{"collection":"chr","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/chr/apo/2esdr.htm","path":"chr/apo/2esdr.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/2esdr.htm","text":"2Esdr 1\nThe second book of the prophet Esdras, the son of Saraias,\nthe son of Azarias, the son of Helchias, the son of Sadamias,\nthe sou of Sadoc, the son of Achitob,\n2\nThe son of Achias, the son of Phinees, the son of Heli,\nthe son of Amarias, the son of Aziei, the son of Marimoth,\nthe son of And he spake unto the of Borith, the son of Abisei,\nthe son of Phinees, the son of Eleazar,\n3\nThe son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi; which was captive in\nthe land of the Medes, in the reign of Artexerxes king of the\nPersians.\n4\nAnd the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,\n5\nGo thy way, and shew my people their sinful deeds, and their\nchildren their wickedness which they have done against me; that\nthey may tell their children's children:\n6\nBecause the sins of their fathers are increased in them: for\nthey have forgotten me, and have offered unto strange gods.\n7\nAm not I even he that brought them out of the land of Egypt,\nfrom the house of bondage? but they have provoked me unto wrath,\nand despised my counsels.\n8\nPull thou off then the hair of thy head, and cast all evil upon them, \nfor they have not been obedient unto my law, but it is a rebellious people.\n9\nHow long shall I forbear them, into whom I have done so much good?\n10\nMany kings have I destroyed for their sakes; Pharaoh with his\nservants and all his power have I smitten down.\n11\nAll the nations have I destroyed before them, and in the east\nI have scattered the people of two provinces, even of Tyrus and\nSidon, and have slain all their enemies.\n12\nSpeak thou therefore unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord,\n13\nI led you through the sea and in the beginning gave you \na large and safe passage; I gave you Moses for a leader, \nand Aaron for a priest.\n14\nI gave you light in a pillar of fire, and great wonders have\nI done among you; yet have ye forgotten me, saith the Lord.\n15\nThus saith the Almighty Lord, The quails were as a token to you; \nI gave you tents for your safeguard: nevertheless ye murmured there,\n16\nAnd triumphed not in my name for the destruction of your enemies, \nbut ever to this day do ye yet murmur.\n17\nWhere are the benefits that I have done for you? when ye were\nhungry and thirsty in the wilderness, did ye not cry unto me,\n18\nSaying, Why hast thou brought us into this wilderness to kill us? \nit had been better for us to have served the Egyptians, \nthan to die in this wilderness.\n19\nThen had I pity upon your mournings, and gave you manna to eat; \nso ye did eat angels' bread.\n20\nWhen ye were thirsty, did I not cleave the rock, and waters\nflowed out to your fill? for the heat I covered you with the\nleaves of the trees.\n21\nI divided among you a fruitful land, I cast out the\nCanaanites, the Pherezites, and the Philistines, before you:\nwhat shall I yet do more for you? saith the Lord.\n22\nThus saith the Almighty Lord, When ye were in the wilderness,\nin the river of the Amorites, being athirst, and blaspheming my name,\n23\nI gave you not fire for your blasphemies, but cast a tree in the water, \nand made the river sweet.\n24\nWhat shall I do unto thee, O Jacob? thou, Juda, wouldest not\nobey me: I will turn me to other nations, and unto those will \nI give my name, that they may keep my statutes.\n25\nSeeing ye have forsaken me, I will forsake you also; when ye desire me \nto be gracious unto you, I shall have no mercy upon you.\n26\nWhensoever ye shall call upon me, I will not hear you: \nfor ye have defiled your hands with blood, and your feet are swift \nto commit manslaughter.\n27\nYe have not as it were forsaken me, but your own selves,\nsaith the Lord.\n28\nThus saith the Almighty Lord, Have I not prayed you as a\nfather his sons, as a mother her daughters, and a nurse her\nyoung babes,\n29\nThat ye would be my people, and I should be your God; that ye\nwould be my children, and I should be your father?\n30\nI gathered you together, as a hen gathereth her chickens\nunder her wings: but now, what shall I do unto you? I will cast\nyou out from my face.\n31\nWhen ye offer unto me, I will turn my face from you: for your\nsolemn feastdays, your new moons, and your circumcisions, have I\nforsaken.\n32\nI sent unto you my servants the prophets, whom ye have taken\nand slain, and torn their bodies in pieces, whose blood I will\nrequire of your hands, saith the Lord.\n33\nThus saith the Almighty Lord, Your house is desolate, I will\ncast you out as the wind doth stubble.\n34\nAnd your children shall not be fruitful; for they have\ndespised my commandment, and done the thing that is an evil\nbefore me.\n35\nYour houses will I give to a people that shall come; which\nnot having heard of me yet shall believe me; to whom I have\nshewed no signs, yet they shall do that I have commanded them.\n36\nThey have seen no prophets, yet they shall call their sins to\nremembrance, and acknowledge them.\n37\nI take to witness the grace of the people to come, whose\nlittle ones rejoice in gladness: and though they have not seen\nme with bodily eyes, yet in spirit they believe the thing that I\nsay.\n38\nAnd now, brother, behold what glory; and see the people that\ncome from the east:\n39\nUnto whom I will give for leaders, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,\nOseas, Amos, and Micheas, Joel, Abdias, and Jonas,\n40\nNahum, and Abacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zachary, and Malachy,\nwhich is called also an angel of the Lord.\n2Esdr 2\nThus saith the Lord, I brought this people out of bondage,\nand I gave them my commandments by menservants the prophets;\nwhom they would not hear, but despised my counsels.\n2\nThe mother that bare them saith unto them, Go your way, ye\nchildren; for I am a widow and forsaken.\n3\nI brought you up with gladness; but with sorrow and heaviness\nhave I lost you: for ye have sinned before the Lord your God,\nand done that thing that is evil before him.\n4\nBut what shall I now do unto you? I am a widow and forsaken:\ngo your way, O my children, and ask mercy of the Lord.\n5\nAs for me, O father, I call upon thee for a witness over the\nmother of these children, which would not keep my covenant,\n6\nThat thou bring them to confusion, and their mother to a\nspoil, that there may be no offspring of them.\n7\nLet them be scattered abroad among the heathen, let their\nnames be put out of the earth: for they have despised my\ncovenant.