(65) And in those days Noah saw the earth that it had sunk down and its destruction was nigh.

(7) And in the twenty-eighth a.m. jubilee Noah began to enjoin upon his sons' sons the ordinances and commandments, and all the judgments thathe knew, and he exhorted his sons to observe righteousness, and to cover the shame of their flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and love their neighbour, and guard their souls from fornication and uncleanness and all ini- quity. Si. For owing to these three things • came the flood upon the earth, namely, owing to the forni- cation wherein the Watchers against the law of their ordinances went a whoring after the daughters of men, and took themselves wives of all which they chose : T and they made the beginning of uncleanness.

(26) Then God sent the Deluge [or Flood] upon the whole World, and drowned all Flesh, except Noah, who cleaved to the Word of God; he and his Sons and their Wives were preserved; and so the World was tried, whether it would be afraid of the horrible Judgment, and cleave to the Word, but it was all in vain. Then God chose to himself the Generation of Shem, (which cleaved to the Word,) that so he might erect a Light and Office of Preaching, that the World might learn from them. But all availed nothing; the Stars ruled Men according to their Source [or Quality,] in mere Covetousness, Unchastity, and Pride; which was indeed so very great, that they purposed to build a Tower, whose Top should reach to Heaven. Such blind People they were as to the Kingdom of God.

(6) This is the work that came into being. See what it is like, that before it comes into being it does not see, because the aeon of the flesh came to be in the great bodies. And there were apportioned to them long days in the creation. For when they had polluted themselves and had entered into the flesh, the father of the flesh, the water, avenged himself. For when he had found that Noah was pious (and) worthy - and it is the father of the flesh who holds the angels in subjection. And he (Noah) preached piety for one hundred and twenty years. And no one listened to him. And he made a wooden ark, and whom he had found entered it. And the flood took place.

(9) And they all said, "So be it ; so be it," for themselves and their sons for ever throughout their generations till the day of judgment, on which the Lord God shall judge them with a sword and with fire, for all the unclean wickedness of their errors, wherewith they have filled the earth with transgression and uncleanness and fornication and sin. 1 Including ( ?) Britain and Ireland. •*v*ift4r< f Noah's Sons led astray by Evil Spirits ; Noah's Prayer ; Mastema ; Death of Noah (x. - ; cf. Gen. ix. ).

(10) And the sons of Noah came to Noah their father, and they told him concerning the demons which were leading astray and blinding and slaying his sons' sons.

(107) And now make known to thy son Lamech that he who has been born is in truth his son, and call his name Noah; for he shall be left to you, and he and his sons shall be saved from the destruction, which shall come upon the earth on account of all the sin and all the unrighteousness, which shall be consummated on the earth in his days.

(2) God will rest from his wrath. And he casts his power on the waters, and gives power to his sons and their wives by means of the ark along with the animals, whichever he pleased, and the birds of heaven, which he called and released upon the earth. And god says to Noah, whom generations call Deucalion, "Look, I have protected you in the ark along with your wife and your sons and their wives and their animals and the birds of heaven, which you called and released upon the earth. . . . So I give the earth to you, to you and your sons. In kingly fashion you will rule over it, you and your sons. And you will have no seed from the people who do not stand in my presence in another glory."

(7) " And we were left, I • and you, my sons, and everything that entered with us into the ark, and behold I see your works be- fore me that ye do not walk in righteousness ; for in the path destruction ye have begun to walk, and ye are parting one from another, and are envious one of another, and (so it cometh) that ye are not in harmony, my sons, each with his brother..

(52) How then? Did not the righteous in ancient times partake of what God made with thanksgiving? Some begat children and lived chastely in the married state. To Elijah the ravens brought bread and meat for food. And Samuel the prophet brought as food for Saul the remnant of the thigh, of which he had already eaten. But whereas they say that they are superior to them in behaviour and conduct, they cannot even be compared with them in their deeds. "He who does not eat," then, "let him not despise him who eats; and he who eats let him not judge him who does not eat; for God has accepted him." Moreover, the Lord says of himself: "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking and they say, Behold a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and a sinner." Or do they also scorn the apostles? Peter and Philip had children, and Philip gave his daughters in marriage.

(16) And he and his daughters committed sin upon the earth, such as had not been on the earth since the days of Adam till his time ; for the man lay with his daughters.

(5) And lawless- ness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way,* alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walketh on the earth — all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts . of all men (was) thus evil continually.

(7) And thus Noah was saved with his sons. For if indeed the ark had not been meant for man to enter, then the water of the flood would not have come. In this way he intended (and) planned to save the gods and the angels, and the powers, the greatness of all of these, and the and the way of life. And he moves them from the aeon (and) nourishes them in the permanent places. And the judgment of the flesh was unleashed. Only the work of the Power stood up.

(5) And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daugh- ters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were ' beautiful to look upon ; and they took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants.

(49) There are some who say outright that marriage is fornication and teach that it was introduced by the devil. They proudly say that they are imitating the Lord who neither married nor had any possession in this world, boasting that. they understand the gospel better than anyone else. The Scripture says to them: "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." Further, they do not know the reason why the Lord did not marry.In the first place he had his own bride, the Church; and in the next place he was no ordinary man that he should also be in need of some helpmeet after the flesh. Nor was it necessary for him to beget children since he abides eternally and was born the only Son of God. It is the Lord himself who says: "That which God has joined together, let no man put asunder." And again: "As it was in the days of Noah, they were marrying, and giving in marriage, building and planting, and as it was in the days of Lot, so shall be the coming of the Son of man." And to show that he is not referring to the heathen he adds: "When the Son of man is come, shall he find faith on the earth?" And again: "Woe to those who are with child and are giving suck in those days," a saying, I admit, to be understood allegorically. The reason why he did not determine "the times which the Father has appointed by his own power" was that the world might continue from generation to generation.

(6) And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters.

(7) And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood.

(6) And this whole festival was celebrated in heaven from the day of creation till the days of Noah — twenty-six jubilees and five weeks of years : and Noah and his sons observed it for seven jubilees and one week of years, till the day of Noah's death, and from the day of Noah's death his sons did away with (it) until the days of Abraham, and they ate blood.

(6) And Noah and his sons swore that they would not eat veloped ritual of a later age ; cf. Exod. xxix. 4c 2-

(7) And after this they sinned against the beasts and birds, and all that moveth and walketh on the earth : and much blood was shed on the earth, and every imagination and desire of men imagined vanity , and evil continually.