Ginza Rabba, The Great Treasure

«praise You with a pure heart, my Lord, Great Hayyi. You are the Sublime of the worlds of light. You are richest in all things, and You are the highest above all other things. Distinguished from all worlds of light We ask You for healing and victory, guidance for our souls, guidance for our hearing and speech, and we ask You for mercy and forgiveness. We abide in You our Lord, Lord of the universe.» — la oración que el volumen imprime sin firma antes del Libro Uno, en voz de quien reza: pide curación y victoria, guía para el alma, para el oído y para el habla, y misericordia; el troceo da la capitular perdida como TT y se ancla después de ella.

«is the Great Hayyi, the all-seeing, the all-powerful, the all- ^7 £ knowing, the almighty, and the wisest of all. He is the ageless and the age-old, the stranger from the worlds of light, the one without need from the worlds of light. He is speech, hearing, and sight, healing and victory, strength and stability. He is Hayyi, the delight of our hearts, and the forgiveness of our sins.» — así abre el Libro Uno del Ginza derecho, primera glorificación, tratado Monoteísmo: Hayyi dicho por atributos, a la vez el que no envejece y el antiquísimo, el extraño venido de los mundos de luz y el que de ellos nada necesita; el troceo destroza la capitular y deja /J /^e y ^7 £ en los dos primeros renglones, y la cita se ancla después.

«Praised be my Lord, master of all the worlds, with a pure heart! May You be praised! Blessed, exalted, venerated, and revered is the sublimely magnificent, the king of the sublime light, the true God, whose power is endless and infinite. There are no limits to His glory and no end to His brilliance.» — sigue la primera glorificación con la fórmula de alabanza que el volumen izquierdo repetirá en su plana de apertura: el rey de la luz sublime, el Dios verdadero, cuyo poder se enuncia sin límite.

«Oh, Great Hayyi, You are forgiving of all things, the ever-relenting, the compassionate, the merciful, the redeemer of all believers, the patron of the righteous, the almighty, the wise, the all-knowing, the all-seeing, the distinguished, the ruler with dominion over everything, the master of the upper, middle and lower worlds of light. He is the great countenance of glory, who is unseen and unbounded. He has no partner in His dominion and no rival for His scepter.» — el tratado Monoteísmo enumera los atributos y de ahí saca lo que le importa: que Hayyi no tiene socio en su dominio ni rival para su cetro.

«Whosever depend on Him will not come to disgrace, whosoever sincerely glorifies His name will not fall from His grace, and whosoever trusts Him with confidence will not abase himself.» — el cierre de la plana enuncia la contrapartida para el creyente; el troceo imprime *Whosever* por whosoever, lectura propuesta sin cotejo contra facsímil.

«He is the supreme lord of all rulers. Nothing that did not come from Him has ever existed, and nothing that does not come from Him ever will. He is everlasting, without death, and omnipresent, without bounds. By His manifest light and perfect brilliance, He shines over all the universes, the angels who stand before him in their brilliance, and the great light, which hovers over them and shines.» — la primera glorificación deriva de la unicidad una consecuencia sobre el origen de todo lo que existe: nada que no venga de Hayyi ha existido ni existirá.

«They submissively worship, praise and acknowledge the Lord of Greatness, the supreme King of Light, whose radiance, light, and glory are measureless, numberless, and limitless, and who is all splendor, all light, all brilliance, all life, all loyalty, all clarity, all compassion, all charity, every eye, every face, every appearance of beauty, the entirety of all understanding, knowledge and revelation, and the very essence of glory.» — el Libro Uno describe el culto de los ángeles al Señor de la Grandeza con una enumeración que no acaba en cualidades sino en la totalidad del entendimiento, el conocimiento y la revelación.

«He is without limit and without weight and no darkness will ever reach His light. He is the almighty and supreme, justice and refuge, the most merciful and the most compassionate. He is the first, from the very beginning to eternity. He is the creator of all things, and the most powerful being without any peer. He is the creator of all that is beautiful, and the model that provides meaning to everything else.» — la glorificación enuncia el principio que ordena toda la cosmología del libro: ninguna oscuridad alcanza esa luz.

«He rejoices in happiness without any sorrow, and his entire kingdom rejoices with Him. He is the beauty, which absolutely nothing else» — la primera glorificación afirma la alegría sin tristeza del reino entero; el tramo se corta aquí porque el troceo parte la plana 20 en el límite de chunk y reemite su marca a los dos lados, y la frase sigue con *resembles*.

