The Greek "Legend of Isaiah"

[From Paris National Library cod. Gr. 1534 as published by O. von 
Gebhardt in ZWT 21 (1978) 30-53 and (in part) by R. H. Charles in 
his edition of Ascension of Isaiah (1900) 141-148. English 
translation copyright Robert Kraft, 2 March 1993]


The Prophecy, Revelation and Witness of the Holy and Glorious and 
Greatest of the Prophets, Isaiah the Prophet

1.1 
It happened in the 25th year when Hezekiah was reigning in 
Jerusalem he called Manasseh his son, who was 11 years 
old, before Isaiah the prophet and Jasoum [?Jasoub] his son.
1.2
And when he came, he delivered to him the words of the prophecy, 
(words) that the blessed Isaiah saw [said?], and the descent and 
departure of the beloved from the seventh heaven into Hades, and 
the transformation which was transformed before his disciples and 
the words which king Hezekiah saw [said?] in his illness. 
1.3
And as Somnas the scribe and Asour the secretary heard that the 
great Isaiah was coming from Galgalon to Jerusalem, and that he 
would be accompanied by 40 sons of prophets and Jasoum his son, 
they announced to Hezekiah concerning his arrival (eleusews).

1.4
Now when king Hezekiah heard these things he rejoiced with very 
great joy and when he went out to meet the blessed Isaiah he took 
his hand and led him into the palace of his kingdom,
1.5
and he commanded that a seat (difron) be placed for him. 
But he did not sit on the seat (difron), but on the couch 
(klinhn) of the king.
1.6 
Then Hezekiah the king took Manasseh his son and led him to the 
blessed Isaiah the prophet, so that he might put his hands on him 
and bless him. 
But when the great prophet Isaiah saw Manasseh, he laughed
at him and said to Hezekiah:
I cannot bless Manasseh who is about to punish (timwrein) me 
with great and bitter tortures. 
1.7
And Hezekiah said to the holy prophet Isaiah:
Father, bless Manassah my son.
1.8
But he said:
As Lord my God lives and his son the beloved and the spirit that 
speaks in me, that by the hands of Manassah your son I will 
depart (apallaghsomai) life with bitter tortures.
1.9
For Satan dwells in the heart of Manassah your son and I will 
be sawn (prisqhsomai) in two by him with a wooden saw from head 
to feet, and many from Jerusalem and from Judah will depart from 
the living God and worship idols.


1.10
But when he heard these things Hezekiah the king was very sad and 
tore his garments and wept bitterly, and threw dirt on his head 
and spread out (upestrwsato) sackcloth and ashes, and fell on his 
face as though dead.
1.11
And the great prophet of God, Isaiah, said to king Hezekiah:
Don't console yourself, nor weep nor wail. For it is necessary 
that the plan of Satan be fulfilled in your son Manasseh.
1.12
Now in that hour Hezekiah the king decided to kill his son 
Manassah. But Somnas the secretary said to the holy prophet Isaiah 
that Hezekiah the king wants to kill his son on account of you.
1.13
And the great Isaiah said to Hezekiah the king:
The Lord God and his beloved curses your plan, for this can never 
be. For it is necessary for me above all (ek pantos!) to depart 
from this life by being punished (timwrhqenta) by the hands of 
Manasseh your son. 

1.14
Now the great Isaiah dug in Jerusalem in the earth with his own 
hands (oikeiais xersin) and found much water, and named it the 
spring Siloam, which means "sent." [see below, ch 4 !]

2.1 
Now after these things when Hezekiah the king summoned the holy 
Isaiah the prophet into the palace he came in to him. 
And when the great prophet Isaiah sat on the king's couch, he was 
taken by a trance and his mind/rationality was taken from this 
world. 
2.2
And as this happened, Somnas the secretary began to say that the 
holy Isaiah has died. Then when Hezekiah the king entered and 
grasped his hand he knew that he was not dead but was taken up, 
that is to say, had changed location (?hgoun metesth); because 
the presence (?emfushma) of life was in him.  
2.3
But thus reclining on the couch of the king in his ecstacy he 
spent three days and three nights. 

2.4 
And when the great prophet Isaiah saw the amazing (ecaisia) and 
inconceivable (akatanohta) and marvelous (paradoca) works in 
the heavans of the God who loves humans, with the inherited
(patrikhn) glory also of the beloved son and the spirit, with 
the company (tacin) and chorus (xorostasian) of the holy angels. 
And he heard also the mysterious and secret (arrhta kai 
aporrhta) words/things (rhemata) of God. Then also his soul 
returned in his body. 

