Attributed to Nestor the Chronicler · Complete work
986, Part 3: The Philosopher's Account Concludes
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И о въскресении же его рькоша. Давидъ: «Въстани, Боже, суди земли, яко ты наслѣдиши въ всѣх странах». И пакы: «Да въскреснеть Богъ, и разидутся врази его». И пакы: «Въскрѣсни, Господи Боже мой, да възнесеться рука твоя». Исая же рече: «Сходящии въ страну и сѣнь смѣртьную, свѣтъ восияеть на вы». Захарья же рече: «Ты въ крови завѣта твоего испустилъ еси ужникы своя от рова, не имущи воды». И ино много пророчьствова о немъ же, и събыстся все.
Рече же Володимиръ: «То въ кое время събысться се? И было ли се есть? Еда ли топѣрво хощет быти се?» И философъ же, отвѣщавъ, рече ему, яко «Уже преже сьбысться все, егда Богъ въплотися. Якоже преже ркох, жидомъ пророкы избивающим, цесаремъ ихъ законы преступающим, предасть я на расхыщение въ пленъ, и ведени быша въ Асурию, грѣхъ ради их, и работаша тамо лѣт 70. И по семъ възвратишася на землю свою, и не бѣ у нихъ цесаря, но архиерѣи обладаху ими […] до Ирода иноплеменьника, иже облада ими.
В сего же власть, в лѣто 5000 и 500 посланъ бысть Гаврилъ въ Назарефъ къ дѣвици Марьи, от колѣна Давидова, рещи ей: «Радуйся, обрадованная, Господь с тобою!» И от слова сего зачатъ Слово Божие во утробѣ, и породи сына, и нарече имя ему Исусъ. И се волъсви приидоша от въстока, глаголюще: «Кде есть рожийся цесарь жидовескъ? Видѣхом звѣзду его на въстоци, приидохом поклонится ему». Слышавъ же се, Иродъ цесарь смятеся, и всь Иерусалимъ с нимъ, и, призвавъ книжникы и старци людьскыя, въпрашаше: «Кде Христосъ ражается?» Они же рѣша ему: «Въ Вифлеомѣ июдѣйстѣмь». Иродъ же, се слышавъ, посла, рекъ: «Избѣйте младенца сущаа до дву лѣту». Они же, шедше, избиша младениць 14 000. Марья же, убоявшися, скры отроча. Иосифъ же съ Мариею, поимъ отроча и бѣжа въ Егупетъ, и бысть ту до умертвия Иродова. Въ Егупте же явися аньгѣлъ Иосифу, глаголя: «Въстани, поими отроча и матерь его и иди в землю Израилеву». Пришедъшю же ему, вселися въ Назарефъ.
И възрастъшю же ему и бывшю ему лѣт 30, нача чюдеса творити и проповѣдати царство небесное. Изъбра 12 и яже ученикы себѣ нарече, и нача чюдеса творити велика: мертвыя въскрешати, прокаженыя очищати, хромыя ходити, слѣпымъ прозрѣнье творити, и ина многа чюдеса велика, якоже бѣша пророци прорекли о немъ, глаголюще: «Тъ недугы наша ицѣли, и болезни подъя». И крестися въ Иерданѣ от Ивана, показая новымъ людем обновление. Крестившю же ся ему, и се отвѣрзошася небеса, и Духъ сходящь зраком голубиномъ на нь, и глас глаголя: «Се есть сынъ мой възлюбленый, о немъже благоизволих». И посылаше ученикы своя проповѣдати царство небесное и покаяние въ оставленье грѣховъ. И хотя исполнити пророчьство, и нача проповѣдати, яко подобает сыну человѣчьскому пострадати, и распяту быти, и въ 3 день въскреснути. И учащю ему въ церкви, архиерѣи исполнишася зависти и книжници искаху убити ̀и, и емъше ̀и, ведоша ̀и къ игѣмону Пилату. Пилатъ же, испытавъ, яко безъ вины предаша ̀и, хотѣ пустити ̀и.
