,
I was already in the world.
The following passage follows Prayer XVI in the manuscript without a separate heading. It may be a liturgical supplement or a second section of XVI.
It is the Voice of living water
that transforms the turbid water.
It swells and takes on brightness;
it pours and casts the turbidity away.
What does the First One have,
that from the turbidity he desires sons?
The voices have been called out
and all the speeches reckoned.
One Voice comes
and teaches above all voices.
One Speech comes
and teaches above all speeches.
One Man comes
and teaches about this and that.
Us who praise our Lord —
you will forgive our sins and transgressions.
You were victorious, Manda d-Hayye,
and you grant victory to all your friends.
And the Life is victorious.
XVII. O Lord of Prayers
O Lord of prayers,
O Lord of petitions, hymns, and right ordinances,
O Lord of prayer and praise —
hear my cry and condemn me not.
XVIII. The Fruit and the Tree
Beyond the six and seven peoples,
the fruit is raised upon the tree.
Raised upon the tree is the fruit,
and the trees gather around her.
Around her the trees gather,
and a throne is raised for the Chief of the Radiant Ones.
A throne is raised for the Chief of the Radiant Ones,
and the Chief of the Radiant Ones sits upon it.
Before him the recompense is raised,
with which he rewards the perfect.
He rewards the perfect —
each one according to the works of his hands.
The following passage follows Prayer XVIII in the manuscript without a separate heading.
He speaks:
Every one who was gentle and dealt —
he shall come and take with both hands.
Every one who was not gentle and did not deal
stands empty in the house of the toll-collector.
He seeks and does not find;
he asks and is not granted.
Because he had it in his hand and did not give,
he searches his purse and finds nothing.
Praised be you, Manda d-Hayye,
who do not condemn your friends.
XIX. Petition to the Life
I direct a petition to the Life —
you, mighty Life, I petition.
I direct a petition to the Life:
"Raise your praise over me."
These three songs and three hymns are for Sunday.
The Monday Set
XX. The Cloud and the Planter
In the name of the great Life,
glorified be the sublime Light.
In the beginning I went forth in a cloud,
from you, radiant dwelling.
In the beginning I went forth in a cloud,
from the building that the Great One built.
From the building that the Great One built,
I came — my Planter had planted me.
I came — my Planter had planted me,
by the counsel he took with the great Life.
By the counsel he took with the Great One,
it sent me to raise a building.
A building I was to raise for the good,
the truthful, believing men.
I built, I raised it
and set it high upon the cloud.
I planted in it the plants of the Life —
truthful, believing men.
I command my Builder:
Set your eyes upon my plants.
Upon my plants set your eyes,
that they not lie sleeping
and the good forget what was commanded them.
That they not sleep, that they not lie down,
that the good not forget what was commanded them.
That they not forget me
and apostasy come upon them.
Take heed, my brothers.
Take heed, my friends.
Take heed, my brothers,
of the vain Jesus Christ,
of him who twists the forms
and alters the words of my mouth.
If you take heed, my brothers,
if you take heed, my friends,
if you take heed, my brothers —
when you depart from your bodies,
I shall be your helper,
a helper and a support
from the place of darkness
to the place of Light.
You were victorious, Manda d-Hayye,
and you grant victory to all friends of your name.
XXI. The Great Sprout
At the summit of the pure . . .
by the wondrous lamp,
I looked out and beheld the great Sprout
that was planted from the great Jordan of the first Life.
Wondrous is his voice, sweet his fragrance,
radiant and exalted his form.
And the Life is victorious.
XXII. The Man of Proven Righteousness
The man of proven righteousness
sprouted and shone in the world.
He sprouted in the world and shone
and spoke by the power of the mighty Life.
By the power of the mighty Life he spoke
and revealed hidden mysteries.
Hidden mysteries he revealed
and laid splendor over his friends.
Over his friends he laid splendor,
yet all the worlds persecuted him.
When he saw that the worlds persecuted him,
he raised his eyes to the Light-place.
They opened for him the gate of the Light,
raised him up, and supported him upon the Life.
The Life supported the Life;
his own found his own,
his own found the Life,
and my soul found what she hoped for.
You were victorious, Manda d-Hayye,
and you grant victory to all your friends.
And the Life is victorious.
XXIII. The Chosen One
O man of proclamation, Chosen One,
you who were chosen from the world —
may your eyes shine for you, good one,
you whom they clothed in splendid garments.
At your call and your preaching, the great Life
has received your prayer and your praise.
XXIV. Where Are You Going?
Where are you going, man of proven righteousness,
for whom all his friends long?
All your friends long for you
and wish to have your form among them.
I have gone to raise a building
yonder in the world.
I built, I raised it
and set it high upon the cloud.
I planted in it plants of the Life —
truthful, believing men.
I command my Builder,
the man who watches over the building.
I command my Builder:
Set your eyes upon my plants.
Upon my plants set your eyes,
that they not lie sleeping
and the good forget what was commanded them.
The man called out to the world,
from one end of the world to the other.
The man called out to the world and spoke:
Blessed is he who watches over himself. A man who
watches over himself has no equal in the world.