2.5
And when this happened the great Isaiah called Jasoum his son and 
Somnas the scribe and Hezekiah the king and all those nearby who 
all were worthy of hearing what the holy prophet Isaiah saw.

2.6
It happened, he said, as I was prophesying the oracle concerning 
Babylon, and I saw God's angel glorified. But it was not in 
harmony (kata) with the company of the angels which (angels) I 
had seen then that I beheld now, but he had much and abounding 
glory. 
2.7
And he said to me:                
Listen to me, Isaiah son of Amos. For it was for this reason that 
I sent to have you come up to the seventh heaven, so that you 
might see the mysteries of God, even the Lord of glory, and his 
son the beloved.
2.8
And I was very pleased (eufranqhn panu) that he spoke 
gently (praews) to me.

2.9
And when he took me, immediately he went up in the firmament of 
heaven. And I saw Satan there, sitting in the firmament of 
heaven, and I had much fear concerning him, and a great 
confusion (akatastasian). For one was desiring to plunder 
and wrong the one, while the sitting one rejoiced greatly (panu)
over these evil deeds.  
2.10
And I said to the divine angel who was with me:
Lord, who is this who rejoices over the corruption and injustice 
and the irresolvable (aspondw) war? 
2.11 
And he said to me:
I am not Lord, but I am your co-servant. But he is the one who 
rules (krathsas) the world, which/whom (on) he will cast down 
from this firmament and will send out the depth (buqon) to 
destruction, the one who is about to descend from the heavens and 
to live among (sunanastrefesqai) humans according to our forms 
(eideas), the son of God. 

2.12
And again he led me up into the first heaven and I saw there 
around the middle of the heaven a throne, with glorious and 
divine angels standing at the left side (aristerous) and hymning 
with unsilenced (asightw) voice. 
2.13
And I said to the divine angel who was with me:
To whom is this hymn directed? 
And he said to me:
This hymn is directed to the glory and honor of the one who sits 
in the seventh heaven, the great and incomprehensible 
(akatalhptou) God.

2.14
And thereupon (eiq outws) he led me up into the second heaven, 
and I saw there a throne around the middle of the heaven, with 
glorious bodiless ones on the left side, hymning that great and 
incomprehensible God. And the hymn was fuller in the second 
heaven than the first. 


2.15
And after these things he led me up into the third heaven, and I 
saw also there a throne around the middle of the heaven and an 
unnumbered multitude of angels and archangels hymning that great 
and incomprehensible one. And the hymn in the third heaven was 
greater than the rest. 
2.16
And while I was still in the third heaven I reasoned in myself 
and said: 
Is it possible to be known here of the deeds done by the wicked 
and good humans in the world below?
2.17
And the divine angel who was with me said:
I know what you thought in your mind, Isaiah. Let it be for now, 
for when I take you up into the seventh heaven, then you will 
know accurately that nothing escapes (lanqanei) the divine one 
from the events in that corrupted world.

2.18
And again he led me up into the fourth heaven and I saw there 
also a throne around the middle of the heaven, and around the 
throne angels and archangels hymning that great and 
incomprehensible one and his only-born son, our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

2.19
And thereupon (eiq outws) he led me up into the fifth heaven and 
I saw also there a throne around the middle of the heaven, and 
an unnumbered multitude of angels and archangels.
2.20
Now there were in the fifth heaven also living beings beneath the 
throne mixed with the angels, hymning that great and 
incomprehensible one. 

2.21
And he led me up into the sixth heaven and I was no longer able 
to stand (hyposthnai) the illumination and the lights. And I 
was greatly afraid and fell on my face.
2.22
And the divine angel who was with me said to me:
Listen, Isaiah prophet, son of Amos. Do not worship either angels 
or archangels or lordships or thrones until I tell you. And 
grasping me by (ek) the hand he fortified the spirit that is in 
me.

2.23
And when we came up into the seventh heaven I heard a voice sent 
forth from below and saying:
How long until the spirit which is about now (akmhn) to dwell in 
flesh ascends here? 
And after these things again I heard another voice from above 
saying:
Let the righteous Isaiah be forbidden (afeqhtw) [to come up; for 
.... 
And I heard another voice saying:
Permit the righteous Isaiah] to come up; for here is also his 
throne, and here is his crown, and here is his rest. 

