fourth century to medieval
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NOTE |
An old prophecy attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl, one of ten oracles of the ancient world (Lactantius, Divine Institutes 1.6), allegedly interpreted the dream of one hundred Roman senators, who each saw nine suns, as an apocalyptic warning about the Antichrist and the End Times. The prophecy, apparently once wildly popular and massively influential across the Late Antique world but now obscure even among scholars of Christianity, is not as old as it claims to be, probably originating in fourth century original (c, 378-390 CE), likely Greek, whose content can only be inferred from its descendant texts. The surviving texts, medieval in date, represent two traditions. The Eastern tradition is represented by several Arabic versions dating from the ninth century onward, a version in Arabic written in Syriac letters, a late Ethiopian version adapted from the Arabic, and a lost Armenian version known only from two thirteenth-century references. The Western tradition is represented by a Latin text originating with Salic king Conrad II (1024-1039) but now existing in more than 130 manuscripts, a Welsh translation from the thirteenth century, and a late Slavonic version that may derive from the lost Greek original. Many of these texts I have published below, many for the first time in English. (Additional Arabic variants exist, but these were published more recently and translations remain under copyright.) Those translated by other hands have their translators identified; the remainder are my own translations from the German critical edition published by J. Schleifer in Vienna in 1908. I have included selections from the commentary by the various editors and translators of the texts to help place this into context. I have silently corrected some errors and outdated terminology in the material reproduced.
Gaster surmised the existence of a Greek original, but when he wrote in 1910 (revised 1925 and 1928), the Greek text was unknown. In 1967, Paul J. Alexander published a previously unknown Greek version, now known as the Oracle of Baalbek, from two Greek manuscripts. Based on internal evidence of events known and unknown to the composer of the prophecy, he dated this version to the reign of Anastasius, sometime between 502 and 506. However, it was evident to him that the Greek version postdated the oldest Latin text, which it reproduces in places nearly word-for-word, and all of the extant texts are derivatives of a fourth-century lost original. Alexander's translation remains under copyright, so I have translated the text anew from the Greek. |
IntroductionTHE SIBYL AND THE DREAM OF ONE HUNDRED SENATORS
AN OLD APOCRYPHON BY M. GASTER In addition to the more or less accredited ancient Sibylline oracles, others circulated, under the name of the one or the other of the Sibyls, which also claimed to be of equal authority. The name was a recommendation for a special kind of apocalyptic literature, and the example set of old of foretelling the future was thereby continued for many centuries. The character of this Sibylline Oracle was akin to some of the old Apocalypses, in which the future was revealed in a symbolical form, and the events to come foretold by allegories and signs, which were interpreted by the Sibyl as by one of the prophets of old. By connecting such apocalyptic revelations with some ancient name and ascribing to men or women of the past works composed at a much later time, these compositions entered into the domain of that apocryphal Christian literature which made use of old formulas for disseminating new teaching and thus prepared the mind of the people for untoward incidents. These oracles were soon drawn into the cycle of the Doomsday; the legends of Antichrist and of the Last Judgment were incorporated with the older oracle; and thus an oracle which originally may have been a mere forecast of purely political events became a religious manifesto, a prophetic pronouncement on the course of events, leading up to the final drama. Such an apocryphal oracle was then ascribed to the Sibyl of Tibur. This was one of the best known among the nations of Europe and has been preserved in two ancient Latin versions, known as the Sibyl of Beda, one, however, dependent upon the other. According to the researches of Sackur, it had assumed its last form in the ninth century, though its origin must be much older and is to be sought in the East. The most prominent feature in this oracle is a dream seen by one hundred noblemen on one and the same night, in which they saw seven or nine suns appearing on the horizon, each one distinguished from the other by some peculiarity. The Sibyl is called upon to explain the dream and what the seven or nine suns portend. This symbolical multiplication of the sun and its diverse aspects and manifestations, by which the future was to be foretold, and which required an expert interpreter, is of Oriental origin. Important events in the life of men and nations have often been connected with wonderful apparitions and signs in the skies. The appearance of the star which led the Magi from the East to the cave in Bethlehem is only one of numerous similar examples in Oriental literature. The Rabbinical literature knows of a brilliant star appearing at the birth of Abraham; and of four stars fighting, three of which were swallowed up by one at the birth of Moses. In both cases astrologers are called in to interpret their significance in the one case to Nimrod, in the other to Pharaoh. In the interpretation of those nine suns there was a wide scope given to the imagination of the successive interpreters and adaptors of the old oracle. For, after a lapse of time the same nine suns were represented as signifying some such series of events as the writer of the time took a more personal interest in. In the West, e.g., the history of the Frankish kingdom was read into it, and, as will be seen later on, in the East at a later period Muhammedan history had to do duty and become the object of the prophecy. The authors of these oracles were invariably Christians, and therefore the eschatological element was joined with the history of the appearance and spread of Christianity. The vaticination of the Sibyl did not stop at a list of succeeding kings, but the last of them was to lay down his crown at the gates of Jerusalem and thereupon was to follow the time of the Antichrist and the final struggle, until the Day of Judgment would put an end to the rule of evil, and then would be ushered in the kingdom of heaven. It was this final portion which assured to the Sibyl the popularity which her prophecy enjoyed. Professor Bousset, in his exhaustive study on the Antichrist (Der Antichrist in d. Ueberlieferung d. Judenthums, etc., Göttingen, 1895), has devoted a special chapter to the investigation of the relation in which the Latin Sibyl of Beda stands to other compilations of a similar nature. He compared it with that of Adso, Pseudo-Methodius, the Syriac homily of Pseudo-Ephraem on the Antichrist, and the genuine writings of Ephraem. The date of this apocalyptic prophecy he thus moved upwards, first to the time of the irruption of the Arabs into the West of Asia and their spread far and wide, then higher up to the epoch of Leo the Isaurian (eighth century), then the period of Heraclius, the time of the invasion of the Huns, the allied nations from Asia, and still higher up to the time of the establishment of a Christian emperor on the throne of Byzantium. We are thus led back as far as the fourth century for the latter part of the prophecy. Curiously enough, the first part, the vision of the hundred suns, is missing in those ancient texts, even in Pseudo-Methodius (Orthodoxographa, Basel, 1555, fols. 387 ff., an edition unknown to Bousset and others), and must have been lost at an early period, so soon as the legend had reached the West of Europe. In the light of Arabic versions of the legend it cannot be doubted that the dream of the hundred suns was not only an integral part, but the very starting-point. In it lay the justification for ascribing the prophecy to the Sibyl and ensuring to it a wide circulation. It is precisely this first part which claims our attention. Thus far no old parallels nor any link have been shown to exist between the oracle of the Sibyl of Beda and such Oriental versions as are preserved in Arabic and Ethiopian. Dr. J. Schleifer has now published for the first time these Oriental texts of the Sibylline apocryphon in Arabic and Ethiopian. One of them is a Karshuni [i.e., Garshuni] text, of course Arabic, but written in Syriac characters. The editor confines himself primarily to a critical edition of these various texts, none of them very old, and yet each one interesting in its own way. […] This edition of the Oriental versions is of great importance for the history of the apocryphal tale, which has exercised so great an influence upon popular imagination, and was at the same time a reflex of the popular naïve philosophy of history, which sees in the present the realization of events foretold in the past, and finds in it a source of comfort and hope for the future, lifting the people above the temporary trials and holding out a promise of reward and of peace everlasting. For it is all fore-ordained, and it is part and parcel of the divine economy which shapes human life and leads the world on irresistibly to a final day of judgment, when the actions of man will be weighed the good rewarded, the evil punished, and the destroyed harmony of the world re-established. These Oriental texts start with the dream, and the interpretation given by the Sibyl brings us down to the time of the rule of Al-Ma’mun and his successors (ninth century), possibly also to that of the Crusaders and Richard Cœur de Lion. The king immediately before the appearance of the Antichrist will be the “son of the Lion” from the land of the Franks. In some points there is a close resemblance between these versions and the oldest Latin text. The question naturally arises: Where is the connecting link between the Eastern tale and its Western parallels, and which is their ultimate source? Dr. Schleifer might have turned his attention to this question, the importance of which for the history of this apocryphon cannot be gainsaid, but he scarcely touches it. The Arabic version rests probably on an older Syriac text, for that the book is of Oriental origin there cannot be any doubt. The whole setting and the detailed history of the Muhammedan Empire down to the tenth century and later, exclude the possibility of an Occidental origin. No old Arabic book has been translated from the Latin. But the Syriac itself could hardly be anything but a translation from a Greek text. That the Arabic may have been translated from the Greek is rather a remote probability, for if the book was originally written in Greek it has no doubt reached the Arabs through Syriac mediation. A Greek text would be the natural link between East and West. Unfortunately, hitherto no such Greek text has come to light; at any rate, I am not aware of its existence. I have now discovered another version, which may safely be taken to represent the hitherto undiscovered Greek original. As far back as 1883, in my History of the Rumanian Popular Literature (pp. 338-9), I have discussed at some length an old Rumanian legend of "The Sivila and the dream which was seen of one hundred Senators in one night", the very same dream of nine suns and of the “Sivila” interpreting the dream to the emperor. This Rumanian version in its turn is only a literal translation of a much older Slavonic version, which again rests ultimately on a Greek original. All the Slavonic and Rumanian apocrypha go back to older Greek originals which were as a rule literally translated, and then only slightly altered in those details that affected their own nation. At times they ventured also—but very rarely—upon some small interpolations. comparison between these texts and the oldest Latin form of the Tiburtan Sibyl shows the closest possible parallelism. No room for doubt is left that the one must be dependent on the other, and the internal evidence. goes far to prove the dependence of the Latin on the Greek (= Slavonic) version. |
EASTERN VERSIONS
In 1898, Ernst Sackur, in his Sibylline Texts and Researches, republished a Latin version of a Sibyl that had already been edited several times under the title "The Tiburtine Sibyl." The Sibyl tells of a dream of nine suns seen by one hundred senators in Rome on the same night, which the Sibyl interprets as nine ages of the world. Beyond this Latin version, there are also a Garshuni, an Ethiopian, and three Arabic versions of the Sibyl. These surviving Eastern versions are now presented to the public, drawn from manuscripts in the British Museum in London, the Bodleian in Oxford, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, and the Bibliotheca Vaticana in Rome, which the editor himself copied and collated during a lengthy visit to these libraries in 1905 (with the exception of the Bodleian, of whose Garshuni manuscript he was able to obtain a photograph). In addition to the Eastern versions published here, an Armenian version also existed, but no manuscripts of this have yet been found. [...]
Of the Eastern versions, only the two oldest, the Garshuni and Arabic I, and the youngest, the Ethiopian, are translated, since Arabic II and III are very similar to the Ethiopian. (J. Schleifer)
Of the Eastern versions, only the two oldest, the Garshuni and Arabic I, and the youngest, the Ethiopian, are translated, since Arabic II and III are very similar to the Ethiopian. (J. Schleifer)
I. Arabic
The version named Arabic I, which comes to us in a relatively old manuscript from the 13th century, the oldest of all surviving oriental manuscripts of the Sibyl, is distinguished from the other versions by its brevity. For example, nothing is mentioned about the Sibyl herself, except that she was 180 years old. The end of our version differs entirely from all eastern versions. According to the others, the Antichrist himself slaughters the witnesses, Elijah and Enoch, "on the altar of Zion," whereupon Christ, enraged, kills him and his followers, and only then does the world conflagration begin. But according to the Arabic I version, the Antichrist has the two witnesses killed, whereupon they revive after three days and address the Antichrist before the eyes of all; then the world conflagration begins, which first destroys the Antichrist and his followers. The Arabic I version agrees in many places, partly factually, partly formally, with the Arabic II and Arabic III versions; however, the Arabic II version originates from a manuscript of the Arabic I version, while the passages of the Arabic I version that agree with version III, originate from a manuscript of the Arabic II version. On the other hand, our version is closely related to the Garshuni version; however, borrowings cannot be proven in either direction; they therefore probably originate from the same original. (J. Schleifer)
Arabic I
From the critical edition and German translation of J. Shleifer.
The story of the wise woman, the Sibyl, the daughter of Heraclius, the chief of the sages of Ephesus, and what she explained about the dream that the hundred men saw in the city of Rome on one (and the same) night.
It was after the exodus of the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt in the days of the prophet Moses (peace be upon him), that they entered the land of the Canaanites and the Greeks, and there were among them teachers and prophets who taught them every kind of knowledge. But when they strayed from the right path and worshipped idols, they were deprived of divine power and knowledge. And they went to those whom they thought possessed wisdom, to ask them to show them what the prophets showed them and made them know. But they found nothing of what they were seeking.
And they continued in this way until Titus, King of Rome, overpowered them and took them captive, partly to the city of Rome and partly to the Frankish lands. At the same time, one hundred men saw one (and the same) dream on one (and the same) night in the kingdom of Caesar Augustus. And those who saw the dream were among the great and noble men of the city.
And the next morning, each of them told his companion everything he had seen in his dream; and they were very distressed that there was no one in their city who could interpret their dream. So they gathered together and brought the matter of the dream before the king and told him about it. Then he marveled greatly and desired to learn its interpretation.
And he heard of a woman called Sibyl; and she [was the daughter of Heraclius], the chief of the wise men of the city of Ephesus. And he sent a number of his men to ask her to come and tell them the interpretation of the dream. And they came to her with the king’s command; and she went with them into the city. … The king gathered the nobles of the city and ordered them to go out to receive her.
And the Sibyl was one hundred and eighty years old at that time.
And the king commanded them to tell her the dream in his presence. Then the king demanded of her the interpretation of the dream.
She asked the hundred men and said to them, “Tell them the dream.” And they said, “We saw nine suns. The first sun had great light, and the rays of its light were throughout the whole world. The second was like the first, but its light was less than that of the first. In the middle of the third was fog and darkness. On the fourth was a cloud and something resembling red blood. The fifth had light, but its light was dim. The rays of the sixth were hidden and full of scorpions. And the seventh shone sometimes and went out, and it was like burning coals and the color of blood. From the eighth dripped blood, and around it were many scorpions. And the ninth was like these, but smaller.
Then the Sibyl said: “O people of Rome! These nine suns which you have seen are the whole (history of the) world; and God (blessed be He) showed you what will happen in each age, and its (i.e., the ages’) Lord, who sees and is not seen, has revealed it to you.
“And as for the first age, they will be humble people, zealous in doing good deeds; and they will love one another; and in their days there will be no visitation or destruction; and they will love to build houses and cultivate the land; and they will remember death at all times and on all occasions. And the people of the second age will be like those who were before them; and they will love giving alms. And in the third age, they will begin with hatred and debauchery; and they will love what God has forbidden.
“And in the fourth, there will be wickedness among them, and they will love what is wicked. And in the fifth, they will love wars and fighting; and a large part of the world will be destroyed in their days; and evil deeds will increase. In the sixth, a light from the light of the Most High will come down and rest on a pure virgin in the land of Judea; and he will be born of her in a city called Bethlehem. And heaven and earth will rejoice in the one born. And the wise men of the Magi will travel to him, and they will see him and offer sacrifices.
“And after he has remained on earth thirty years, he will come to the Jordan River and be baptized with water by the son of a barren woman. And the newborn will arise and perform signs and wonders and raise the dead. Then the Jews will rise up against him and seize him and crucify him, driving iron nails into his hands and feet; and he will die willingly. And he will be buried, and on the third day he will rise again. And he will appear in the body, as the prophet Daniel said: ‘And those who did not know him believe in him; but those who knew him did not believe in him. But to those who believe in him and obey him, he will give in the world to come what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived; and he will call them his sons and his brothers.’
“And in the seventh age, a king will arise from Byzantium and a woman from Constantinople; and she will come to Jerusalem and convert many people to the faith in him who was nailed to the cross. And many who worshiped idols returned to him (the Crucified).
“I tell you also, after this, another king will arise, worse than the first. He will kill the believers and destroy their churches. He will chastise with fire and sword those who worship him who was nailed to the cross, and they will flee. And afterward a king worse than the first will arise and kill the believers and drive them out of their churches.
“And in the eighth age there will be terror and great woe. At first, the cities and the earth will tremble, and the castles and dwellings will be destroyed. And death will strike the people in the land of the Greeks. And in the region of Byzantium there will be terror and fear because of a people who will emerge from the mountains. And they will seize most of the earth and gain power over the kings of Rome and the Copts and others. And their rule will last for an entire age. And afterward, the rule will return to the believers and to Rome. And in those days corruption will increase on earth.
“And at that time, people will come from the east and people from the west. And some will ask others, ‘Where did you come from and where are you going?’ They will say, ‘We came from the east; we want to go to the west.’ Then they will say to them, ‘Do not go there, for there are afflictions and great fear.’ And afterward, there will be great confusion on the sea.
“And in the ninth age, the Son of the Lion will appear from the west and rebuild everything that had been destroyed on the surface of the earth. And in his days the world will enjoy prosperity, so that the living will pass by the dead and say to them, ‘Arise, that you may see the good and abundance in which we (now) exist.’ And this will last for a period of forty years. And some will want to give alms, but no one will be found to take them from them. And the catch of the sea will be plentiful; and the trees will bear much fruit; and the earth will be cleansed from sin; and the inhabitants of the deserts, the righteous, will be numerous, and the cities will be filled with life.
“And at the end of the forty years, a woman will conceive in Galilee, in the ninth age. And the angels will come down and dress in clothing like men and walk among them. And at that time the nations Gog and Magog will come forth and destroy most of the earth. And during their coming forth the woman will give birth in the age called ‘The Age of Ages.’ And he will be arrogant and claim that he is a god. And many of the people will follow him to see his wonders. For (and behold) he will show wonders in the sun and the moon, but he will not be given power to raise the dead. Then there will be much fighting among men.
“And a widow woman will come to him and say, ‘I have been wronged; defend my rights against my adversary.’ He will say to her, ‘Wait for me,’ so that the word of him who was crucified might be fulfilled: ‘A judge who did not fear God nor was ashamed before men.’ And afterwards he granted the woman justice, when she pressed him persistently (Luke 18:2-5). And at that time, the best of men, the priests, and the kings will perish.
“And the characteristics of this man, who is the false messiah, are: He will have a large head, a delicate neck, long arms (and) short fingers; and his eyes will shine like the sun, and his right eye will be joyful (or: his right eye will have a special characteristic). And he will come to the city of Jerusalem and pitch his tents around the temple in Zion. Then God will send to him the two men who were formerly transported alive to heaven; and they will rebuke him and prove him a liar before everyone, and will say to him, ‘You are not the Messiah, and you are not God.’
“Then he will command that they be killed and nailed to a high tree in the presence of the people. And the peoples of the earth will mourn. And after three days their souls will return to them; and they will address him in the air of heaven in the presence of the people. And the greatest terror will come upon him and all who followed him because of the men he killed and nailed to the tree, who (then) were released from the bonds of the tree and came to life again, addressing him in the air on a cloud.
“Then the end (of the world) will come: the stars of heaven will fall, and the sun will be darkened; and fire will come down from heaven and burn up the deceiver and all who followed him; and not one of them will remain. And this will mean the end of the world and the appearance of the Judge of the living and the dead.”
The story of the Sibyl, the wise woman, is over. And praise be to God forever and ever!
It was after the exodus of the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt in the days of the prophet Moses (peace be upon him), that they entered the land of the Canaanites and the Greeks, and there were among them teachers and prophets who taught them every kind of knowledge. But when they strayed from the right path and worshipped idols, they were deprived of divine power and knowledge. And they went to those whom they thought possessed wisdom, to ask them to show them what the prophets showed them and made them know. But they found nothing of what they were seeking.
And they continued in this way until Titus, King of Rome, overpowered them and took them captive, partly to the city of Rome and partly to the Frankish lands. At the same time, one hundred men saw one (and the same) dream on one (and the same) night in the kingdom of Caesar Augustus. And those who saw the dream were among the great and noble men of the city.
And the next morning, each of them told his companion everything he had seen in his dream; and they were very distressed that there was no one in their city who could interpret their dream. So they gathered together and brought the matter of the dream before the king and told him about it. Then he marveled greatly and desired to learn its interpretation.
And he heard of a woman called Sibyl; and she [was the daughter of Heraclius], the chief of the wise men of the city of Ephesus. And he sent a number of his men to ask her to come and tell them the interpretation of the dream. And they came to her with the king’s command; and she went with them into the city. … The king gathered the nobles of the city and ordered them to go out to receive her.
And the Sibyl was one hundred and eighty years old at that time.
And the king commanded them to tell her the dream in his presence. Then the king demanded of her the interpretation of the dream.
She asked the hundred men and said to them, “Tell them the dream.” And they said, “We saw nine suns. The first sun had great light, and the rays of its light were throughout the whole world. The second was like the first, but its light was less than that of the first. In the middle of the third was fog and darkness. On the fourth was a cloud and something resembling red blood. The fifth had light, but its light was dim. The rays of the sixth were hidden and full of scorpions. And the seventh shone sometimes and went out, and it was like burning coals and the color of blood. From the eighth dripped blood, and around it were many scorpions. And the ninth was like these, but smaller.
Then the Sibyl said: “O people of Rome! These nine suns which you have seen are the whole (history of the) world; and God (blessed be He) showed you what will happen in each age, and its (i.e., the ages’) Lord, who sees and is not seen, has revealed it to you.
“And as for the first age, they will be humble people, zealous in doing good deeds; and they will love one another; and in their days there will be no visitation or destruction; and they will love to build houses and cultivate the land; and they will remember death at all times and on all occasions. And the people of the second age will be like those who were before them; and they will love giving alms. And in the third age, they will begin with hatred and debauchery; and they will love what God has forbidden.
“And in the fourth, there will be wickedness among them, and they will love what is wicked. And in the fifth, they will love wars and fighting; and a large part of the world will be destroyed in their days; and evil deeds will increase. In the sixth, a light from the light of the Most High will come down and rest on a pure virgin in the land of Judea; and he will be born of her in a city called Bethlehem. And heaven and earth will rejoice in the one born. And the wise men of the Magi will travel to him, and they will see him and offer sacrifices.