«All the angels opened their mouths, and praised the sublime King of Light, saying to Him, “Those who glorify You will discover that Your glorification is limitless, Your blessing is boundless and endless, Your grandeur is immeasurable, Your depth is endless, Your Greatness cannot be realized, and Your Highness is higher than anything else.» — los ángeles dicen en el Libro Uno que la glorificación misma no tiene término, con lo que el elogio se vuelve declaración sobre lo que no se puede medir.

«All other beings are ignorant of Your name. They ask one another, “What is the name of the Great Light?” and say, “There is no name like His name, and there is no one who called Him by His name, and no one who gave Him His designation.» — el Libro Uno consigna el desconocimiento del nombre como un dato del mundo: los demás seres se preguntan unos a otros cómo se llama la Gran Luz, y la respuesta es que nadie lo nombró ni le dio designación.

«Blessed are the righteous who have acknowledged You with pure heart, who believed in you with a clear conscience. They blessed You with mouth that was entirely full of praise, and praised You with a sincere tongue, they announced You with devout lips and said, “He is the one without parents, the King of Light for all eternity, and He has no siblings. His throne is established, His kingdom is the great one, and He has no partner in it. He wears magnificent garments which are unlike those of this world. He is blessed in all times and eras, and glorified in all times and eras, and He exists from the beginning to the end.» — cierra la primera glorificación con lo que los justos dicen de Hayyi: sin padres, sin hermanos, sin socio en su reino, vestido con ropajes que no son de este mundo.

«He is the lord of all the enlightened worlds, the lord of all Malki angels, and the high commander of all the Uthri. He is the light in which there is no darkness, the life in which there is no death, the good in which there is no evil, the calm without anger, and the tender without the bitter. He is the most splendid, who resides in the far north. He is the source of all light. He is the father of all the Uthri.» — el Libro Uno coloca a Hayyi por encima de los ángeles Malki y de los Uthri, lo sitúa en el norte lejano y lo nombra padre de los Uthri.

«He said, “Let the angels come into being,” and so they did. According to His order, the angels of light were created. From His pure brightness the glorifying angels, who are limitless, innumerable, and deceitless emerged. From His great light, they spread forth full of praise. They dwell in His unwavering brightness, in His splendid light, a light with no deceit, in submission without rebellion, in good deeds without disunity, in faith without deceit, in truthfulness without deception. It is a world of living water, a world of good without evil.» — el Libro Uno hace de la palabra el modo de la creación de los ángeles y describe el lugar donde moran por lo que en él no hay: ni engaño, ni rebeldía, ni desunión, ni mal.

«The angels of light glorify the Lord of Light through the girdles of brightness that He bestowed upon them.» — la letanía del Libro Uno enumera aquello por lo que los ángeles glorifican, y lo que enumera son dones recibidos: resplandor, vestiduras, ropas de luz, ceñidores, coronas, fuerza y fe; se cita el eslabón de los ceñidores y las coronas.

«They are all good and kind, sincere and wise. There is no wrongdoing and no deceit. Some of them reside in each other’s residence, without doing wrong to one another. Each of them is honored, as identical to one another as eyelashes. Their intentions towards each other are obvious. Each of them knows all that has happened to the other in the past and the present. They enlighten one another, perfume one another, and extend Kushta Truth to one» — el Libro Uno describe a los ángeles por su trato entre ellos, hasta el término que el libro no traduce, Kushta; el tramo se corta con la plana, y la palabra *another* queda del otro lado.

«They are, by the will of their Lord, immortal, never growing old, neither having pain nor being sick. Death does not come near them. Their vestments are pure, their coronets are steady, and their children are pious. They never grow hungry nor feel thirsty; they feel neither hot nor cold. There is no abuse against them, and they never get angry. There is no maliciousness in their trees, no bitterness, no withering in their fruits and their roses. Their stances are noble, their seas are calm, and their water flows purer and colder than milk. Those who drink it will never die, and never feel sad.» — sigue la descripción del mundo de los ángeles en la plana siguiente, dicha entera por negación: sin vejez, sin dolor, sin enfermedad, sin muerte, sin hambre ni sed, sin amargura y sin marchitamiento.