2.24
And I said to the divine angel which was with me:
I beg you, who is the one hindering (kwluwn) me not to come up 
and who is the one permitting me to come up? 
2.25
And the angel who was with me said to me:
The one hindering you to come up is the angel that is appointed 
over (efestws) the hymns of the five heavens; but the one 
permitting you to come up is the Lord of glory, the son of the 
living God, whom also you have to imagine (idesqai exeis) coming 
from the heavens into the earth in accord with these days. This 
one now worship and hymn and glorify. 

2.26
And as he led me up into the seventh heaven I heard another voice 
saying to me:
Be strong, Isaiah, son of Amos. 
And immediately the spirit which speaks in me was strengthened.
2.27
And I saw there all the righteous from Adam; Abel the righteous 
and Seth the righteous, Hareth the righteous and Enoch the 
righteous and all those that had come from those righteous ones.
2.28
And I saw as they worshipped, and I also fell down with them and 
worshipped. And I stood up on my feet.
2.29
And when they returned that which is necessary for worship (?) 
the Lord sat on the right and summoning me he said to me:
Listen up, Isaiah son of Amos, and be aware that no one here of 
humans goes up, nor does anyone else see what things you see, 
since you are about to return to the garment of flesh.

2.30
And with reference to these things he gave me a book in my hands 
and said to me:
Take this and read what things I said in the third heaven, when I 
came up there, and know that nothing escapes notice (lanqanei) 
from the deeds that occurred in that world, whether evil or good.
2.31
And I took the book from his hand and read. And behold every 
record (apografh) of every human from eternity to eternity was in 
it, both of good and of evil, until they were also considered 
(enqumhsewn). 
2.32
And when I read the book I said:
Truly, Master, nothing escapes notice here of the things done 
in that world.

2.33
And thereupon the Lord said to me:
Return straightway, Isaiah, to your garment of flesh. For it is 
necessary for you to fulfil the time of your life in the corrupt 
world.
2.34
And I besought him saying:
Master, don't release me to that vain world.
But again answering he said:
Go thither (ekeise), for not yet is the time of your life 
fulfilled.

2.35
And I fell at his feet begging that I not be sent into the world. 
And as he was still there the Lord said to me:
Why are you crying, Isaiah? Behold your place, behold your 
throne, behold your crown, behold also all your garments which 
have been prepared in advance for you.
2.36
For it is necessary that when you have completed your witness by 
a fate (klhrw) of wood (culou) you ascend here. For the 
transgressors will saw you with a wooden saw and will dissect 
you from head to feet in two. 

2.37
And as he said these things to me I heard the voice of the great 
and exalted (ephrmenou) God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
whose glory I was not able to see, saying to my Lord and Christ 
who is called Jesus in this world: 
2.38
Go out, child, and descend heaven by heaven quietly (hrema). And 
you will descend also into that world which is ruled by the idols 
from of old, and those that worship them, who derided me and 
said: 
We are gods, and beside us there is no other god! 
2.39
Just so will you descend even to the angel of Hades in Jerusalem; 
he will not depart until you die. 
2.40
And it will be that when you are killed by them, you will ascend 
here. Then you will sit at my right hand and all the angels will 
worship you, archangels, thrones, lordships, arxai, powers, and 
all the powers of the heavens, and all the hosts of the heavens 
will know tht you are Lord with me of these seven heavans and of 
all the powers.

2.41
These things I heard of the glory of the great one saying to my 
Lord and Christ; and after these things the Lord descended from 
the seventh heaven and came into the sixth heaven. And there all 
the powers of the heavens glorified, hymned, worshipped the Lord.
2.42
And I saw how the Lord went out from the [sixth] heaven and came 
into the fifth heaven. There they did not glorify, they did not 
hymn nor did they worship. For his form was not as theirs. For he 
became an angel among angels, an archangel among archangels, and 
a power among powers. 
2.43
And thus he went through quietly (hrema) in order, and the 
remaining heavens in such a form and came through into the 
earthly and mortal world with the blessing of the father as the 
Lord himself alone willed. 

3.1  
Now Hezekiah the king died and was placed with his fathers, and 
Manasseh his son received his kingdom.
3.2
But king Manasseh did not remember the commandments of his 
father, but forgot them all. And he neglected the service of 
God and made in accord with his will idols of gold and silver, 
and served Satan and his angels and his powers.

