Col. 1
1 For [. . . of] the war. The first attack of the Sons
of Light shall be launched against the lot of the Sons of Darkness, against
the army of Belial, against the troop of Edam, Moab, the sons of Ammon
2 and [. . .] Philistia, and against the troops of the Kittim of Asshur,
these being helped by those who violate the covenant. The sons of Levi,
the sons of Judah, and the sons of Benjamin, the exiles of the wilderness,
shall wage war against them
3 [...] according to all their troops, when the exiles, the Sons of Light,
return from the wilderness of the peoples to encamp in the wilderness
of Jerusalem. After the battle, they shall depart from there.
4 [... of] the Kittim in Egypt. When his time (has arrived) he shall march
out with great fury to wage war against the kings of the north, his wrath
(aiming) at exterminating and cutting off the horn
5 [...]a time of salvation for God's people and a time of dominion for
all the men of his lot, but of everlasting destruction for all the lot
of Belial. There shall be panic '
6 [...] the sons of Japhet, Asshur shall fall down, there will be no rescue
for it; the Kittim's dominion shall come to an end, wickedness being subdued
without a remnant; neither shall there be an escape
7 f[or the Son]s of Darkness.
8 But [the Sons of Rig]hteousness shall shine unto all the uttermost ends
of the world, going on to shine till the completion of all the appointed
times of darkness. At the appointed time of God, his exalted greatness
shall shine to all the ends of
9 [...] for peace and blessing, glory, joy, and long life for all the
Sons of Light. On the day of the Kittim's fall, there shall be clash and
fierce carnage before the God of
10 Israel for this is the day he has appointed long ago for a destructive
war against the Sons of Darkness. On this (day) they shall clash in a
great carnage; the congregation of divine beings and the assembly of
11 men, the Sons of Light and the lot of darkness, shall fight each other
to (disclose?) the might of God, with the uproar of a large multitude
and the war cry of divine beings and men, on the day of calamity. This
(is) a time of
12 tribulaton '[...]the people whom God redeems; of all their tribulations
none was comparable to this, because of its hastening towards the end
for an everlasting redemption.
- - -
Col. 8
1 The trumpets shall keep blowing to conduct the slingers
until they have finished throwing seven
2 times. Then the priests shall blow for them on the trumpets of withdrawal,
and they shall come to the side of the
3 first line to station themselves in their position.The priests shall
blow the trumpets of summoning, and
4 three skirmishing battalions shall march out from the gates and take
position between the lines, beside them the mounted men
5 on the right and on the left. The priests shall blow on the trumpets
a level sound, the signal of battle array,
6 and the columns shall be spreading out to their formations, each man
to his position. When they stand in three formations,
7 the priests shall blow for them a second alarm, a low and legato sound,
the signal of marching, until they approach
8 the line of the enemy, and stretch out their hand(s) to the weapons.
The priests shall blow on the six trumpets
9 of the slain a shrill staccato sound to conduct the battle; the Levites
and the entire horn band shall blow
10 together a great war alarm to melt the enemy's heart. With the sound
of the alarm,
11 the war javelins shall go out to bring down the slain. The sound of
the horns shall cease, but on the t[ru]mpets .
12 the priests shall keep blowing a shrill staccato sound, conducting
the fighting hands, until they have thrown
13 the enemy seven times. Then the priests shall blow for them on the
trumpets of withdrawal into the line of
14 a low, level, legato sound. According to this rule shall the [pr]iests
blow for the three battalions. With
15 the first cast,. [. . .] shall blow [. . . ] a great-sound of alarm
16 to conduct the bat[tle…]
- - -
Col. 18
1 [... .] When the great hand of God is [rai]sed against
Belial and against all [. . .] of his dominion
in an everlasting slaughter
2 [...] and the alarm of the holy ones when they pursue Asshur; the sons
of Japhet will be falling down without recovery; the Kittim shall be crushed
without
3 [...]the upraising of the hand of the God of Israel against all the
multitude .of Belial. At that time, the priests shall blow
4 [... the trum]pets of memorial; all the battle lines shall gather towards
them and they shall divide against all [. . . of the K]ittim
5 to annihilate them [...] the sun shall hasten to go down, on that day,
(then) they shall take position "(namely) the chief priest, the priests
and the [Levite]s who
6 (are) with him, the chi [efs of ... of] the rule. They shall bless there
the God of Israel. They shall speak up saying, "Blessed be your name,
God of [god]s, for
7 you have made great with yo[ur] people [...] to do wonders. You have
kept your covenant for us since long ago. The gates of deliverances you
have opened many times for us
8 for the sa[ke of] your [co]venant [...]' our oppression according to
your goodness towards us. You, O God of righteousness, have acted for
the sake of your name."
Source: The Dead Sea Scrolls, edited by James
H. Charlesworth, Westminster-John Knox Press