Chapter 70
---------------
A more detailed look at alterations to a Tablet referring to Dependent Prophets, published in the Baha'i Sacred Writings.
Further below is a roughly paragraph by paragraph comparison of Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah LXVI which has been in use by Baha'is for decades; and a new translation (shown in italics) from the Baha'i Sacred Writings,
published in April 2026. Each section under comparison is
separated by a solid
line. Texts can be altered by selective omission or by interpolation.
As a preface, following are two relevant brief passages from the
Holy Writings.
Whoso interpreteth what hath been sent down from the heaven of Revelation, and altereth its evident meaning, he, verily, is of them that have perverted the Sublime Word of God, and is of the lost ones in the Lucid Book.
-- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 57
Take heed lest ye alter or pervert the text of the Word of God. Walk ye in the fear of God, and be numbered with the righteous.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih of the Temple, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 18
Paragraph by paragraph comparisons follow:
a)
Say: If ye be seekers after this life and the vanities thereof, ye
should have sought them while ye were still enclosed in your mothers'
wombs, for at that time ye were continually approaching them, could ye
but perceive it. Ye have, on the other hand, ever since ye were born
and attained maturity, been all the while receding from the world and
drawing closer to dust. Why, then, exhibit such greed in amassing the
treasures of the earth, when your days are numbered and your chance is
well-nigh lost? Will ye not, then, O heedless ones, shake off your
slumber?
Incline your ears to the counsels which this Servant giveth you for the
sake of God. He, verily, asketh no recompense from you and is resigned
to what God hath ordained for Him, and is entirely submissive to God's
Will.
The days of your life are far spent, O people, and your end is fast
approaching. Put away, therefore, the things ye have devised and to
which ye cleave, and take firm hold on the precepts of God, that haply
ye may attain that which He hath purposed for you, and be of them that
pursue a right course. Delight not yourselves in the things of the
world and its vain ornaments, neither set your hopes on them. Let your
reliance be on the remembrance of God, the Most Exalted, the Most
Great. He will, erelong, bring to naught all the things ye possess. Let
Him be your fear, and forget not His covenant with you, and be not of them that are shut out as by a veil from Him.
Beware that ye
swell not with pride before God, and disdainfully reject His loved
ones. Defer ye humbly to the faithful, they that have believed in God
and in His signs, whose hearts witness to His unity, whose tongues proclaim His oneness, and who speak not except by His leave [Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah]. Thus do We exhort you with justice, and warn you with truth, that perchance ye may be awakened.
Lay not on any soul
a load which ye would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for
any one the things ye would not desire for yourselves. This is My best
counsel unto you, did ye but observe it.
Respect ye the
divines and learned amongst you, they whose conduct accords with their
professions, who transgress not the bounds which God hath fixed, whose
judgments are in conformity with His behests as revealed in His Book.
Know ye that they are the lamps of guidance unto them that are in the
heavens and on the earth. They who disregard and neglect the divines
and learned that live amongst them -- these have truly changed the
favor with which God hath favored them.
Say: Await ye till God will have changed His favor unto you. Nothing
whatsoever escapeth Him. He knoweth the secrets both of the heavens and
of the earth. His knowledge embraceth all things. Rejoice not in what
ye have done, or will do in the future, nor delight in the tribulation
with which ye have afflicted Us, for ye are unable by such means as
these to exalt your stations, were ye to examine your works with acute
discernment. Neither will ye be capable of detracting from the
loftiness of Our state. Nay, God will add unto the recompense with
which He shall reward Us, for having sustained with persevering
patience the tribulations We have suffered. He, verily, shall increase
the reward of them that endure with patience.
-- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, LXVI, p. 127
28.1
SAY: If ye be seekers after this life
and the vanities thereof, ye should have sought them while ye were
still enclosed in your mothers’ wombs, for at that time ye were
continually approaching them, could ye but perceive it. Ye have, on the
other hand, ever since ye were born and attained maturity, been all the
while receding from the world and drawing closer to dust. Why, then,
exhibit such greed in amassing the treasures of the earth, when your
days are numbered and your chance is well-nigh lost? Will ye not, then,
O heedless ones, shake off your slumber?
28.2
Incline your ears to the counsels
which this Servant giveth you for the sake of God. He, verily, asketh
no recompense from you and is resigned to what God hath ordained for
Him, and is entirely submissive to God’s Will.
28.3
The days of your life are far spent,
O people, and your end is fast approaching. Put away, therefore, the
things ye have devised and to which ye cleave, and take firm hold on
the precepts of God, that haply ye may attain that which He hath
purposed for you, and be of them that pursue a right course. Delight
not yourselves in the things of the world and its vain ornaments,
neither set your hopes on them. Let your reliance be on the remembrance
of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Great. He will, erelong, bring to
naught all the things ye possess. Let Him be your fear, and forget not
His covenant with you, and be not of them that are shut out as by a
veil from Him….
[Three
paragraphs starting with "Beware that ye swell not with pride before
God...", "Lay not on any soul a load which.." and "Respect ye the divines
and learned amongst you.." are removed; the first of which refers to Dependent Prophets of Baha'u'llah,.]
28.4
Say: Await ye till God will have
changed His favour unto you. Nothing whatsoever escapeth Him. He
knoweth the secrets both of the heavens and of the earth. His knowledge
embraceth all things. Rejoice not in what ye have done, or will do in
the future, nor delight in the tribulation with which ye have afflicted
Us, for ye are unable by such means as these to exalt your stations,
were ye to examine your works with acute discernment. Neither will ye
be capable of detracting from the loftiness of Our state. Nay, God will
add unto the recompense with which He shall reward Us, for having
sustained with persevering patience the tribulations We have suffered.
He, verily, shall increase the reward of them that endure with
patience….
-- Baha'u'llah, Bahá’í Sacred Writings.
As shown in Chapter 1, the passage indicating that the Holy Imams are Manifestations of God has been excluded from the Baha'i Sacred Writings.. As shown in Chapter 68, the reference to Abdu'l-Baha as the self of God (as the Manifestation of God, the Dependent Prophet of Baha'u'llah) has been altered.. As shown in Chapter 69, the words "Universally, the Prophets are of two kinds" has been changed to "Prophets are in general of two kinds".. Along with the alterations in Chapter 70, above, the practical effect is to obscure the fact that Baha'u'llah has Dependent Prophets (which is the norm in major dispensations), and that Dependent Prophets are also Manifestations of God?
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