3.3
And the whole house of his father turned away (ecekline) from the 
service and worship of God. And they served the devil and his 
angels, with also the profane (bebhlwn) and unclean idols, and 
magic and illicit sex and incantation (epaoidia) and omen 
(klhdonismos) and falsehood were made complete in them, and all 
the pious who were living in accord with God were persecuted. 

3.4 
Then, therefore, the great Isaiah prophesied concerning the city 
of Jerusalem saying: 
Thus says Lord God: She the beloved and elect city will be given 
over into the hands of Salmanassar king of Babylon, and Manasseh 
the king and his wife and his sons and his officials will be 
taken (axqhsontai) as prisoners into Babylon. 
3.5 
And as Melchias the false prophet heard these things prophesied 
by the great Isaiah and speaking concerning Jerusalem and those 
who dwell in her, he said to king Manasseh: 
3.6 
King, Isaiah prophesied severe (xalepa) and entirely terrible 
things (panu deina) concerning Jerusalem and all the cities of 
Judah, saying that she the city will be given over into the hands 
of Babylon, and Manasseh the king and his wife and his sons and 
all his officials will be taken captive into Babylon in chains 
and fetters (?pedais kai galeagrais) and king Manasseh shall be a 
prisoner in the house of the Babylonians. 

3.7 
Then as great wrath and anger filled king Manasseh when he heard 
these things, he commanded Melchias the false prophet to arrest 
the great Isaiah, since he prophesied terrible and severe things 
on Jerusalem. 
3.8 
Now the great prophet Isaiah was departing from Jerusalem since 
he could not endure (hupoferein) a vision that lawlessness and 
prodigality (aswtian) are in her, and the worship and service of 
Satan. And departing he sat down opposite Bethlehem. 
3.9 
And much lawlessness was there. Wherefore moving again from there 
he sat in a certain mountain, in a place that was quiet and 
clean, glorifying without restraint (?adialeiptws) the God who 
loves humans. And not only did he go up, but also Michaiah the 
prophet and Habakkuk and Jasoum his son and Annas the aged, and 
many others of those who believed in the heavens. 

3.10 
But also when Melchias and Becheiras the false prophets went up 
they took the holy Isaiah the prophet, 
3.11 
and when they had led him to Manasseh the king he said to him: 
Isaiah, why do you prophesy evil against Jerusalem and against me 
and my child? 
3.12 
And the great prophet Isaiah said to Manasseh:  
King, I am not prophesying evil against this city, but I proclaim 
the things that are about to happen to her. 

3.13 
For as the Lord my God lives, and his beloved son, and his spirit 
that speaks in me that she the beautiful and great city will be 
given over into the hands of sinful and shameless (anaidwn) 
persons because of the lawless acts of the people who dwells in 
her, and you also, king Manasseh, they will lead away in fetters 
and shackles as a prisoner to Babylon. 

3.14 
Then as king Manasseh was very irate concerning the things he 
heard with bitter words he commanded straightway (?pareuqu) that 
the holy Isaiah be sawed with an iron saw. 
3.15 
And when this took place in order, and he had been sawn for an 
ample period of time, the iron did not touch him at all. 
3.16 
Then the holy Isaiah the prophet said to Manasseh: 
King, you know that I was chosen to be sawn with a wooden saw, 
and it is impossible to do this otherwise. Then king Manasseh 
ordered to saw him with a wooden saw. 

3.17 
And when he was being sawn, Melchias the false prophet stood face 
to face with him saying: 
Say that you (?) have not prophesied these things concerning 
Jerusalem, and these tortures (basanoi) will be taken from you. 
3.18 
And the holy Isaiah said to him: 
Curses on you Melchias false prophet, devil. For as the Lord my 
God lives so also lives his spirit that speaks in me that 
Jerusalem, she the great and spacious (euruxwros) city will 
finally be devastated, and Manasseh and his children and his wife 
and his officials and the people of this city will be taken as 
captives into Babylon. 
3.19 
And when the blessed Isaiah had said these things, they sawed him 
in two with a wooden saw. 

4.1
And thus dying bitterly and inhumanely (apanqrwpws), the blessed 
and holy Isaiah the prophet was placed under the oak of Arwel 
.... 
[continues with the material in Lives of the Prophets: Isaiah 
practically verbatim and entire] 

...

4.11
To the embassy (presbeiais), O God, of Isaiah your prophet and to 
us, send your mercy in abundance (plousia). For blessed are you 
at all times, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen 

//end//