\n8\nWoe be unto thee, Assur, thou that hidest the unrighteous in\nthee! O thou wicked people, remember what I did unto Sodom and\nGomorrha;\n9\nWhose land lieth in clods of pitch and heaps of ashes: even\nso also will I do unto them that hear me not, saith the Almighty\nLord.\n10\nThus saith the Lord unto Esdras, Tell my people that I will\ngive them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I would have given\nunto Israel.\n11\nTheir glory also will I take unto me, and give these the\neverlasting tabernacles, which I had prepared for them.\n12\nThey shall have the tree of life for an ointment of sweet\nsavour; they shall neither labour, nor be weary.\n13\nGo, and ye shall receive: pray for few days unto you, that\nthey may be shortened: the kingdom is already prepared for you:\nwatch.\n14\nTake heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil\nin pieces, and created the good: for I live, saith the Lord.\n15\nMother, embrace thy children, and bring them up with\ngladness, make their feet as fast as a pillar: for I have chosen\nthee, saith the Lord.\n16\nAnd those that be dead will I raise up again from their\nplaces, and bring them out of the graves: for I have known my\nname in Israel.\n17\nFear not, thou mother of the children: for I have chosen\nthee, saith the Lord.\n18\nFor thy help will I send my servants Esau and Jeremy, after\nwhose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve\ntrees laden with divers fruits,\n19\nAnd as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven\nmighty mountains, whereupon there grow roses and lilies, whereby\nI will fill thy children with joy.\n20\nDo right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the\npoor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,\n21\nHeal the broken and the weak, laugh not a lame man to scorn,\ndefend the maimed, and let the blind man come into the sight of\nmy clearness.\n22\nKeep the old and young within thy walls.\n23\nWheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them,\nand I will give thee the first place in my resurrection.\n24\nAbide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy\nquietness still come.\n25\nNourish thy children, O thou good nurse; stablish their feet.\n26\nAs for the servants whom I have given thee, there shall not\none of them perish; for I will require them from among thy\nnumber.\n27\nBe not weary: for when the day of trouble and heaviness\ncometh, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but thou shalt be\nmerry and have abundance.\n28\nThe heathen shall envy thee, but they shall be able to do\nnothing against thee, saith the Lord.\n29\nMy hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not see\nhell.\n30\nBe joyful, O thou mother, with thy children; for I will\ndeliver thee, saith the Lord.\n31\nRemember thy children that sleep, for I shall bring them out\nof the sides of the earth, and shew mercy unto them: for I am\nmerciful, saith the Lord Almighty.\n32\nEmbrace thy children until I come and shew mercy unto them:\nfor my wells run over, and my grace shall not fail.\n33\nI Esdras received a charge of the Lord upon the mount Oreb,\nthat I should go unto Israel; but when I came unto them, they\nset me at nought, and despised the commandment of the Lord.\n34\nAnd therefore I say unto you, O ye heathen, that hear and\nunderstand, look for your Shepherd, he shall give you\neverlasting rest; for he is nigh at hand, that shall come in the\nend of the world.\n35\nBe ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting\nlight shall shine upon you for evermore.\n36\nFlee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your\nglory: I testify my Saviour openly.\n37\nO receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving\nthanks unto him that hath led you to the heavenly kingdom.\n38\nArise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed\nin the feast of the Lord;\n39\nWhich are departed from the shadow of the world, and have\nreceived glorious garments of the Lord.\n40\nTake thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are\nclothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord.\n41\nThe number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is\nfulfilled: beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which\nhave been called from the beginning, may be hallowed.\n42\nI Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could\nnot number, and they all praised the Lord with songs.\n43\nAnd in the midst of them there was a young man of a high\nstature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their\nheads he set crowns, and was more exalted; which I marvelled at\ngreatly.\n44\nSo I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these?\n45\nHe answered and said unto me, These be they that have put off\nthe mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed\nthe name of God: now are they crowned, and receive palms.\n46\nThen said I unto the angel, What young person is it that\ncrowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands?\n47\nSo he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom\nthey have confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to\ncommend them that stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord.\n48\nThen the angel said unto me, Go thy way, and tell my people\nwhat manner of things, and how great wonders of the Lord thy\nGod, thou hast seen.\n2Esdr 3\nIn the thirtieth year after the ruin of the city I was in\nBabylon, and lay troubled upon my bed, and my thoughts came up\nover my heart:\n2\nFor I saw the desolation of Sion, and the wealth of them that\ndwelt at Babylon.\n3\nAnd my spirit was sore moved, so that I began to speak words\nfull of fear to the most High, and said,\n4\nO Lord, who bearest rule, thou spakest at the beginning, when\nthou didst plant the earth, and that thyself alone, and\ncommandedst the people,\n5\nAnd gavest a body unto Adam without soul, which was the\nworkmanship of thine hands, and didst breathe into him the\nbreath of life, and he was made living before thee.\n6\nAnd thou leadest him into paradise, which thy right hand had\nplanted, before ever the earth came forward.\n7\nAnd unto him thou gavest commandment to love thy way: which\nhe transgressed, and immediately thou appointedst death in him\nand in his generations, of whom came nations, tribes, people,\nand kindreds, out of number.\n8\nAnd every people walked after their own will, and did\nwonderful things before thee, and despised thy commandments.\n9\nAnd again in process of time thou broughtest the flood upon\nthose that dwelt in the world, and destroyedst them.\n10\nAnd it came to pass in every of them, that as death was to\nAdam, so was the flood to these.\n11\nNevertheless one of them thou leftest, namely, Noah with his\nhousehold, of whom came all righteous men.