99
This is the order of the souls of the righteous, as henceforth is announced;[y] and the previously mentioned are the ways of torment that those who would not give heed shall suffer hereafter.”
100
Then I answered and said, “Will time therefore be given to the souls, after they have been separated from the bodies, to see what you have described to me?”
101
He said to me, “They shall have freedom for seven days, so that during these seven days they may see the things of which you have been told, and afterwards they shall be gathered in their habitations.”
102
I answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, show further to me, your servant, whether on the day of judgment the righteous will be able to intercede for the ungodly or to entreat the Most High for them—
103
fathers for sons or sons for parents, brothers for brothers, relatives for their kindred, or friends for those who are most dear.”
104
He answered me and said, “Since you have found favor in my sight, I will show you this also. The day of judgment is decisive[z] and displays to all the seal of truth. Just as now a father does not send his son, or a son his father, or a master his servant, or a friend his dearest friend, to be ill[aa] or sleep or eat or be healed in his place,
105
so no one shall ever pray for another on that day, neither shall anyone lay a burden on another;[ab] for then all shall bear their own righteousness and unrighteousness.”
106
I answered and said, “How then do we find that first Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom, and Moses for our ancestors who sinned in the desert,
107
and Joshua after him for Israel in the days of Achan,
108
and Samuel in the days of Saul,[ac] and David for the plague, and Solomon for those at the dedication,
109
and Elijah for those who received the rain, and for the one who was dead, that he might live,