“And after he has remained on earth thirty years, he will come to the Jordan River and be baptized with water by the son of a barren woman. And the newborn will arise and perform signs and wonders and raise the dead. Then the Jews will rise up against him and seize him and crucify him, driving iron nails into his hands and feet; and he will die willingly. And he will be buried, and on the third day he will rise again. And he will appear in the body, as the prophet Daniel said: ‘And those who did not know him believe in him; but those who knew him did not believe in him. But to those who believe in him and obey him, he will give in the world to come what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived; and he will call them his sons and his brothers.’
“And in the seventh age, a king will arise from Byzantium and a woman from Constantinople; and she will come to Jerusalem and convert many people to the faith in him who was nailed to the cross. And many who worshiped idols returned to him (the Crucified).
“I tell you also, after this, another king will arise, worse than the first. He will kill the believers and destroy their churches. He will chastise with fire and sword those who worship him who was nailed to the cross, and they will flee. And afterward a king worse than the first will arise and kill the believers and drive them out of their churches.
“And in the eighth age there will be terror and great woe. At first, the cities and the earth will tremble, and the castles and dwellings will be destroyed. And death will strike the people in the land of the Greeks. And in the region of Byzantium there will be terror and fear because of a people who will emerge from the mountains. And they will seize most of the earth and gain power over the kings of Rome and the Copts and others. And their rule will last for an entire age. And afterward, the rule will return to the believers and to Rome. And in those days corruption will increase on earth.
“And at that time, people will come from the east and people from the west. And some will ask others, ‘Where did you come from and where are you going?’ They will say, ‘We came from the east; we want to go to the west.’ Then they will say to them, ‘Do not go there, for there are afflictions and great fear.’ And afterward, there will be great confusion on the sea.
“And in the ninth age, the Son of the Lion will appear from the west and rebuild everything that had been destroyed on the surface of the earth. And in his days the world will enjoy prosperity, so that the living will pass by the dead and say to them, ‘Arise, that you may see the good and abundance in which we (now) exist.’ And this will last for a period of forty years. And some will want to give alms, but no one will be found to take them from them. And the catch of the sea will be plentiful; and the trees will bear much fruit; and the earth will be cleansed from sin; and the inhabitants of the deserts, the righteous, will be numerous, and the cities will be filled with life.
“And at the end of the forty years, a woman will conceive in Galilee, in the ninth age. And the angels will come down and dress in clothing like men and walk among them. And at that time the nations Gog and Magog will come forth and destroy most of the earth. And during their coming forth the woman will give birth in the age called ‘The Age of Ages.’ And he will be arrogant and claim that he is a god. And many of the people will follow him to see his wonders. For (and behold) he will show wonders in the sun and the moon, but he will not be given power to raise the dead. Then there will be much fighting among men.
“And a widow woman will come to him and say, ‘I have been wronged; defend my rights against my adversary.’ He will say to her, ‘Wait for me,’ so that the word of him who was crucified might be fulfilled: ‘A judge who did not fear God nor was ashamed before men.’ And afterwards he granted the woman justice, when she pressed him persistently (Luke 18:2-5). And at that time, the best of men, the priests, and the kings will perish.
“And the characteristics of this man, who is the false messiah, are: He will have a large head, a delicate neck, long arms (and) short fingers; and his eyes will shine like the sun, and his right eye will be joyful (or: his right eye will have a special characteristic). And he will come to the city of Jerusalem and pitch his tents around the temple in Zion. Then God will send to him the two men who were formerly transported alive to heaven; and they will rebuke him and prove him a liar before everyone, and will say to him, ‘You are not the Messiah, and you are not God.’
“Then he will command that they be killed and nailed to a high tree in the presence of the people. And the peoples of the earth will mourn. And after three days their souls will return to them; and they will address him in the air of heaven in the presence of the people. And the greatest terror will come upon him and all who followed him because of the men he killed and nailed to the tree, who (then) were released from the bonds of the tree and came to life again, addressing him in the air on a cloud.
“Then the end (of the world) will come: the stars of heaven will fall, and the sun will be darkened; and fire will come down from heaven and burn up the deceiver and all who followed him; and not one of them will remain. And this will mean the end of the world and the appearance of the Judge of the living and the dead.”
The story of the Sibyl, the wise woman, is over. And praise be to God forever and ever!
II. Garshuni (Arabic in Syriac Letters)
This version, unlike the other Eastern versions, has no introduction; following on from the title, it begins the actual narrative with the words "I have begun to write the story of the Sibyl"; it is also characteristic that it names the first five ages (with the exception of the second), such as "The Age of Adam," "The Age of Noah," etc. It is also characteristic of our version that it makes no mention of the appearance of Gog and Magog; however, it does contain several elements that are not included in the other oriental versions, such as the allusions to the Qur'an. In many other respects, too, it differs from the other versions, while borrowings from them cannot be proven; it is therefore independent of the other Eastern versions that have come down to us. (J. Schleifer)
Garshuni
From the critical edition and German translation of J. Shleifer.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the one God, I have begun to write the story of the Sibyl, the daughter of Heraclius, one of the chief of the sages of Ephesus, and the revelation of the dream which the hundred men saw in their sleep on one (and the same) night. This was in the days of Caesar Augustus, in the year three hundred after Alexander.
Those who saw the dreams were among the learned men and nobles of the city of Rome. And the next morning, it is said, each of them told his companion everything he (they) had seen in his (their) sleep. And behold, the dream of all of them (their entire dream) agreed (with one dream). They were very sad, since there was no one in their city who could interpret the dreams they had seen. So they said (to one another): “What we have seen is undoubtedly from the God of heaven, who revealed it to us, and this so that we may know what will happen at the end of time.” And the learned men who were in Rome reported this dream to Caesar Augustus, the ruler of Rome.
When he heard the report of the dream, he was greatly astonished and longed to know its interpretation, but he found no one and was therefore very distressed. Then his confidants told him about a woman named Sibyl. She was very learned; her father's name was Heraclius; and he was one of the chiefs of the great men of the city, among the learned philosophers. [So he sent] to Ephesus, her father’s city, for her to come and tell them the interpretation of the dream.
When the ambassadors came to her with orders from the emperor, and he persisted in her coming, she was afraid and terrified; but she came with them. When the king learned that she had arrived, he gathered the people of the city and announced her arrival to them, and appointed both great and small to meet her. They were very glad that she had come to their city, and they brought her into the city with great honor.
And when she came to the king and greeted him, he commanded that she be given shelter and honored. And then, after she had rested, the king met with her and questioned her about many things, seeing her knowledge and insight. And she frequently described to him everything that was happening in the world and what would happen at the end of time. And she frequently told them about the signs (of the ages) and what would happen age after age, and what would occur through the changing of times and the changing of rulers and kingdoms. She also frequently described to them the inevitable eclipses of the sun and moon on a certain day, the falling of the stars, and the earthquake. And she named the times according to forms and types. And all the people of the city listened to her as she told them.
And the great men of the city came to her from all sides. And she was a wise woman, very old. And she knew by heart the book called The Books of Wisdom of the learned sages; and among them (the sages) this book enjoys great prestige.
And then the king had the hundred men who had seen the dream in one (and the same) night sought out and brought before her (the Sibyl), and he allowed them and her to recount what they had seen before the wise woman, and she should answer them without fear.
Then the wise woman spoke to the king and said, “May my lord the king command (by his command) that the people of Rome come together with me in the presence of the king, both great and small, and I will explain the dream to them after they have told me their dream truthfully.”
She spoke this once and twice before the king and his favorites and all the people of the city. Then the hundred men who had seen the dream began to say, “O our lord, (the) king, you will command us, and we will tell it.” Then he said to them, “I command you to tell her it completely truthfully.”
And they said to her, “O wise woman, we will tell you: we saw nine suns rising in one (and the same) night: The first sun had much light; its light filled (spread over) the whole world, and it (its light) had a very beautiful brilliance. And the second sun resembled (the light of) the first sun, but shone (was) a little less brightly than it. And the third sun was always surrounded by mist, and darkness was in its center. And on the fourth sun was a cloud, and its color was that of blood. And the fifth sun had light, but it shone only dimly. And the color of the sixth sun was like blood, and its light (the brilliance of its light) flashed like daggers or swords, and was such that one could mistake its rays for scorpions. And the light of the seventh sun shone sometimes and went out; and in it was a glowing coal of fire; and the color of its light was like blood. And around the eighth sun were many scorpions; and it was red like blood; and the brightness of its light was dim. And of the disk of the ninth sun, only a quarter (no longer) shone.
“And this is what we saw in a dream. And we told one another that we had seen dreams, and we agreed that each of us should write his dream on a piece of paper and compare it with that of his companion. Whoever’s dream agreed with that of his companion would be speaking the truth, but whoever’s dream did not agree with that of his companion would be a liar. So we did so, and our dreams agreed (equally). And this is our last word, O King!”
Then Sibyl, the wise woman, spoke: “Your dreams are true, and it is the Lord of heaven who has shown them to you, not your idols. Know therefore that the nine suns represent the generations of the ages of the world, and that God, the Creator of the heavens, has shown you the ages. And because of his foreknowledge, he revealed to you things in them in which there will be benefit for people and deliverance from the emergence of a faith different from this faith and a worship different from this worship.
“And as for the first sun, it represents the age of our father Adam. And our father Adam and his children enjoyed great happiness; they constantly engaged in fasting and prayer and were humble people; they loved one another, and there was no envy among them. and they loved to cultivate the land and dig caves and other things.
“And the second age resembled the first in light, only its light had necessarily begun to darken as a result of the deeds of the House of Cain.
“And the third age, in whose light there was fog and darkness, is the age of Noah the Righteous (peace be upon him), namely, those who committed wickedness and debauchery and what God, the Exalted, does not like.
“And the fourth age is the age of our father Abraham, in which there was no believer in God besides him. (And) it was the time of wickedness and depravity.
“And as for the fifth age, it is the age of the prophet Moses and the children of Israel, through whom the world began to perish, as the murder of the righteous increased among them, and evil through them multiplied.
“And as for the sixth age, in it a light will descend from heaven—he will be born of light, and he will rest on a pure virgin; and she will conceive him; and he will be born of her in a cave in a place called Bethlehem in Judea. And the heavenly and the earthly will rejoice at his birth. And people from the Magi religion will come to him with gifts. And they will present them to him while he is in the manger. And their gifts will be gold, myrrh, and frankincense. And one of the kings of the land will be angry with him, and will flee from him by night; and he will return from there and dwell in a city called Nazareth. And after thirty years of his earthly life, he will be baptized by the hand of a man whose mother will be barren, and that man will testify about him that he is a heavenly being. And he will begin to perform miracles; he will raise the dead and cleanse the lepers and make the deaf hear and heal the lame. And the priests of the Jews will be jealous of him and will seize him and crucify him, driving nails into his hands and feet. And he will die willingly on the cross. And he will be wrapped in burial cloths and buried; and the entrance to the tomb will be closed with a large stone; and he will come out of the tomb while it is closed. And his disciples will see him, and he will talk with them and eat with them and show them the marks of the wounds on his hands and feet. And the word of the prophet will be true of him: Those who did not know him will believe in him... And those in whose minds was faith in anyone other than him have been condemned to eternal damnation; but to those who believed in him he has promised a spiritual reward which no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the description of which has entered into the mind of man; and he will call them his Father's sons and his brothers.
“And as for the seventh age, a king will arise in it from Constantinople, and his mother, the queen, will come to Jerusalem and compel people to believe in Him crucified on the tree. And the churches and monasteries will be alive, and the image of the cross will be on the doors and windows. And the remaining worship of idols will cease in those days, and the people of that time will be called by the name of Him crucified.
“And afterward there will be much dissension among them because of him, and they will fight one another, and destroy one another’s churches, and take one another’s women captive, and plunder one another's money. And while the dissension is occurring and is great, the people, by the foreknowledge of God, will not return to unity.
“And he will send to them, at a time when there is no worse time, ten men of Arabia (Arabs) from the people of Jatrib in southern Arabia; and they will increase in power and corrupt all the Christians and drive them out from their goods and from their homes and from their trades and from their churches, and will utterly scatter their covenant; and they will take possession of the cities and make slaves of the servants of God; and the children will be orphaned; and people will turn away from the faith of the Crucified One to the faith of those; and the founder of their religion will claim to be a prophet (will claim prophecy) and promise those who will believe in his word a paradise and rivers and trees and honey and milk and soup and beautiful-eyed maidens (houris) and women and marriage and food and meals; and his reign will last for a long time.
“And then the eighth age will come upon them. In it there will be terror, dread, and calamities. At its beginning the earth will tremble, and houses, palaces, fortresses, and cities will be destroyed. And death will linger among the people and destroy many of them. Devastation will increase, and prosperity will decrease. And there will be many blows of fate due to rising prices, emigration, expiration, and unexpected death.
“And in the last days of this religious community, the dominion of the Christians, especially of the kingdom of the Greeks, will cease; and their city Byzantium will be taken possession of.
“And a king from the rulers of southern Arabia will rule over them. He will practice their faith and worship what they worship. And in his days, there will be great tranquility. And at his death he will leave behind two sons. The name of one of the sons will be like that of the man who came from the south.
“And the other will believe in the Crucified One and make him known to the nations; and those who will worship him will be numerous. And as for the king who will come from Jatrib, he and his successors will reign for a certain number of years. And then the king who will leave behind the two sons will be obeyed by the kings of the earth, those who follow him who appeared from the south.
“And all the sea coasts will be destroyed; and what remained of the churches will be destroyed. And people will fall into doubt, lies, and falsehood. And the sons will begin to rebel against their fathers; and the slaves will be the ones who command, and the masters will be slaves and subject to them. And sins will increase; and adultery will be permitted, and false testimony will increase. And the priests will be adulterers and accustomed to following the footsteps of sin; and they will love food and drink and detest performing prayers; and they will speak much against the believers. And their words will be heard, but their deeds will be kept away. And faith will perish, and perfidy will increase; and alms will be few, and sacrifices will cease; and fraud in trade will abound on earth, and no one will want to sell anything to a poor person for its (ordinary) value; and the love of money will increase. And the deserts will be empty of monks, and the monasteries will be empty of inhabitants, and disasters will occur in the cities. And people from the eastern regions and people from the western regions will come and ask one another, ‘Where did you come from and where are you going?’ They will say, ‘We have come from darkness, from our cities; we want to go to your cities.’ They will say to them, ‘Woe to you! The darkness is easier to bear than this state in which we find ourselves, due to fear and disasters.’ And the greatest desolation will be in the cities that are between the two rivers. But the seas will be in great distress.
“And as for the ninth age, the Lion’s Son from the land of Franks will appear in it and rebuild everything that had been destroyed on the surface of the earth. And in his days the world will enjoy prosperity, so that the living will pass by the dead and say to them: ‘Stand up, my brother, that you may see the goodness and abundance in which we (now) exist.’ And this will last for a period of forty years. And some will want to give alms, but no one will be found to take it from them. And the catch of the sea will be plentiful; and all the trees will bear their fruit; and the earth will be cleansed of sin; and the inhabitants of the deserts will be numerous, and the hermits and the pious will increase; and the churches and monasteries will be lively, and the cities will have many goods.
“And at the end of this period, a woman from Capernaum in Galilee will become pregnant with a cursed child by a cursed sorcerer; and she will raise it. And there will be signs in him, and the great devil will be recognized in him. And he will ask the Lord for respite, lest he destroy him. He will speak to people with the words of a ruler and authority figure, calling himself the Messiah and performing many false signs. Slander and deceptive splendor will surround him. He will begin to heal the lame and the blind, and he will cleanse lepers, and this only deceitfully and falsely. He will claim that he is a god and the son of a god. Many of the Jews and Gentiles will follow him to see his miracles. And afterward, the Jews will deny him completely, since their Scripture will enlighten them concerning his ungodliness; because of their Scripture, they will deny him. And many others will join themselves to him. And they will ask him for signs in the heavens and by the powers of the sun and moon, but he will be able to do nothing by them; or they will ask him to raise the dead, but he will have no power to raise them. And there will be much strife among men because of him. And the people will rise up; and the priests will be in great distress with him; and he will require them to pray to him and to offer sacrifices to him.
“And the characteristics of this one who is lost in this world and the next are these: He will have a large head, a thick neck, long arms (and) mutilated fingers; his right eye will be very blue, and in his eyeball there will be writing which (only) the elect at that time will know how to read; and in what is read therein it will say: ‘This is the false Messiah.’ And people from the cities of Zebulun and Naphtali will join themselves to him. And they will let him go to Jerusalem; and he will pitch his tents all around Zion as far as the Mount of Olives, to the Holy Place. And he will proclaim: ‘I am the one born of the Virgin Mary.’ Then two aged men, distinguished by their majesty and graceful manners, will come down with great haste and rebuke him, saying to him: ‘O you black-faced one! You who tell lies before your Lord and His creatures! You are not the one born of a virgin, nor are you like him, nor are you a god or the son of a god; rather, you are the father of deceit and lies. The Messiah, the Son of God, the son of Mary, will break the power of Satan who dwells in you.’ And when he hears them speaking and being rebuked by them, he will seize them and hold them treacherously and sacrifice them on the altar of Zion. And the prophecy of David the prophet will be fulfilled in them, saying: ‘They make calves ascend upon your altars.’
“Then the wrath of Him who was crucified on the cross will come upon him and his army, and He will destroy him and all who followed him. And a sea of fire will tremble and roar; and the sun will be darkened, and the moon will be obscured, and the stars will fall. And the great Hour, which cannot be escaped, will draw near; and the account of this world will be settled, and the Lord who was nailed to the cross will appear. And those who believed in Him will have abundant prosperity, abiding forever in the Gardens of Paradise. And those who denied Him, woe to them! (once again) Woe to them! Woe to them! Because of the punishment prepared for them.
“And praise be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, from now until ever, and to the ages of ages and the ages of ages, in the heavens and on earth! Amen! And praise be to God forever and ever! Amen!”
Those who saw the dreams were among the learned men and nobles of the city of Rome. And the next morning, it is said, each of them told his companion everything he (they) had seen in his (their) sleep. And behold, the dream of all of them (their entire dream) agreed (with one dream). They were very sad, since there was no one in their city who could interpret the dreams they had seen. So they said (to one another): “What we have seen is undoubtedly from the God of heaven, who revealed it to us, and this so that we may know what will happen at the end of time.” And the learned men who were in Rome reported this dream to Caesar Augustus, the ruler of Rome.
When he heard the report of the dream, he was greatly astonished and longed to know its interpretation, but he found no one and was therefore very distressed. Then his confidants told him about a woman named Sibyl. She was very learned; her father's name was Heraclius; and he was one of the chiefs of the great men of the city, among the learned philosophers. [So he sent] to Ephesus, her father’s city, for her to come and tell them the interpretation of the dream.
When the ambassadors came to her with orders from the emperor, and he persisted in her coming, she was afraid and terrified; but she came with them. When the king learned that she had arrived, he gathered the people of the city and announced her arrival to them, and appointed both great and small to meet her. They were very glad that she had come to their city, and they brought her into the city with great honor.
And when she came to the king and greeted him, he commanded that she be given shelter and honored. And then, after she had rested, the king met with her and questioned her about many things, seeing her knowledge and insight. And she frequently described to him everything that was happening in the world and what would happen at the end of time. And she frequently told them about the signs (of the ages) and what would happen age after age, and what would occur through the changing of times and the changing of rulers and kingdoms. She also frequently described to them the inevitable eclipses of the sun and moon on a certain day, the falling of the stars, and the earthquake. And she named the times according to forms and types. And all the people of the city listened to her as she told them.
And the great men of the city came to her from all sides. And she was a wise woman, very old. And she knew by heart the book called The Books of Wisdom of the learned sages; and among them (the sages) this book enjoys great prestige.
And then the king had the hundred men who had seen the dream in one (and the same) night sought out and brought before her (the Sibyl), and he allowed them and her to recount what they had seen before the wise woman, and she should answer them without fear.
Then the wise woman spoke to the king and said, “May my lord the king command (by his command) that the people of Rome come together with me in the presence of the king, both great and small, and I will explain the dream to them after they have told me their dream truthfully.”
She spoke this once and twice before the king and his favorites and all the people of the city. Then the hundred men who had seen the dream began to say, “O our lord, (the) king, you will command us, and we will tell it.” Then he said to them, “I command you to tell her it completely truthfully.”
And they said to her, “O wise woman, we will tell you: we saw nine suns rising in one (and the same) night: The first sun had much light; its light filled (spread over) the whole world, and it (its light) had a very beautiful brilliance. And the second sun resembled (the light of) the first sun, but shone (was) a little less brightly than it. And the third sun was always surrounded by mist, and darkness was in its center. And on the fourth sun was a cloud, and its color was that of blood. And the fifth sun had light, but it shone only dimly. And the color of the sixth sun was like blood, and its light (the brilliance of its light) flashed like daggers or swords, and was such that one could mistake its rays for scorpions. And the light of the seventh sun shone sometimes and went out; and in it was a glowing coal of fire; and the color of its light was like blood. And around the eighth sun were many scorpions; and it was red like blood; and the brightness of its light was dim. And of the disk of the ninth sun, only a quarter (no longer) shone.
“And this is what we saw in a dream. And we told one another that we had seen dreams, and we agreed that each of us should write his dream on a piece of paper and compare it with that of his companion. Whoever’s dream agreed with that of his companion would be speaking the truth, but whoever’s dream did not agree with that of his companion would be a liar. So we did so, and our dreams agreed (equally). And this is our last word, O King!”
Then Sibyl, the wise woman, spoke: “Your dreams are true, and it is the Lord of heaven who has shown them to you, not your idols. Know therefore that the nine suns represent the generations of the ages of the world, and that God, the Creator of the heavens, has shown you the ages. And because of his foreknowledge, he revealed to you things in them in which there will be benefit for people and deliverance from the emergence of a faith different from this faith and a worship different from this worship.