\n12\nAnd it happened, that when they that dwelt upon the earth\nbegan to multiply, and had gotten them many children, and were a\ngreat people, they began again to be more ungodly than the\nfirst.\n13\nNow when they lived so wickedly before thee, thou didst\nchoose thee a man from among them, whose name was Abraham.\n14\nHim thou lovedst, and unto him only thou shewedst thy will:\n15\nAnd madest an everlasting covenant with him, promising him\nthat thou wouldest never forsake his seed.\n16\nAnd unto him thou gavest Isaac, and unto Isaac also thou\ngavest Jacob and Esau. As for Jacob, thou didst choose him to\nthee, and put by Esau: and so Jacob became a great multitude.\n17\nAnd it came to pass, that when thou leadest his seed out of\nEgypt, thou broughtest them up to the mount Sinai.\n18\nAnd bowing the heavens, thou didst set fast the earth,\nmovedst the whole world, and madest the depths to tremble, and\ntroubledst the men of that age.\n19\nAnd thy glory went through four gates, of fire, and of\nearthquake, and of wind, and of cold; that thou mightest give\nthe law unto the seed of Jacob, and diligence unto the\ngeneration of Israel.\n20\nAnd yet tookest thou not away from them a wicked heart, that\nthy law might bring forth fruit in them.\n21\nFor the first Adam bearing a wicked heart transgressed, and\nwas overcome; and so be all they that are born of him.\n22\nThus infirmity was made permanent; and the law (also) in the\nheart of the people with the malignity of the root; so that the\ngood departed away, and the evil abode still.\n23\nSo the times passed away, and the years were brought to an\nend: then didst thou raise thee up a servant, called David:\n24\nWhom thou commandedst to build a city unto thy name, and to\noffer incense and oblations unto thee therein.\n25\nWhen this was done many years, then they that inhabited the\ncity forsook thee,\n26\nAnd in all things did even as Adam and all his generations\nhad done: for they also had a wicked heart:\n27\nAnd so thou gavest thy city over into the hands of thine\nenemies.\n28\nAre their deeds then any better that inhabit Babylon, that\nthey should therefore have the dominion over Sion?\n29\nFor when I came thither, and had seen impieties without\nnumber, then my soul saw many evildoers in this thirtieth year,\nso that my heart failed me.\n30\nFor I have seen how thou sufferest them sinning, and hast\nspared wicked doers: and hast destroyed thy people, and hast\npreserved thine enemies, and hast not signified it.\n31\nI do not remember how this way may be left: Are they then of\nBabylon better than they of Sion?\n32\nOr is there any other people that knoweth thee beside Israel?\nor what generation hath so believed thy covenants as Jacob?\n33\nAnd yet their reward appeareth not, and their labour hath no\nfruit: for I have gone here and there through the heathen, and I\nsee that they flow in wealth, and think not upon thy\ncommandments.\n34\nWeigh thou therefore our wickedness now in the balance, and\ntheir's also that dwell the world; and so shall thy name no\nwhere be found but in Israel.\n35\nOr when was it that they which dwell upon the earth have not\nsinned in thy sight? or what people have so kept thy\ncommandments?\n36\nThou shalt find that Israel by name hath kept thy precepts;\nbut not the heathen.\n2Esdr 4\nAnd the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel,\ngave me an answer,\n2\nAnd said, Thy heart hath gone to far in this world, and\nthinkest thou to comprehend the way of the most High?\n3\nThen said I, Yea, my lord. And he answered me, and said, I am\nsent to shew thee three ways, and to set forth three similitudes\nbefore thee:\n4\nWhereof if thou canst declare me one, I will shew thee also\nthe way that thou desirest to see, and I shall shew thee from\nwhence the wicked heart cometh.\n5\nAnd I said, Tell on, my lord. Then said he unto me, Go thy\nway, weigh me the weight of the fire, or measure me the blast of\nthe wind, or call me again the day that is past.\n6\nThen answered I and said, What man is able to do that, that\nthou shouldest ask such things of me?\n7\nAnd he said unto me, If I should ask thee how great dwellings\nare in the midst of the sea, or how many springs are in the\nbeginning of the deep, or how many springs are above the\nfirmament, or which are the outgoings of paradise:\n8\nPeradventure thou wouldest say unto me, I never went down\ninto the deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever climb up\ninto heaven.\n9\nNevertheless now have I asked thee but only of the fire and\nwind, and of the day wherethrough thou hast passed, and of\nthings from which thou canst not be separated, and yet canst\nthou give me no answer of them.\n10\nHe said moreover unto me, Thine own things, and such as are\ngrown up with thee, canst thou not know;\n11\nHow should thy vessel then be able to comprehend the way of\nthe Highest, and, the world being now outwardly corrupted to\nunderstand the corruption that is evident in my sight?\n12\nThen said I unto him, It were better that we were not at all,\nthan that we should live still in wickedness, and to suffer, and\nnot to know wherefore.\n13\nHe answered me, and said, I went into a forest into a plain,\nand the trees took counsel,\n14\nAnd said, Come, let us go and make war against the sea that\nit may depart away before us, and that we may make us more\nwoods.\n15\nThe floods of the sea also in like manner took counsel, and\nsaid, Come, let us go up and subdue the woods of the plain, that\nthere also we may make us another country.\n16\nThe thought of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and\nconsumed it.\n17\nThe thought of the floods of the sea came likewise to nought,\nfor the sand stood up and stopped them.\n18\nIf thou wert judge now betwixt these two, whom wouldest thou\nbegin to justify? or whom wouldest thou condemn?\n19\nI answered and said, Verily it is a foolish thought that they\nboth have devised, for the ground is given unto the wood, and\nthe sea also hath his place to bear his floods.\n20\nThen answered he me, and said, Thou hast given a right\njudgment, but why judgest thou not thyself also?\n21\nFor like as the ground is given unto the wood, and the sea to\nhis floods: even so they that dwell upon the earth may\nunderstand nothing but that which is upon the earth: and he that\ndwelleth above the heavens may only understand the things that\nare above the height of the heavens.\n22\nThen answered I and said, I beseech thee, O Lord, let me have\nunderstanding:\n23\nFor it was not my mind to be curious of the high things, but\nof such as pass by us daily, namely, wherefore Israel is given\nup as a reproach to the heathen, and for what cause the people\nwhom thou hast loved is given over unto ungodly nations, and why\nthe law of our forefathers is brought to nought, and the written\ncovenants come to none effect,\n24\nAnd we pass away out of the world as grasshoppers, and our\nlife is astonishment and fear, and we are not worthy to obtain\nmercy.