The War Scroll

1 they shall begin their hand to bring down the slain. And all the people shall fall silent from the sound of the shout, and the priests shall keep sounding on the trumpets of

2 the slain, to direct the battle, until the enemy is struck down and turns his back. And the priests keep sounding, to direct the battle.

3 And when they are struck down before them, the priests shall blow on the trumpets of summoning, and all the skirmishers shall go out to them from the midst of

4 the front battle-lines; and six standards shall stand, and the standard that draws near — all of them seven battle-lines, twenty-eight thousand

5 men of war, and the riders six thousand. All these shall pursue, to destroy the enemy in the war of God, unto everlasting

6 destruction. And the priests shall blow for them on the trumpets of pursuit, and they shall divi[de] against all the enemy for a pursuit of annihilation. And the chariots

7 shall turn them back on the flanks of the battle until the destruction is complete. And when the slain fall, the pri[est]s shall keep sounding from afar, and shall not come

8 into the midst of the slain, to be defiled with the blood of their uncleanness; for they are holy. They shall [no]t profane the oil of their priestly anointing with the blood of

9 a nation of vanity. [blank]

10 The rule for changing the order of the standards of the war, to array the position against [ … ] a rounding of the wings, and towers,

11 and a bow, and towers; and upon a slight advance, with heads going out and wings [ … ] the sides of the battle-line, [ … to ]melt

12 the enemy. And the shields of the towers shall be three cubits long, and their spears e[ig]ht cubits long. And the tow[e]rs

13 go out from the battle-line — a hundred shields, and a hundred is the front of the tower. Th[us they shall ]surround the tower on the three front sides:

14 three hundred shields, and two gates to a tower, one to the [right and ]one to the left. And on all the shields of the towers

15 they shall write: on the first, Micha[e]l; [ … on the third, ]Sariel; on the fourth, Raphael;

16 Michael and Gabriel [ … ] [blank]

17 [ … ] for the four [ … And if ]they set an ambush for a [battle-lin]e

18 [ … ]