The king, with justice, sets up the land

Eleazar be-Rabbi Qillir

7th Century

The king, with justice, sets up the land, He who is high above the whole land.

They recognize and acknowledge–all the land, all the world’s inhabitants, who dwell on the land,

from the edge of the land to the edge of the land– that He is the creator of all edges of the land,

who metes out justice and righteousness in the land. When He comes to the judgment, He silences the land,

to bring victory to all the meek in the land, and to unmake all the rulers of the land,

to grab the four corners of the land and shake out all the wicked from the land.

A voice is proclaimed in heaven and on earth, “How glorious Your name is throughout the land!”

And when He reigns over the whole land, a song will break out from the bottommost parts of the land. [ . . . ]

Then He will produce the three shofars of heaven,¹ terrify the nobles who live in the land,

and overturn the thrones of the kingdoms of the land. Then it will be proclaimed by all who have breath, in the land:

“How glorious Your name is throughout the land!” And He will establish [Jerusalem], the most joyous place of all the land,

and He will wake up all the sleepers of the land, and songs will ascend from the ends of the land:

Sing to the Lord, all the land!

The land and its inhabitants await the judgment; they break and quake in fear of the judgment,

for indeed, great is the day of judgment! Who can contain it, to be vindicated in the judgment?

And all [scholars], who sit upon judgment, and all who know law and judgment,

and all those who have experienced [earthly] judgment, perhaps will be given clemency in the [divine] judgment.

Indeed, there is no mercy in the judgment, and He will not play favorites in judgment.

He is the witness and the litigant. On the land, one’s deeds are known at the judgment,

and each person signs on to the judgment; and in accordance with one’s document, He metes out the judgment,

and in accordance with one’s actions, He performs the judgment; and one is reproved by one’s deeds at the judgment.

A rock from the wall cries out at the judgment; a beam of wood responds in judgment. Everything is in truth, everything in judgment, with [God’s] quality of mercy and quality of judgment.

Today is established to bring nations to judgment, to make it a sign of the day of judgment,

and to bring all souls to judgment.

It is set and fxed as a memory of the first day [of creation] and the last day [of the universe],

for [the buried patriarchs], the sleepers of Hebron, to be remembered, for the rose of Sharon [the Jewish people] to take refuge in their shade,

so that those who return to the fortress can be vindicated through them–those who blow the shofar and call out with their throats–

to fnd good deeds in [the patriarchs’] merits, through which they can be rescued from [divine] rage and anger.

So just as the father [Abraham] kept the way of justice and righteousness, so may his descendants experience justice and righteousness.

And as [Isaac], the silent dove, planted seeds for righteousness, so may his descendants reap truth and righteousness.

And as the upright [Jacob] was truly given righteousness, so may his descendants be given truth and righteousness.

And the throne of glory is established with righteousness; in front of it shall stand the advocate and stand up for [the client’s] righteousness.

And when the shofar ascends from the people poor in righteousness, prayer and supplication will come from the patriarchs of righteousness,

who will say in front of [God], who loves righteousness, “Far be it from You, O You who speak in righteousness,

to perform justice without righteousness! For where there is [strict] justice, there can be no righteousness!” [ . . . ]

For when He sits down on the throne to judge me, all will stand up in front of my judge,

to silence my prosecutor by means of the shofar, to advocate for me so that He will judge me innocent

and not judge me as He judges the nations. For He will bring my judgment to light,

and there will be brightness like light when I am judged.

Translated by Gabriel Wasserman.

Notes

[Using the word ‘erets (with the initial letter ‘ayin) for “heaven” was typical in the language of the Hebrew poets of this era. Thus, the word for “heaven” sounds identical, or nearly identical, to the constant rhyme with the word for “earth” in the other lines of this section.–Trans.]

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.