\n25\nWhat will he then do unto his name whereby we are called? of\nthese things have I asked.\n26\nThen answered he me, and said, The more thou searchest, the\nmore thou shalt marvel; for the world hasteth fast to pass away,\n27\nAnd cannot comprehend the things that are promised to the\nrighteous in time to come: for this world is full of\nunrighteousness and infirmities.\n28\nBut as concerning the things whereof thou askest me, I will\ntell thee; for the evil is sown, but the destruction thereof is\nnot yet come.\n29\nIf therefore that which is sown be not turned upside down,\nand if the place where the evil is sown pass not away, then\ncannot it come that is sown with good.\n30\nFor the grain of evil seed hath been sown in the heart of\nAdam from the beginning, and how much ungodliness hath it\nbrought up unto this time? and how much shall it yet bring forth\nuntil the time of threshing come?\n31\nPonder now by thyself, how great fruit of wickedness the\ngrain of evil seed hath brought forth.\n32\nAnd when the ears shall be cut down, which are without\nnumber, how great a floor shall they fill?\n33\nThen I answered and said, How, and when shall these things\ncome to pass? wherefore are our years few and evil?\n34\nAnd he answered me, saying, Do not thou hasten above the most\nHighest: for thy haste is in vain to be above him, for thou hast\nmuch exceeded.\n35\nDid not the souls also of the righteous ask question of these\nthings in their chambers, saying, How long shall I hope on this\nfashion? when cometh the fruit of the floor of our reward?\n36\nAnd unto these things Uriel the archangel gave them answer,\nand said, Even when the number of seeds is filled in you: for he\nhath weighed the world in the balance.\n37\nBy measure hath he measured the times; and by number hath he\nnumbered the times; and he doth not move nor stir them, until\nthe said measure be fulfilled.\n38\nThen answered I and said, O Lord that bearest rule, even we\nall are full of impiety.\n39\nAnd for our sakes peradventure it is that the floors of the\nrighteous are not filled, because of the sins of them that dwell\nupon the earth.\n40\nSo he answered me, and said, Go thy way to a woman with\nchild, and ask of her when she hath fulfilled her nine months,\nif her womb may keep the birth any longer within her.\n41\nThen said I, No, Lord, that can she not. And he said unto me,\nIn the grave the chambers of souls are like the womb of a woman:\n42\nFor like as a woman that travaileth maketh haste to escape\nthe necessity of the travail: even so do these places haste to\ndeliver those things that are committed unto them.\n43\nFrom the beginning, look, what thou desirest to see, it shall\nbe shewed thee.\n44\nThen answered I and said, If I have found favour in thy\nsight, and if it be possible, and if I be meet therefore,\n45\nShew me then whether there be more to come than is past, or\nmore past than is to come.\n46\nWhat is past I know, but what is for to come I know not.\n47\nAnd he said unto me, Stand up upon the right side, and I\nshall expound the similitude unto thee.\n48\nSo I stood, and saw, and, behold, an hot burning oven passed\nby before me: and it happened that when the flame was gone by I\nlooked, and, behold, the smoke remained still.\n49\nAfter this there passed by before me a watery cloud, and sent\ndown much rain with a storm; and when the stormy rain was past,\nthe drops remained still.\n50\nThen said he unto me, Consider with thyself; as the rain is\nmore than the drops, and as the fire is greater than the smoke;\nbut the drops and the smoke remain behind: so the quantity which\nis past did more exceed.\n51\nThen I prayed, and said, May I live, thinkest thou, until\nthat time? or what shall happen in those days?\n52\nHe answered me, and said, As for the tokens whereof thou\naskest me, I may tell thee of them in part: but as touching thy\nlife, I am not sent to shew thee; for I do not know it.\n2Esdr 5\nNevertheless as coming the tokens, behold, the days shall\ncome, that they which dwell upon earth shall be taken in a great\nnumber, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall\nbe barren of faith.\n2\nBut iniquity shall be increased above that which now thou\nseest, or that thou hast heard long ago.\n3\nAnd the land, that thou seest now to have root, shalt thou\nsee wasted suddenly.\n4\nBut if the most High grant thee to live, thou shalt see after\nthe third trumpet that the sun shall suddenly shine again in the\nnight, and the moon thrice in the day:\n5\nAnd blood shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give\nhis voice, and the people shall be troubled:\n6\nAnd even he shall rule, whom they look not for that dwell\nupon the earth, and the fowls shall take their flight away\ntogether:\n7\nAnd the Sodomitish sea shall cast out fish, and make a noise\nin the night, which many have not known: but they shall all hear\nthe voice thereof.\n8\nThere shall be a confusion also in many places, and the fire\nshall be oft sent out again, and the wild beasts shall change\ntheir places, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters:\n9\nAnd salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends\nshall destroy one another; then shall wit hide itself, and\nunderstanding withdraw itself into his secret chamber,\n10\nAnd shall be sought of many, and yet not be found: then shall\nunrighteousness and incontinency be multiplied upon earth.\n11\nOne land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness\nthat maketh a man righteous gone through thee? And it shall say,\nNo.\n12\nAt the same time shall men hope, but nothing obtain: they\nshall labour, but their ways shall not prosper.\n13\nTo shew thee such tokens I have leave; and if thou wilt pray\nagain, and weep as now, and fast even days, thou shalt hear yet\ngreater things.\n14\nThen I awaked, and an extreme fearfulness went through all my\nbody, and my mind was troubled, so that it fainted.\n15\nSo the angel that was come to talk with me held me, comforted\nme, and set me up upon my feet.\n16\nAnd in the second night it came to pass, that Salathiel the\ncaptain of the people came unto me, saying, Where hast thou\nbeen? and why is thy countenance so heavy?\n17\nKnowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the\nland of their captivity?\n18\nUp then, and eat bread, and forsake us not, as the shepherd\nthat leaveth his flock in the hands of cruel wolves.