«Their years are countless, and their life spans cannot be measured. They are happy and delightful, setting out to walk briskly, and in the white land of the ether they fly, where the perfect light is not reached by darkness. Their faces are made of light, as transparent as crystal. They submit completely, praising the Great Hayyi.» — el Libro Uno cierra el retrato del mundo de luz con la tierra blanca del éter y los rostros transparentes como cristal.

«Blessed is the supreme King of Light, the king of the angels and the Uthri. His name is forever glorified. The Uthri. angels, messengers, signs, shapes, raining clouds, flowing water, tall trees, as well as the brilliance that shines upon them were all created by the Great Hayyi, the supreme King of Light.» — la primera glorificación cierra atribuyendo al Gran Hayyi la creación de todo lo enumerado, seres de luz y cosas del mundo por igual; el troceo imprime un punto donde iría coma en *The Uthri. angels*.

«is the supreme King of Light. Hayyi, from Him, the Uthri IL were created. From His splendor and light their dwellings are constructed. They are as glorious as the sun and the moon. They are reverent when they appear to others. Light and quiet is their gait, which appears like the rays of the sun stretching from heaven to the earth. Their virtues are innumerable. Their characteristics are immeasurable. That is the kingdom of the Great Hayyi: justice and accuracy, peace and faith, and complete perfection.» — abre la segunda glorificación, tratado Recomendaciones, con el origen de los Uthri y la definición de lo que es el reino de Hayyi: justicia y exactitud, paz y fe, perfección completa; el troceo da la capitular como ff e y IL, y la cita se ancla después.

«Even if we had a mouth like the sea, or a tongue like the rocks of its depths, or lips like its two banks, we still could not describe Your power over all Your worlds, my Lord.» — el Libro Dos de glorificaciones enuncia el límite del propio elogio con una figura de tres términos: boca como el mar, lengua como las rocas de su fondo, labios como sus dos orillas.

«Blessed are those who acknowledge You. Blessed are those who acquire Your knowledge. Blessed are those who recognize You. Blessed are those who are recognized by You. Blessed are those who entreat You and depend upon You. Blessed are those who absorb Your wisdom and cast aside the evils of this world, benefiting from Your guidance.» — la serie de bienaventuranzas de la segunda glorificación pone el conocimiento en el centro: ser reconocido por Hayyi y absorber su sabiduría, no solo reconocerlo.

«Through Your word were all things created. You have created the Uthra whose name is Hibil Ziwa, who is called Gabriel the Messenger. You sent him to the world of darkness.» — el Libro Uno identifica al Uthra Hibil Ziwa con Gabriel el Mensajero y lo declara enviado al mundo de la oscuridad.

«The Lord of Greatness spoke to Hibil Ziwa: “Go to the world of darkness, which is completely full of evil—full of devouring fire, full of lies and deception. It is sown with thistles and thorns. Go to that world; trample the darkness and the mysteries that are formed from it. Make the earth solid, extend the firmament and form the stars within it. Give the sun its shine, the moon its glow, and the stars their luster. Give water its freshness and the fire its splendor. The world is to begin under my command.» — el encargo que el Señor de la Grandeza da a Hibil Ziwa es a la vez descenso y obra de creación: pisar la oscuridad, hacer sólida la tierra, extender el firmamento y dar su brillo a los astros.

«Create the fruits, grapes and the trees according to my order. Animals ought to come into being, fish, and fowl; each of a male and a female to be in the service of Adam and his offspring. Let there be a man and a woman, whose names are Adam and Eve. The angels of fire will bow down to him. For those who disobey my order, their fate will be the fire. Let three angels of light come forth and serve as company for Adam. Let the living waters mingle with the stagnant waters, and the whole world shall thrive by the scent of the living waters. Let the four winds be created, and let fire come forth and light up the world by your hand.» — el mismo mandato ordena los vivientes y a la pareja humana, y pone la condición que el libro repite después: los ángeles de fuego se inclinarán ante Adán y quien desobedezca tendrá por suerte el fuego.

«By the hand of ’Ptahil will the whole world be lit. The supreme King of Light said the word, since all things were created by His word. ’Ptahil came down, stretched out the firmament,» — el Libro Uno nombra a ’Ptahil como la mano por la que el mundo se ilumina y repite que todo fue creado por la palabra; el tramo se corta con la plana.

