CHAPTER 77
1. They called the first quarter eastern because it is the first, and they call the second the south because there the Most High descends, and there especially the one who is blessed forever descends.
2. And the western quarter is called waning because there all the lights of Heaven wane and go down.
3. And the fourth quarter, named the north, is divided into three parts. And the first of them is the dwelling place for men; and the second contains seas of water, and the deeps, and the forests, and rivers, and darkness and mist; and the third part contains the Garden of Righteousness.
4. I saw seven high mountains, which were higher than all other mountains on the earth; and from them snow comes. And days and times and years, pass away and go by.
5. I saw seven rivers on the earth, larger than all the other rivers; one of them comes from the east and pours out its waters into the Great Sea.
6. And two of them come from the north to the sea and pour out their water into the Erythraean Sea in the east.
7. And the remaining four flow out on the side of the north, to their seas, two to the Erythraean Sea, and two into the Great Sea, and they discharge themselves there, and not into the wilderness, as some say.
8. I saw seven large islands, in the sea and on the land, two on the land, and five in the Great Sea.
HAPTER 76
1. And at the ends of the earth, I saw twelve Gates open to all the winds, from which the winds come out and blow over the earth.
(Ecclesiastes 1:6), (Psalm 135:7)
2. Three of them open in the front of Heaven, and three in the back, and three on the right of Heaven, and three on the left.
3. And the three first are those towards the east, and then the three towards the north, and the three after these towards the south, and the three in the west.
4. Through four of them come winds of blessing and peace. And from the other eight come winds of punishment; when they are sent they bring devastation to the whole Earth, and to the water which is on it, and to all those who dwell upon it, and to everything that is in the water and on dry ground.
(Ben Sira 39:28)
5. And the first wind from those Gates, called the east wind, comes out through the first Gate, which is towards the east. The one that comes from the south brings devastation, drought, heat, and destruction.
6. And through the second Gate, in the middle, comes what is right. And from it come rain, and fruitfulness, and prosperity, and dew. And through the third Gate, which is towards the north, comes cold and drought.
7. And after these, the winds towards the south come out, through three Gates. First, through the first of the Gates, which inclines towards the east, comes a hot wind.
8. And through the middle Gate, which is next to it, come pleasant fragrances, and dew, and rain, and prosperity, and life.
9. And through the third Gate, which is towards the west, come dew, and rain, and locusts, and devastation.
10. And after these, the winds towards the north..(…)..from the seventh Gate, which is towards the east, come dew and rain, locusts and devastation.
11. And through the Gate exactly in the middle, come rain, and dew, and life, and prosperity. And through the third Gate, which is towards the west
come mist and hoarfrost, and snow, and rain, and dew, and locusts.
12. And after these the winds towards the west. Through the first Gate, which inclines towards the north, come dew, and rain, and hoarfrost, and cold, and snow, and frost.
13. And from the middle Gate, come dew and rain, prosperity and blessing. And through the last Gate, which is towards the south, come drought and devastation, burning and destruction.
14. And thus the twelve Gates, of the four quarters of Heaven are complete. And all their laws, and all their punishments, and all their benefits, I have shown to you, my son Methuselah.