\n19\nThen said I unto him, Go thy ways from me, and come not nigh\nme. And he heard what I said, and went from me.\n20\nAnd so I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, like as\nUriel the angel commanded me.\n21\nAnd after seven days so it was, that the thoughts of my heart\nwere very grievous unto me again,\n22\nAnd my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I\nbegan to talk with the most High again,\n23\nAnd said, O Lord that bearest rule, of every wood of the\nearth, and of all the trees thereof, thou hast chosen thee one\nonly vine:\n24\nAnd of all lands of the whole world thou hast chosen thee one\npit: and of all the flowers thereof one lily:\n25\nAnd of all the depths of the sea thou hast filled thee one\nriver: and of all builded cities thou hast hallowed Sion unto\nthyself:\n26\nAnd of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee\none dove: and of all the cattle that are made thou hast provided\nthee one sheep:\n27\nAnd among all the multitudes of people thou hast gotten thee\none people: and unto this people, whom thou lovedst, thou gavest\na law that is approved of all.\n28\nAnd now, O Lord, why hast thou given this one people over\nunto many? and upon the one root hast thou prepared others, and\nwhy hast thou scattered thy only one people among many?\n29\nAnd they which did gainsay thy promises, and believed not thy\ncovenants, have trodden them down.\n30\nIf thou didst so much hate thy people, yet shouldest thou\npunish them with thine own hands.\n31\nNow when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me\nthe night afore was sent unto me,\n32\nAnd said unto me, Hear me, and I will instruct thee; hearken\nto the thing that I say, and I shall tell thee more.\n33\nAnd I said, Speak on, my Lord. Then said he unto me, Thou art\nsore troubled in mind for Israel's sake: lovest thou that people\nbetter than he that made them?\n34\nAnd I said, No, Lord: but of very grief have I spoken: for my\nreins pain me every hour, while I labour to comprehend the way\nof the most High, and to seek out part of his judgment.\n35\nAnd he said unto me, Thou canst not. And I said, Wherefore,\nLord? whereunto was I born then? or why was not my mother's womb\nthen my grave, that I might not have seen the travail of Jacob,\nand the wearisome toil of the stock of Israel?\n36\nAnd he said unto me, Number me the things that are not yet\ncome, gather me together the dross that are scattered abroad,\nmake me the flowers green again that are withered,\n37\nOpen me the places that are closed, and bring me forth the\nwinds that in them are shut up, shew me the image of a voice:\nand then I will declare to thee the thing that thou labourest to\nknow.\n38\nAnd I said, O Lord that bearest rule, who may know these\nthings, but he that hath not his dwelling with men?\n39\nAs for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things\nwhereof thou askest me?\n40\nThen said he unto me, Like as thou canst do none of these\nthings that I have spoken of, even so canst thou not find out my\njudgment, or in the end the love that I have promised unto my\npeople.\n41\nAnd I said, Behold, O Lord, yet art thou nigh unto them that\nbe reserved till the end: and what shall they do that have been\nbefore me, or we that be now, or they that shall come after us?\n42\nAnd he said unto me, I will liken my judgment unto a ring:\nlike as there is no slackness of the last, even so there is no\nswiftness of the first.\n43\nSo I answered and said, Couldest thou not make those that\nhave been made, and be now, and that are for to come, at once;\nthat thou mightest shew thy judgment the sooner?\n44\nThen answered he me, and said, The creature may not haste\nabove the maker; neither may the world hold them at once that\nshall be created therein.\n45\nAnd I said, As thou hast said unto thy servant, that thou,\nwhich givest life to all, hast given life at once to the\ncreature that thou hast created, and the creature bare it: even\nso it might now also bear them that now be present at once.\n46\nAnd he said unto me, Ask the womb of a woman, and say unto\nher, If thou bringest forth children, why dost thou it not\ntogether, but one after another? pray her therefore to bring\nforth ten children at once.\n47\nAnd I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time.\n48\nThen said he unto me, Even so have I given the womb of the\nearth to those that be sown in it in their times.\n49\nFor like as a young child may not bring forth the things that\nbelong to the aged, even so have I disposed the world which I\ncreated.\n50\nAnd I asked, and said, Seeing thou hast now given me the way,\nI will proceed to speak before thee: for our mother, of whom\nthou hast told me that she is young, draweth now nigh unto age.\n51\nHe answered me, and said, Ask a woman that beareth children,\nand she shall tell thee.\n52\nSay unto her, Wherefore are unto they whom thou hast now\nbrought forth like those that were before, but less of stature?\n53\nAnd she shall answer thee, They that be born in the the\nstrength of youth are of one fashion, and they that are born in\nthe time of age, when the womb faileth, are otherwise.\n54\nConsider thou therefore also, how that ye are less of stature\nthan those that were before you.\n55\nAnd so are they that come after you less than ye, as the\ncreatures which now begin to be old, and have passed over the\nstrength of youth.\n56\nThen said I, Lord, I beseech thee, if I have found favour in\nthy sight, shew thy servant by whom thou visitest thy creature.\n2Esdr 6\nAnd he said unto me, In the beginning, when the earth was\nmade, before the borders of the world stood, or ever the winds\nblew,\n2\nBefore it thundered and lightened, or ever the foundations of\nparadise were laid,\n3\nBefore the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable\npowers were established, before the innumerable multitude of\nangels were gathered together,\n4\nOr ever the heights of the air were lifted up, before the\nmeasures of the firmament were named, or ever the chimneys in\nSion were hot,\n5\nAnd ere the present years were sought out, and or ever the\ninventions of them that now sin were turned, before they were\nsealed that have gathered faith for a treasure:\n6\nThen did I consider these things, and they all were made\nthrough me alone, and through none other: by me also they shall\nbe ended, and by none other.\n7\nThen answered I and said, What shall be the parting asunder\nof the times? or when shall be the end of the first, and the\nbeginning of it that followeth?\n8\nAnd he said unto me, From Abraham unto Isaac, when Jacob and\nEsau were born of him, Jacob's hand held first the heel of Esau.\n9\nFor Esau is the end of the world, and Jacob is the beginning\nof it that followeth.