«trod the earth and summoned the angels of fire. He gave the sun its shine, the moon its glow, and the stars their luster, and each one was put in its orbit. Storms, water and fire were formed. Fruits, grapes, and trees were formed. Domestic and wild animals of every kind were created from dust, clay, iron, the fog of clouds, wind, fire, water, seed, blood, bile, and from the other mysteries of this world.» — la ejecución de la obra por ’Ptahil enumera de qué se forman los animales: polvo, arcilla, hierro, niebla de las nubes, viento, fuego, agua, semilla, sangre, bilis y los demás misterios de este mundo.

«Adam and Eve were created and formed. By the power of the supreme King of Light, the soul was cast into the body. The supreme King of Light said, “The angels of fire should bow down to Adam. They should never disobey him. All of them bowed down, save for the evil one, who refused, so his Lord captured him.» — el Libro Uno cuenta la postración de los ángeles de fuego ante Adán y la negativa del maligno, capturado por su Señor.

«I am the pure messenger. My Lord ordered me to go and summon Adam and his wife Eve with a sublime voice: “Teach them about everything; teach them about the supreme King of Light, whose power and greatness are without limit or number. Teach them about the immortal Place of Light.» — aquí habla el mensajero puro en primera persona, y lo que se le manda enseñar es un conocimiento: quién es el Rey de la Luz y que hay un Lugar de Luz inmortal.

«Teach Adam, so that his heart becomes enlightened, and instruct him to enlighten his mind. You and the two angels who descend with you should serve as companions to him. Teach knowledge to Adam and Eve, and all their progeny, so that the evil and Satan never seduce them. Teach them to pray and worship the supreme King of Light, three times in the day and two times in the night.» — el encargo del mensajero fija la enseñanza a Adán y a Eva y a toda su descendencia, y con ella la regla de oración: tres veces de día y dos de noche.

«Tell them, ‘Take a wife, have children and build a family, so that the world will increase through you. When you approach your spouses, rinse yourselves with water to keep yourselves pure.’» — el Libro Uno manda tomar esposa y tener hijos, y añade el enjuague con agua tras acercarse al cónyuge.

«Say to them: ‘My worshipers, do not commit adultery, do not steal, and do not kill any righteous, faithful human beings. You, who are righteous and faithful! Do not waver in your speech now, and show no love for sin or deceit. Do not love gold, silver, and worldly possessions,» — empieza el código moral del tratado Recomendaciones: no adulterar, no robar, no matar al justo, no vacilar en el hablar y no amar el oro ni la plata; el tramo se corta con la plana.

«and hoard them not, since this world is false and it will pass away, together with your worldly possessions. Never bow down to Satan, nor worship idols and images. Whosoever bows down to Satan will be tormented in the fire until the Day of Judgment, and the hour of redemption, for as long as the King of Light wishes. He is the judge who will judge every soul according to its deeds.» — el Libro Uno da la razón de no atesorar, que este mundo es falso y pasará, y coloca a Hayyi como juez de cada alma según sus obras.

«You, who are righteous and faithful! Pay no attention to Satan’s temptations, and place no confidence in his deceptions. Never testify falsely against others. If they call for witnesses, then the faithful should bear witness. Never pervert the law. Those who pervert the law are destined to the fire.» — el código sigue con el falso testimonio y con la ley: quien tuerce la ley tiene por destino el fuego.

«You, who are righteous and faithful! Respect your father, your mother, and your elder brothers and sisters. Those who do not respect their fathers and mothers will be condemned on the Day of Judgment. Do not covet things that belong to others. Never object to what your Lord provides, because He determines how each thing is apportioned and delivers it.» — el mismo tratado manda respetar a padres y hermanos mayores y no codiciar lo ajeno, y funda esto último en que Hayyi reparte y entrega cada cosa.

«Call upon your loved ones to listen to the praises granted to you by your Lord, so that they may believe and be obedient. If they pay» — el tratado Recomendaciones manda llamar a los propios allegados a escuchar; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, que el troceo reemite dentro de la plana 26, y la frase sigue del otro lado.

«attention and are faithful to the King of Light, the God who called Himself into being, He will honor them, keep them close to you, and be generous and kind to them. If they refuse to listen or do not learn from your testimony and do not believe, they will be held accountable for their sins.» — la continuación de esa misma frase, al otro lado del corte, deja la responsabilidad del lado de quien se niega a escuchar y nombra a Hayyi el Dios que se llamó a sí mismo al ser.