The men who stand firm shall live,
but those who turn away shall perish.
Those who turn away shall perish,
but those who stand firm shall find firmness.
Hold fast to your olive staff
and endure the persecution of the world.
The world's persecution endure
with truthful, believing heart.
Worship me in uprightness,
that I may stand before you and be your helper,
a helper and a support
from the place of darkness to the place of Light.
And the Life is victorious.
XXV. The Day of the Eggs
On the day when they opened the great gate of the Eggs,
the splendor of the King grew over the precious Uthras.
Prayer and praise came to the truthful, believing men.
They rejoice in him and are proud of him, and let their prayer
and their praise ascend to the Light-place.
These three songs and three hymns are for Monday.
Colophon
Good Works Translation of the Qolasta, Oxford Collection, First Book, Prayers XV through XXV. Translated from Classical Mandaic by Tulku Sagara, the Expeditionary Tulku (Life 161), working from Mark Lidzbarski's transcription of the Oxford manuscripts (designated A and B) in Mandaische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 186–196.
These eleven prayers constitute the Sunday and Monday liturgical sets of the Oxford Collection. The Sunday set (XV–XIX) contains brief liturgical pieces culminating in a rubric assigning them to Sunday worship. The Monday set (XX–XXV) contains the most theologically substantial prayers in this section, including the Cloud and the Planter (XX) — the longest prayer in the First Book after the Great Doxology and Confession — and the Man of Proven Righteousness (XXII), a cascading cosmological poem whose structure mirrors Prayer XIV.
Prayer XX contains the most explicit anti-Christ polemic in the Mandaean liturgy. The divine Planter warns: "Take heed, my brothers, of the vain Jesus Christ, of him who twists the forms and alters the words of my mouth." This is consistent with the Mandaean position attested elsewhere in the Qolasta (Prayer XXIII of Part One: "not in the name of God, the Spirit, Christ, or Astarte"; Prayer XC of Part Four: "My sign was not the fire, not the sign of Christ") but is uniquely explicit in naming Yishu Krista and specifying the accusation: corruption of the original teaching.
Prayer XVI is fragmentary — Lidzbarski notes textual difficulties and marks lacunae. The unnumbered passages following XVI and XVIII appear in the manuscript without heading numbers; they may be liturgical supplements, second sections of the preceding prayers, or standalone texts that Lidzbarski chose not to number.
Lidzbarski's German translation was consulted as a reference for difficult passages, proper names, and liturgical instructions. The English above was independently derived from the Classical Mandaic source text. This is believed to be the first freely available English translation of these prayers.
First English translation. 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 186–196, Oxford manuscripts A and B. The text below is transcribed from high-resolution 300 DPI images of Lidzbarski's edition. Due to the age of the printing and the complexity of the Mandaic script, some character readings carry minor uncertainty; the complete and authoritative text is available in the Lidzbarski edition via Internet Archive.
XV
יומאי מאלו ביומיא יומא יומאי מאלו בשאייא שיתא דהא יומאי מאלו ביומיא יומאי דיוייא דמאנדא דהייא דנא יומאי האבשאבא בריש יומיא יומאי דיוייא דמאנדא דהייא דנא יומאי דנא יוייא דהאבשאבא לאלמאיאן ואסתירינן מן ריש בריש
XVI
כן קאדמו שיניא אניי ויכן קאדמו חזוראתא לכאא כן קאדמו דאתהון דוואידון אנא דודיבא באלטא
XVI (continued, unnumbered)
נאניגבריא שאותהא ושאלינותהא על כולו דנתלייא שטמני נאאסכינו חוקנא אסידין דהאמין פורייא לכן דודיבא כאייא בניי דאמנין למייא תאלמייא שפמני מאאסכינו חוקנא אינאי לישיתלאי תריין אתיא הדא קאלו אחדא הדא קאלו אתיא הדא נאבריא אתיא הדא נאבריא ואבית כולהון דאאתמאד אנן דישתבחינן למאנדא דהייא רבנא אנן דישבקינן מן חטאהיא וסרחאניא דהייא זאכי ומזכי כל רחמוהי
