The First Book of Adam and Eve

Chapter LXXII - Adam's heart is set on fire. Satan appears as beautiful maidens.

1 Then Satan, and ten from his hosts, transformed themselves into maidens, unlike any others in the whole world for grace.

2 They came up out of the river in presence of Adam and Eve, and they said among themselves, "Come, we will look at the faces of Adam and Eve, who are of the men on earth. How beautiful they are, and how different is their look from our own faces." Then they came to Adam and Eve, and greeted them; and stood wondering at them.

3 Adam and Eve looked at them also, and wondered at their beauty, and said, "Is there, then, under us, another world, with such beautiful creatures as these in it?"

4 And those maidens said to Adam and Eve, "Yes, indeed, we are an abundant creation."

5 Then Adam said to them, "But how do you multiply?"

6 And they answered him, "We have husbands who have married us, and we bear them children, who grow up, and who in their turn marry and are married, and also bear children; and thus we increase. And if so be, O Adam, you will not believe us, we will show you our husbands and our children."

7 Then they shouted over the river as if to call their husbands and their children, who came up from the river, men and children; and every man came to his wife, his children being with him.

8 But when Adam and Eve saw them, they stood dumb, and wondered at them.

9 Then they said to Adam and Eve, "See all our husbands and our children? You should marry Eve, as we have married our husbands, so that you will have children as we have." This was a device of Satan to deceive Adam.

10 Satan also thought within himself, "God at first commanded Adam concerning the fruit of the tree, saying to him, 'Eat not of it; else of death you shall die.' But Adam ate of it, and yet God did not kill him; He only decreed on him death, and plagues and trials, until the day he shall come out of his body.

11 Now, then, if I deceive him to do this thing, and to marry Eve without God's permission, God will kill him then."

12 Therefore Satan worked this apparition before Adam and Eve; because he sought to kill him, and to make him disappear from off the face of the earth.

13 Meanwhile the fire of sin came over Adam, and he thought of committing sin. But he restrained himself, fearing that if he followed this advice of Satan, God would put him to death.

14 Then Adam and Eve got up, and prayed to God, while Satan and his hosts went down into the river, in presence of Adam and Eve; to let them see that they were going back to their own world.

15 Then Adam and Eve went back to the Cave of Treasures, as they usually did; about evening time.

16 And they both got up and prayed to God that night. Adam remained standing in prayer, yet not knowing how to pray, by reason of the thoughts in his heart regarding his marrying Eve; and he continued so until morning.

17 And when light came up, Adam said to Eve, "Get up, let us go below the mountain, where they brought us gold, and let us ask the Lord concerning this matter."

18 Then Eve said, "What is that matter, O Adam?"

19 And he answered her, "That I may request the Lord to inform me about marrying you; for I will not do it without His permission or else He will make us perish, you and me. For those devils have set my heart on fire, with thoughts of what they showed us, in their sinful apparitions.

20 Then Eve said to Adam, "Why need we go below the mountain? Let us rather stand up and pray in our cave to God, to let us know whether this counsel is good or not."

21 Then Adam rose up in prayer and said, "O God, you know that we transgressed against you, and from the moment we transgressed, we were stripped of our bright nature; and our body became brutish, requiring food and drink; and with animal desires.

22 Command us, O God, not to give way to them without Your permission, for fear that You will turn us into nothing. Because if you do not give us permission, we shall be overpowered, and follow that advice of Satan; and You will again make us perish.

23 If not, then take our souls from us; let us be rid of this animal lust. And if You give us no order respecting this thing, then sever Eve from me, and me from her; and place us each far away from the other.

24 Then again, O God, if You separate us from each other, the devils will deceive us with their apparitions that resemble us, and destroy our hearts, and defile our thoughts towards each other. Yet if it is not each of us towards the other, it will, at all events, be through their appearance when the devils come to us in our likeness." Here Adam ended his prayer.