«You, who are righteous and faithful! If you see a captive who is faithful and righteous, pay his ransom and free him. But neither gold nor silver can ransom the soul; only overt speech and belief can free the soul from darkness to light, from error to truth, from disbelief to faith, from deceit and rebellion to the prayer and praise of your Lord. All those who ransom souls shall be rewarded well.» — el tratado Recomendaciones manda pagar el rescate del cautivo y a la vez niega que oro o plata rescaten el alma: eso solo lo hace el habla abierta y la fe.

«My sincere believers: give alms to the poor and be a guide to the blind. If you give alms, my chosen ones, do not talk about it. When you give alms with your right hand, do not tell your left. When you give alms with your left hand, do not tell your right. Shame upon those who give alms and ruin their deeds through slander!» — la limosna se manda con la condición de callarla, dicha con la figura de la mano derecha y la izquierda.

«My chosen ones: if you see the hungry, feed them. If you see the thirsty, give them water. If you see the naked, clothe them. Blessed are those who give alms, they will be rewarded. Blessed are those who clothe the naked, for they will be dressed in robes of light. Blessed are those who ransom captives, for they will be welcomed by the messengers of the King of Light.» — el Libro Uno enlaza cada obra con su recompensa: quien viste al desnudo será vestido con ropas de luz, y quien rescata cautivos será recibido por los mensajeros.

«How much I will be happy when the Mandaeans can read their religious books in their own language, Mandaic, but unfortunately, they can not today.» — abre el foreword firmado por el Rishema Salah Jabbar Tawos, que enuncia el motivo de la traducción: que el inglés es hoy la lengua de la mayoría de los mandeos y el mandeico ya no.

«The Ginza Rabba is their main holy book. It is important that every Mandaean family own it, read it, learn from it, and follow its teachings.» — el mismo Rishema declara qué lugar ocupa el libro entre los mandeos y qué pide de cada familia.

«We have ensured this work to an honest and careful committee consisting of Prof. Dr. Qais Al-Saadi, Mr. Hamed Al-Saadi and Mr. Fouad Chasib Subbi. I have followed their hard work and helped to answer their questions regarding the meanings of some Mandaic words and texts.» — el Rishema Salah Jabbar Tawos nombra al comité al que encargó el trabajo y dice cuál fue su propio papel: responder a las preguntas sobre el sentido de palabras y pasajes mandeicos.

«Our holy book, the Ginza Rabba, was written in the Mandaic language. Unfortunately, most of the Mandaeans nowadays have lost the opportunity to learn their mother language.» — el segundo foreword, firmado por el Rishema Sattar Jabar Hillo como cabeza de la comunidad mandea, enuncia la pérdida de la lengua materna como el problema del que arranca toda la cadena de traducciones.

«Therefore, we have found it necessary to translate our holy book into Arabic. An efficient specialized committee accomplished this project in Iraq, finishing in 2001.» — el Rishema Sattar Jabar Hillo data en 2001 y en Irak la traducción árabe de la que esta edición inglesa parte.

«Because the Mandaeans are today distributed in a diaspora, in which most live in countries where English is the common language, it once again became necessary to translate our holy book, the Ginza Rabba, into English for the benefit of our descendants and for those who would like to know more about Mandaism.» — el mismo firmante da la razón de la versión inglesa: la diáspora y quienes quieran conocer el mandeísmo desde fuera.

«It is important to mention here that no translation can be substitute for the original text, especially with regard to sacred books.» — el Rishema Sattar Jabar Hillo pone el límite de su propio encargo: ninguna traducción sustituye al original, y menos en un libro sagrado.

«I fully trust the sincerity and efficiency of the committee in translating the meaning of the original Ginza Rabbas texts, and invoke Hayyi Rabbi, the Great Life, to bless them and hope that the Mandaeans who know English and the coming generations will get the most benefit from it.» — cierra su foreword confiando el resultado al comité e invocando a Hayyi Rabbi; el troceo imprime *Ginza Rabbas* sin apóstrofo.