“And as for the first sun, it represents the age of our father Adam. And our father Adam and his children enjoyed great happiness; they constantly engaged in fasting and prayer and were humble people; they loved one another, and there was no envy among them. and they loved to cultivate the land and dig caves and other things.
“And the second age resembled the first in light, only its light had necessarily begun to darken as a result of the deeds of the House of Cain.
“And the third age, in whose light there was fog and darkness, is the age of Noah the Righteous (peace be upon him), namely, those who committed wickedness and debauchery and what God, the Exalted, does not like.
“And the fourth age is the age of our father Abraham, in which there was no believer in God besides him. (And) it was the time of wickedness and depravity.
“And as for the fifth age, it is the age of the prophet Moses and the children of Israel, through whom the world began to perish, as the murder of the righteous increased among them, and evil through them multiplied.
“And as for the sixth age, in it a light will descend from heaven—he will be born of light, and he will rest on a pure virgin; and she will conceive him; and he will be born of her in a cave in a place called Bethlehem in Judea. And the heavenly and the earthly will rejoice at his birth. And people from the Magi religion will come to him with gifts. And they will present them to him while he is in the manger. And their gifts will be gold, myrrh, and frankincense. And one of the kings of the land will be angry with him, and will flee from him by night; and he will return from there and dwell in a city called Nazareth. And after thirty years of his earthly life, he will be baptized by the hand of a man whose mother will be barren, and that man will testify about him that he is a heavenly being. And he will begin to perform miracles; he will raise the dead and cleanse the lepers and make the deaf hear and heal the lame. And the priests of the Jews will be jealous of him and will seize him and crucify him, driving nails into his hands and feet. And he will die willingly on the cross. And he will be wrapped in burial cloths and buried; and the entrance to the tomb will be closed with a large stone; and he will come out of the tomb while it is closed. And his disciples will see him, and he will talk with them and eat with them and show them the marks of the wounds on his hands and feet. And the word of the prophet will be true of him: Those who did not know him will believe in him... And those in whose minds was faith in anyone other than him have been condemned to eternal damnation; but to those who believed in him he has promised a spiritual reward which no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the description of which has entered into the mind of man; and he will call them his Father's sons and his brothers.
“And as for the seventh age, a king will arise in it from Constantinople, and his mother, the queen, will come to Jerusalem and compel people to believe in Him crucified on the tree. And the churches and monasteries will be alive, and the image of the cross will be on the doors and windows. And the remaining worship of idols will cease in those days, and the people of that time will be called by the name of Him crucified.
“And afterward there will be much dissension among them because of him, and they will fight one another, and destroy one another’s churches, and take one another’s women captive, and plunder one another's money. And while the dissension is occurring and is great, the people, by the foreknowledge of God, will not return to unity.
“And he will send to them, at a time when there is no worse time, ten men of Arabia (Arabs) from the people of Jatrib in southern Arabia; and they will increase in power and corrupt all the Christians and drive them out from their goods and from their homes and from their trades and from their churches, and will utterly scatter their covenant; and they will take possession of the cities and make slaves of the servants of God; and the children will be orphaned; and people will turn away from the faith of the Crucified One to the faith of those; and the founder of their religion will claim to be a prophet (will claim prophecy) and promise those who will believe in his word a paradise and rivers and trees and honey and milk and soup and beautiful-eyed maidens (houris) and women and marriage and food and meals; and his reign will last for a long time.
“And then the eighth age will come upon them. In it there will be terror, dread, and calamities. At its beginning the earth will tremble, and houses, palaces, fortresses, and cities will be destroyed. And death will linger among the people and destroy many of them. Devastation will increase, and prosperity will decrease. And there will be many blows of fate due to rising prices, emigration, expiration, and unexpected death.
“And in the last days of this religious community, the dominion of the Christians, especially of the kingdom of the Greeks, will cease; and their city Byzantium will be taken possession of.
“And a king from the rulers of southern Arabia will rule over them. He will practice their faith and worship what they worship. And in his days, there will be great tranquility. And at his death he will leave behind two sons. The name of one of the sons will be like that of the man who came from the south.
“And the other will believe in the Crucified One and make him known to the nations; and those who will worship him will be numerous. And as for the king who will come from Jatrib, he and his successors will reign for a certain number of years. And then the king who will leave behind the two sons will be obeyed by the kings of the earth, those who follow him who appeared from the south.
“And all the sea coasts will be destroyed; and what remained of the churches will be destroyed. And people will fall into doubt, lies, and falsehood. And the sons will begin to rebel against their fathers; and the slaves will be the ones who command, and the masters will be slaves and subject to them. And sins will increase; and adultery will be permitted, and false testimony will increase. And the priests will be adulterers and accustomed to following the footsteps of sin; and they will love food and drink and detest performing prayers; and they will speak much against the believers. And their words will be heard, but their deeds will be kept away. And faith will perish, and perfidy will increase; and alms will be few, and sacrifices will cease; and fraud in trade will abound on earth, and no one will want to sell anything to a poor person for its (ordinary) value; and the love of money will increase. And the deserts will be empty of monks, and the monasteries will be empty of inhabitants, and disasters will occur in the cities. And people from the eastern regions and people from the western regions will come and ask one another, ‘Where did you come from and where are you going?’ They will say, ‘We have come from darkness, from our cities; we want to go to your cities.’ They will say to them, ‘Woe to you! The darkness is easier to bear than this state in which we find ourselves, due to fear and disasters.’ And the greatest desolation will be in the cities that are between the two rivers. But the seas will be in great distress.
“And as for the ninth age, the Lion’s Son from the land of Franks will appear in it and rebuild everything that had been destroyed on the surface of the earth. And in his days the world will enjoy prosperity, so that the living will pass by the dead and say to them: ‘Stand up, my brother, that you may see the goodness and abundance in which we (now) exist.’ And this will last for a period of forty years. And some will want to give alms, but no one will be found to take it from them. And the catch of the sea will be plentiful; and all the trees will bear their fruit; and the earth will be cleansed of sin; and the inhabitants of the deserts will be numerous, and the hermits and the pious will increase; and the churches and monasteries will be lively, and the cities will have many goods.
“And at the end of this period, a woman from Capernaum in Galilee will become pregnant with a cursed child by a cursed sorcerer; and she will raise it. And there will be signs in him, and the great devil will be recognized in him. And he will ask the Lord for respite, lest he destroy him. He will speak to people with the words of a ruler and authority figure, calling himself the Messiah and performing many false signs. Slander and deceptive splendor will surround him. He will begin to heal the lame and the blind, and he will cleanse lepers, and this only deceitfully and falsely. He will claim that he is a god and the son of a god. Many of the Jews and Gentiles will follow him to see his miracles. And afterward, the Jews will deny him completely, since their Scripture will enlighten them concerning his ungodliness; because of their Scripture, they will deny him. And many others will join themselves to him. And they will ask him for signs in the heavens and by the powers of the sun and moon, but he will be able to do nothing by them; or they will ask him to raise the dead, but he will have no power to raise them. And there will be much strife among men because of him. And the people will rise up; and the priests will be in great distress with him; and he will require them to pray to him and to offer sacrifices to him.
“And the characteristics of this one who is lost in this world and the next are these: He will have a large head, a thick neck, long arms (and) mutilated fingers; his right eye will be very blue, and in his eyeball there will be writing which (only) the elect at that time will know how to read; and in what is read therein it will say: ‘This is the false Messiah.’ And people from the cities of Zebulun and Naphtali will join themselves to him. And they will let him go to Jerusalem; and he will pitch his tents all around Zion as far as the Mount of Olives, to the Holy Place. And he will proclaim: ‘I am the one born of the Virgin Mary.’ Then two aged men, distinguished by their majesty and graceful manners, will come down with great haste and rebuke him, saying to him: ‘O you black-faced one! You who tell lies before your Lord and His creatures! You are not the one born of a virgin, nor are you like him, nor are you a god or the son of a god; rather, you are the father of deceit and lies. The Messiah, the Son of God, the son of Mary, will break the power of Satan who dwells in you.’ And when he hears them speaking and being rebuked by them, he will seize them and hold them treacherously and sacrifice them on the altar of Zion. And the prophecy of David the prophet will be fulfilled in them, saying: ‘They make calves ascend upon your altars.’
“Then the wrath of Him who was crucified on the cross will come upon him and his army, and He will destroy him and all who followed him. And a sea of fire will tremble and roar; and the sun will be darkened, and the moon will be obscured, and the stars will fall. And the great Hour, which cannot be escaped, will draw near; and the account of this world will be settled, and the Lord who was nailed to the cross will appear. And those who believed in Him will have abundant prosperity, abiding forever in the Gardens of Paradise. And those who denied Him, woe to them! (once again) Woe to them! Woe to them! Because of the punishment prepared for them.
“And praise be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, from now until ever, and to the ages of ages and the ages of ages, in the heavens and on earth! Amen! And praise be to God forever and ever! Amen!”
III. Ethiopian
The Ethiopian version is based on the Arabic III version, from which it was translated. From the surviving manuscripts of this version, however, it appears not to have used any of the surviving manuscripts of the Arabic III version. This would also be supported by the fact that some lines contained in the Arabic III manuscripts are missing in the Ethiopian version, some are added, others are rendered using completely different words; all of this, however, could also have originated with the translator himself. (J. Schleifer)
Ethiopian
From the critical edition and German translation of J. Shleifer.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, of the One God!
The wisdom of the woman whose name is Sibyl (Sabela), daughter of Heraclius, chief of the sages of Ephesus, and the explanation of the dream which one hundred wise men saw in the city of Rome on one (and the same) night and at one (and the same) hour.
After the children of Israel had come out of Egypt and had gone up into the wilderness in the days known, they came to the land of the dominion of the Greeks, the Hebrews, and the Gergeseans. There were among them prophets and teachers who revealed to them the secrets of the mystery and instructed them in all that they required of them. But when sin increased among them through their idolatry, and they worshipped demons and sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, God put an end to their power and took away their prophecy, and no more messengers came to them. They were compelled to go to magicians and diviners and ask them to show them what the prophets and messengers who had been before them had shown them; but they could not do as they did.
And in those days Titus captured them and brought them as far as Rome, the great city; and God scattered them throughout all the provinces of Rome. And their journey took place in the year 120, in the days of Alexander, in the month of Magabit, that is, the month of August.
One hundred wise men had a dream on the same night. And when morning came, they told each other what they had seen. And they were greatly afraid (to each other or: on account of themselves) and their souls were troubled, because they found no one to interpret their dream to them. And they said to one another, “Our Lord has shown us this.” And they said to one another, “What is this dream of ours? And what is its interpretation? And what will happen?”
And the news of the dream reached Alexander, king of Rome. And he sent for that woman, to the Sibyl, the daughter of Heraclius, the chief [of the wise men] of Ephesus. And the wise men of Rome sent word to that Sibyl to ask her to come to them and explain the dream to them. And she came with the ambassadors. And when she came, the people of the city heard her fame, and they welcomed her, both great and small. And they brought her in with joy and gladness.
She taught children and young people about what would happen in the whole world at all times. And God gave this woman many gifts, so that she could prophesy to all the people of heaven, sun, and moon, because of her great wisdom. And the days of her life were one hundred and eighty-seven years. She had a sister whose name was Samel, and she revealed to her sister everything she knew and everything she saw. And her wisdom became established in all the earth, so that she surpassed all wise men by her wisdom. And God prolonged her days until she lived two hundred and ninety-two years and five months, and she explained all her dreams and all her wonderful things all the days of her life.
And they brought the hundred wise men, and they told her what they had dreamed. And she said to them, “Go away until daybreak, and tomorrow assemble yourselves and speak before all the people.” And she said to them, “Let us pray to the God of gods to give us the explanation (of the dream).” And as she had told them, they departed and returned home.
‘
And the next morning they gathered together. And she blessed them and said to them, "Come, O people of Rome, that I may tell you the wonderful things that will happen in this world. Speak now, tell me what you have dreamed.”
Then they said, “We saw nine suns in the sky. The first sun had much light throughout the world. And the second sun was like the first, but not like it. And on the third sun was a mist. And on the fourth sun was a cloud, and in it was a knife. And the fifth sun had light, but it was quite little. And the sixth sun was mixed with blood; and in it were knives; and scorpion-like rays surrounded it; and in it were arrows; and a great light surrounded it. And the seventh sun appeared and went out; and in it were a heap of blood, scorpions, and a mist. And the light of the eighth sun was dim; and it had many scorpions and blood; and in it were knives; and poison surrounded it. And the ninth sun had much blood surrounding it; and its light was dim; and in it were arrows.”
Then Sibyl said to them: “The nine suns that you have seen in the whole world are nine ages; what will happen in each time was shown to you by him who dwells above in the highest (heavens), who sees and is not seen; and he has revealed to you what will happen at all times and in all ages.
“In the first age, people will be humble and lovers of beauty, and they will love one another; there will be no hypocrisy, injustice, or envy among them; and they will only build buildings and erect houses and decorate their graves while they are still alive; they will know that they will die; and as soon as one dies, everyone will bury him. And in the second age, people like them will be compassionate; they will be like them; and they will love to give alms to one another, but they will be inferior to those who were before them. And in the third age, they will begin blasphemy, boasting, and haughtiness; what God will hate, they will love; and the faith of their own will be little, and sin will abound among them.
“And in the fourth age they will be vile and love vileness and bloodshed. And in the fifth age they will love murder and bloodshed, and there will be much strife among them. And in the sixth age a light will appear from the light of the Most High who dwells on high, and it will dwell in the womb of a virgin; and she will conceive and give birth in the city of Judea. And there will be joy in the heavens and on earth at his birth. And diviners will come from the east, bringing gifts.
“And some of the Jews will rise up against him and crucify him and kill him, and drive nails into his hands and feet. And they will bury him in a tomb, and on the third day he will rise again and come out of the tomb. Just as he came out of the womb of the virgin, and when he came out, her virginity was found intact, so too, when he comes out of the tomb, the seal will be found intact. And he will walk bodily, as the prophet of the Gentiles says: ‘Those who did not know him believed in him, but those to whom he came did not receive him and denied him. But to those who believe in him he will give grace such as no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has been imagined in the heart of man; and he will call them his children and his brothers.’
“And in the seventh age, a king will come from Berentia (Byzantium) and a woman will come from Constantinople; and they will come to the city of Jerusalem and kill many people for the sake of Him crucified on the tree. And they will subdue many people and convert many who worshipped demons to Him (the Crucified One).
“And after him will arise a king who will kill and destroy the churches of the free men, and will chastise with fire and sword those who worship him crucified on the tree. And many will be put to shame before that king: He will kill many people, and many churches will be destroyed.
“And after him there will be many who will worship the one crucified on the cross. And there will come a man from the south, named Mafked, and he will reign for a certain number of years. And after him will appear one like him.
“And in the eighth age there will be misery and much anguish; cities and seashores will collapse and be destroyed. And an island of the sea will be plundered, and its inhabitants will be taken into captivity. And afterward, anguish will come upon the people in the land of Elijah. And in Berentia (Byzantium) there will be fear and anxiety. And no road will be found between Rome and the Frankish lands. And in those days there will be great slaughter on the road. And Syria will be destroyed, as will a great city in the east.
“And a king will reign over them for twenty-three years, and he will not complete the twenty-fourth. Gifts will come from all the islands of the sea. And the fear that will reign everywhere will not come to Rome. And in his days Syria will enjoy prosperity, but shortly after his death it will be destroyed. And he will leave behind two sons. The name of one will be like that of the man who came from the south. And one of them will be appointed ruler over Syria. And the seashore will be destroyed, and the churches will be destroyed; and all men will continue in falsehood and unrighteousness.
“And in those days the slave will sit, and the master will perform the service; and the slave-girl will sit, and her mistress will grind; and the slaves will be like masters; they, whose fathers and mothers are unknown, will be rulers in all the lands. And in those days sin and adultery will increase; injustice will increase, and righteousness will fail. And the priests will be adulterers and walk in the way of sin; they will be fond of eating and drinking, and will not bury the dead or rise up to pray; and they will be proud before men because of the word given to them. But they will be put to shame and judged for their deeds. Hear their words, and do not do as they do. For mercy and faith have failed them.
“And afterward, the churches will be destroyed and people will perish, so that might be fulfilled the word of the prophet Daniel, who says: ‘The desert will not suffer anything from the monks who dwell in it; and of those who dwell in the mountains, there will be no one who will not wander; and upon those who are in the cities, great distress will come.’ And all this will happen in the eighth age.
“The fathers will say to their children, ‘You are not ours.’ And the children will deny their fathers. And the slaves will rise up and kill their masters and take their wives. And one whom no one knows will rule the land and the great city of the East. And slaughter will rise against it for three days and three nights; only a few will remain in it. And Jerusalem will be destroyed; (and) of the people of that place where he was crucified, no one will remain. And all this will happen in the eighth age.
“And in those days priests and elders and monks and orphans and widows will pray and cry out to God, and because of the multitude of their sins, he will turn away his face from them and will not listen to their prayer. And wickedness will abound at that time, more than before or after.
“And in those days, people will come from the east and others from the west; and they will find one another on the way and question one another. And some will say to others, ‘Where are you going?’ They will say, ‘We want to go west.’ Then others will say to them, ‘Do not go west, for there is much misery there.’ Then they will say to others, ‘Where are you going?’ And they will say, ‘To the east.’ And they will tell them, ‘Do not go, for there is much misery there.’
“And in those days the cities between the rivers will be destroyed, and half of Egypt will burn up. And there will be much mourning on the sea, and many ships will be wrecked, and blood will be shed in the river; and it will go away and not return. And there will be much mourning and affliction, so that the living will say to the dead, ‘Hail!’
“And the ninth age: In those days the Lion’s Son will come out from the west and build all that was destroyed on the earth; and the ark will be rebuilt. And in all the world there will be plenty in his days; and the living will walk over the graves of the dead and say to them, ‘You died in days of mourning and affliction; arise and see this great joy and exultation and abundance in which we are.’ And the reign of this man will last forty years. And people will seek those to whom they can give alms, but no one will be found to take from them. And the produce of the earth will be plentiful; and the trees of the field will also bear much fruit; and the fish of the sea will be numerous; and the earth will be cleansed from sin; and the monks in the desert will be numerous; and the cities that had been destroyed will be rebuilt.
“And at the end of forty years in the ninth age, a woman from the tribe of Dan will conceive in Caran [= Harran]. And the angels will come down from heaven to earth in human clothing and will converse with them. And afterward, Gog and Magog will come forth and possess the whole earth. And after their coming forth from the east, in their days, from that woman in the mountain called Halal will be born one who will look like God and will say, ‘I am a God.’ And many of the people will follow him because of the many signs and wonders he will perform in the sun, moon, and stars; but he will not be given the power to raise the dead. And violence and perfidy (or: heresy and unbelief) will increase among people (against people).
“And a widowed woman will come to him and say to him, ‘Vindicate me before my adversary,’ so it may be fulfilled that which he who was crucified on the cross said: ‘There was a judge who did not fear God nor was ashamed before men. Lest that old woman come near me, I will vindicate her, so that she will not come and never trouble me’ (Luke 18:2-5).
“And in those days the prophecy and the kingdom and the priesthood will cease. And the marks of that man are: He will have a large head and a delicate neck and little hair on his head and a long arm and short fingers. His right eye will be bloodshot, and his left eye will be joyful. And he will come to Jerusalem and pitch his tent under Mount Zion. And two men will come forth, and the place of their origin will not be known, for only God will know it. And they will say to him, ‘You are not a god, but a liar.’ Then he will be angry with them and seize them and slaughter them on the altar of Zion, to fulfill the word of David the prophet, saying, ‘Then oxen will be made to ascend upon your altars.’
“And afterward he who was crucified will be angry on the wood of the cross and melt it like wax, and will destroy those who believed in him (the Antichrist). And he will renew the surface of the earth; and fire will come down from heaven; and the earth will burn for forty years; and the heavens will be folded like a sheet of paper, and the sun, the moon, and the stars will fall down.
“And after this, the great day will come, with which nothing can compare, and the Father will rejoice in his Son, and the Son in his Father, and the Holy Spirit with Them. And if anyone has done good in this world, they will rejoice; but if they have not done good, they will not rejoice; and those who believe will prosper in this world.”
The prophecy of the Sibyl has come to an end. Praise be to God, the Ruler of the whole world! Amen!
The wisdom of the woman whose name is Sibyl (Sabela), daughter of Heraclius, chief of the sages of Ephesus, and the explanation of the dream which one hundred wise men saw in the city of Rome on one (and the same) night and at one (and the same) hour.
After the children of Israel had come out of Egypt and had gone up into the wilderness in the days known, they came to the land of the dominion of the Greeks, the Hebrews, and the Gergeseans. There were among them prophets and teachers who revealed to them the secrets of the mystery and instructed them in all that they required of them. But when sin increased among them through their idolatry, and they worshipped demons and sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, God put an end to their power and took away their prophecy, and no more messengers came to them. They were compelled to go to magicians and diviners and ask them to show them what the prophets and messengers who had been before them had shown them; but they could not do as they did.
And in those days Titus captured them and brought them as far as Rome, the great city; and God scattered them throughout all the provinces of Rome. And their journey took place in the year 120, in the days of Alexander, in the month of Magabit, that is, the month of August.
One hundred wise men had a dream on the same night. And when morning came, they told each other what they had seen. And they were greatly afraid (to each other or: on account of themselves) and their souls were troubled, because they found no one to interpret their dream to them. And they said to one another, “Our Lord has shown us this.” And they said to one another, “What is this dream of ours? And what is its interpretation? And what will happen?”