Они же рѣша ему: «Аще того пустиши, не имаеши быти другь кесареви». Пилатъ же повелѣ, да ̀и расъпнут. Они же, поемъше Исуса, ведоша ̀и на мѣсто краньево, и ту ̀и распяша. И бысть тма по всей земли от шестаго часа до 9-го, и при 9-мь часѣ испусти духъ Исусъ. И церковьная запона раздрася надвое, и мертвии въстаяху мьнози, имъже повелѣ въ раи быти. И снемъше же ̀и съ креста, положиша ̀и въ гробѣ, и печатьми запечаташа гробъ людье же жидовьстии, и стражи приставиша, ркуще: «Еда украдуть и нощью ученичи его». Онъ же въ 3 день въскресе. И явися учеником, и въскресъ изъ мертвыхъ, рекъ имъ: «Идете въ вся языкы и научите вся языкы, крестяще во имя Отца и Сына и Святаго Духа». И пребысть с ними 40 дний, являяся имъ по въскресении. И егда исполнися дьний 40, повелѣ имъ ити на гору Елеоньскую. И ту явися имъ и, благословивъ я, рече имъ: «Сядете въ градѣ Иерусалимѣ, дондеже послю обѣтование Отца моего». И егда възношашеся на небо, ученикы поклонишася ему. И възъратишася въ Иерусалимъ и бяху воину въ церкви.
И егда скончася днии 50, сниде Духъ Святый на апостолы, и приимъше обѣтование Святаго Духа, разидошася по вьселенѣй, учаще и крестяще водою».
Рече же Володимиръ къ философу: «Что ради от жены родися, и на дьревѣ распятъся, и водою крестися?». Философъ же рече ему: «Сего ради, понеже испѣрва родъ человѣчьскый женою съгрѣши: дьяволъ прелѣсти Евгою Адама, и отпаде рая; тако же и Богъ отмѣстье створи дьяволу, женою пѣрвѣе побѣженье бысть дьяволу, женою бо пѣрьвѣе испадение бысть Адаму из раа; от жены же пакы въплътися Богъ и повелѣ в рай ити вѣрным. А еже на древѣ распяту быти, сего ради, яко от древа вкушь и испаде породы; Богъ же на древѣ страсть приать, да древом диаволь побѣжен будет, и от древа праведнаго приимут праведнии. А еже водою обновление, понеже при Нои умножившемъся грѣхом въ человѣцех, и наведе Богъ потопь на землю и потопи человѣкы водою. Сего ради рече Богъ: «Понеже погубих водою человѣкы грѣх ради их, нынѣ же пакы водою очищу грѣхы человѣком обновлениемь водою», ибо жидовьскый род въ мори очистишася от египетскаго злаго нрава, понеже вода изначала бысть пръвое; рече бо, и Духъ Божий ношашеся връху воды, еже бо и нынѣ крестятся водою и Духом. Проображение бысть пръвое водою, якоже Гедеон прообрази. Егда прииде к нему аггелъ, веляше ему ити на мадиама, онъ же, искушая, рече къ Богу, положивь руно на гумнѣ, рекь: «И аще будет по всей земли роса, а на рунѣ суша...». И бысть тако. Се же прообрази, яко иностраны бѣша преже суша, а жидове — руно, послѣже на странах роса, еже есть святое крещение, а на жидѣх суша. И пророци же проповѣдаша, яко водою обновление будет.
Апостолом же учащим по вселенней вѣровати Богу, их же учение и мы, греци, приахом, и вся вселеннаа вѣрует учению их. Нарекль же есть Богъ един день, в он же хощет судити, пришедый, живым и мертвым и въздати комуждо по дѣлом их: праведному царство небесное, и красоту неизреченную, веселие без конца, и не умирати в вѣкы, а грѣшником — мука огненна, и червь неусыпаемый, и муцѣ не будет конца. Сице же будут мучениа, иже не вѣруют Господу нашему Иисус Христу: мучими будут въ огни, иже ся не крестит». И се рекь, показа ему запону, на нейже бѣ написано судище Господне, показываше же ему одесную праведныа въ веселии предъидуща в рай, а ошуюю — грѣшныа, идущих въ муку. Вълодимер же, въздохнувь рече: «Добро сим одесную, горе же сим ошуюю». Он же рече: «Аще хощеши одесную стати, то крестися». Вълодимеръ же положи на сердци своем, рекь: «Пожду еще мало», хотя испытати о всѣх вѣрах. Вълодимер же, сему дары многы въдавь, отпусти съ честию великою.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Old East Slavic text of the Hypatian Codex (O. V. Tvorogov’s 1997 edition, pinned Russian Wikisource revision), covering the undated introduction and every annal from 6360 to 6625 (852–1117 CE). Worker drafts were checked against the source paragraph by paragraph before publication. Years keep the chronicle’s own reckoning from the creation of the world; subtract 5508 for the approximate year CE, as the chapter titles do.