\n10\nThe hand of man is betwixt the heel and the hand: other\nquestion, Esdras, ask thou not.\n11\nI answered then and said, O Lord that bearest rule, if I have\nfound favour in thy sight,\n12\nI beseech thee, shew thy servant the end of thy tokens,\nwhereof thou shewedst me part the last night.\n13\nSo he answered and said unto me, Stand up upon thy feet, and\nhear a mighty sounding voice.\n14\nAnd it shall be as it were a great motion; but the place\nwhere thou standest shall not be moved.\n15\nAnd therefore when it speaketh be not afraid: for the word is\nof the end, and the foundation of the earth is understood.\n16\nAnd why? because the speech of these things trembleth and is\nmoved: for it knoweth that the end of these things must be\nchanged.\n17\nAnd it happened, that when I had heard it I stood up upon my\nfeet, and hearkened, and, behold, there was a voice that spake,\nand the sound of it was like the sound of many waters.\n18\nAnd it said, Behold, the days come, that I will begin to draw\nnigh, and to visit them that dwell upon the earth,\n19\nAnd will begin to make inquisition of them, what they be that\nhave hurt unjustly with their unrighteousness, and when the\naffliction of Sion shall be fulfilled;\n20\nAnd when the world, that shall begin to vanish away, shall be\nfinished, then will I shew these tokens: the books shall be\nopened before the firmament, and they shall see all together:\n21\nAnd the children of a year old shall speak with their voices,\nthe women with child shall bring forth untimely children of\nthree or four months old, and they shall live, and be raised up.\n22\nAnd suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, the full\nstorehouses shall suddenly be found empty:\n23\nAnd tha trumpet shall give a sound, which when every man\nheareth, they shall be suddenly afraid.\n24\nAt that time shall friends fight one against another like\nenemies, and the earth shall stand in fear with those that dwell\ntherein, the springs of the fountains shall stand still, and in\nthree hours they shall not run.\n25\nWhosoever remaineth from all these that I have told thee\nshall escape, and see my salvation, and the end of your world.\n26\nAnd the men that are received shall see it, who have not\ntasted death from their birth: and the heart of the inhabitants\nshall be changed, and turned into another meaning.\n27\nFor evil shall be put out, and deceit shall be quenched.\n28\nAs for faith, it shall flourish, corruption shall be\novercome, and the truth, which hath been so long without fruit,\nshall be declared.\n29\nAnd when he talked with me, behold, I looked by little and\nlittle upon him before whom I stood.\n30\nAnd these words said he unto me; I am come to shew thee the\ntime of the night to come.\n31\nIf thou wilt pray yet more, and fast seven days again, I\nshall tell thee greater things by day than I have heard.\n32\nFor thy voice is heard before the most High: for the Mighty\nhath seen thy righteous dealing, he hath seen also thy chastity,\nwhich thou hast had ever since thy youth.\n33\nAnd therefore hath he sent me to shew thee all these things,\nand to say unto thee, Be of good comfort and fear not\n34\nAnd hasten not with the times that are past, to think vain\nthings, that thou mayest not hasten from the latter times.\n35\nAnd it came to pass after this, that I wept again, and fasted\nseven days in like manner, that I might fulfil the three weeks\nwhich he told me.\n36\nAnd in the eighth night was my heart vexed within me again,\nand I began to speak before the most High.\n37\nFor my spirit was greatly set on fire, and my soul was in\ndistress.\n38\nAnd I said, O Lord, thou spakest from the beginning of the\ncreation, even the first day, and saidst thus; Let heaven and\nearth be made; and thy word was a perfect work.\n39\nAnd then was the spirit, and darkness and silence were on\nevery side; the sound of man's voice was not yet formed.\n40\nThen commandedst thou a fair light to come forth of thy\ntreasures, that thy work might appear.\n41\nUpon the second day thou madest the spirit of the firmament,\nand commandedst it to part asunder, and to make a division\nbetwixt the waters, that the one part might go up, and the other\nremain beneath.\n42\nUpon the third day thou didst command that the waters should\nbe gathered in the seventh part of the earth: six pats hast thou\ndried up, and kept them, to the intent that of these some being\nplanted of God and tilled might serve thee.\n43\nFor as soon as thy word went forth the work was made.\n44\nFor immediately there was great and innumerable fruit, and\nmany and divers pleasures for the taste, and flowers of\nunchangeable colour, and odours of wonderful smell: and this was\ndone the third day.\n45\nUpon the fourth day thou commandedst that the sun should\nshine, and the moon give her light, and the stars should be in\norder:\n46\nAnd gavest them a charge to do service unto man, that was to\nbe made.\n47\nUpon the fifth day thou saidst unto the seventh part, where\nthe waters were gathered that it should bring forth living\ncreatures, fowls and fishes: and so it came to pass.\n48\nFor the dumb water and without life brought forth living\nthings at the commandment of God, that all people might praise\nthy wondrous works.\n49\nThen didst thou ordain two living creatures, the one thou\ncalledst Enoch, and the other Leviathan;\n50\nAnd didst separate the one from the other: for the seventh\npart, namely, where the water was gathered together, might not\nhold them both.\n51\nUnto Enoch thou gavest one part, which was dried up the third\nday, that he should dwell in the same part, wherein are a\nthousand hills:\n52\nBut unto Leviathan thou gavest the seventh part, namely, the\nmoist; and hast kept him to be devoured of whom thou wilt, and\nwhen.\n53\nUpon the sixth day thou gavest commandment unto the earth,\nthat before thee it should bring forth beasts, cattle, and\ncreeping things:\n54\nAnd after these, Adam also, whom thou madest lord of all thy\ncreatures: of him come we all, and the people also whom thou\nhast chosen.\n55\nAll this have I spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou\nmadest the world for our sakes\n56\nAs for the other people, which also come of Adam, thou hast\nsaid that they are nothing, but be like unto spittle: and hast\nlikened the abundance of them unto a drop that falleth from a\nvessel.\n57\nAnd now, O Lord, behold, these heathen, which have ever been\nreputed as nothing, have begun to be lords over us, and to\ndevour us.\n58\nBut we thy people, whom thou hast called thy firstborn, thy\nonly begotten, and thy fervent lover, are given into their\nhands.\n59\nIf the world now be made for our sakes, why do we not possess\nan inheritance with the world? how long shall this endure?