1
And Yeshayahu related the vision he had seen to Chizqiyahu, Yosab his son, Mikhah, and the rest of the prophets, saying:
2
At the moment when I prophesied according to the words you heard, I saw a glorious messenger, unlike the glory of the messengers I had formerly seen, possessing such glory and rank that I cannot describe his glory.
3
And taking me by the hand, he raised me upward. And I said to him: 'Who are you? What is your name? And where are you raising me?' For strength was given me to speak with him.
4
And he said to me: 'When I have raised you through the degrees and shown you the vision for which I was sent, then you shall understand who I am; but my name you shall not know,
5
because you shall return into this body of yours. Yet where I am raising you, you shall see; for for this purpose I was sent.'
6
And I rejoiced because he spoke gently with me.
7
And he said to me: 'Have you rejoiced because I spoke gently with you? You shall see One greater than I who shall speak gently and peacefully with you.'
8
'And His Father, who is greater, you shall also see; for for this purpose I was sent from the seventh heaven to explain all these things to you.'
9
And we ascended to the firmament, I and he, and there I saw Samma'el and his hosts; and there was great conflict there, and the messengers of Satan envied one another.
10
And as it is above, so also upon the earth; for the likeness of what is in the firmament is here upon the earth.
11
And I said to the messenger who was with me: 'What is this war, and what is this envy?'
12
And he said: 'It has been so from the making of this world until now, and this war shall continue until the One whom you shall see comes and destroys him.'
13
And afterward he caused me to ascend above the firmament into the first heaven.
14
And there I saw a throne in the midst, and messengers upon its right and upon its left.
15
And those upon the left were not like those upon the right; those upon the right possessed greater glory and praised with one voice, while those upon the left gave praise after them, but their voice and praise were not equal to those on the right.
16
And I asked the messenger who conducted me: 'To whom is this praise sent?'
17
And he said: 'It is sent to the praise of the One sitting in the seventh heaven, to the One who rests in the set-apart world, and to His Beloved, from whom I was sent to you.'
18
And again he caused me to ascend to the second heaven; and the height of that heaven was as the distance from heaven to earth and from earth to the firmament.
19
And there, as in the first heaven, I saw messengers on the right and left and a throne in the midst, and the praise of the messengers in the second heaven; and the one sitting upon the throne in the second heaven was more glorious than all the rest.
20
And great glory was in the second heaven, and its praise was not like the praise in the first heaven.
21
And I fell upon my face to bow before the one upon the throne, but the messenger conducting me did not permit me and said: 'Bow before neither throne nor messenger belonging to the six heavens until I instruct you in the seventh heaven.'
22
'For above all these heavens and their messengers your throne has been placed, and your garments and your crown, which you shall see.'
23
And I rejoiced with great joy that those who love El Elyon and His Beloved shall afterward ascend there through the messenger of Holy Ruach.
24
And he raised me to the third heaven; and in the same manner I saw those upon the right and left and a throne in the midst, but the remembrance of the vanity of this world was not heard there.
25
And I said to the messenger with me - for the glory of my appearance was being transformed as I ascended through each heaven - 'Nothing of the vanity of that world is named here.'
26
And he answered: 'Nothing is named because of its weakness, yet nothing done there is hidden.'
27
And I desired to learn how it was known. He answered: 'When I have raised you to the seventh heaven, from which I was sent, then you shall know that nothing is hidden from the thrones, those dwelling in the heavens, or the messengers.' And the praise and glory there were greater than those below.
28
And again he raised me to the fourth heaven, and the height from the third to the fourth was greater than from the earth to the firmament.
29
And there again I saw those upon the right and left, and the one sitting upon the throne in the midst, and they praised.
30
And the praise and glory of the messengers upon the right were greater than those upon the left.
31
And the glory of the one sitting upon the throne was greater than that of the messengers upon the right, and their glory was greater than those below.
32
And he raised me to the fifth heaven.
33
And again I saw those upon the right and left, and the one sitting upon the throne possessing greater glory than those of the fourth heaven.
34
And the glory of those on the right was greater than the glory of those on the left.
35
And the glory of the one upon the throne was greater than that of the messengers on the right.
36
And their praise was more glorious than the praise of the fourth heaven.
37
And I praised the One who is not named and the Beloved who dwells in the heavens, whose name is not known to flesh, who bestowed such glory upon the several heavens and magnifies the glory of the messengers and the glory of those upon the thrones.