And the news of the dream reached Alexander, king of Rome. And he sent for that woman, to the Sibyl, the daughter of Heraclius, the chief [of the wise men] of Ephesus. And the wise men of Rome sent word to that Sibyl to ask her to come to them and explain the dream to them. And she came with the ambassadors. And when she came, the people of the city heard her fame, and they welcomed her, both great and small. And they brought her in with joy and gladness.
She taught children and young people about what would happen in the whole world at all times. And God gave this woman many gifts, so that she could prophesy to all the people of heaven, sun, and moon, because of her great wisdom. And the days of her life were one hundred and eighty-seven years. She had a sister whose name was Samel, and she revealed to her sister everything she knew and everything she saw. And her wisdom became established in all the earth, so that she surpassed all wise men by her wisdom. And God prolonged her days until she lived two hundred and ninety-two years and five months, and she explained all her dreams and all her wonderful things all the days of her life.
And they brought the hundred wise men, and they told her what they had dreamed. And she said to them, “Go away until daybreak, and tomorrow assemble yourselves and speak before all the people.” And she said to them, “Let us pray to the God of gods to give us the explanation (of the dream).” And as she had told them, they departed and returned home.
‘
And the next morning they gathered together. And she blessed them and said to them, "Come, O people of Rome, that I may tell you the wonderful things that will happen in this world. Speak now, tell me what you have dreamed.”
Then they said, “We saw nine suns in the sky. The first sun had much light throughout the world. And the second sun was like the first, but not like it. And on the third sun was a mist. And on the fourth sun was a cloud, and in it was a knife. And the fifth sun had light, but it was quite little. And the sixth sun was mixed with blood; and in it were knives; and scorpion-like rays surrounded it; and in it were arrows; and a great light surrounded it. And the seventh sun appeared and went out; and in it were a heap of blood, scorpions, and a mist. And the light of the eighth sun was dim; and it had many scorpions and blood; and in it were knives; and poison surrounded it. And the ninth sun had much blood surrounding it; and its light was dim; and in it were arrows.”
Then Sibyl said to them: “The nine suns that you have seen in the whole world are nine ages; what will happen in each time was shown to you by him who dwells above in the highest (heavens), who sees and is not seen; and he has revealed to you what will happen at all times and in all ages.
“In the first age, people will be humble and lovers of beauty, and they will love one another; there will be no hypocrisy, injustice, or envy among them; and they will only build buildings and erect houses and decorate their graves while they are still alive; they will know that they will die; and as soon as one dies, everyone will bury him. And in the second age, people like them will be compassionate; they will be like them; and they will love to give alms to one another, but they will be inferior to those who were before them. And in the third age, they will begin blasphemy, boasting, and haughtiness; what God will hate, they will love; and the faith of their own will be little, and sin will abound among them.
“And in the fourth age they will be vile and love vileness and bloodshed. And in the fifth age they will love murder and bloodshed, and there will be much strife among them. And in the sixth age a light will appear from the light of the Most High who dwells on high, and it will dwell in the womb of a virgin; and she will conceive and give birth in the city of Judea. And there will be joy in the heavens and on earth at his birth. And diviners will come from the east, bringing gifts.
“And some of the Jews will rise up against him and crucify him and kill him, and drive nails into his hands and feet. And they will bury him in a tomb, and on the third day he will rise again and come out of the tomb. Just as he came out of the womb of the virgin, and when he came out, her virginity was found intact, so too, when he comes out of the tomb, the seal will be found intact. And he will walk bodily, as the prophet of the Gentiles says: ‘Those who did not know him believed in him, but those to whom he came did not receive him and denied him. But to those who believe in him he will give grace such as no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has been imagined in the heart of man; and he will call them his children and his brothers.’
“And in the seventh age, a king will come from Berentia (Byzantium) and a woman will come from Constantinople; and they will come to the city of Jerusalem and kill many people for the sake of Him crucified on the tree. And they will subdue many people and convert many who worshipped demons to Him (the Crucified One).
“And after him will arise a king who will kill and destroy the churches of the free men, and will chastise with fire and sword those who worship him crucified on the tree. And many will be put to shame before that king: He will kill many people, and many churches will be destroyed.
“And after him there will be many who will worship the one crucified on the cross. And there will come a man from the south, named Mafked, and he will reign for a certain number of years. And after him will appear one like him.
“And in the eighth age there will be misery and much anguish; cities and seashores will collapse and be destroyed. And an island of the sea will be plundered, and its inhabitants will be taken into captivity. And afterward, anguish will come upon the people in the land of Elijah. And in Berentia (Byzantium) there will be fear and anxiety. And no road will be found between Rome and the Frankish lands. And in those days there will be great slaughter on the road. And Syria will be destroyed, as will a great city in the east.
“And a king will reign over them for twenty-three years, and he will not complete the twenty-fourth. Gifts will come from all the islands of the sea. And the fear that will reign everywhere will not come to Rome. And in his days Syria will enjoy prosperity, but shortly after his death it will be destroyed. And he will leave behind two sons. The name of one will be like that of the man who came from the south. And one of them will be appointed ruler over Syria. And the seashore will be destroyed, and the churches will be destroyed; and all men will continue in falsehood and unrighteousness.
“And in those days the slave will sit, and the master will perform the service; and the slave-girl will sit, and her mistress will grind; and the slaves will be like masters; they, whose fathers and mothers are unknown, will be rulers in all the lands. And in those days sin and adultery will increase; injustice will increase, and righteousness will fail. And the priests will be adulterers and walk in the way of sin; they will be fond of eating and drinking, and will not bury the dead or rise up to pray; and they will be proud before men because of the word given to them. But they will be put to shame and judged for their deeds. Hear their words, and do not do as they do. For mercy and faith have failed them.
“And afterward, the churches will be destroyed and people will perish, so that might be fulfilled the word of the prophet Daniel, who says: ‘The desert will not suffer anything from the monks who dwell in it; and of those who dwell in the mountains, there will be no one who will not wander; and upon those who are in the cities, great distress will come.’ And all this will happen in the eighth age.
“The fathers will say to their children, ‘You are not ours.’ And the children will deny their fathers. And the slaves will rise up and kill their masters and take their wives. And one whom no one knows will rule the land and the great city of the East. And slaughter will rise against it for three days and three nights; only a few will remain in it. And Jerusalem will be destroyed; (and) of the people of that place where he was crucified, no one will remain. And all this will happen in the eighth age.
“And in those days priests and elders and monks and orphans and widows will pray and cry out to God, and because of the multitude of their sins, he will turn away his face from them and will not listen to their prayer. And wickedness will abound at that time, more than before or after.
“And in those days, people will come from the east and others from the west; and they will find one another on the way and question one another. And some will say to others, ‘Where are you going?’ They will say, ‘We want to go west.’ Then others will say to them, ‘Do not go west, for there is much misery there.’ Then they will say to others, ‘Where are you going?’ And they will say, ‘To the east.’ And they will tell them, ‘Do not go, for there is much misery there.’
“And in those days the cities between the rivers will be destroyed, and half of Egypt will burn up. And there will be much mourning on the sea, and many ships will be wrecked, and blood will be shed in the river; and it will go away and not return. And there will be much mourning and affliction, so that the living will say to the dead, ‘Hail!’
“And the ninth age: In those days the Lion’s Son will come out from the west and build all that was destroyed on the earth; and the ark will be rebuilt. And in all the world there will be plenty in his days; and the living will walk over the graves of the dead and say to them, ‘You died in days of mourning and affliction; arise and see this great joy and exultation and abundance in which we are.’ And the reign of this man will last forty years. And people will seek those to whom they can give alms, but no one will be found to take from them. And the produce of the earth will be plentiful; and the trees of the field will also bear much fruit; and the fish of the sea will be numerous; and the earth will be cleansed from sin; and the monks in the desert will be numerous; and the cities that had been destroyed will be rebuilt.
“And at the end of forty years in the ninth age, a woman from the tribe of Dan will conceive in Caran [= Harran]. And the angels will come down from heaven to earth in human clothing and will converse with them. And afterward, Gog and Magog will come forth and possess the whole earth. And after their coming forth from the east, in their days, from that woman in the mountain called Halal will be born one who will look like God and will say, ‘I am a God.’ And many of the people will follow him because of the many signs and wonders he will perform in the sun, moon, and stars; but he will not be given the power to raise the dead. And violence and perfidy (or: heresy and unbelief) will increase among people (against people).
“And a widowed woman will come to him and say to him, ‘Vindicate me before my adversary,’ so it may be fulfilled that which he who was crucified on the cross said: ‘There was a judge who did not fear God nor was ashamed before men. Lest that old woman come near me, I will vindicate her, so that she will not come and never trouble me’ (Luke 18:2-5).
“And in those days the prophecy and the kingdom and the priesthood will cease. And the marks of that man are: He will have a large head and a delicate neck and little hair on his head and a long arm and short fingers. His right eye will be bloodshot, and his left eye will be joyful. And he will come to Jerusalem and pitch his tent under Mount Zion. And two men will come forth, and the place of their origin will not be known, for only God will know it. And they will say to him, ‘You are not a god, but a liar.’ Then he will be angry with them and seize them and slaughter them on the altar of Zion, to fulfill the word of David the prophet, saying, ‘Then oxen will be made to ascend upon your altars.’
“And afterward he who was crucified will be angry on the wood of the cross and melt it like wax, and will destroy those who believed in him (the Antichrist). And he will renew the surface of the earth; and fire will come down from heaven; and the earth will burn for forty years; and the heavens will be folded like a sheet of paper, and the sun, the moon, and the stars will fall down.
“And after this, the great day will come, with which nothing can compare, and the Father will rejoice in his Son, and the Son in his Father, and the Holy Spirit with Them. And if anyone has done good in this world, they will rejoice; but if they have not done good, they will not rejoice; and those who believe will prosper in this world.”
The prophecy of the Sibyl has come to an end. Praise be to God, the Ruler of the whole world! Amen!
IV. Armenian
The 13th-century Armenian chronicler Mekhitar of Ayrivank mentions a “Sibilah” in a list of the “apocryphal books of the Jews,” which he prefaces, among others, to his chronicle written in 1297, along with an Apocalypse of Elijah, a Book of Adam, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Assumption of Moses, the Seventh Vision of Daniel, an Eldad and Modada Apocalypse, and other apocrypha, and notes at the end: “This I and Ananias copied at Wimi-Kaghak (Rock City, i.e. Ayrivank), where we consecrated a church. The priest Yeshu tells us more about this Sibyl in his Armenian translation of the Chronicle of Michael the Syrian. (ed. Jerusalem 1870), p. 54:
And there took place (at the time of the murder of Sisera by Jael) the dream of a hundred philosophers in Rome, who in one (and the same) night saw a dream of seven suns, which Sabile, the wise woman, explained as seven times and seven famous kings; (and) the sixth sun, whose radiance obscured the others and which did not set like the others, pointed to Christ.
The same passage, but in a shorter form, we also find in Vardan Areweltsi’s Historical Compilation (ed. Venice 1862):
In his days, a hundred philosophers saw a dream of seven suns in one (and the same) night, which the Sabile, the woman, explained as seven times; (and) the sixth, whose radiance obscured the others, she indicated Christ.
From these passages it is sufficiently clear that we are dealing here with an Armenian version of our Apocrypha; that the passage just mentioned as a quotation from the Armenian translation by Michael the Syrian is not a quotation from the Syrian Chronicle of Michael is clear from the fact that it is not found in the Syrian edition of Michael and is therefore, among other things, an addition by the Armenian translator, who was familiar with the Apocrypha in the Armenian, such as from Mekhitar of Ayrivank. (J. Schleifer)
WESTERN VERSIONS
As for the relationship between the Latin Sibyl and the Eastern Sibyl, both show agreement in some points. In both, there are one hundred people who see the same dream on one and the same night (in the Tiburtine Sibyl, one hundred senators; in the Eastern versions, one hundred wise men). In both versions, the content of the dream is the same (nine suns; in the Armenian Sibyl [see above], however, seven). The place where the dream takes place is also identical in both (Rome). In the Tiburtine Sibyl, as in the Eastern versions, the king sends for the Sibyl, who interprets the dream as nine ages. The description of the appearance of the individual suns then agrees in some details. In both, we again find a sun (the fourth in the Tiburtine Sibyl, the sixth in the Eastern versions) related to Christ. The conclusion of the two Sibyls also shows some similarities (the appearance of the Antichrist, his birth from the tribe of Dan, his appearance in the Temple in Jerusalem, the appearance of Gog and Magog, and the two witnesses Enoch and Elijah). On the whole, however, the two diverge so much from each other that a direct use of one by the other seems impossible; we must therefore assume a common source for them. (J. Schleifer)
I. Latin
This has been preserved in two recensions, one complete and one incomplete; the latter contains only the second part of the first recension and was revised after it; it was published by Usinger in the tenth volume of the Researches on German History (Göttingen 1870), pp. 621-631, with commentary. The older version of this version has already been printed several times, in the works of the Venerable Bede, in the Pantheon of Gottfried von Viterbo, vol. X, pp. 249-258 (ed. Basileae), and in the Researches on German History, vol. XIX, pp. 375-396 (with commentary by Gers); based on the old prints and more recent manuscripts, Ernst Sackur provided a new critical edition of this version in 1898 in his Sibylline Texts and Researches. According to Sackur, 1. c, pp. 162-163, it dates from the fourth century. (J. Schleifer)
Interpretatio Sibyllinorum verborum
Migne Patrologia Latina Tomus 9
Sibyls are generally called all women who prophesy, who, by divine will, were accustomed to interpret and pronounce future events to all. But the most learned authors say that there were ten Sibyls: the first of whom was Persian, the second Libyan, the third Delphic, who prophesied before the Trojan wars; the fourth Cumean, in Italy; the fifth Erithean, born in Babylon, called Erythrea, from the island on which her poems were composed; the sixth Samian, called from the river Samos in Benevento; the seventh Almiteian, or Cumane; the eighth Hellespontian; the ninth Phrygian; the tenth Tiburtine in Greek, Albunea in Latin: from whose poems many writings about God and Christ are contained.
This Sibyl was therefore the daughter of King Priam, and was begotten by her mother Hecuba. In Greek she was called Tiburtine, but in Latin she was called Albunea, or Cassandra; And she, going around the various provinces and parts of the world, preached in Asia, Macedonia, Erostachia, Agagdea, Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Galatia.
And when she had filled the parts of the world with her prophecies, from there she came to Egypt, Ethiopia, Bragada, Babylonia, Africa, Libya, Pentapolis, Mauritania, and Palarinum. She preached in all these provinces, and being filled with the spirit of prophecy, she prophesied good things for the good, and evil things for the bad. For we know what she announced in her proclamations, and what she foretold would happen in the latter days.
Therefore, the Romans, hearing her fame, immediately announced it in the presence of the senators. Therefore, the senators, sending ambassadors to her, had her brought to Rome with great honor. Accordingly, a hundred men from the Roman senate each saw a dream in one night. Each of them saw that there were as it were nine suns in the sky, which were divided individually, and had figures divided within themselves. The first sun was bright and shining over the whole earth. The second sun was brighter and larger, having an ethereal brightness. The third sun was flaming with a blood-red color, fiery and terrible, and finally quite brilliant. The fourth sun, the fourth generation, is at the time of Christ. The fifth sun was dark, bloody and a lamp, as in dark thunder. The sixth sun was very dark, it had the sting of a scorpion. The seventh sun was very terrible, and again bloody, having a sword in the middle. The eighth sun was a sun that was poured out, having a bloody color in the middle. The ninth sun was very dark, but having one shining ray.
And when the Sibyl had entered Rome, the Roman citizens, seeing her, admired her great beauty: for she was of a comely appearance, a comely countenance, eloquent in her words; and quite well composed with the beauty of God, she offered sweet eloquence to her hearers. Then the men who had seen the dreams came and said to her: “Mistress and lady, how great is the beauty of your body, such as we have never seen in women except you. We pray that you will reveal the dream that we all saw in one night, which foretells what will happen.”
The Sibyl answered them: “It is not right to reveal the mystery of this vision in this place, full of dung and polluted with various contaminations. But come, let us ascend to the Apennine mountain, and there I will announce to you what will happen to the citizens of Rome.”
And they did as she said. She questioned them, and they told her the vision they had seen. But she said to them: “The nine suns that you saw, foreshadow all future generations. But since you saw them as different, life will be different among the sons of men. But the first sun is the first generation: there will be simple and bright men, loving freedom, truthful, gentle, most kind, loving the consolations of the poor, and quite wise. But the second sun is the second generation: there will be men living splendidly, increasing greatly, worshipping God, living without wickedness on earth. The third sun is the third generation: nation will rise against nation, and there will be many battles in Rome. But the fourth sun is the fourth generation: there will be men who deny what is true, and in those days a woman will rise from the stock of the Hebrews named Mary, having a husband named Joseph, and they will procreate from her without the commingling of man, of the Holy Spirit, by the name Jesus: and she will be a virgin before giving birth, and a virgin after giving birth: therefore he who will be born of her will be a true man, as all the prophets foretold: and he will fulfill the law of the Hebrews, and will adjoin his own together, and his kingdom will endure for ever and ever: and when he is born of him, armies of angels will be on his right and on his left, saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. For a voice will come over him saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, hear him.’” There were some of the priests of the Hebrews there, who, hearing these words, were indignant and said to her: “These words are terrible: let this queen be silent.”
The Sibyl answered and said to them: “O Jews, it is necessary that these things should happen, but you will not believe in him.” And they said: “We will not believe, because God gave the word and the covenant to our fathers, and will not take his hand from us.” She answered them again: “The God of heaven will beget a Son, as it is written: who will be like his Father, and afterwards as a child he will grow up through the ages, and kings and princes of the earth will rise up against him. In those days Caesar Augustus will have a famous name, and he will reign in Rome, and will subject all the earth to himself. Not many, or not few; not three, nor two, but one God, alone and immense, who made the heaven, the sun, the stars and the moon, the fruitful earth and the sea. But those who honor him will inherit eternal life, whose everlasting paradise they will inherit. But there will be a resurrection of the dead at the same time, and the lame will run very fast; the deaf will hear, and the blind will see; the speechless will speak; from the five loaves he will satisfy five thousand men, and the remnants of the fragments will be gathered up twelve baskets, from there they will fill in the likeness of the peoples. Restraining the winds with a word, treading the sea, walking on the waves, he will release the infirmities of all; he will cause the dead to rise, repelling many sorrows: and from one bread the living will be satisfied.
“But when all that I have said shall be fulfilled, in him shall all the law be dissolved, and afterwards he shall find the impious hands of the unbelievers. After these things the priests of the Hebrews will gather together against Jesus, because he will do many signs, and they will seize him, they will slap God with their incestuous hands, and spit venomous spittle on his holy face. But he will simply give his holy back to the scourges, and he will receive blows; he will be silent, lest anyone recognize whence the word came: he will be crowned with a crown of thorns; but they will give him gall for food, and vinegar for thirst, and they will hang him on a tree, and they will kill him. But the veil of the temple will be rent in two, and the day will be dark for six hours, and he will end the lot of death by sleeping for three days, and then returning from hell he will come to the light. And it will avail them nothing, because on the third day he will rise again, and will show himself to his disciples, and in their sight he will ascend into heaven, and of his kingdom there will be no end. The Jews call me a mad and lying Sibyl; but when all things shall be done, then at last they will remember me, and no one will call me mad afterwards, but the great Sibyl of God.”
And she said to the Roman princes: “But the fifth sun is the fifth generation: Jesus will choose for himself two fishermen from Galilee, and he will teach them his laws, saying: Go, and teach all nations the doctrine which you have received from me, and by seventy-two languages all nations will be subject. But the sixth sun is the sixth generation, and they will besiege that city for three years and six months. But the seventh sun is the seventh generation; and two kings will arise, and they will do much persecution in the land of the Hebrews, for the Lord’s sake. The eighth sun will be the eighth generation, and Rome will be in desolation, and those who are fighting will howl in tribulations and pains, saying: ‘Do you think we will perish?’
“The ninth sun is the ninth generation: and the Roman princes will rise up in the destruction of many. Then two kings will rise up from Syria, and their army innumerable as the sand of the sea, and they will possess the cities and regions of the Romans as far as Chalcedon. And then there will be much bloodshed. Everything that is remembered, the city and the nation will tremble in them, and they will destroy the East. And after these two kings will rise up from Egypt, and they will conquer four kings, and they will kill them and all their army, and they will reign for three years and six months. And after them another king with the letter C in his name, mighty in battle, who will reign for thirty years, and will build a temple for God, and will fulfill the law, and will execute judgment for God in the meantime. And after him another king will rise up, who will reign for a few times, and they will conquer and kill him. After this there will be a king by the name of B, and from B will precede king Audon, and from Audon will come forth A, and from A will precede A, and from this will be born A; and the second A himself will be very warlike and a warrior. And from A himself a king by the name of R will be born, and from R, L will be born, and he will have power over nineteen kings. And after this there will arise king Salicus of France, by the name of K: he will be great and most pious, powerful and merciful, and will do justice to the poor. For such will be the grace of virtue in him that along the way he goes, the tops of the trees will bend towards him. For the water, meeting him, will not slow his course in the least. But there has never been a king like the empire of the Romans before, nor will there be after him.
“And a king will come after him by the name of L, and after this he will reign L, and after L thirty, and from L will come forth A, and he himself A will be exceedingly warlike and strong in battle, and he will be numerous by land or by water, and he will not be given into the hands of his enemies, and he will die an exile outside the kingdom, and his soul will be in the hand of God. Then a king will arise by the name of V, and on one side Salicus and on the other Lombard, and he himself will have power in the land against those who fight, and against all enemies. And in those days a king will come forth by the name of O, and he will be most powerful and strong and good, and he will do justice to the poor, and he will judge rightly, and from him another O, most powerful, will come forth, and under him there will be battles between pagans and Christians, and the blood of their Greeks will be shed, and his heart will be in the hand of God, and he will reign for seven years, and from the same woman a king will be born by the name of O: this one will be bloody and criminal, and without faith and truth, and through him there will be much wickedness in the land, and much bloodshed, and the Churches will be destroyed under his power. For in other regions there will be many tribulations and battles. Then nation will rise against nation in Cappadocia, and they will take Pamphylia captive at that time, because it did not enter by the door into the fold: for this king will reign for four years.