«No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the authors.» — la página de derechos prohíbe reproducir el volumen sin permiso escrito de los autores; el volumen imprime esta misma página dos veces, en la plana 2 y otra vez en la 237, al abrir el izquierdo, y se cita la primera.

«The Sabean Mandaeans, to whom I belong, consider the Ginza Rabba as the main sacred scripture that contains the principles and instructions of their religion. They have a great appreciation for their holy book due to its unique language and primal teachings which bear witness to the antiquity of their mono-theistic faith.» — abre el tercer foreword, firmado por Fouad Chasib Muhyi, que se declara mandeo sabeo y dice por qué la comunidad aprecia el libro: por su lengua y por unas enseñanzas primeras que toma como testimonio de la antigüedad de su fe monoteísta.

«Unfortunately, the Mandaeans in Iraq and Iran ceased learning their language as a result of using Arabic and Persian in their daily lives.» — el mismo firmante señala el árabe y el persa de la vida diaria como la causa de que la lengua dejara de aprenderse en Irak y en Irán.

«Since I arrived in Australia along with the first Mandaeans in 1979, I have attended to this important matter. The more that Mandaeans were forced to leave their home countries, the more they have hoped to gather themselves together in one land, such as Australia. The future of our children and the survival of our doctrine has always been our mission.» — Fouad Chasib Muhyi data en 1979 su llegada a Australia con los primeros mandeos y enuncia como misión propia el futuro de los niños y la supervivencia de la doctrina.

«Due to my deep faith and abiding love of my people, I have dedicated myself to translating the Ginza Rabba into English for my family, grandchildren and children of all Mandaeans. We are responsible for preserving the heritage that our ancestors have maintained for thousands of years in a language that is understandable for everyone everywhere.» — el mismo firmante declara el motivo personal de costear la traducción: el deber de preservar una herencia sostenida por los antepasados durante miles de años, en lengua que todos entiendan; el troceo parte *under-standable* por el guion de fin de renglón y el programa lo restituye unido.

«May this work, which is free of charge for the Mandaeans, be considered for me as a Zidqa Brikha or “Blessed Oblation” in this life and in the World of Light.» — Fouad Chasib Muhyi declara gratuita la obra para los mandeos y pide que se le cuente como Zidqa Brikha, ofrenda bendita, en esta vida y en el Mundo de Luz.

«Although Mandaeans neglected to document their history and have lost much of their oral traditions, they were quite eager to keep their religious heritage by copying their manuscripts.» — abre el prefacio del traductor Qais Al-Saadi, que consigna a la vez el descuido de la historia escrita y el empeño en copiar los manuscritos.

«They therefore adopted strict regulations for copying their sacred manuscripts, to maintain and preserve them from one generation to the next.» — el traductor enuncia la regla de copia estricta como el modo en que el texto se conservó de una generación a la siguiente.

«Some Mandaeans think this procedure arose from differences between the contents of the two parts: the “right” part deals with life and contains the creation and the descent of the Soul into the body of Adam, whereas the “left” part contains the texts about death, and how the Soul departs the body to ascend to the World of Light. In addition, I see that the first copyist collected the right part from several different Mandaic texts, whereas the texts of the “left" part were already together in one roll and dealt with one subject. In order not to mix the contents of the “left" part with the other texts, he used this way to collect them separately together in one book.» — la nota al pie del prefacio consigna dos explicaciones de la encuadernación invertida sin arbitrar entre ellas: la que atribuye a algunos mandeos, por la materia de cada parte, y la del propio traductor, por el modo en que el primer copista reunió los textos; el troceo imprime la comilla de cierre recta en left" dos veces.

«Generally, the Ginza Rabba represents consecutively the principles of the Mandaean doctrine: the belief of the only one great God, Hayyi Rabbi, to whom all absolute properties belong; he created all the worlds, formed the soul through his power, and placed it by means of angels into the human body.» — el traductor resume en su prefacio el principio del que parte la doctrina mandea tal como él la lee: un solo Dios, Hayyi Rabbi, creador de todos los mundos, que forma el alma y la coloca en el cuerpo por medio de ángeles.

«Since the soul was brought down to the material world, it has to stay for a defined period of time in the human body and is obliged to suffer its worldly fate; however, the soul as a part of the divine creation should encourage human beings to do good deeds and to confront evil with God’s help.» — sigue el resumen del prefacio sobre el destino del alma en el mundo material: un plazo fijo en el cuerpo y el deber de hacer el bien y enfrentar el mal.

