Testament of Moses

Testament of Moses III

III.1 In those times a king will come to them from the east, and he will cover their land [with cavalry]. III.2 And he will burn their settlement with fire, together with the holy house of the Lord, and take away all the holy vessels. III.3 And he will cast out all the people and lead them into the land of his own homeland, and he [will lead] two tribes with him. III.4 Then two tribes will call upon ten tribes and [be angry], like a lioness in the [dusty fields], hungering and thirsting. III.5 And they will cry, “Righteous and holy is the Lord, for indeed you sinned, and we likewise were [led away] with you, [with our infants].” III.6 Then ten tribes will weep, hearing the reproachful words of the two tribes. III.7 And they will say, “What [have we done] to you, brothers? Has not this distress come upon the whole house of Israel?” III.8 And all the tribes will weep, crying to heaven and saying: III.9 “God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob, remember your covenant which you made with them, and the oath which you swore to them by yourself, that their seed should never fail from the land you gave them.” III.10 Then they will remember me on that day, speaking tribe to tribe and each man concerning his neighbor: III.11 “Is this not what Moses was testifying to us [then] in [prophecies], he who suffered many things in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years? III.12 [And, testifying], he called heaven and earth as witnesses for us, lest we pass over his commandments, in which he was an arbiter for us. III.13 [Look, these things] have come upon us from that one, according to his words and his affirmation, just as he testified to us in those times. [Look, these things] have come to pass, even our being led captive into the region of the east.” III.14 They also will serve for about seventy-seven years.