“And after him a king will rise by the name of H, and in his days there will be many battles, they will conquer Syria, and they will capture Pentapolis. For this king will be from the family of the Lombards. Then another king will rise by the name of Salicus, and he will conquer the Lombards, and there will be battles and battles. But Salicus himself will be strong and powerful, and his kingdom will be in a few times. Then the Agareans and tyrants will rise, and they will capture Tarentum and Barro, and many cities will be plundered. And they will also want to come to Rome, and there is no one to resist them except the God of gods and the Lord of lords. Then the Armenians will come and destroy Persia, so that the cities which they will plunder will not be recovered, and they will rush in and lay trenches near the East, and they will conquer the Romans, and obtain peace for a while. And the king of the Greeks, a warlike man, will enter Aepolis, and will destroy the temples of the idols; and the locust and the caterpillar will come, and they will eat all the fruits of Cappadocia and Cilicia, and they will be tormented by hunger, and afterwards there will be no more.
“And another Salian king, namely H, will rise up, a strong and warlike man, and many neighbors and relatives will be angry against him. In those days, brother will betray brother, and he will have intercourse with sister, and many abominations of men will be in the land. Old men will lie with virgins, and evil priests with deceived girls. Bishops will be followers of evildoers, and there will be bloodshed in the land, and they will defile the temples of the saints. And there will be fornications, uncleanness, and sodomite crime among the people, so that the sight of them will appear in its contempt. And there will be men who are rapists, slanderers, hating justice and loving falsehood, and the judges of Rome will be changed. If today they are admitted to judge, another day they will be changed, because of receiving money, and they will not judge right, but wrong. And in those days there will be men who are rapacious, greedy and perjured, and who love falsehood, and law and truth will be destroyed, and earthquakes will occur in various places and island cities, and regions will be submerged. And there will be pestilences of men in various places, and the land will be desolate by enemies, and the vanity of the gods will not prevail to comfort them.
“Afterwards a king will arise by the name of L. And there will be wars under him and he will reign for twelve years. And after him a king will arise by the name of F, and coming he will obtain, and reign for a considerable time, and he will come to Rome and capture it, and his soul will not be put to death by the hand of enemies all the days of his life. But he will be good and great, and he will do justice to the poor, and he himself will live for a long time.
“After these, however, another king will arise by the name of H; and from this H twelve H will precede him and he will be of the lineage of the Lombards and the Teutonics, and they will reign for a hundred years. Then after him a Salian king will arise by the name of H of France. Then there will be the beginning of sorrows, such as have not been since the beginning of the world. And in his days there will be many battles and tribulations of many and bloodshed, and earthquakes through cities and regions, and many lands will be captured, and there will be no one to resist the enemies, because the Lord will be angry on the earth. Rome will be conquered with persecution and sword, and it will be captured by the hand of the king himself. And there will be men who are rapacious, greedy, tyrants, hating the poor, oppressing the innocent, and saving the harmful. And they will be unjust and most wicked, and the rulers will be destroyed and taken captive; and there is no one on earth to resist them and rescue them, because of their malice and greed.
“And then a king named H will rise up, steadfast in mind. H that same steadfast will be the king of the Romans and the Greeks; this one will be tall in stature, handsome in appearance, splendid in face, and decently composed in every feature of his limbs, and his reign will end in 122 years. In those days, therefore, there will be great riches, and the earth will yield its fruit in abundance, so that a measure of wheat will be sold for one denarius, a measure of wine for one denarius, a measure of oil for one denarius. And the king himself will have the Scripture before his eyes, saying: ‘The King of Rome claims for himself the whole kingdom of the Christians.’ Therefore he will devastate all the islands and cities of the pagans, and he will destroy all the temples of idols, and he will call all the pagans to baptism, and through all the temples the cross of Jesus Christ will be erected. For then Egypt will precede Ethiopia to give a gift to God. But those who do not adore the cross of Jesus Christ will be punished with the sword. And when 122 years have been completed, the Jews will be converted to the Lord, and his tomb will be glorious by all. In those days Israel will be saved, and will dwell confidently.
“At that time the prince of iniquity will rise from the tribe of Dan, who will be called Antichrist. This will be the son of perdition, the head of pride, the teacher of error, the fullness of wickedness, who will overthrow the world, and will perform wonders and great signs by false pretense; and he will deceive many by his magic art, so that fire will seem to come down from heaven. And the years will be shortened as months, and the months as a week, and the week as a day, and the day as an hour. And there shall arise from the North the most filthy nations, which King Alexander enclosed, namely Gog, and Magog. These are twelve kingdoms, the number of which is as the sand of the sea. But when the king of Rome shall hear, he shall call together an army, and shall fight against them, and shall overthrow them until they are destroyed. And afterwards the king shall come to Jerusalem, and there, having laid aside his crown and all his royal apparel, he shall leave the kingdom of the Christians to God the Father, and to his Son Jesus Christ. And when the Roman empire shall have ceased, then shall Antichrist be manifestly revealed, and shall sit in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. And during his reign, two most illustrious men shall come forth, Elijah and Enoch, to announce the coming of the Lord; and Antichrist shall kill them, and after three days they shall be raised up by the Lord.
“Then shall there be great persecution, such as was not before, nor shall be after. But the Lord shall shorten those days, for the elect’s sake, and Antichrist shall be slain by the power of the Lord by Michael the archangel on the Mount of Olives.”
And when the Sibyl was foretelling these and many other future things to the Romans, by which signs the Lord will come to judge, she thundered a verse in prophecy, saying:
“A verse of the Sibylline about Christ.
A sign of judgment: the earth will be wet with sweat,
From heaven a king will come who will be for ages,
That is, present in the flesh, to judge the world:
Whence the unbelieving and the faithful will see God,
The high with the saints now stands in it,
So souls will be present with the flesh, which he judges himself,
When the world lies uncultivated in dense briars,
The specters of men will reject all the wealth,
Fire will burn up the lands, the sea and the sky:
Seeking the dark gates of Hell,
For the light of the saints is free from all flesh,
The fountains will be given over, and the eternal flame will burn.
Revealing hidden acts, each one will speak secrets,
And God will unlock the breasts of light;
Then there will be mourning, and all will gnash their teeth.
The sun’s radiance will be snatched away, and the chorus of the stars will perish,
The heaven will roll, the moonlight will cover,
He will cast down the hills, and lift up the valleys from the depths:
There will be no lofty or high thing in the affairs of men,
Now the mountains and the blue of the brooks are equal to the plains,
All things will cease, the earth will perish broken;
So likewise the fountains and rivers will flow with fire.
But the trumpet will send forth a sad sound from on high,
The world will show a kind of wretched crime and various labors,
And the earth will show the chaos of Tartarus, opening up.
And before this Lord the kings will stand together,
Fire and a river of brimstone will fall from the heavens.”
Then the Lord will judge each one according to his work, and the wicked will go into hell of eternal fire; but the just will receive the reward of eternal life; and a new heaven, and a new earth; and the sea will be no more. And the Lord will reign with the saints forever and ever. Amen.
This Sibyl was therefore the daughter of King Priam, and was begotten by her mother Hecuba. In Greek she was called Tiburtine, but in Latin she was called Albunea, or Cassandra; And she, going around the various provinces and parts of the world, preached in Asia, Macedonia, Erostachia, Agagdea, Cilicia, Pamphylia, and Galatia.
And when she had filled the parts of the world with her prophecies, from there she came to Egypt, Ethiopia, Bragada, Babylonia, Africa, Libya, Pentapolis, Mauritania, and Palarinum. She preached in all these provinces, and being filled with the spirit of prophecy, she prophesied good things for the good, and evil things for the bad. For we know what she announced in her proclamations, and what she foretold would happen in the latter days.
Therefore, the Romans, hearing her fame, immediately announced it in the presence of the senators. Therefore, the senators, sending ambassadors to her, had her brought to Rome with great honor. Accordingly, a hundred men from the Roman senate each saw a dream in one night. Each of them saw that there were as it were nine suns in the sky, which were divided individually, and had figures divided within themselves. The first sun was bright and shining over the whole earth. The second sun was brighter and larger, having an ethereal brightness. The third sun was flaming with a blood-red color, fiery and terrible, and finally quite brilliant. The fourth sun, the fourth generation, is at the time of Christ. The fifth sun was dark, bloody and a lamp, as in dark thunder. The sixth sun was very dark, it had the sting of a scorpion. The seventh sun was very terrible, and again bloody, having a sword in the middle. The eighth sun was a sun that was poured out, having a bloody color in the middle. The ninth sun was very dark, but having one shining ray.
And when the Sibyl had entered Rome, the Roman citizens, seeing her, admired her great beauty: for she was of a comely appearance, a comely countenance, eloquent in her words; and quite well composed with the beauty of God, she offered sweet eloquence to her hearers. Then the men who had seen the dreams came and said to her: “Mistress and lady, how great is the beauty of your body, such as we have never seen in women except you. We pray that you will reveal the dream that we all saw in one night, which foretells what will happen.”
The Sibyl answered them: “It is not right to reveal the mystery of this vision in this place, full of dung and polluted with various contaminations. But come, let us ascend to the Apennine mountain, and there I will announce to you what will happen to the citizens of Rome.”
And they did as she said. She questioned them, and they told her the vision they had seen. But she said to them: “The nine suns that you saw, foreshadow all future generations. But since you saw them as different, life will be different among the sons of men. But the first sun is the first generation: there will be simple and bright men, loving freedom, truthful, gentle, most kind, loving the consolations of the poor, and quite wise. But the second sun is the second generation: there will be men living splendidly, increasing greatly, worshipping God, living without wickedness on earth. The third sun is the third generation: nation will rise against nation, and there will be many battles in Rome. But the fourth sun is the fourth generation: there will be men who deny what is true, and in those days a woman will rise from the stock of the Hebrews named Mary, having a husband named Joseph, and they will procreate from her without the commingling of man, of the Holy Spirit, by the name Jesus: and she will be a virgin before giving birth, and a virgin after giving birth: therefore he who will be born of her will be a true man, as all the prophets foretold: and he will fulfill the law of the Hebrews, and will adjoin his own together, and his kingdom will endure for ever and ever: and when he is born of him, armies of angels will be on his right and on his left, saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will. For a voice will come over him saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, hear him.’” There were some of the priests of the Hebrews there, who, hearing these words, were indignant and said to her: “These words are terrible: let this queen be silent.”
The Sibyl answered and said to them: “O Jews, it is necessary that these things should happen, but you will not believe in him.” And they said: “We will not believe, because God gave the word and the covenant to our fathers, and will not take his hand from us.” She answered them again: “The God of heaven will beget a Son, as it is written: who will be like his Father, and afterwards as a child he will grow up through the ages, and kings and princes of the earth will rise up against him. In those days Caesar Augustus will have a famous name, and he will reign in Rome, and will subject all the earth to himself. Not many, or not few; not three, nor two, but one God, alone and immense, who made the heaven, the sun, the stars and the moon, the fruitful earth and the sea. But those who honor him will inherit eternal life, whose everlasting paradise they will inherit. But there will be a resurrection of the dead at the same time, and the lame will run very fast; the deaf will hear, and the blind will see; the speechless will speak; from the five loaves he will satisfy five thousand men, and the remnants of the fragments will be gathered up twelve baskets, from there they will fill in the likeness of the peoples. Restraining the winds with a word, treading the sea, walking on the waves, he will release the infirmities of all; he will cause the dead to rise, repelling many sorrows: and from one bread the living will be satisfied.
“But when all that I have said shall be fulfilled, in him shall all the law be dissolved, and afterwards he shall find the impious hands of the unbelievers. After these things the priests of the Hebrews will gather together against Jesus, because he will do many signs, and they will seize him, they will slap God with their incestuous hands, and spit venomous spittle on his holy face. But he will simply give his holy back to the scourges, and he will receive blows; he will be silent, lest anyone recognize whence the word came: he will be crowned with a crown of thorns; but they will give him gall for food, and vinegar for thirst, and they will hang him on a tree, and they will kill him. But the veil of the temple will be rent in two, and the day will be dark for six hours, and he will end the lot of death by sleeping for three days, and then returning from hell he will come to the light. And it will avail them nothing, because on the third day he will rise again, and will show himself to his disciples, and in their sight he will ascend into heaven, and of his kingdom there will be no end. The Jews call me a mad and lying Sibyl; but when all things shall be done, then at last they will remember me, and no one will call me mad afterwards, but the great Sibyl of God.”
And she said to the Roman princes: “But the fifth sun is the fifth generation: Jesus will choose for himself two fishermen from Galilee, and he will teach them his laws, saying: Go, and teach all nations the doctrine which you have received from me, and by seventy-two languages all nations will be subject. But the sixth sun is the sixth generation, and they will besiege that city for three years and six months. But the seventh sun is the seventh generation; and two kings will arise, and they will do much persecution in the land of the Hebrews, for the Lord’s sake. The eighth sun will be the eighth generation, and Rome will be in desolation, and those who are fighting will howl in tribulations and pains, saying: ‘Do you think we will perish?’
“The ninth sun is the ninth generation: and the Roman princes will rise up in the destruction of many. Then two kings will rise up from Syria, and their army innumerable as the sand of the sea, and they will possess the cities and regions of the Romans as far as Chalcedon. And then there will be much bloodshed. Everything that is remembered, the city and the nation will tremble in them, and they will destroy the East. And after these two kings will rise up from Egypt, and they will conquer four kings, and they will kill them and all their army, and they will reign for three years and six months. And after them another king with the letter C in his name, mighty in battle, who will reign for thirty years, and will build a temple for God, and will fulfill the law, and will execute judgment for God in the meantime. And after him another king will rise up, who will reign for a few times, and they will conquer and kill him. After this there will be a king by the name of B, and from B will precede king Audon, and from Audon will come forth A, and from A will precede A, and from this will be born A; and the second A himself will be very warlike and a warrior. And from A himself a king by the name of R will be born, and from R, L will be born, and he will have power over nineteen kings. And after this there will arise king Salicus of France, by the name of K: he will be great and most pious, powerful and merciful, and will do justice to the poor. For such will be the grace of virtue in him that along the way he goes, the tops of the trees will bend towards him. For the water, meeting him, will not slow his course in the least. But there has never been a king like the empire of the Romans before, nor will there be after him.
“And a king will come after him by the name of L, and after this he will reign L, and after L thirty, and from L will come forth A, and he himself A will be exceedingly warlike and strong in battle, and he will be numerous by land or by water, and he will not be given into the hands of his enemies, and he will die an exile outside the kingdom, and his soul will be in the hand of God. Then a king will arise by the name of V, and on one side Salicus and on the other Lombard, and he himself will have power in the land against those who fight, and against all enemies. And in those days a king will come forth by the name of O, and he will be most powerful and strong and good, and he will do justice to the poor, and he will judge rightly, and from him another O, most powerful, will come forth, and under him there will be battles between pagans and Christians, and the blood of their Greeks will be shed, and his heart will be in the hand of God, and he will reign for seven years, and from the same woman a king will be born by the name of O: this one will be bloody and criminal, and without faith and truth, and through him there will be much wickedness in the land, and much bloodshed, and the Churches will be destroyed under his power. For in other regions there will be many tribulations and battles. Then nation will rise against nation in Cappadocia, and they will take Pamphylia captive at that time, because it did not enter by the door into the fold: for this king will reign for four years.
“And after him a king will rise by the name of H, and in his days there will be many battles, they will conquer Syria, and they will capture Pentapolis. For this king will be from the family of the Lombards. Then another king will rise by the name of Salicus, and he will conquer the Lombards, and there will be battles and battles. But Salicus himself will be strong and powerful, and his kingdom will be in a few times. Then the Agareans and tyrants will rise, and they will capture Tarentum and Barro, and many cities will be plundered. And they will also want to come to Rome, and there is no one to resist them except the God of gods and the Lord of lords. Then the Armenians will come and destroy Persia, so that the cities which they will plunder will not be recovered, and they will rush in and lay trenches near the East, and they will conquer the Romans, and obtain peace for a while. And the king of the Greeks, a warlike man, will enter Aepolis, and will destroy the temples of the idols; and the locust and the caterpillar will come, and they will eat all the fruits of Cappadocia and Cilicia, and they will be tormented by hunger, and afterwards there will be no more.
“And another Salian king, namely H, will rise up, a strong and warlike man, and many neighbors and relatives will be angry against him. In those days, brother will betray brother, and he will have intercourse with sister, and many abominations of men will be in the land. Old men will lie with virgins, and evil priests with deceived girls. Bishops will be followers of evildoers, and there will be bloodshed in the land, and they will defile the temples of the saints. And there will be fornications, uncleanness, and sodomite crime among the people, so that the sight of them will appear in its contempt. And there will be men who are rapists, slanderers, hating justice and loving falsehood, and the judges of Rome will be changed. If today they are admitted to judge, another day they will be changed, because of receiving money, and they will not judge right, but wrong. And in those days there will be men who are rapacious, greedy and perjured, and who love falsehood, and law and truth will be destroyed, and earthquakes will occur in various places and island cities, and regions will be submerged. And there will be pestilences of men in various places, and the land will be desolate by enemies, and the vanity of the gods will not prevail to comfort them.
“Afterwards a king will arise by the name of L. And there will be wars under him and he will reign for twelve years. And after him a king will arise by the name of F, and coming he will obtain, and reign for a considerable time, and he will come to Rome and capture it, and his soul will not be put to death by the hand of enemies all the days of his life. But he will be good and great, and he will do justice to the poor, and he himself will live for a long time.
“After these, however, another king will arise by the name of H; and from this H twelve H will precede him and he will be of the lineage of the Lombards and the Teutonics, and they will reign for a hundred years. Then after him a Salian king will arise by the name of H of France. Then there will be the beginning of sorrows, such as have not been since the beginning of the world. And in his days there will be many battles and tribulations of many and bloodshed, and earthquakes through cities and regions, and many lands will be captured, and there will be no one to resist the enemies, because the Lord will be angry on the earth. Rome will be conquered with persecution and sword, and it will be captured by the hand of the king himself. And there will be men who are rapacious, greedy, tyrants, hating the poor, oppressing the innocent, and saving the harmful. And they will be unjust and most wicked, and the rulers will be destroyed and taken captive; and there is no one on earth to resist them and rescue them, because of their malice and greed.
“And then a king named H will rise up, steadfast in mind. H that same steadfast will be the king of the Romans and the Greeks; this one will be tall in stature, handsome in appearance, splendid in face, and decently composed in every feature of his limbs, and his reign will end in 122 years. In those days, therefore, there will be great riches, and the earth will yield its fruit in abundance, so that a measure of wheat will be sold for one denarius, a measure of wine for one denarius, a measure of oil for one denarius. And the king himself will have the Scripture before his eyes, saying: ‘The King of Rome claims for himself the whole kingdom of the Christians.’ Therefore he will devastate all the islands and cities of the pagans, and he will destroy all the temples of idols, and he will call all the pagans to baptism, and through all the temples the cross of Jesus Christ will be erected. For then Egypt will precede Ethiopia to give a gift to God. But those who do not adore the cross of Jesus Christ will be punished with the sword. And when 122 years have been completed, the Jews will be converted to the Lord, and his tomb will be glorious by all. In those days Israel will be saved, and will dwell confidently.
“At that time the prince of iniquity will rise from the tribe of Dan, who will be called Antichrist. This will be the son of perdition, the head of pride, the teacher of error, the fullness of wickedness, who will overthrow the world, and will perform wonders and great signs by false pretense; and he will deceive many by his magic art, so that fire will seem to come down from heaven. And the years will be shortened as months, and the months as a week, and the week as a day, and the day as an hour. And there shall arise from the North the most filthy nations, which King Alexander enclosed, namely Gog, and Magog. These are twelve kingdoms, the number of which is as the sand of the sea. But when the king of Rome shall hear, he shall call together an army, and shall fight against them, and shall overthrow them until they are destroyed. And afterwards the king shall come to Jerusalem, and there, having laid aside his crown and all his royal apparel, he shall leave the kingdom of the Christians to God the Father, and to his Son Jesus Christ. And when the Roman empire shall have ceased, then shall Antichrist be manifestly revealed, and shall sit in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. And during his reign, two most illustrious men shall come forth, Elijah and Enoch, to announce the coming of the Lord; and Antichrist shall kill them, and after three days they shall be raised up by the Lord.
“Then shall there be great persecution, such as was not before, nor shall be after. But the Lord shall shorten those days, for the elect’s sake, and Antichrist shall be slain by the power of the Lord by Michael the archangel on the Mount of Olives.”
And when the Sibyl was foretelling these and many other future things to the Romans, by which signs the Lord will come to judge, she thundered a verse in prophecy, saying:
“A verse of the Sibylline about Christ.
A sign of judgment: the earth will be wet with sweat,
From heaven a king will come who will be for ages,
That is, present in the flesh, to judge the world:
Whence the unbelieving and the faithful will see God,
The high with the saints now stands in it,
So souls will be present with the flesh, which he judges himself,
When the world lies uncultivated in dense briars,
The specters of men will reject all the wealth,
Fire will burn up the lands, the sea and the sky:
Seeking the dark gates of Hell,
For the light of the saints is free from all flesh,
The fountains will be given over, and the eternal flame will burn.
Revealing hidden acts, each one will speak secrets,
And God will unlock the breasts of light;
Then there will be mourning, and all will gnash their teeth.
The sun’s radiance will be snatched away, and the chorus of the stars will perish,
The heaven will roll, the moonlight will cover,
He will cast down the hills, and lift up the valleys from the depths:
There will be no lofty or high thing in the affairs of men,
Now the mountains and the blue of the brooks are equal to the plains,
All things will cease, the earth will perish broken;
So likewise the fountains and rivers will flow with fire.
