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Dhammapada · narration sample

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The Forgotten Books of Eden · 223 of 293

Odes of Solomon: Ode 31

A song that Marcus Aurelius might have known when he said “Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break.”

1.The abysses were dissolved before the Lord: and darkness was destroyed by His appearance: 2 Error went astray and perished at His hand: and folly found no path to walk in, and was submerged by the truth of the Lord. 3 He opened His mouth and spake grace and joy: and He spake a new song of praise to His name: 4 And He lifted up His voice to the Most High, and offered to Him the sons that were with Him. 5 And His face was justified, for thus His holy Father had given to Him. 6 Come forth, ye that have been afflicted and receive joy, and possess your souls by His grace; and take to you immortal life. 7 And they made me a debtor when I rose up, me who had been a debtor: and they divided my spoil, though nothing was due to them. 8 But I endured and held my peace and was silent, as if not, moved by them. 9 But I stood unshaken like a firm rock which is beaten by the waves and endures. 10 And I bore their bitterness for humility’s sake: 11 In order, that I might redeem my people, and inherit it and that I might not make void my promises to the fathers, to whom I promised the salvation of their seed. Hallelujah.

Asked of Guide

Why does the speaker say he stood ‘like a firm rock’ amid being made a debtor and divided?

The speaker describes wrongful loss—“they made me a debtor” and “they divided my spoil”—and responds by keeping silence and endurance, which becomes a moral stance of steadiness. Standing “like a firm rock which is beaten by the waves and endures” frames suffering as active fidelity: endurance preserves the promise to the fathers and secures redemption for his people.

This endurance links to the chapter’s earlier claims that darkness and error perish before the Lord and that he “spake grace and joy,” so the rock-like patience is part of a victorious, word-driven salvation. Readers who know Paul’s language will hear an echo of Romans and 1 Peter, where suffering and steadfastness participate in God’s saving purposes.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.