\n2Esdr 7\nAnd when I had made an end of speaking these words, there was\nsent unto me the angel which had been sent unto me the nights\nafore:\n2\nAnd he said unto me, Up, Esdras, and hear the words that I am\ncome to tell thee.\n3\nAnd I said, Speak on, my God. Then said he unto me, The sea\nis set in a wide place, that it might be deep and great.\n4\nBut put the case the entrance were narrow, and like a river;\n5\nWho then could go into the sea to look upon it, and to rule\nit? if he went not through the narrow, how could he come into\nthe broad?\n6\nThere is also another thing; A city is builded, and set upon\na broad field, and is full of all good things:\n7\nThe entrance thereof is narrow, and is set in a dangerous\nplace to fall, like as if there were a fire on the right hand,\nand on the left a deep water:\n8\nAnd one only path between them both, even between the fire\nand the water, so small that there could but one man go there at\nonce.\n9\nIf this city now were given unto a man for an inheritance, if\nhe never shall pass the danger set before it, how shall he\nreceive this inheritance?\n10\nAnd I said, It is so, Lord. Then said he unto me, Even so\nalso is Israel's portion.\n11\nBecause for their sakes I made the world: and when Adam\ntransgressed my statutes, then was decreed that now is done.\n12\nThen were the entrances of this world made narrow, full of\nsorrow and travail: they are but few and evil, full of perils,:\nand very painful.\n13\nFor the entrances of the elder world were wide and sure, and\nbrought immortal fruit.\n14\nIf then they that live labour not to enter these strait and\nvain things, they can never receive those that are laid up for\nthem.\n15\nNow therefore why disquietest thou thyself, seeing thou art\nbut a corruptible man? and why art thou moved, whereas thou art\nbut mortal?\n16\nWhy hast thou not considered in thy mind this thing that is\nto come, rather than that which is present?\n17\nThen answered I and said, O Lord that bearest rule, thou hast\nordained in thy law, that the righteous should inherit these\nthings, but that the ungodly should perish.\n18\nNevertheless the righteous shall suffer strait things, and\nhope for wide: for they that have done wickedly have suffered\nthe strait things, and yet shall not see the wide.\n19\nAnd he said unto me. There is no judge above God, and none\nthat hath understanding above the Highest.\n20\nFor there be many that perish in this life, because they\ndespise the law of God that is set before them.\n21\nFor God hath given strait commandment to such as came, what\nthey should do to live, even as they came, and what they should\nobserve to avoid punishment.\n22\nNevertheless they were not obedient unto him; but spake\nagainst him, and imagined vain things;\n23\nAnd deceived themselves by their wicked deeds; and said of\nthe most High, that he is not; and knew not his ways:\n24\nBut his law have they despised, and denied his covenants; in\nhis statutes have they not been faithful, and have not performed\nhis works.\n25\nAnd therefore, Esdras, for the empty are empty things, and\nfor the full are the full things.\n26\nBehold, the time shall come, that these tokens which I have\ntold thee shall come to pass, and the bride shall appear, and\nshe coming forth shall be seen, that now is withdrawn from the\nearth.\n27\nAnd whosoever is delivered from the foresaid evils shall see\nmy wonders.\n28\nFor my son Jesus shall be revealed with those that be with\nhim, and they that remain shall rejoice within four hundred\nyears.\n29\nAfter these years shall my son Christ die, and all men that\nhave life.\n30\nAnd the world shall be turned into the old silence seven\ndays, like as in the former judgments: so that no man shall\nremain.\n31\nAnd after seven days the world, that yet awaketh not, shall\nbe raised up, and that shall die that is corrupt\n32\nAnd the earth shall restore those that are asleep in her, and\nso shall the dust those that dwell in silence, and the secret\nplaces shall deliver those souls that were committed unto them.\n33\nAnd the most High shall appear upon the seat of judgment, and\nmisery shall pass away, and the long suffering shall have an\nend:\n34\nBut judgment only shall remain, truth shall stand, and faith\nshall wax strong:\n35\nAnd the work shall follow, and the reward shall be shewed,\nand the good deeds shall be of force, and wicked deeds shall\nbear no rule.\n36\nThen said I, Abraham prayed first for the Sodomites, and\nMoses for the fathers that sinned in the wilderness:\n37\nAnd Jesus after him for Israel in the time of Achan:\n38\nAnd Samuel and David for the destruction: and Solomon for\nthem that should come to the sanctuary:\n39\nAnd Helias for those that received rain; and for the dead,\nthat he might live:\n40\nAnd Ezechias for the people in the time of Sennacherib: and\nmany for many.\n41\nEven so now, seeing corruption is grown up, and wickedness\nincreased, and the righteous have prayed for the ungodly:\nwherefore shall it not be so now also?\n42\nHe answered me, and said, This present life is not the end\nwhere much glory doth abide; therefore have they prayed for the\nweak.\n43\nBut the day of doom shall be the end of this time, and the\nbeginning of the immortality for to come, wherein corruption is\npast,\n44\nIntemperance is at an end, infidelity is cut off,\nrighteousness is grown, and truth is sprung up.\n45\nThen shall no man be able to save him that is destroyed, nor\nto oppress him that hath gotten the victory.\n46\nI answered then and said, This is my first and last saying,\nthat it had been better not to have given the earth unto Adam:\nor else, when it was given him, to have restrained him from\nsinning.\n47\nFor what profit is it for men now in this present time to\nlive in heaviness, and after death to look for punishment?\n48\nO thou Adam, what hast thou done? for though it was thou that\nsinned, thou art not fallen alone, but we all that come of thee.\n49\nFor what profit is it unto us, if there be promised us an\nimmortal time, whereas we have done the works that bring death?\n50\nAnd that there is promised us an everlasting hope, whereas\nourselves being most wicked are made vain?\n51\nAnd that there are laid up for us dwellings of health and\nsafety, whereas we have lived wickedly?\n52\nAnd that the glory of the most High is kept to defend them\nwhich have led a wary life, whereas we have walked in the most\nwicked ways of all?\n53\nAnd that there should be shewed a paradise, whose fruit\nendureth for ever, wherein is security and medicine, since we\nshall not enter into it?\n54\n(For we have walked in unpleasant places.)