But the trumpet will send forth a sad sound from on high,
The world will show a kind of wretched crime and various labors,
And the earth will show the chaos of Tartarus, opening up.
And before this Lord the kings will stand together,
Fire and a river of brimstone will fall from the heavens.”
Then the Lord will judge each one according to his work, and the wicked will go into hell of eternal fire; but the just will receive the reward of eternal life; and a new heaven, and a new earth; and the sea will be no more. And the Lord will reign with the saints forever and ever. Amen.
II. Welsh
The Welsh text, given in the Peniarth Manuscripts, is a fairly literal translation of the presumed Latin original of the text given above, as printed in Sackur's critical edition, with some minor variants, mostly in the spelling of proper names. It was translated in volume 2 of The Hengwrt Mss. by the Rev. Robert Williams and the Rev. G. Hartwell Jones in 1892.
The Prophecies of Sibylla
I.—Sibylla was a daughter of King Priam, her mother being Hecuba, Priam's wife, and she had divers names; in the Greek tongue she was called Tyburrina, in Latin Allumea. Sibylla made a circuit of various kingdoms of the East, to wit, Asia, and the land of Alexander the Great, and Galilea, and Cilicia, and Pamphilia, and Galatia. And after she had filled that part of the world with her divinations, thence she went as far as Ethiopia, the land of the Blomans; thence she came to Babylon, and Africa, and Libya, and Pentapolis, and Mauritania, and the Isle of the Palms. In all those countries she preached, and, by her prophetic forebodings, she fulfilled good things for good persons, evil things for evil. We know that she, in her poetry, foretold things that would come hereafter, the last things manifest to show forth. Therefore, the princes of Rome, upon hearing the renown of the aforementioned Sibyila, sent messengers, and that, too, with the approval of the Emperor of Rome.
II.—The Emperor sent messengers to her, and bade them bring her in honour to Rome. One hundred men of the elders of Rome saw the same dream, each of them, on the same night. The vision showed them in their sleep, as it were, nine suns appearing in the height of heaven. The first sun was bright, and it illumined the whole earth; the second was larger, and more brilliant, and therein was aerial splendour. The third was burning and awful. The fourth sun had in it four beams radiating. The fifth was dark, and bloody, and in it, as it were, a lamp amid darkness of thunder. The sixth was passing dark, and therein was a sharp point, as the sting of a scorpion. (The scorpion is an insect small in body, the same size as a beetle, and its poison is colder than anything.) The seventh like— wise was dark, and terrible, of the colour of blood, and in it, as it were, a four-edge sword. The eighth was effused, with a ruddiness at its centre. The ninth sun was dark round about, and at its centre one ray shone.
III.—When Sibyila arrived at the city of Rome, the citizens of the city, on seeing her, marvelled, greatly at her loveliness, her noble and comely form, and the beauty of her countenance, in the sight of all, the eloquence of her learned words, and at all the wondrous loveliness of her person. And to her hearers agreeable were her words, and sweet the discourse that she imparted. Then the men that had seen the same dream came to her, and began to converse with her on this wise: O mistress and lady, so shapely a person as thine, such excellency of beauty, we never saw in any woman before thee throughout the whole earth; since thou knowest, foretell to us the accidents of fate. Then she replied thus: It is not right to show the virtue of a vision that will come hereafter, in a place full of filthiness, and corrupted by divers temptations, but come with me to the summit of yonder mountain, that is high and bright, and then I will show you that which shall befall the city of Rome hereafter.
IV.—And there they came, all of them, as she asked them, and there they related to her the vision and dream they had seen, and she said : The nine suns that ye saw signify the generations that shall come hereafter, and their variety shows the variety of the life that the children of those generations shalt have. The first snn shows the first generation, in which there shall be simple and renowned people, to love freedom; and they shall be innocent and gentle, and merciful, and shall love the poor, being abundant in their wisdom. The second sun is the second generation; they will be men that shall live brilliantly, and multiply greatly, and worship God without malice, and inhabit the world together. The third sun is the third generation and nation shall rise against nation, and there shall be much fighting in Rome.
V.—The fourth sun is the fourth line, and in that line there shall come men that deny truth. And in those days a woman shall arise, Mary, by name, and she shall have a husband, called Joseph. And there shall be born a child of that woman, without the knowledge of man and wife, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, a Son of the true God, and His name shall be Jesus. And Mary shall be a virgin both before and after travail; He that shall be born of her will be very God and very man, as all the prophets foretold; and He shall fulfil the law of the Hebrews, and He shall join together His own things, and His kingdom shall abide for ever and ever. And when Re shall be born, a legion of angels shall come on the right hand and on the left to say: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men; and a voice shall come from above to say: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.
VI.—There were there some priests of the Hebrews, and they spake to her thus: Thy words are awful; let this queen hold her peace. Sibylla answered them: O ye Jews, it must needs be so; yet ye will not believe Him. They said: We will not believe, for a testimony and a word was given to our fathers, and He will not take away His hand from us. A second time she answered them: The God of Heaven shall be born, as it is written, that He shall be like His father, and thereafter the Son shall wax greater throughout ages, and there shall rise against Him the kings and princes of the earth. In those days Cæsar shall have a mighty name, and he shall hold sway at Rome, and he shall subdue the whole earth to himself. Then the chiefs of the priests shall rise against Jesus, and He shall work many miracles, and they shall take Him, and buffet Him with their cursed hands, and spit in His holy face venomous spittle, and He will offer His precious back to them to be beaten, and though He receive dishonour at their hands, He will hold His peace. For food they will give Him gall, and for drink they will give Him vinegar and gall, and they shall hang Him on the tree of passion, and slay Him, and naught shall this avail them, for on the third day He shall rise from the dead, and shew Himself to His disciples, and, as they gaze upon Him, He shall ascend into Heaven; and to His kingdom there shall be no end.
VII.--To the men of Rome spake Sibylla: The fifth sun signifies the fifth line, and in that age Jesus shall choose two fishermen from Galilea, and instruct them in His own law, and say: Go, and the teaching ye received from Me, teach all the peoples, and by three-score-and-ten tongues all the nations shall be subdued. The sixth sun is the sixth generation, and they shall rule over this city for three years. The seventh sun will he the seventh generation, and they shall arise and work much slaughter in the land of the Hebrews for the sake of God. The eighth sun is the eighth generation, and Rome shall be as if becoming no nation, and the women with child shall moan in their pangs and tribulations, and say: Thinkest thou that we shall bring forth? The ninth sun will be the ninth line, and the men of Rome shall arise to oppress many.
VIII.—There shall arise two kings from Syria, and their multitude will be countless, more in number than the sea-sand. And they shall hold the cities and kingdoms of the men of Rome, as far as Calcedonia. Then there shall be much bloodshed. All these things unless they remember, the cities and nations shall fear in them and scatter them to the East. After this, there shall arise two kings from Egypt, and they shall fight with fonr kings, and slay them with their host, and shall rule three years and six months. And after these another shall arise, C. by name, very powerful in fight, who shall rule thirty years, and build a temple to God, and shall fulfil the law, and work righteousness for God’s sake on the earth. And after these there shall arise another king who shall reign a few seasons, and they shall contend with him, and slay him. After him there shall be King Andon, and from Andon there shall come A., and from A. shall come A., and from him again A.; and the second A. will be a fighter, and a mighty warrior. And from this A. there shall come B., and from R. L., and he shall hold power and twenty kingdoms, save one.
IX.—And after these a Saliens shall arise from France, K. by name; he shall he a mighty man and gentle, mighty and merciful. And he shall do justice and righteousness to the poor. So great will be his grace in his righteousness that when he walks along the road the trees shall bow their heads before him, and the waters before him shall not linger. His like in the Empire of Rome never was before him, and shall not come after. And after him there shall come a King named L. Next to L. there shall come B. And after B. there shall come thirty-three kings, everyone called B. And from B. shall come A., and he shall be a restless man, strong in battle, and over much sea and land shall he fare; his enemies shall not get as much as a hand’s room on him; and he shall go as it were an exile out of his kingdom. And at last his spirit shall go to the Kingdom of Heaven, to God.
X.—Then shall arise a man, V. by name, a Frank on one side, a Lombard on the other, and he shall have power against his enemies, and those that fight against him; and in those days there shall come a king called C., and he shall be very powerful, and shall show mercy to the poor and shall judge righteously. And from him shall come another, O., greatest in power, and under him there shall be battles between the Christians and Pagans, and much blood shall be shed; and seven years shall he rule and his soul shall pass to heaven. From him shall come a king, O. by name, and he shall cause carnage, mighty in his evil, without faith in righteousness; and through him shall there be many evils and blood shall be often shed, and under his power many churches shall be destroyed; in the kingdoms many tribulations shall come to pass. And there shall arise a generation in the kingdom called Cappadocia. And they shall reduce to bondage the kingdom of Pamphylia in those days, because they enter not through the door of the sheepfold. Three years shall he rule, and after him there shall come a king, H. by name, and in those days many battles shall be fought; and he shall wage war on Samaria, and assault the kingdom of Pentapolis. That king is descended from the nation of the Lombards. Then there shall arise a king from France, O. by name, and he shall war against the men of Rome, and there shall be wars and battles, and he shall be a strong and powerful man, and he shall reign but a short time.
XI.—Then shall arise others, and savage men with them, and they shall bring into captivity places called Tarentus and Hario, and shall waste many cities. And when the men of Rome wish to come, there will be no one who shall withstand them save the God of Gods and the Lord of Lords. And then shall come the Jews, and they shall uproot Persiden, so that the cities that pray shall not he saved. And when they come to meet, they will make a trench near the East, and shall fight against the men of Rome, and make peace between them. And there shall come a wager of war, the King of Greece, to the city of Hierapolis, and he shall destroy the temple of the false gods. And then shall come great flies and beetles, and they shall eat all the trees and all the fruits of the kingdoms of Cappadocia, and Galatia they shall devour; and they shall be long afflicted with famine. And thereafter he shall not live. And another king shall arise, a fighter named R.; verily, he shall hold sway; and know thou certainly that many of those next to him, and of the powerful, shall rage against him.
XII.—And in those days brother shall betray brother to death, and father the son, and brother shall be united to sister, and many abominations shall be committed on the earth. The old men shall lie with maidens, and the wicked priests with virgins they deceive. The Bishops, through their evil deeds, shall not believe rightly, and bloodshed shall be upon the earth. And the temples shall be polluted by works of secret intercourse, so that their vision may appear to them a reproach ; And men shall then be extortioners and oppressors, hating truth and loving falsehood ; and the judges of Rome shall waver; if to-day men send for judgment without giving them aught, on the morrow they will repeal the same decision for the sake of rewards, and they shall not judge righteousness, but falsehood and perjury. And in those days there shall be extortioners and perjurers, taking rewards for every lie. And Law and Truth shall be destroyed and the earth shall quake in divers places, and islands and cities and kingdoms shall he overwhelmed by deluges, and there shall be tempests and plague upon the inhabitants, and the earth shall be desolated by enemies, and the vanity of their gods shall not avail to comfort them.
XIII.—And after that a King shall arise named B.; and when he comes, he shall role a while, namely two years ; and they shall fight in his time. And after him shall come a King, called A., and he shall hold the kingdom for a space of time, and he shall come to Rome, and shall subjugate it, and they shall not be able to deliver his soul into the hand of his enemies, and in the days of his life he shall be a mighty man, and shall do justice to the poor, and shall rule a long time. And after him another king shall arise, B. by name, and from him shall proceed twelve, every one of them called B. The last shall come from Lombardy, and shall rule a hundred years. After him there shall come a king from France, called B. then shall be the beginning of sorrows. such as never have been since the beginning of the world; and in those days there shall be many battles, and tribulations, and bloodshed, and there shall he none who can withstand the enemies. And then, too, shall the earth tremble through cities, and kingdoms, and many cities shall be subdued. Rome shall be razed, by fire and sword; Rome shall he taken in the hand of that king; and oppressors shall be covetous and cruel, hating the poor, and trampling upon the innocent, and saving the harmful. And then shall be the guiltiest and most unjust people and lordships on their borders shall be brought into captivity, and there shall be none to withstand them or uproot them from their greed and malice.
XIV.--And then shall arise a king from Greece, named Constans, and he shall be King of Greece and in Rome; he shall be mighty in person, and of fair appearance, and of splendid presence, and comely shall be the form of his body, a glorious ornament, and his kingdom shall last one hundred and twelve years. At that time there shall be rich men, and the earth shall bring forth her fruits abundantly, and the measure of wheat shall not be sold for more than a penny, and the measure of oil for a penny. And that king shall always have a letter before him, and in the letter written, The King of Greece stall bring under his yoke every Christian kingdom. And all cities and all islands of the pagans he shall destroy, and uproot their temples, and bring all the pagans to faith, and in all temples the precious Cross shall be lifted up. Then he shall begin to give Ethiopia and Egypt to divine service; and he that does not worship the sacred Cross shall meet his end by the edge of the sword. And when one hundred and twenty years are fulfilled, the Jews shall turn to faith in the Lord, and His blessed tomb shall be glorified by all. In those days Judah shall be wasted, and the land of Israel shall abide in faithfulness.
XV.—At that time there shall arise a prince of iniquity from the tribe of Dan, who shall be called Antichrist. He shall he a son of perdition and the head of pride and teacher of error, full of evil iniquity. He shall pervert the world, and work signs and prodigies through false representations; he shall deceive many through magical art, so that he shall be seen to launch the fire from heaven, and the years shall be shortened like the months, and the months like the weeks, and the weeks like the days, and the days like the hours. Then shall arise from the south-east nations so old of those whom Alexander sold, namely, Gog and Magog. There are twenty-two. kingdoms there, the numbers of which are not known more than the sand in the ocean. When the King of the Romans sees them, he shall call together his host, and shall battle with them, and slay them utterly.
XVI.—Thereafter he shall come to Jerusalem, and there he shall reject the crown of the kingdom and all kingly attire, and shall resign his kingdom to God the Father, and Our Lord Jesus Christ, His Son. In his time there shall come the two most renowned, to wit. Elias and Enoch, to foretell that the Lord is coming after; and Antichrist shall slay them; and the third day they shall arise through God; and then there shall be much affliction, such as never was before, nor shall come after: the Lord shall shorten those days for the sake of the elect. And Michael shall slay Antichrist in the Mount of Olives. When Sibylla had foretold these things, and many other things that should come after, and in what sign God will come to judge, Sibylla spoke in divination: As a sign of judgment, the earth shall drip with sweat. From heaven a king shall come hereafter through the ages, in his flesh, to judge the world. Then faithful and unfaithful shall see the most high God, with the saints of the world at that end.
XVII.—And then the souls shall come in their bodies to the judgment. There shall be many thorns in the uncultivated earth. And the graves shall yield up those that are therein. And fire shall burn the earth, and air, and ocean, and break the gates of the pit of hell; and the good souls shall be given free light, and the evil everlasting fire, to burn them. And then all shall confess their secret sins. God shall show forth the power of light. Then shall be weep¬ing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the sun be darkened, and there shall be cries in the stars, and heaven shall be turned, and the light of the moon shall fail. Then the high places shall be made low, and the valleys be lifted up; there shall not be anything, either high or low, on the earth, that shall not be made level. Then shall all things have rest, and the earth shall he broken and fail, and then shall fire burn the rivers and fountains; and then a voice shall come from heaven, a trump from the heights, loud of sound, and the wretched shall be sorrowful, lamenting their sins, and their various labours. And then shall the earth show substance of hell, and before the Lord all things shall be sunk and cast down, and then shall fire of brimstone rain from heaven, and water from the same substance. And so ends the prophecy of Sibylla, and her dream.
II.—The Emperor sent messengers to her, and bade them bring her in honour to Rome. One hundred men of the elders of Rome saw the same dream, each of them, on the same night. The vision showed them in their sleep, as it were, nine suns appearing in the height of heaven. The first sun was bright, and it illumined the whole earth; the second was larger, and more brilliant, and therein was aerial splendour. The third was burning and awful. The fourth sun had in it four beams radiating. The fifth was dark, and bloody, and in it, as it were, a lamp amid darkness of thunder. The sixth was passing dark, and therein was a sharp point, as the sting of a scorpion. (The scorpion is an insect small in body, the same size as a beetle, and its poison is colder than anything.) The seventh like— wise was dark, and terrible, of the colour of blood, and in it, as it were, a four-edge sword. The eighth was effused, with a ruddiness at its centre. The ninth sun was dark round about, and at its centre one ray shone.
III.—When Sibyila arrived at the city of Rome, the citizens of the city, on seeing her, marvelled, greatly at her loveliness, her noble and comely form, and the beauty of her countenance, in the sight of all, the eloquence of her learned words, and at all the wondrous loveliness of her person. And to her hearers agreeable were her words, and sweet the discourse that she imparted. Then the men that had seen the same dream came to her, and began to converse with her on this wise: O mistress and lady, so shapely a person as thine, such excellency of beauty, we never saw in any woman before thee throughout the whole earth; since thou knowest, foretell to us the accidents of fate. Then she replied thus: It is not right to show the virtue of a vision that will come hereafter, in a place full of filthiness, and corrupted by divers temptations, but come with me to the summit of yonder mountain, that is high and bright, and then I will show you that which shall befall the city of Rome hereafter.
IV.—And there they came, all of them, as she asked them, and there they related to her the vision and dream they had seen, and she said : The nine suns that ye saw signify the generations that shall come hereafter, and their variety shows the variety of the life that the children of those generations shalt have. The first snn shows the first generation, in which there shall be simple and renowned people, to love freedom; and they shall be innocent and gentle, and merciful, and shall love the poor, being abundant in their wisdom. The second sun is the second generation; they will be men that shall live brilliantly, and multiply greatly, and worship God without malice, and inhabit the world together. The third sun is the third generation and nation shall rise against nation, and there shall be much fighting in Rome.
V.—The fourth sun is the fourth line, and in that line there shall come men that deny truth. And in those days a woman shall arise, Mary, by name, and she shall have a husband, called Joseph. And there shall be born a child of that woman, without the knowledge of man and wife, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, a Son of the true God, and His name shall be Jesus. And Mary shall be a virgin both before and after travail; He that shall be born of her will be very God and very man, as all the prophets foretold; and He shall fulfil the law of the Hebrews, and He shall join together His own things, and His kingdom shall abide for ever and ever. And when Re shall be born, a legion of angels shall come on the right hand and on the left to say: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men; and a voice shall come from above to say: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.
VI.—There were there some priests of the Hebrews, and they spake to her thus: Thy words are awful; let this queen hold her peace. Sibylla answered them: O ye Jews, it must needs be so; yet ye will not believe Him. They said: We will not believe, for a testimony and a word was given to our fathers, and He will not take away His hand from us. A second time she answered them: The God of Heaven shall be born, as it is written, that He shall be like His father, and thereafter the Son shall wax greater throughout ages, and there shall rise against Him the kings and princes of the earth. In those days Cæsar shall have a mighty name, and he shall hold sway at Rome, and he shall subdue the whole earth to himself. Then the chiefs of the priests shall rise against Jesus, and He shall work many miracles, and they shall take Him, and buffet Him with their cursed hands, and spit in His holy face venomous spittle, and He will offer His precious back to them to be beaten, and though He receive dishonour at their hands, He will hold His peace. For food they will give Him gall, and for drink they will give Him vinegar and gall, and they shall hang Him on the tree of passion, and slay Him, and naught shall this avail them, for on the third day He shall rise from the dead, and shew Himself to His disciples, and, as they gaze upon Him, He shall ascend into Heaven; and to His kingdom there shall be no end.
VII.--To the men of Rome spake Sibylla: The fifth sun signifies the fifth line, and in that age Jesus shall choose two fishermen from Galilea, and instruct them in His own law, and say: Go, and the teaching ye received from Me, teach all the peoples, and by three-score-and-ten tongues all the nations shall be subdued. The sixth sun is the sixth generation, and they shall rule over this city for three years. The seventh sun will he the seventh generation, and they shall arise and work much slaughter in the land of the Hebrews for the sake of God. The eighth sun is the eighth generation, and Rome shall be as if becoming no nation, and the women with child shall moan in their pangs and tribulations, and say: Thinkest thou that we shall bring forth? The ninth sun will be the ninth line, and the men of Rome shall arise to oppress many.
VIII.—There shall arise two kings from Syria, and their multitude will be countless, more in number than the sea-sand. And they shall hold the cities and kingdoms of the men of Rome, as far as Calcedonia. Then there shall be much bloodshed. All these things unless they remember, the cities and nations shall fear in them and scatter them to the East. After this, there shall arise two kings from Egypt, and they shall fight with fonr kings, and slay them with their host, and shall rule three years and six months. And after these another shall arise, C. by name, very powerful in fight, who shall rule thirty years, and build a temple to God, and shall fulfil the law, and work righteousness for God’s sake on the earth. And after these there shall arise another king who shall reign a few seasons, and they shall contend with him, and slay him. After him there shall be King Andon, and from Andon there shall come A., and from A. shall come A., and from him again A.; and the second A. will be a fighter, and a mighty warrior. And from this A. there shall come B., and from R. L., and he shall hold power and twenty kingdoms, save one.
IX.—And after these a Saliens shall arise from France, K. by name; he shall he a mighty man and gentle, mighty and merciful. And he shall do justice and righteousness to the poor. So great will be his grace in his righteousness that when he walks along the road the trees shall bow their heads before him, and the waters before him shall not linger. His like in the Empire of Rome never was before him, and shall not come after. And after him there shall come a King named L. Next to L. there shall come B. And after B. there shall come thirty-three kings, everyone called B. And from B. shall come A., and he shall be a restless man, strong in battle, and over much sea and land shall he fare; his enemies shall not get as much as a hand’s room on him; and he shall go as it were an exile out of his kingdom. And at last his spirit shall go to the Kingdom of Heaven, to God.