XVII
יאמאריא ראחמיא יאמאריא באוותא והראשייא ויסורייא תאקניא יאמאריא בותא והושביחתהא שומא לקאלאי ולמתאנאסא עלאי
XVIII
לבאר כן שית ושאבא אמואניא פורא לעאלנא תריין פורא תריין לעאלנא ועאלניא לווותהא כאנפיא עאלנניא מאנפיא לוותהא כורסייא תריין לראב יוייא תריין וראב יוייא יתוב עלה כורסייא תריין לראב יוייא דישאלמולון לשמאלטאניא כול עניש כד על עובאדיא עדה פשאלמולנא מישתאלמולון
XVIII (continued, unnumbered)
ואמאר כולו מאן דהלא ועתאנאנא נתיזא וניסבא בתאארהנון עדיה כולו מאן דלאהלא ועלעתאנאנא מרדאבית ושימתא שאבביא בעא ולא אשכח שאיל ולא יהיבלה כד ביידה הוא ולא יהב בעא בכיסה ולא אשכח משתבח אנת מנדא דהייא דלרחמך לא מתאנסת
XIX
אנא בותא מן הייא כאינן ביאמאי סיבאנכון דהייא רוביא אנא בותא מן הייא כאינין דתיקנוני לחושביחתאכון עלה תלתא שיראתא ותלתא הימנייאתא להאבשאבא
XX
בשומאידון דהייא רביא מראוראב ניהורא שאניא מן ריש באנאמא ניסקין כן ריש באנאמא ניסקין מן באנא דבאנא רביא כן באנא דבאנא רביא אתיה ונצבאני נצבאני אתיה ונצבאני נצבאני בסולכא דכון רביא בסולכא דכון רביא שלחני בניין עדן טאביא בניין עדן טאביי נאבריא דמהימנותא באנאית ושפאלית ברישהא על אנאנא אקימתה שתלית בגוה נצבתא דהייא נאבריא מהימניא דכשרותא אנא אינאי לישיתלאי שיתלאי אינאי קפאניא דלא דמכין שכבין וטאביא שכחין מא אמביא שדין לא דמכין שדיין לא שכבין שדין לא טאביא שכחין מא אמביא שדין לא ידעיני ושבקא עליהון תיפלא עידאהרולא אחאי עידאהרולא רחמאי עידאהרולא אחאי מן ישו כרסטא דכדבא דאנפאתא משחלף ומאלליא דפומאי משניא אין עידאהרילון אחאי אין עידאהרילון רחמאי אין עידאהרילון אחאי כד מן גושמייכון סליקיתון אנא דהילכון באעד וסומכא מן אתרא דחשוכא לאתרא נהורא זכיתא מנדא דהייא וזכיתא כל רחמי שומך
XXI
על ריש כיטפא דאכיא לואתהא דפאסטמכא שאניא עסקמכיית חזיתל לניבטא מאנגא דמן יארדנא רבא דהייא קאדמייא עלחנציב שאנייא קאלה ובסומה דהה אנהורילא ואסתלקותא דמותה ודהייא זאכי
XXII
נבאט ואנהאר באלטא גברא דכשרותא נבאט באלטא ואנהאר ואמאר בחילא דהייא רוביא בחילא דהייא רוביא אמאר ואגלי ראזייא סתיריא ראזייא סתיריא אגלי וזיוא על רחמוהי שדא על רחמוהי שדא זיוא וכולהון עאלמיא רדפוהי כד חזא דעאלמיא רדפוהי אינוהי לאתרא דנהורא ארים פתחולה באבא דנהורא אסלקוהי ואסמכוהי על הייא הייא דהייא אסמכוהי דילה לדילה אשכח דילה לדילה אשכח דהייא ונפשי מא דסברת אשכחת זכיתא מנדא דהייא וזכיתא כל רחמוהי ודהייא יאכין
XXIII
אתא אתא מאלכא דעותריא אזגנדא ראמא דאתא מן בית אבויא אתא וקאבל לבותי ואושביחתאי האדיבא ומתאניבא וכותהון והושביחתהון לאתאר נהור
XXIV
לאא איות בחרו ידקא פאיילאד כולהון ראחתמאד באיילאד אנא עלותי לכיבנא בנתא כחלויל בנות דאלטו אנא באנאית ושפאלית ברישהא על אנאנא אקימתה שתלית בגוה נצבתא דהייא נאבריא מהימניא דכשרותא אנא אינאי לישיתלאי שיתלאי אינאי קפאניא דלא דמכין שכבין וטאביא שכחין מא אמביא נאבריא לאלטא קרא כן אתרא לאתרא דאלטא נאבריא לאלטא קרא ואמר כולו מאן דהלא ועתאנאנא נתיזא וניסבא בתאארהנון עדיה כולו מאן דלאהלא ולמעתאנאניא באיא ולאמואתהדיבלא כול נאבריא לצויבישה לגני באיתון וישתאאתון בריראי אובותא דיאדמאהיא כין ודהייא יאכין
XXV
יומא דפתחא כאכא רבא דהילכוניא שתאויאת זיוא דמאלכא על עותהייא יאקיריא מאתלון בותא והושביחתהא לנאבריא נהור תאדיבא ומתאניבא וכותהון והושביחתהון לאתאר נהור תלתא שיראתא ותלתא הימנייאתא ליומא דתרין
Source Colophon
Classical Mandaic text from: Mark Lidzbarski, ed., Mandaische Liturgien (Berlin: Weidmann, 1920), pages 186–196. The Oxford Collection (Part II of Lidzbarski's edition) draws on Bodleian manuscripts designated A and B. Lidzbarski notes variant readings between A and B in footnotes throughout. The edition is in the public domain (published 1920, author died 1928). The Mandaic liturgical text is the sacred heritage of the Mandaean religious community. The Hebrew-letter transcription preserves Lidzbarski's system for representing the Classical Mandaic script; for the original Mandaic characters, consult the parallel sections in Lidzbarski's companion plates.
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