They spoke also of his resurrection. David: “Rise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit in all lands.” And again: “Let God arise, and his enemies be scattered.” And again: “Awake, O Lord my God, that your hand may be lifted up.” Isaiah said: “You who go down into the land and the shadow of death, light shall shine upon you.” Zechariah said: “By the blood of your covenant you have freed your prisoners from the pit that holds no water.” And he prophesied much else of him, and all of it came to pass.
Vladimir said: “Then in what time did this come to pass? Has it already been? Or is it yet to be?” And the philosopher answered and said to him: “All this was fulfilled long ago, when God became incarnate. As I said before, when the Jews killed the prophets and their emperors transgressed the laws, he gave them over to plunder and captivity, and for their sins they were led away into Assyria and served there 70 years. After this they returned to their own land, and they had no king, but the high priests ruled them […] until Herod the foreigner, who ruled over them.
“In his reign, in the year 5000 and 500, Gabriel was sent to Nazareth to the Virgin Mary, of the tribe of David, to say to her: ‘Rejoice, favored one, the Lord is with you!’ And from this word the Word of God was conceived in her womb, and she bore a son and named him Jesus. And magi came from the east, saying: ‘Where is he that is born, king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ Hearing this, the emperor Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling the scribes and the elders of the people, he asked: ‘Where is Christ born?’ They said to him: ‘In Bethlehem of Judea.’ Herod, hearing this, sent men, saying: ‘Kill the infants two years old and under.’ They went and killed 14,000 infants. Mary, in fear, hid the child; and Joseph with Mary took the child and fled to Egypt and remained there until Herod's death. In Egypt an angel appeared to Joseph, saying: ‘Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel.’ And when he came, he settled in Nazareth.
“And when he had grown and was 30 years old, he began to work miracles and to preach the kingdom of heaven. He chose 12 and called them his disciples, and began to work great miracles: raising the dead, cleansing the lepers, making the lame walk, giving sight to the blind, and many other great miracles, as the prophets had foretold of him, saying: ‘He healed our sicknesses and bore our diseases.’ And he was baptized in the Jordan by John, showing renewal to the new people. When he was baptized, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove, and a voice said: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And he sent his disciples to preach the kingdom of heaven and repentance for the remission of sins. And wishing to fulfill prophecy, he began to preach that the Son of Man must suffer and be crucified and rise on the 3rd day. And while he was teaching in the temple, the high priests were filled with envy and the scribes sought to kill him; and seizing him, they led him to the governor Pilate. Pilate, on examining him, found that they had handed him over without guilt, and wished to release him.
“They said to him: ‘If you release this man, you shall not be a friend of Caesar.’ And Pilate commanded that he be crucified. They took Jesus and led him to the Place of the Skull and crucified him there. And there was darkness over the whole earth from the sixth hour to the 9th, and at the 9th hour Jesus gave up his spirit. And the veil of the temple was torn in two, and many of the dead arose, whom he commanded to be in paradise. And they took him down from the cross and laid him in the tomb; and the Jews sealed the tomb with seals and set guards over it, saying: ‘Lest his disciples steal him by night.’ And on the 3rd day he rose. And risen from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and said to them: ‘Go into all nations and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ And he remained with them 40 days, appearing to them after his resurrection. And when the 40 days were fulfilled, he commanded them to go to the Mount of Olives, and there he appeared to them and, blessing them, said: ‘Remain in the city of Jerusalem until I send the promise of my Father.’ And as he was lifted up to heaven, the disciples bowed down before him. And they returned to Jerusalem and were continually in the temple.
“And when the 50 days were fulfilled, the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit, they dispersed through the whole world, teaching and baptizing with water.”
