Editing Hidden Words (section)

== Text ==
The text of ''The Hidden Words'' has [[153 (number)|153]] passages divided into two sections: one in Arabic and the other in Persian. Each consists of a series of short, numbered passages. The Arabic has 71 passages and the Persian has 82.

Each passage begins with an invocation, many of which repeat. Some common invocations include "O Son of Spirit", "O Son of Man", and "O Son of Being". Baháʼí prayers are written in the first person of humanity, so that the reader can feel like they are having a conversation with God. ''The Hidden Words'' are written in the first person of God, so that the reader feels like God is speaking to them.

=== Introduction ===
From the Arabic, the following is the introduction written by Baháʼu'lláh:

:"'''HE IS THE GLORY OF GLORIES''' 
:This is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the Prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity, as a token of grace unto the righteous, that they may stand faithful unto the Covenant of God, may fulfill in their lives His trust, and in the realm of spirit obtain the gem of Divine virtue."

=== Samples ===
From the Arabic

:1. "O SON OF SPIRIT!
:My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient, imperishable and everlasting.

:7. "O SON OF MAN!
:If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live in thee."

:49. "O SON OF MAN!
:The true lover yearneth for tribulation even as doth the rebel for forgiveness and the sinful for mercy."

From the Persian
:3. "O FRIEND!
:In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love, and from the nightingale of affection and desire loosen not thy hold. Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly."

:12. "O MAN OF TWO VISIONS!
:Close one eye and open the other. Close one to the world and all that is therein, and open the other to the hallowed beauty of the Beloved."

:27. "O SON OF DUST!
:All that is in heaven and earth I have ordained for thee, except the human heart, which I have made the habitation of My beauty and glory; yet thou didst give My home and dwelling to another than Me; and whenever the manifestation of My holiness sought His own abode, a stranger found He there, and, homeless, hastened unto the sanctuary of the Beloved. Notwithstanding I have concealed thy secret and desired not thy shame."

=== Ending ===
After the last passage, Baháʼu'lláh wrote:
:"The mystic and wondrous Bride, hidden ere this beneath the veiling of utterance, hath now, by the grace of God and His divine favor, been made manifest even as the resplendent light shed by the beauty of the Beloved. I bear witness, O friends! that the favor is complete, the argument fulfilled, the proof manifest and the evidence established. Let it now be seen what your endeavors in the path of detachment will reveal. In this wise hath the divine favor been fully vouchsafed unto you and unto them that are in heaven and on earth. All praise to God, the Lord of all Worlds."