X.—Then shall arise a man, V. by name, a Frank on one side, a Lombard on the other, and he shall have power against his enemies, and those that fight against him; and in those days there shall come a king called C., and he shall be very powerful, and shall show mercy to the poor and shall judge righteously. And from him shall come another, O., greatest in power, and under him there shall be battles between the Christians and Pagans, and much blood shall be shed; and seven years shall he rule and his soul shall pass to heaven. From him shall come a king, O. by name, and he shall cause carnage, mighty in his evil, without faith in righteousness; and through him shall there be many evils and blood shall be often shed, and under his power many churches shall be destroyed; in the kingdoms many tribulations shall come to pass. And there shall arise a generation in the kingdom called Cappadocia. And they shall reduce to bondage the kingdom of Pamphylia in those days, because they enter not through the door of the sheepfold. Three years shall he rule, and after him there shall come a king, H. by name, and in those days many battles shall be fought; and he shall wage war on Samaria, and assault the kingdom of Pentapolis. That king is descended from the nation of the Lombards. Then there shall arise a king from France, O. by name, and he shall war against the men of Rome, and there shall be wars and battles, and he shall be a strong and powerful man, and he shall reign but a short time.
XI.—Then shall arise others, and savage men with them, and they shall bring into captivity places called Tarentus and Hario, and shall waste many cities. And when the men of Rome wish to come, there will be no one who shall withstand them save the God of Gods and the Lord of Lords. And then shall come the Jews, and they shall uproot Persiden, so that the cities that pray shall not he saved. And when they come to meet, they will make a trench near the East, and shall fight against the men of Rome, and make peace between them. And there shall come a wager of war, the King of Greece, to the city of Hierapolis, and he shall destroy the temple of the false gods. And then shall come great flies and beetles, and they shall eat all the trees and all the fruits of the kingdoms of Cappadocia, and Galatia they shall devour; and they shall be long afflicted with famine. And thereafter he shall not live. And another king shall arise, a fighter named R.; verily, he shall hold sway; and know thou certainly that many of those next to him, and of the powerful, shall rage against him.
XII.—And in those days brother shall betray brother to death, and father the son, and brother shall be united to sister, and many abominations shall be committed on the earth. The old men shall lie with maidens, and the wicked priests with virgins they deceive. The Bishops, through their evil deeds, shall not believe rightly, and bloodshed shall be upon the earth. And the temples shall be polluted by works of secret intercourse, so that their vision may appear to them a reproach ; And men shall then be extortioners and oppressors, hating truth and loving falsehood ; and the judges of Rome shall waver; if to-day men send for judgment without giving them aught, on the morrow they will repeal the same decision for the sake of rewards, and they shall not judge righteousness, but falsehood and perjury. And in those days there shall be extortioners and perjurers, taking rewards for every lie. And Law and Truth shall be destroyed and the earth shall quake in divers places, and islands and cities and kingdoms shall he overwhelmed by deluges, and there shall be tempests and plague upon the inhabitants, and the earth shall be desolated by enemies, and the vanity of their gods shall not avail to comfort them.
XIII.—And after that a King shall arise named B.; and when he comes, he shall role a while, namely two years ; and they shall fight in his time. And after him shall come a King, called A., and he shall hold the kingdom for a space of time, and he shall come to Rome, and shall subjugate it, and they shall not be able to deliver his soul into the hand of his enemies, and in the days of his life he shall be a mighty man, and shall do justice to the poor, and shall rule a long time. And after him another king shall arise, B. by name, and from him shall proceed twelve, every one of them called B. The last shall come from Lombardy, and shall rule a hundred years. After him there shall come a king from France, called B. then shall be the beginning of sorrows. such as never have been since the beginning of the world; and in those days there shall be many battles, and tribulations, and bloodshed, and there shall he none who can withstand the enemies. And then, too, shall the earth tremble through cities, and kingdoms, and many cities shall be subdued. Rome shall be razed, by fire and sword; Rome shall he taken in the hand of that king; and oppressors shall be covetous and cruel, hating the poor, and trampling upon the innocent, and saving the harmful. And then shall be the guiltiest and most unjust people and lordships on their borders shall be brought into captivity, and there shall be none to withstand them or uproot them from their greed and malice.
XIV.--And then shall arise a king from Greece, named Constans, and he shall be King of Greece and in Rome; he shall be mighty in person, and of fair appearance, and of splendid presence, and comely shall be the form of his body, a glorious ornament, and his kingdom shall last one hundred and twelve years. At that time there shall be rich men, and the earth shall bring forth her fruits abundantly, and the measure of wheat shall not be sold for more than a penny, and the measure of oil for a penny. And that king shall always have a letter before him, and in the letter written, The King of Greece stall bring under his yoke every Christian kingdom. And all cities and all islands of the pagans he shall destroy, and uproot their temples, and bring all the pagans to faith, and in all temples the precious Cross shall be lifted up. Then he shall begin to give Ethiopia and Egypt to divine service; and he that does not worship the sacred Cross shall meet his end by the edge of the sword. And when one hundred and twenty years are fulfilled, the Jews shall turn to faith in the Lord, and His blessed tomb shall be glorified by all. In those days Judah shall be wasted, and the land of Israel shall abide in faithfulness.
XV.—At that time there shall arise a prince of iniquity from the tribe of Dan, who shall be called Antichrist. He shall he a son of perdition and the head of pride and teacher of error, full of evil iniquity. He shall pervert the world, and work signs and prodigies through false representations; he shall deceive many through magical art, so that he shall be seen to launch the fire from heaven, and the years shall be shortened like the months, and the months like the weeks, and the weeks like the days, and the days like the hours. Then shall arise from the south-east nations so old of those whom Alexander sold, namely, Gog and Magog. There are twenty-two. kingdoms there, the numbers of which are not known more than the sand in the ocean. When the King of the Romans sees them, he shall call together his host, and shall battle with them, and slay them utterly.
XVI.—Thereafter he shall come to Jerusalem, and there he shall reject the crown of the kingdom and all kingly attire, and shall resign his kingdom to God the Father, and Our Lord Jesus Christ, His Son. In his time there shall come the two most renowned, to wit. Elias and Enoch, to foretell that the Lord is coming after; and Antichrist shall slay them; and the third day they shall arise through God; and then there shall be much affliction, such as never was before, nor shall come after: the Lord shall shorten those days for the sake of the elect. And Michael shall slay Antichrist in the Mount of Olives. When Sibylla had foretold these things, and many other things that should come after, and in what sign God will come to judge, Sibylla spoke in divination: As a sign of judgment, the earth shall drip with sweat. From heaven a king shall come hereafter through the ages, in his flesh, to judge the world. Then faithful and unfaithful shall see the most high God, with the saints of the world at that end.
XVII.—And then the souls shall come in their bodies to the judgment. There shall be many thorns in the uncultivated earth. And the graves shall yield up those that are therein. And fire shall burn the earth, and air, and ocean, and break the gates of the pit of hell; and the good souls shall be given free light, and the evil everlasting fire, to burn them. And then all shall confess their secret sins. God shall show forth the power of light. Then shall be weep¬ing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the sun be darkened, and there shall be cries in the stars, and heaven shall be turned, and the light of the moon shall fail. Then the high places shall be made low, and the valleys be lifted up; there shall not be anything, either high or low, on the earth, that shall not be made level. Then shall all things have rest, and the earth shall he broken and fail, and then shall fire burn the rivers and fountains; and then a voice shall come from heaven, a trump from the heights, loud of sound, and the wretched shall be sorrowful, lamenting their sins, and their various labours. And then shall the earth show substance of hell, and before the Lord all things shall be sunk and cast down, and then shall fire of brimstone rain from heaven, and water from the same substance. And so ends the prophecy of Sibylla, and her dream.
III. Greek
The Greek author wrote more than a century after his Latin colleague and consequently wished to fit the history of the intervening years into the framework of the nine generations. [...] Yet it would be incorrect to say that the Greek author simply compressed the extant Latin text (or its Greek original if one existed) and inserted into this shortened version an account of the last century before his own time. In fact it can be shown that the Greek version, although as a whole it is younger than the Latin text, contains elements and motifs that are older. (Paul J. Alexander)
The Oracle of Baalbek
codex Athas 1527 and codex Vaticanus Graecus 1120.
The Sibyl, through whom the vision of the hundred judges of the great city of Rome was revealed, gave this interpretation.
When the Sibyl came to Rome, the whole city came out to meet her, from the greatest to the least. And the hundred judges came out to meet her, saying: “Great is the wisdom and the prudence of your majesty.” And now they made clear the vision which they saw that day. The hundred judges said: “We saw the vision but we were not able to interpret it or to compare it rightly.” The Sibyl answered them: “Go up to the Capitol of the great city of Rome, and let the tribunal be set.” And it happened as she commanded them.
And she said to them: “Announce to me the vision which you saw, and I will interpret and explain it for you.” And the Sibyl sat upon the Capitol, and taking olive branches in her hands she said to them: “What did you see? Tell me.” And answering, the hundred judges said to her: “We saw that nine suns shone upon the earth.” And the Sibyl answered them: “These are the nine generations of men.” They said to her: “Thus it must be, our Lady: everything that we saw in the vision we will report to you.” And again the Sibyl answered and said: “Thus it must be.” And the judges said to her: “As we saw the vision, so we will report it to you.” The Sibyl said to them: “How did you see it?” They answered her, saying: “We saw that the first sun was of many colors, radiant with beams, exceedingly bright, very great, brilliant towards the right. The second sun was very bright, very great, of many colors, radiant with beams. The third sun was blood-red, like Tartarus, very great, flaming with fire. The fourth sun was blood-red, like Tartarus. The fifth sun was blood-red, exceedingly bright, flashing like thunder and rain. The sixth sun was clouded, snowy, blood-red. The seventh sun was like Tartarus, blood-red, fearful. The eighth sun was radiant with beams, so that he had it in the middle of his hand. The ninth sun was above all, like Tartarus, carrying destruction.”
And the Sibyl answered and said: “The nine suns are nine generations. The first sun is the first generation: men without guile, long-lived, free, true, gentle, just, lovers of truth. The second sun is the second generation: they also are men lovers of truth, gentle, hospitable, harmless, lovers of freedom and its race. The third sun is the third generation: kingdom shall rise against kingdom, nation against nation; wars shall arise, but they shall be lovers of hospitality and merciful in the city of the Romans. The fourth sun is the fourth generation: in the midst of the day shall appear in Judea a woman named Mary, and she shall bring forth a son whose name is Jesus. He shall break the law of the Jews, and his law shall reign. And his law shall prevail, and heaven shall be opened to him, and a voice shall be heard, and the armies of angels shall worship his throne, and the tracks of his feet shall be adored. And a man shall come from Galilee and shall preach, and he shall say to them: ‘The word which you received from me, preach it among the nations in seventy-two tongues.’”
And the priests of the Hebrews said to her: “Most awesome Lady, we seek to inquire of you.” And the Sibyl answered and said to them: “What do you wish to learn?” And they said to her: “We have heard from the gentiles that the God of heaven is about to be born of a woman. Do you believe this is so, our Lady?” The Sibyl said to them: “Do you not believe, O priests of the Hebrews?” They said to her: “We do not believe that God is about to be born of a woman. For thus the prophecy was given to our fathers, that he will not lift his hand from us.” And the Sibyl said to them: “This law is both a stumbling block to you.” And they said to her: “What do you say, our Lady, concerning this matter of inquiry?”
And the Sibyl answered and said to them: “The Son of God who is in heaven will be born, who will be like the Father, having his likeness even as a little child. And kings shall rise up against him: Alexander, Seleucus, and Herod — but their power will not avail to save themselves. They will order many infants to be destroyed throughout the land of Judea and will slay the children of their parents, so that the Jordan River will be filled with mingled blood, and yet they will not succeed. And afterward he will perform many healings, but in the end he will be hung upon a black tree and will be sacrificed… And the peoples hearing his signs will go forth into the land of Judea.
And after these things a king shall arise, whose name will be Augustus, from Phrygia, and he shall reign in Rome, and all the world shall be subjected to him, and each of the kings of the Romans shall be called by his name [Augustus]. The tree of the thrice-blessed one, upon which Christ is destined to be hung, shall be made manifest. And afterward many crowds will gather in Judea, and the wood of the tree shall be revealed. And he shall perform many healings, and many will be hanged: three upon one tree, and reeds placed in his side by unjust men.”
In the fifth generation kings shall arise: Antiochus, fierce and powerful, and shall destroy the house of God which is in Jerusalem, and he shall set fire to the altars of Lebanon, and the temples of that city shall be utterly destroyed, and its beauty shall be greater than all the temples of the world.
In the sixth generation two kings shall arise, of short reign, and they shall bring about many persecutions against the Christians. And their rulers shall destroy the orders of the faithful, and they shall put them to death for the name of Christ, and it shall profit them nothing. And after this a king shall arise, whose name shall be Constantine, fearful and mighty in war. He shall overthrow all the temples of the nations and the altars of Lebanon and their sacrifices, and he shall humble the temples of the Greeks. And a sign shall be revealed to him in the heavens, and his mother Helena shall seek the wood of the Cross, upon which Christ is destined to be crucified, the Son of the living God, in the land of the Jews. And he shall build Byzantium anew, and its name shall be changed, and that city shall be called Constantinople, city of Constantine. And in it shall dwell all the tribes and tongues of the seventy-two nations, and it shall be a royal city, three times illustrious.
And after this two kings shall arise, Oualis [Valens] and Ioullianos [Julian], very mighty, and among them wars will arise, and the barbarians shall set fire to the cities of the Romans, and they will not cease to burn until two kings arise, Marcian and Theodosius, mighty and strong, warriors and just judges, teachers of the faith, and they shall destroy the remaining temples of the Greeks, and the temples of the nations shall become tombs of the saints.
In the seventh generation Arcadius and Honorius shall reign, and Rome shall become merely a single street, and captives shall be taken in Phrygia, and Pamphylia shall be desolated. And afterward two kings shall arise, Theodosius and Valentinian, gentle and merciful, and among them there shall be wars upon wars. Syria shall be taken captive, and from there a race of tyrants shall arise, strong and powerful, and they shall plunder Mount Taurus in the East and the Antitaurus of Armenia and Lebanon. And the cities shall not remain, but shall be laid waste by them who first rule. And the Persians shall arise, mighty in war, and they shall be destroyed by the Romans, and peace shall be given for forty years. And a man … a warrior will enter the city of Hieropolis, and he shall destroy the holy places of the cities and the altars of Lebanon, and there shall be famine and locusts and their larvae in multitudes, and they will devour the labor of Syria and Cappadocia, and Cappadocia will be famished. And afterward there shall be such affliction that parents shall deny their children and children their parents; brothers shall betray brothers to death; brother shall be united with sister; father with daughter; younger with old women; younger men shall marry old women. Bishops shall be murderers, and elders shall fornicate. And bloodshed shall come into the churches of the saints, and soldiers shall defile them, and there shall be fornications, adulteries, homosexualities, and their works they shall call shameful. There shall be covetous men, robbers, lovers of money, haughty and arrogant. And in every place sheep and oxen shall perish. Thrace shall be laid waste by the barbarians through the treachery of the Romans, and through their great love of money. And after these things Marcianus shall arise, and war shall be raised, and a tyrant from Africa shall arise, whose name shall be Gaiseric. He shall take Rome captive, and he shall not depart from the gates until the time of his life is fulfilled. And his kingdom shall stand for thirty years, and he shall humble Rome through his great love of money. And Rome shall not reign over the nations in her time and her season. Dalmatia shall be made captive, Campania and Calabria shall be made captive.
In the eighth generation there shall arise a king, whose name is a wild beast. The birth-pains of the world will come in his days; there will be earthquakes, sinking of cities, destruction of towns and villages, and burning of cities. Thrace will be made desolate, and no one will govern or protect the Roman state. Tauro-Cilicia will lift high its head voice, and there will arise a woman named Scylla, who shall conceive in her womb, and in it will be born a male child, and he will be called by the name of his father. And he will share the throne with his father, and they will have one and the same likeness. And while he is king an Isaurian will appear, and he will be worshiped by his father. And then those men will say a word of blasphemy against the Son. And through that word he will be greatly cast down from his throne by his father, and he will hold power and the might of the womb for fifty-two years. And after this there will arise an Isaurian king, and he hate the people of his city, and he will flee into his own land. And another king will rise up, whose name is from the second letter of the beast, beta, that is, Basiliscus. And he will speak blasphemy against the God most high, and by the blasphemy of his tongue, mocked by women, he will be destroyed, he and all his family. And after this an Isaurian will return to his kingdom; but his kingdom will not be established from heaven. The name of this one is in four letters, Romaikios, up to the end of the alphabet, written in Greek from the seventh letter: thus his name is Greco-Latin. And his kingdom will be strong, providing for all the people; he will love the poor, humble the rich. And after this there will arise another king from the western city of Epidamnus, which is in Latin called Dyrrhachium. The name of the king is hidden from the nations, but the likeness of his name is written from the eighteenth letter of the alphabet, on the last day (anastasis). And when he receives the kingdom, he will be called Anastasius. He will be bald, elegant, silver-haired, tall of stature, with long right hand, noble, terrible, magnanimous and free, hating all the unjust poor. Many of the people he will destroy justly and unjustly, and he will curse those who hold godliness. And another will arise in his times, and the Persians will destroy the cities of the East, with the multitude of the Roman army struck down by the sword. And he will reign for thirty-one years.
And after these things there shall rise up men who are rapacious, greedy, tyrants, barbarians, haters of their own country, and instead of virtue and gentleness they will take up the appearance of barbarous cruelty. They will plunder their own fatherland, and there will be no endurance for their flocks and their herds; they will toil for themselves through their much love of money. And in the ninth generation the years shall be shortened to months, and the months shall be like weeks, and the weeks like days, and the days like hours. And there shall arise two kings from the East and two from Syria, and the Assyrians shall be as the sand of the sea innumerable, and they shall seize many lands of the East as far as Chalcedonia, and there shall be such slaughter that the blood will reach to the chests of the horses and the sea will be mingled with blood. They will take captives and burn the cities and plunder them with fire. And after this there will arise another king from the East, whose name is Olibrios. He will seize the four kings before him and kill them, and he will give peace to the nations of all the East and of Palestine. And after this another king shall arise, having a shining form, and he will reign thirty years, and he will rebuild the altars of Egypt and war against the king of the East and kill him and all his army, and he will take captive children of twelve years old. And the pregnant women will be pierced, and the babies in the womb torn open, and by the poisons of arrows and by the violence of wars there shall be bloodshed through women having wombs and women giving suck in those days. And he will conquer even the mountains of the East, and he will stand upon the mountain of the Cappadocians, and he will say: ‘This is the city I long for.’ And after this there will rise up a woman from the West, from the rising of the sun like a dragon, and there will be no human trace found in that place. And vines and olive trees will be found. Then someone will say: ‘Where are those who planted these?’ And the fruit of these trees will be given to the beasts, and wolves will eat it.
And after this there will arise a king from the city of the sun, and he will war against the king of the East and kill him. And he will give peace to all the land for three years and six months, and the earth will yield its fruits, and there will be no one to destroy them. And there will come the ruler of perdition, appearing bright like the sun, and he will smite and kill him, and he will perform signs and wonders upon the earth. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. And after this the springs and the rivers will dry up, and the Nile of Egypt will be turned into blood. And pits will be dug, and men surrounded by them, seeking water of life, but they will not find it. And suddenly there will appear two men shining like great lights from heaven, and they will raise the dead, Enoch and Elijah, who did not taste death. And they will war against the ruler of perdition, and they will say: ‘The time has drawn near,’ and he will be enraged and will kill them. And then after three and a half days, he who was nailed to the cross, shining like a star, will raise them up, and he will destroy that ruler. And the crucified one will war against the son of perdition, and he will kill him and all his army. Then the land of Egypt will burn twelve cubits deep, and the earth will cry out to the Lord: ‘Lord, I am a virgin.’ And the land of Judah will burn to eighteen cubits And again the earth will cry out: ‘Lord, I am a virgin.’ And then the Son of God will come with great power and great glory, to judge nine generations. Christ, the Son of the living God, with his holy angels, he will reign as king over all the earth. Amen, amen.
When the Sibyl came to Rome, the whole city came out to meet her, from the greatest to the least. And the hundred judges came out to meet her, saying: “Great is the wisdom and the prudence of your majesty.” And now they made clear the vision which they saw that day. The hundred judges said: “We saw the vision but we were not able to interpret it or to compare it rightly.” The Sibyl answered them: “Go up to the Capitol of the great city of Rome, and let the tribunal be set.” And it happened as she commanded them.
And she said to them: “Announce to me the vision which you saw, and I will interpret and explain it for you.” And the Sibyl sat upon the Capitol, and taking olive branches in her hands she said to them: “What did you see? Tell me.” And answering, the hundred judges said to her: “We saw that nine suns shone upon the earth.” And the Sibyl answered them: “These are the nine generations of men.” They said to her: “Thus it must be, our Lady: everything that we saw in the vision we will report to you.” And again the Sibyl answered and said: “Thus it must be.” And the judges said to her: “As we saw the vision, so we will report it to you.” The Sibyl said to them: “How did you see it?” They answered her, saying: “We saw that the first sun was of many colors, radiant with beams, exceedingly bright, very great, brilliant towards the right. The second sun was very bright, very great, of many colors, radiant with beams. The third sun was blood-red, like Tartarus, very great, flaming with fire. The fourth sun was blood-red, like Tartarus. The fifth sun was blood-red, exceedingly bright, flashing like thunder and rain. The sixth sun was clouded, snowy, blood-red. The seventh sun was like Tartarus, blood-red, fearful. The eighth sun was radiant with beams, so that he had it in the middle of his hand. The ninth sun was above all, like Tartarus, carrying destruction.”