Vladimir said to the philosopher: “Why was he born of a woman, and crucified on wood, and baptized with water?” And the philosopher said to him: “For this reason: because from the beginning the human race sinned through a woman. the devil deceived Adam through Eve, and he fell from paradise; so God made requital upon the devil: by a woman the devil was first defeated, for by a woman came the first fall of Adam from paradise; and from a woman God again became incarnate and commanded the faithful to enter paradise. And as for being crucified on wood: because by tasting of a tree man fell from paradise, God accepted suffering upon wood, that by wood the devil might be defeated, and from the tree of righteousness the righteous shall receive. And as for renewal by water: because in the days of Noah, when sin had multiplied among men, God brought the flood upon the earth and drowned men with water; therefore God said: ‘Since I destroyed men with water for their sin, now again with water I will cleanse men of sin through the renewal of water’; for the Jewish race was cleansed in the sea from the evil Egyptian temper, for water was from the very beginning, for it is said that the Spirit of God was borne upon the waters; even so now men are baptized with water and the Spirit. There was a first foreshadowing in water, as Gideon prefigured: when the angel came to him and commanded him to go against Midian, he made trial, laying the fleece upon the threshing floor, and said to God: ‘And if there be dew upon all the ground, and dryness upon the fleece…’ And so it was. This he prefigured: that before, the foreign nations were the dry earth, and the Jews the fleece; afterward there was dew upon the nations, which is holy baptism, and upon the Jews dryness. And the prophets preached that renewal would come by water.
“As the apostles taught through the whole world to believe in God—whose teaching we Greeks also received, and the whole world believes their teaching—God has appointed a single day on which he wills to come and judge the living and the dead, and to render to each according to their deeds: to the righteous the kingdom of heaven, and beauty beyond telling, and joy without end, and life that shall never know death; to sinners—fiery torment, and the worm that sleeps not, and their torment shall have no end. Such will be the torments of those who do not believe in our Lord Jesus Christ: they will be tormented in fire, those who are not baptized.” And having said this, he showed him a curtain on which the Lord's judgment was painted, showing him on the right the righteous going in joy into paradise, and on the left the sinners going into torment. And Vladimir sighed and said: “Well for those on the right; woe for those on the left.” He said: “If you wish to stand at the right, be baptized.” And Vladimir laid this up in his heart, saying: “I will wait yet a little,” for he wished to test all the faiths. And Vladimir gave him many gifts and dismissed him with great honor.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same Old East Slavic text of the Hypatian Codex, paragraph for paragraph, and checked against the source before publication.
They also spoke about his resurrection. David: “Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for you will inherit in all the lands.” And again: “Let God arise, and his enemies be scattered.” And again: “Awake, O Lord my God, that your hand be lifted up.” Isaiah said: “To those descending into the land and the shadow of death, light will shine.” Zechariah said: “By the blood of your covenant you have released your prisoners from the pit that had no water.” And he prophesied much else about him, and it all came true.
Vladimir said: “Then at what time did this happen? Has it already been, or is it only now going to be?” The philosopher answered and said to him: “It all happened before, when God became flesh. As I said before, when the Jews killed the prophets and their emperors transgressed the laws, he gave them over to plunder and captivity, and because of their sins they were led away to Assyria and served there 70 years. And after that they returned to their own land, and they had no emperor, but the high priests ruled them […] until Herod the foreigner, who ruled them.
In his reign, in the year 5500, Gabriel was sent to Nazareth to the maiden Mary, of the line of David, to say to her: “Rejoice, favored one, the Lord is with you!” From this word the Word of God was conceived in her womb, and she bore a son and named him Jesus. And magi came from the east, saying: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Hearing this, Emperor Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and he summoned the scribes and the elders of the people and asked: “Where is the Christ born?” They said to him: “In Bethlehem of Judea.” Hearing this, Herod sent men, saying: “Kill the infants up to two years old.” They went and killed 14,000 infants. Mary, fearing, hid the child. Joseph with Mary, taking the child, fled to Egypt and stayed there until Herod was dead. In Egypt an angel appeared to Joseph, saying: “Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel.” When he came, he settled in Nazareth.