«God therefore sent the saviour to protect the soul, along with messengers to guide the people to a pious life according to His will. When the soul completes its predestined lifespan, the saviour will come to accompany it back from the body to its origins, whereupon it has to pass through several stations of purification.» — el traductor enuncia en el prefacio las dos figuras enviadas —el salvador y los mensajeros— y las estaciones de purificación que el alma atraviesa al volver.

«In ancient times, the Sabeans Mandaeans were able to read and understand their manuscripts in their own language. The Mandaic language and alphabet were in official use during certain historical eras in southern Mesopotamia.» — el prefacio sitúa el uso oficial de la lengua y del alfabeto mandeicos en ciertas épocas del sur de Mesopotamia; el troceo imprime *Sabeans Mandaeans* sin conjunción.

«In the past, there were several serious attempts to translate the Ginza Rabba into foreign languages by scholars as part of their studies of Mandaean religion. This began with the attempt of the Swedish Orientalist Mathias Norberg to translate it into Latin in 1815/1816.» — el prefacio abre la lista de traducciones europeas y la data: el orientalista sueco Mathias Norberg al latín, en 1815/1816.

«The first printed version of the Ginza Rabba was copied by the German Orientalist Heinrich Julius Petermann in 1867.» — el prefacio adjudica al orientalista alemán Heinrich Julius Petermann la primera versión impresa, copiada en 1867.

«mother tongue; nowadays, its main use is limited to ritual practice by clerics.» — el prefacio dice dónde quedó reducido el uso de la lengua: la práctica ritual de los sacerdotes; la frase empieza al otro lado del corte de chunk, donde el traductor atribuye el desplazamiento a cambios políticos y sociales, y el troceo reemite la marca de la plana 10 a los dos lados del corte.

«German scholar Wilhelm Brandt attempted to translate the whole book into German, but only published some portions in 1839. His colleague Mark Lidzbarski produced the first translation of the whole book into German in 1925. Other scholars included in their publications some passages translated into English, usually relying upon the German version.» — el prefacio del traductor sigue la lista de versiones europeas: Wilhelm Brandt publica solo partes en 1839 y Mark Lidzbarski da en 1925 la primera traducción alemana completa; el troceo imprime *Mark* por Mark Lidzbarski, sin cotejo contra facsímil.

«Despite these considerable efforts, Mandaeans were unable to use these editions in Iraq and Iran due to the unfamiliarity of German and Latin there. As the result of an increasing need to have a comprehensible Gvnzain Iraq, the headship of the Mandaeans decided to translate the Ginza Rabba into Arabic.» — el traductor da la razón de la traducción árabe: las ediciones alemana y latina quedaban fuera del alcance de las comunidades de Irak e Irán; el troceo pega dos palabras en *Gvnzain Iraq*, lectura propuesta Ginza in Iraq, sin cotejo contra facsímil.

«In contrast to prior editions, the leadership took under consideration not to create a direct translation (word by word) as has been done before, but rather to produce a comprehensible translation according to the basic meaning of the text, conveying the sense of the original.» — aquí queda declarado el criterio de traducción que la portada llama equivalente: no palabra por palabra sino según el sentido básico del texto.

«The Arabic version was edited in a poetic manner and has been proofed under the supervision of the leadership of the community.» — el prefacio consigna además la forma poética de la versión árabe y su revisión bajo la dirección de la comunidad.

«Since the last quarter of the twentieth century, the Mandaeans have been forced to leave their homelands. They have escaped to many countries, so that three-quarters of them are now living in the Diaspora: 4,000 live in the USA, 8,000 in Australia and New Zealand, and about 15,000 Mandaeans live in Europe, mostly in Sweden, Holland, Germany, England, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. There are also roughly 3,000 Mandaeans in Syria and another 500 in Jordan, waiting for any chance to be accommodated as refugees. The remainder of the Mandaeans is still living in Iraq and Iran.» — el prefacio cifra la diáspora: tres cuartas partes fuera de sus tierras, con cuentas por país; es la única estadística que el volumen imprime.

«Ganzibra Sattar Jabbar Hillo and Rishema Salah Jabbar Tawos entrusted me with this challenging task.» — el traductor nombra a quienes le encargaron el trabajo, con sus títulos: el Ganzibra Sattar Jabbar Hillo y el Rishema Salah Jabbar Tawos.

