Odes of Solomon/Ode 6

Coptic text

And the Restrainers Could Not Restrain It

¹ As the wind moves through the lyre,

making the strings speak,

² so the spirit of the Lord speaks throughout my limbs,

making me speak by his love.

³ For he destroys alienation,

and everything is of the Lord.

⁴ For thus it was from in the beginning

and will be to the end,

⁵ so that nothing should oppose him,

and nothing stand against him.

⁶ The Lord has multiplied knowledge of himself,

and is eager that those things given to us

by his goodness should be known.

⁷ And he gave to us his praise on account of his name;

our spirits praise on account of his holy spirit.

⁸ For there went forth a stream, and it became a river great and broad;

it flooded everything, and it covered and carried the Temple.

⁹ And those who are restrainers among people could not restrain it,

nor the skills of those who restrain waters.

¹⁰ For it went over the face of the whole earth, and it fulfilled everything.

¹¹ And all the thirsty upon earth drank,

and their thirst was relieved and quenched,

¹² for from the Most High the drink was given.

¹³ Blessed, then, are the ministers of that drink,

those who have been entrusted with it.

¹⁴ They have refreshed parched lips,

and they have raised up the will that had fainted.

¹⁵ And souls that nearly departed they have held back from death.

¹⁶ And limbs that had fallen, they straightened and set upright.

¹⁷ They gave strength for their coming and light to their eyes,

¹⁸ so that everyone recognized them in the Lord.

And they lived by the water that lives forever.

Hallelujah!

Syriac text

And the Restrainers Could Not Restrain It

⁸ A stream went forth, (and) it became a river great and broad.

It swept away everything along with it and turned toward the Temple.

⁹ They could not restrain it by the dams and the places they built,

nor were those who restrain water able to restrain it by their skills.

¹⁰ It was brought over the whole earth, and it encompassed everything.

¹¹ Those who were on the dry sand drank;

their thirst was relieved and quenched

¹² when they were given the drink from the Most High.

¹³ Blessed are the ministers of that drink,

those who have been entrusted with the Lord’s water.

¹⁴ They have refreshed parched lips,

and those who were weak received heartfelt joy.

¹⁵ They have held back souls that had breathed their last so they would not die.

¹⁶ They have set upright limbs that had fallen.

¹⁷ They have given strength to their <coming> and light to their eyes.

¹⁸ For all of them have known themselves in the Lord,

and they were saved by water of eternal life.