And the Sibyl answered and said: “The nine suns are nine generations. The first sun is the first generation: men without guile, long-lived, free, true, gentle, just, lovers of truth. The second sun is the second generation: they also are men lovers of truth, gentle, hospitable, harmless, lovers of freedom and its race. The third sun is the third generation: kingdom shall rise against kingdom, nation against nation; wars shall arise, but they shall be lovers of hospitality and merciful in the city of the Romans. The fourth sun is the fourth generation: in the midst of the day shall appear in Judea a woman named Mary, and she shall bring forth a son whose name is Jesus. He shall break the law of the Jews, and his law shall reign. And his law shall prevail, and heaven shall be opened to him, and a voice shall be heard, and the armies of angels shall worship his throne, and the tracks of his feet shall be adored. And a man shall come from Galilee and shall preach, and he shall say to them: ‘The word which you received from me, preach it among the nations in seventy-two tongues.’”
And the priests of the Hebrews said to her: “Most awesome Lady, we seek to inquire of you.” And the Sibyl answered and said to them: “What do you wish to learn?” And they said to her: “We have heard from the gentiles that the God of heaven is about to be born of a woman. Do you believe this is so, our Lady?” The Sibyl said to them: “Do you not believe, O priests of the Hebrews?” They said to her: “We do not believe that God is about to be born of a woman. For thus the prophecy was given to our fathers, that he will not lift his hand from us.” And the Sibyl said to them: “This law is both a stumbling block to you.” And they said to her: “What do you say, our Lady, concerning this matter of inquiry?”
And the Sibyl answered and said to them: “The Son of God who is in heaven will be born, who will be like the Father, having his likeness even as a little child. And kings shall rise up against him: Alexander, Seleucus, and Herod — but their power will not avail to save themselves. They will order many infants to be destroyed throughout the land of Judea and will slay the children of their parents, so that the Jordan River will be filled with mingled blood, and yet they will not succeed. And afterward he will perform many healings, but in the end he will be hung upon a black tree and will be sacrificed… And the peoples hearing his signs will go forth into the land of Judea.
And after these things a king shall arise, whose name will be Augustus, from Phrygia, and he shall reign in Rome, and all the world shall be subjected to him, and each of the kings of the Romans shall be called by his name [Augustus]. The tree of the thrice-blessed one, upon which Christ is destined to be hung, shall be made manifest. And afterward many crowds will gather in Judea, and the wood of the tree shall be revealed. And he shall perform many healings, and many will be hanged: three upon one tree, and reeds placed in his side by unjust men.”
In the fifth generation kings shall arise: Antiochus, fierce and powerful, and shall destroy the house of God which is in Jerusalem, and he shall set fire to the altars of Lebanon, and the temples of that city shall be utterly destroyed, and its beauty shall be greater than all the temples of the world.
In the sixth generation two kings shall arise, of short reign, and they shall bring about many persecutions against the Christians. And their rulers shall destroy the orders of the faithful, and they shall put them to death for the name of Christ, and it shall profit them nothing. And after this a king shall arise, whose name shall be Constantine, fearful and mighty in war. He shall overthrow all the temples of the nations and the altars of Lebanon and their sacrifices, and he shall humble the temples of the Greeks. And a sign shall be revealed to him in the heavens, and his mother Helena shall seek the wood of the Cross, upon which Christ is destined to be crucified, the Son of the living God, in the land of the Jews. And he shall build Byzantium anew, and its name shall be changed, and that city shall be called Constantinople, city of Constantine. And in it shall dwell all the tribes and tongues of the seventy-two nations, and it shall be a royal city, three times illustrious.
And after this two kings shall arise, Oualis [Valens] and Ioullianos [Julian], very mighty, and among them wars will arise, and the barbarians shall set fire to the cities of the Romans, and they will not cease to burn until two kings arise, Marcian and Theodosius, mighty and strong, warriors and just judges, teachers of the faith, and they shall destroy the remaining temples of the Greeks, and the temples of the nations shall become tombs of the saints.
In the seventh generation Arcadius and Honorius shall reign, and Rome shall become merely a single street, and captives shall be taken in Phrygia, and Pamphylia shall be desolated. And afterward two kings shall arise, Theodosius and Valentinian, gentle and merciful, and among them there shall be wars upon wars. Syria shall be taken captive, and from there a race of tyrants shall arise, strong and powerful, and they shall plunder Mount Taurus in the East and the Antitaurus of Armenia and Lebanon. And the cities shall not remain, but shall be laid waste by them who first rule. And the Persians shall arise, mighty in war, and they shall be destroyed by the Romans, and peace shall be given for forty years. And a man … a warrior will enter the city of Hieropolis, and he shall destroy the holy places of the cities and the altars of Lebanon, and there shall be famine and locusts and their larvae in multitudes, and they will devour the labor of Syria and Cappadocia, and Cappadocia will be famished. And afterward there shall be such affliction that parents shall deny their children and children their parents; brothers shall betray brothers to death; brother shall be united with sister; father with daughter; younger with old women; younger men shall marry old women. Bishops shall be murderers, and elders shall fornicate. And bloodshed shall come into the churches of the saints, and soldiers shall defile them, and there shall be fornications, adulteries, homosexualities, and their works they shall call shameful. There shall be covetous men, robbers, lovers of money, haughty and arrogant. And in every place sheep and oxen shall perish. Thrace shall be laid waste by the barbarians through the treachery of the Romans, and through their great love of money. And after these things Marcianus shall arise, and war shall be raised, and a tyrant from Africa shall arise, whose name shall be Gaiseric. He shall take Rome captive, and he shall not depart from the gates until the time of his life is fulfilled. And his kingdom shall stand for thirty years, and he shall humble Rome through his great love of money. And Rome shall not reign over the nations in her time and her season. Dalmatia shall be made captive, Campania and Calabria shall be made captive.
In the eighth generation there shall arise a king, whose name is a wild beast. The birth-pains of the world will come in his days; there will be earthquakes, sinking of cities, destruction of towns and villages, and burning of cities. Thrace will be made desolate, and no one will govern or protect the Roman state. Tauro-Cilicia will lift high its head voice, and there will arise a woman named Scylla, who shall conceive in her womb, and in it will be born a male child, and he will be called by the name of his father. And he will share the throne with his father, and they will have one and the same likeness. And while he is king an Isaurian will appear, and he will be worshiped by his father. And then those men will say a word of blasphemy against the Son. And through that word he will be greatly cast down from his throne by his father, and he will hold power and the might of the womb for fifty-two years. And after this there will arise an Isaurian king, and he hate the people of his city, and he will flee into his own land. And another king will rise up, whose name is from the second letter of the beast, beta, that is, Basiliscus. And he will speak blasphemy against the God most high, and by the blasphemy of his tongue, mocked by women, he will be destroyed, he and all his family. And after this an Isaurian will return to his kingdom; but his kingdom will not be established from heaven. The name of this one is in four letters, Romaikios, up to the end of the alphabet, written in Greek from the seventh letter: thus his name is Greco-Latin. And his kingdom will be strong, providing for all the people; he will love the poor, humble the rich. And after this there will arise another king from the western city of Epidamnus, which is in Latin called Dyrrhachium. The name of the king is hidden from the nations, but the likeness of his name is written from the eighteenth letter of the alphabet, on the last day (anastasis). And when he receives the kingdom, he will be called Anastasius. He will be bald, elegant, silver-haired, tall of stature, with long right hand, noble, terrible, magnanimous and free, hating all the unjust poor. Many of the people he will destroy justly and unjustly, and he will curse those who hold godliness. And another will arise in his times, and the Persians will destroy the cities of the East, with the multitude of the Roman army struck down by the sword. And he will reign for thirty-one years.
And after these things there shall rise up men who are rapacious, greedy, tyrants, barbarians, haters of their own country, and instead of virtue and gentleness they will take up the appearance of barbarous cruelty. They will plunder their own fatherland, and there will be no endurance for their flocks and their herds; they will toil for themselves through their much love of money. And in the ninth generation the years shall be shortened to months, and the months shall be like weeks, and the weeks like days, and the days like hours. And there shall arise two kings from the East and two from Syria, and the Assyrians shall be as the sand of the sea innumerable, and they shall seize many lands of the East as far as Chalcedonia, and there shall be such slaughter that the blood will reach to the chests of the horses and the sea will be mingled with blood. They will take captives and burn the cities and plunder them with fire. And after this there will arise another king from the East, whose name is Olibrios. He will seize the four kings before him and kill them, and he will give peace to the nations of all the East and of Palestine. And after this another king shall arise, having a shining form, and he will reign thirty years, and he will rebuild the altars of Egypt and war against the king of the East and kill him and all his army, and he will take captive children of twelve years old. And the pregnant women will be pierced, and the babies in the womb torn open, and by the poisons of arrows and by the violence of wars there shall be bloodshed through women having wombs and women giving suck in those days. And he will conquer even the mountains of the East, and he will stand upon the mountain of the Cappadocians, and he will say: ‘This is the city I long for.’ And after this there will rise up a woman from the West, from the rising of the sun like a dragon, and there will be no human trace found in that place. And vines and olive trees will be found. Then someone will say: ‘Where are those who planted these?’ And the fruit of these trees will be given to the beasts, and wolves will eat it.
And after this there will arise a king from the city of the sun, and he will war against the king of the East and kill him. And he will give peace to all the land for three years and six months, and the earth will yield its fruits, and there will be no one to destroy them. And there will come the ruler of perdition, appearing bright like the sun, and he will smite and kill him, and he will perform signs and wonders upon the earth. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. And after this the springs and the rivers will dry up, and the Nile of Egypt will be turned into blood. And pits will be dug, and men surrounded by them, seeking water of life, but they will not find it. And suddenly there will appear two men shining like great lights from heaven, and they will raise the dead, Enoch and Elijah, who did not taste death. And they will war against the ruler of perdition, and they will say: ‘The time has drawn near,’ and he will be enraged and will kill them. And then after three and a half days, he who was nailed to the cross, shining like a star, will raise them up, and he will destroy that ruler. And the crucified one will war against the son of perdition, and he will kill him and all his army. Then the land of Egypt will burn twelve cubits deep, and the earth will cry out to the Lord: ‘Lord, I am a virgin.’ And the land of Judah will burn to eighteen cubits And again the earth will cry out: ‘Lord, I am a virgin.’ And then the Son of God will come with great power and great glory, to judge nine generations. Christ, the Son of the living God, with his holy angels, he will reign as king over all the earth. Amen, amen.
IV. Old Slavonic
The comparison between these texts and the Latin versions of the Sibylline oracles mentioned before proves identity of origin and close resemblance in details. The description of the nine suns in the Slavonic and in Beda and their peculiar appearance agrees in many points. The divergence begins with the interpretation, which has undergone the greatest possible change. It had to be adapted to local exigencies if it was to be of any use, and if it was to be believed in as an old prophecy of coming events. In the Slavonian, unlike the Latin, the name of the great emperor is called explicitly Constantin, which might settle one of the difficulties of the Latin texts where the names of the kings and emperors are not fully given; they are indicated only by the initial letter, and it was left to the imagination of the reader to supply the remainder, thus leaving an open field to fantastic interpretation and interested guesswork. In other respects the Slavonic also differs in the names of the various nations that were to make incursions into the western world and bring trouble upon the peoples. No doubt, as often happens with texts in which the names of ancient nations since extinct appear, more modern names are substituted by the later copyists for those of the older nations that had come and gone. Thus, the Tartars have no doubt taken the place of the ancient Huns, and the Saracens that of the Persians in the older versions. These names indicate the latest date for these Slavo-Rumanian versions, and lead us to the time of the invasion of the Mongols in the thirteenth century, known among the nations of Eastern Europe mostly under the name of "Tartars".
Peculiar to these versions is the animosity against the Greeks and the exaltation of the "Iberians" of Armenia, whom they describe as a God-fearing, pious, and modest nation, just the contrary to the rapacious, impious Greeks, who have changed their faith three times, and are inhospitable and greedy. This no doubt reflects the feelings of the Bulgarians, who were in constant warfare with the Byzantine emperors. The author of the translation and adaptation from the Greek probably belonged to the sect of the Bogomils, whose chief literary activity centred in the translation and dissemination of the old apocryphal literature. This predilection for the "Iberians" is found also in other apocryphal and popular writings which were translated from the Greek by the same agencies, the members of that famous sect, and then adapted to their own peculiar teaching. This may also be the reason why some of the eschatological details found in all the other versions, and which therefore formed part of the old original, are missing in the Slavonic text, and why the Archangel Gabriel, who was the special favourite of the Bogomils, is introduced as the restorer of peace at the end of days. (Moses Gaster)
Peculiar to these versions is the animosity against the Greeks and the exaltation of the "Iberians" of Armenia, whom they describe as a God-fearing, pious, and modest nation, just the contrary to the rapacious, impious Greeks, who have changed their faith three times, and are inhospitable and greedy. This no doubt reflects the feelings of the Bulgarians, who were in constant warfare with the Byzantine emperors. The author of the translation and adaptation from the Greek probably belonged to the sect of the Bogomils, whose chief literary activity centred in the translation and dissemination of the old apocryphal literature. This predilection for the "Iberians" is found also in other apocryphal and popular writings which were translated from the Greek by the same agencies, the members of that famous sect, and then adapted to their own peculiar teaching. This may also be the reason why some of the eschatological details found in all the other versions, and which therefore formed part of the old original, are missing in the Slavonic text, and why the Archangel Gabriel, who was the special favourite of the Bogomils, is introduced as the restorer of peace at the end of days. (Moses Gaster)
The History of the Sibyl and the Dream of the Hundred Senators of Rome
Translated by Moses Gaster.
King David was a man of overpowering strength, and it oozed out of him. The servant one day wiped the phial with some grass, and threw it out, and a goose came and ate it. No sooner had it eaten it than it laid an egg, and the egg burst, and out of the egg came a girl. They told it in secret to David, who when he heard of it understood what had happened, and gave orders to hide the child; and they hid her away in the land Gorskia (Rum. Ugorsku), (and she grew up and studied), and she was wiser and more beautiful than the whole world, and through her wisdom (she obtained the rule over the whole land of Ugorsku), and she became the ruler of Rome (Rimu), and she considered (or, pondered over) the word of the prophets, for God had said unto David: "Of thy seed will I place upon thy throne;" and she considered also what the other prophecies foretold. And her name was Maria, but for her wisdom they gave her the name Sivila. And she hoped that from her Christ would be born, and she kept her virginity for fifty years, until one hundred of the great boyars saw a dream, and then Sivila understood that it would not come to pass as she had hoped.
And the boyars came together and said: "Let us go to the Queen and tell her the dream which we have seen." And they came to her and said: "May it please your Majesty. We the one hundred boyars have had one and the same dream." And Sivila said: "Tell me the dream, and I will endeavour to explain it." And the barons said : "We have seen nine suns rising." Sivila replied: "Tell me how these suns looked." And they said: "The first sun rose clear and gentle, and it was a pleasure for us to look at it. The second sun, its light was three times darkened and hidden. The third was black, with dark rays round about it. The fourth sun was like flaming dark smoke. The fifth sun was (white) and burning hot; it was difficult for us to look at it. The sixth sun was white as snow. The seventh sun had a blood-red glow, and in the midst thereof there were hands. The eighth sun had soft and clear rays. The ninth was the most terrible and awe-inspiring, and hotter than all."
The Sivila replied: "The nine suns signify nine generations (or, periods). The first sun is the generation of the Bulgarians, who are good and hospitable and true believers and worship in the Christian faith. The second sun signifies the nation of the Greeks, for they have three times changed their faith and mix with other nations; they are fond of money, publicans (or, taking bribes), and they betray the kingdom of God. The third sun signifies the Franks; they will conquer all the nations, and from among them will be born a man from two nations (two origins or families ?), whose name will be Constantin, and he will conquer many nations, and he will wage great wars on the earth, and signs will be shown to him in the heavens; and he will lift up the Greeks, and he will raise an empire among the Greeks, and he will build among them a town, and he will call it New Jerusalem, a fortress for the Greeks and a restingplace for the Saints. And to his mother the crosses of Christ will be revealed, and they will perform many miracles in the world. The fourth sun signifies the Arkadians, who will conquer the Franks and will take Rome. And Rome will again be rebuilt (or, sacked?), and that man will be drowned (die) in the water. The fifth sun signifies the Saracens, who will destroy Jerusalem and take Syria. The sixth sun signifies the Syrians, who held Jerusalem and lost their throne; and their country will be devastated for three hundred years. The seventh sun signifies the Jews. A woman will arise in their midst and give birth to a child from heaven, and his name will be called Jesus, and the girl that will give birth to him will remain a pure virgin. His throne is the heaven, and the earth his footstool. The name of the woman is Maria. And all the princes and judges will gather together and will hand him over to be crucified, and he will be buried, and on the third day he will rise and ascend to heaven. And he will send twelve men who will spread our faith, and that faith will grow strong, and that faith will have dominion from the rising of the sun to its setting."
The Jewish priests and the princes exclaimed then: "Be silent, O our Queen, for we wish to ask thee one thing more. Is it possible that God should descend from heaven and beget a son from a woman and destroy our faith?" And the Sivila answered : "O my foolish people! do not wonder at great and marvellous things. Consider well in your minds on what do the heavens hang and on what is the earth established that it does not move? Our law is not a good one, and I up till now had hoped that the Christ would be born of me, and I have kept my virginity for fifty years, but now I know that he will not be born of me.
"The eighth sun signifies the Iberians, a righteous and hospitable people (loving the stranger); they keep the Church and fear God, and (observe His holy Word). There is no guile among them, and it is of them that God says: 'Blessed are the meek ones, (for they will obtain salvation).' The ninth sun signifies the Tartars, who shed blood upon the earth, and no one can withstand them; they will eat up the whole earth, and they will destroy from among men the name of the archangels (and for a time they will be so strong that no nation will be able to stand up against them, but in the end they will be destroyed from among men by the name of the archangel Gabriel). Our God be praised for ever and ever."
And the boyars came together and said: "Let us go to the Queen and tell her the dream which we have seen." And they came to her and said: "May it please your Majesty. We the one hundred boyars have had one and the same dream." And Sivila said: "Tell me the dream, and I will endeavour to explain it." And the barons said : "We have seen nine suns rising." Sivila replied: "Tell me how these suns looked." And they said: "The first sun rose clear and gentle, and it was a pleasure for us to look at it. The second sun, its light was three times darkened and hidden. The third was black, with dark rays round about it. The fourth sun was like flaming dark smoke. The fifth sun was (white) and burning hot; it was difficult for us to look at it. The sixth sun was white as snow. The seventh sun had a blood-red glow, and in the midst thereof there were hands. The eighth sun had soft and clear rays. The ninth was the most terrible and awe-inspiring, and hotter than all."
The Sivila replied: "The nine suns signify nine generations (or, periods). The first sun is the generation of the Bulgarians, who are good and hospitable and true believers and worship in the Christian faith. The second sun signifies the nation of the Greeks, for they have three times changed their faith and mix with other nations; they are fond of money, publicans (or, taking bribes), and they betray the kingdom of God. The third sun signifies the Franks; they will conquer all the nations, and from among them will be born a man from two nations (two origins or families ?), whose name will be Constantin, and he will conquer many nations, and he will wage great wars on the earth, and signs will be shown to him in the heavens; and he will lift up the Greeks, and he will raise an empire among the Greeks, and he will build among them a town, and he will call it New Jerusalem, a fortress for the Greeks and a restingplace for the Saints. And to his mother the crosses of Christ will be revealed, and they will perform many miracles in the world. The fourth sun signifies the Arkadians, who will conquer the Franks and will take Rome. And Rome will again be rebuilt (or, sacked?), and that man will be drowned (die) in the water. The fifth sun signifies the Saracens, who will destroy Jerusalem and take Syria. The sixth sun signifies the Syrians, who held Jerusalem and lost their throne; and their country will be devastated for three hundred years. The seventh sun signifies the Jews. A woman will arise in their midst and give birth to a child from heaven, and his name will be called Jesus, and the girl that will give birth to him will remain a pure virgin. His throne is the heaven, and the earth his footstool. The name of the woman is Maria. And all the princes and judges will gather together and will hand him over to be crucified, and he will be buried, and on the third day he will rise and ascend to heaven. And he will send twelve men who will spread our faith, and that faith will grow strong, and that faith will have dominion from the rising of the sun to its setting."
The Jewish priests and the princes exclaimed then: "Be silent, O our Queen, for we wish to ask thee one thing more. Is it possible that God should descend from heaven and beget a son from a woman and destroy our faith?" And the Sivila answered : "O my foolish people! do not wonder at great and marvellous things. Consider well in your minds on what do the heavens hang and on what is the earth established that it does not move? Our law is not a good one, and I up till now had hoped that the Christ would be born of me, and I have kept my virginity for fifty years, but now I know that he will not be born of me.
"The eighth sun signifies the Iberians, a righteous and hospitable people (loving the stranger); they keep the Church and fear God, and (observe His holy Word). There is no guile among them, and it is of them that God says: 'Blessed are the meek ones, (for they will obtain salvation).' The ninth sun signifies the Tartars, who shed blood upon the earth, and no one can withstand them; they will eat up the whole earth, and they will destroy from among men the name of the archangels (and for a time they will be so strong that no nation will be able to stand up against them, but in the end they will be destroyed from among men by the name of the archangel Gabriel). Our God be praised for ever and ever."
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Sources: Robert Williams (ed. & trans.), Selections from the Hengwrt Mss. Preserved in the Peniarth Library (London: Thomas Richards, 1892); J. Schleifer, “Die Erzählung der Sibylle, ein Apokryph nach den karschunischen, arabischen und äthiopischen Handschriften zu London, Oxford, Paris und Rom veröffentlicht,” Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophiche-Historische Klasse 53 (Wien, 1908), 1-80; Moses Gaster, Studies and Texts in Folklore, Magic, etc., vol. 1 (London: Maggs Bros., 1928); Paul J, Alexander, The Oracle of Baalbek: The Tiburtine Sibyl in Greek Dress (Washington: Dumbarton Oaks, 1967).
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