When he had grown up and was 30 years old, he began to work miracles and to preach the kingdom of heaven. He chose 12 and called them his disciples, and began to do great miracles: raising the dead, cleansing lepers, making the lame walk, giving sight to the blind, and many other great miracles, just as the prophets had foretold of him, saying: “He healed our sicknesses and took our diseases.” He was baptized in the Jordan by John, showing renewal to the new people. When he was baptized, the heavens opened and the Spirit came down on him in the form of a dove, and a voice said: “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” And he sent his disciples to preach the kingdom of heaven and repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And wanting to fulfill the prophecy, he began to preach that the Son of Man must suffer and be crucified and rise on the 3rd day. While he was teaching in the temple, the high priests were filled with envy and the scribes sought to kill him; and seizing him, they led him to the governor Pilate. Pilate, having examined the case and found that they had handed him over without guilt, wanted to release him.
They said to him: “If you release him, you are not Caesar's friend.” Pilate ordered him crucified. They took Jesus and led him to the place of the skull and crucified him there. There was darkness over the whole earth from the 6th hour to the 9th, and at the 9th hour Jesus gave up his spirit. The curtain of the temple tore in two, and many dead rose, to whom he commanded to be in paradise. They took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb; the Jewish people sealed the tomb with seals and set guards over it, saying: “Perhaps his disciples will steal him by night.” He rose on the 3rd day. Risen from the dead, he appeared to the disciples and said to them: “Go into all nations and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” He stayed with them 40 days, appearing to them after the resurrection. When the 40 days were fulfilled, he commanded them to go to the Mount of Olives. There he appeared to them and, blessing them, said: “Sit in the city of Jerusalem until I send my Father's promise.” And when he was being raised to heaven, the disciples bowed down before him. They returned to Jerusalem and were always in the temple.
And when the 50 days were completed, the Holy Spirit came down on the apostles, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit, they spread through the whole world, teaching and baptizing with water.”
Vladimir said to the philosopher: “Why was he born of a woman, and crucified on a tree, and baptized with water?” The philosopher said to him: “It is because the human race first sinned through a woman: the devil deceived Adam through Eve, and he fell from paradise. So God took recompense on the devil: by a woman the devil was first defeated, for by a woman came Adam's first fall from paradise; and through a woman God became incarnate and commanded the faithful to go into paradise. And being crucified on a tree is because by tasting of a tree man fell from paradise; God accepted suffering on a tree so that by a tree the devil would be defeated, and from the tree of righteousness the righteous will receive. And renewal by water is because in Noah's time, when sin had multiplied among men, God brought the flood on the earth and drowned men in water. Therefore God said: ‘Since I destroyed men with water for their sins, now again with water I will cleanse the sins of men, by renewal with water,’ for the Jewish race was cleansed in the sea from the evil Egyptian way of life, because water was first from the beginning; for it says the Spirit of God was borne over the water, which is why they are baptized with water and the Spirit even now. The first prefiguring was by water, as Gideon prefigured. When the angel came to him and commanded him to go against Midian, he, testing, said to God, having laid the fleece on the threshing floor: ‘If there is dew on all the earth, and dryness on the fleece…’ And it was so. This prefigured this: the foreign nations were formerly the dry ground, and the Jews the fleece; afterwards there would be dew on the nations, which is holy baptism, and dryness on the Jews. And the prophets preached that renewal would come by water.
The apostles taught through the whole world to believe in God; we Greeks received their teaching, and the whole world believes their teaching. God has appointed one day on which he wants to come and judge the living and the dead, and to give to each according to their deeds: to the righteous, the kingdom of heaven, and beauty beyond words, joy without end, and no dying forever; and to sinners, fiery torment and the undying worm, and their torment will have no end. Such will be the torments of those who do not believe in our Lord Jesus Christ: those who are not baptized will be tormented in fire.” Having said this, he showed him a curtain on which the Lord's judgment was painted: he showed him on the right the righteous going ahead into paradise in joy, and on the left the sinners going into torment. Vladimir sighed and said: “Good for those on the right, and woe to those on the left.” He said: “If you wish to stand at the right, then be baptized.” Vladimir took it to heart and said: “I will wait yet a little,” wanting to test all the faiths. And Vladimir, having given him many gifts, sent him away with great honor.