«Because of some lapses which were known to me concerning the Arabic translation, I decided to make a comparative analysis between the Arabic translation and the original in Mandaic: correcting some expressions and enumerations; avoiding unnecessary poetic words that were needed for the rhyme scheme, but not mentioned in the original; explaining some religious ideas and literary meanings which were incorrect in both the Iraqi edition and Lidzbarski’s edition, and thus ensuring that such passages are translated accurately into English.» — el traductor declara qué corrigió al cotejar el árabe con el mandeico: expresiones y enumeraciones, la hojarasca poética exigida por la rima y pasajes que tiene por incorrectos en la edición iraquí y en la de Lidzbarski; el troceo pega la llamada de nota en *English.2*.

«I have put the whole work into an evaluation study. It is about 100 pages in Arabic, which was presented to the leadership of the Mandaean community, and which will be published to remark upon the needed corrections on the Arabic translation.» — la nota al pie de esa misma plana declara una obra aparte: un estudio de evaluación de unas cien páginas en árabe, presentado a la dirección de la comunidad y aún por publicar.

«In addition, I was also of the opinion not to include refined texts which reflect the same meaning or have an identical context, especially in the left part. But I included one more tractate in Book Three of the “left” part; this section was not translated into Arabic, and refers to Sunday and its importance as a sacred day.» — el traductor declara dos intervenciones propias sobre el contenido: dejó fuera textos que repiten el mismo sentido, sobre todo en la parte izquierda, y en cambio añadió un tratado del Libro Tres del izquierdo sobre el domingo que el árabe no traía.

«Furthermore, some special mandaic figure names and terms may have several meanings relying on the context. Therefore, they are listed in a glossary at the end of the book. The transliterated terms are always written in italics with capital letters and followed by English translation.» — el prefacio explica el aparato del volumen: el glosario final y la convención de cursiva y mayúscula para los términos transliterados.

«They also may include special letters which are to pronounce as follows: “t”: stronger pronunciation than a regular T, “s”: to be pronounced like S in sun; an apostrophe, such as “ ’Dmutha “ is to be pronounced like I in image.» — el traductor da la guía de pronunciación de las letras especiales de la transliteración; el troceo imprime los signos diacríticos como t y s simples y deja un espacio dentro de las comillas de ’Dmutha.

«Even though this edition represents a translation of the meaning, reflecting the intentions behind the original text rather than a literal translation, we were quite careful and attentive towards conveying the spiritually worded text from its Mandaic origins to an understandable language. The Ginza Rabba should be easily read and understood by everyone; our aim is to make its ancient heritage coherent with modern usage, so that readers are not confused.» — el traductor enuncia el propósito de la versión: hacer legible la herencia antigua en uso moderno, sin confundir al lector.

«Finally, I would like to acknowledge my indebtedness to Charles Haberl for his review and his important comments. Special thanks go to Rabbi Tarmida Rafid Al-Sabty and my son Sam Al-Saadi for their efforts, and to all who gave a hand in this project.» — los agradecimientos del prefacio nombran a Charles Haberl como revisor y al Rabbi Tarmida Rafid Al-Sabty y a Sam Al-Saadi; el troceo escribe Tarmida sin diacríticos.

«We hope that we were able to present the Ginza Rabba in the way to be appreciated as it always has been considered as the Great Treasure. May Hayyi forgive any inadvertent error may have happened in this translation, and forgive our sins by means of this deed, and accept this effort to help Mandaeans to learn more about their religion.» — el prefacio cierra pidiendo a Hayyi que perdone cualquier error de la traducción, con lo que el traductor deja dicho que no la da por impecable.

«The third of three emanations from the Great Hayyi. His place is between the purgatories and the World of Light. He is responsible to weigh the souls in his scale. There is a Mandaean scripture in his name, i.e. Diwan Abathur.» — así define el glosario del traductor la entrada Abathur, y remite a otra escritura mandea, el Diwan Abathur, que este volumen no contiene.

«An old Sumearian city, about 17 km to the south of Babilon city.» — el glosario del traductor sitúa Borsippa al sur de Babilonia; el troceo imprime *Sumearian* y *Babilon*, lecturas propuestas sumeria y Babilonia, sin cotejo contra facsímil.