\n55\nAnd that the faces of them which have used abstinence shall\nshine above the stars, whereas our faces shall be blacker than\ndarkness?\n56\nFor while we lived and committed iniquity, we considered not\nthat we should begin to suffer for it after death.\n57\nThen answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the\nbattle, which man that is born upon the earth shall fight;\n58\nThat, if he be overcome, he shall suffer as thou hast said:\nbut if he get the victory, he shall receive the thing that I\nsay.\n59\nFor this is the life whereof Moses spake unto the people\nwhile he lived, saying, Choose thee life, that thou mayest live.\n60\nNevertheless they believed not him, nor yet the prophets\nafter him, no nor me which have spoken unto them,\n61\nThat there should not be such heaviness in their destruction,\nas shall be joy over them that are persuaded to salvation.\n62\nI answered then, and said, I know, Lord, that the most High\nis called merciful, in that he hath mercy upon them which are\nnot yet come into the world,\n63\nAnd upon those also that turn to his law;\n64\nAnd that he is patient, and long suffereth those that have\nsinned, as his creatures;\n65\nAnd that he is bountiful, for he is ready to give where it\nneedeth;\n66\nAnd that he is of great mercy, for he multiplieth more and\nmore mercies to them that are present, and that are past, and\nalso to them which are to come.\n67\nFor if he shall not multiply his mercies, the world would not\ncontinue with them that inherit therein.\n68\nAnd he pardoneth; for if he did not so of his goodness, that\nthey which have committed iniquities might be eased of them, the\nten thousandth part of men should not remain living.\n69\nAnd being judge, if he should not forgive them that are cured\nwith his word, and put out the multitude of contentions,\n70\nThere should be very few left peradventure in an innumerable\nmultitude.\n2Esdr 8\nAnd he answered me, saying, The most High hath made this\nworld for many, but the world to come for few.\n2\nI will tell thee a similitude, Esdras; As when thou askest\nthe earth, it shall say unto thee, that it giveth much mould\nwhereof earthen vessels are made, but little dust that gold\ncometh of: even so is the course of this present world.\n3\nThere be many created, but few shall be saved.\n4\nSo answered I and said, Swallow then down, O my soul,\nunderstanding, and devour wisdom.\n5\nFor thou hast agreed to give ear, and art willing to\nprophesy: for thou hast no longer space than only to live.\n6\nO Lord, if thou suffer not thy servant, that we may pray\nbefore thee, and thou give us seed unto our heart, and culture\nto our understanding, that there may come fruit of it; how shall\neach man live that is corrupt, who beareth the place of a man?\n7\nFor thou art alone, and we all one workmanship of thine\nhands, like as thou hast said.\n8\nFor when the body is fashioned now in the mother's womb, and\nthou givest it members, thy creature is preserved in fire and\nwater, and nine months doth thy workmanship endure thy creature\nwhich is created in her.\n9\nBut that which keepeth and is kept shall both be preserved:\nand when the time cometh, the womb preserved delivereth up the\nthings that grew in it.\n10\nFor thou hast commanded out of the parts of the body, that is\nto say, out of the breasts, milk to be given, which is the fruit\nof the breasts,\n11\nThat the thing which is fashioned may be nourished for a\ntime, till thou disposest it to thy mercy.\n12\nThou broughtest it up with thy righteousness, and nurturedst\nit in thy law, and reformedst it with thy judgment.\n13\nAnd thou shalt mortify it as thy creature, and quicken it as\nthy work.\n14\nIf therefore thou shalt destroy him which with so great\nlabour was fashioned, it is an easy thing to be ordained by thy\ncommandment, that the thing which was made might be preserved.\n15\nNow therefore, Lord, I will speak; touching man in general,\nthou knowest best; but touching thy people, for whose sake I am\nsorry;\n16\nAnd for thine inheritance, for whose cause I mourn; and for\nIsrael, for whom I am heavy; and for Jacob, for whose sake I am\ntroubled;\n17\nTherefore will I begin to pray before thee for myself and for\nthem: for I see the falls of us that dwell in the land.\n18\nBut I have heard the swiftness of the judge which is to come.\n19\nTherefore hear my voice, and understand my words, and I shall\nspeak before thee. This is the beginning of the words of Esdras,\nbefore he was taken up: and I said,\n20\nO Lord, thou that dwellest in everlastingness which beholdest\nfrom above things in the heaven and in the air;\n21\nWhose throne is inestimable; whose glory may not be\ncomprehended; before whom the hosts of angels stand with\ntrembling,\n22\nWhose service is conversant in wind and fire; whose word is\ntrue, and sayings constant; whose commandment is strong, and\nordinance fearful;\n23\nWhose look drieth up the depths, and indignation maketh the\nmountains to melt away; which the truth witnesseth:\n24\nO hear the prayer of thy servant, and give ear to the\npetition of thy creature.\n25\nFor while I live I will speak, and so long as I have\nunderstanding I will answer.\n26\nO look not upon the sins of thy people; but on them which\nserve thee in truth.\n27\nRegard not the wicked inventions of the heathen, but the\ndesire of those that keep thy testimonies in afflictions.\n28\nThink not upon those that have walked feignedly before thee:\nbut remember them, which according to thy will have known thy\nfear.\n29\nLet it not be thy will to destroy them which have lived like\nbeasts; but to look upon them that have clearly taught thy law.\n30\nTake thou no indignation at them which are deemed worse than\nbeasts; but love them that always put their trust in thy\nrighteousness and glory.\n31\nFor we and our fathers do languish of such diseases: but\nbecause of us sinners thou shalt be called merciful.\n32\nFor if thou hast a desire to have mercy upon us, thou shalt\nbe called merciful, to us namely, that have no works of\nrighteousness.\n33\nFor the just, which have many good works laid up with thee,\nshall out of their own deeds receive reward.\n34\nFor what is man, that thou shouldest take displeasure at him?\nor what is a corruptible generation, that thou shouldest be so\nbitter toward it?\n35\nFor in truth them is no man among them that be born, but he\nhath dealt wickedly; and among the faithful there is none which\nhath not done amiss.\n36\nFor in this, O Lord, thy righteousness and thy goodness shall\nbe declared, if thou be merciful unto them which have not the\nconfidence of good works.\n37\nThen answered he me, and said, Some things hast thou spoken\naright, and according unto thy words it shall be.\n38\nFor indeed I will not think on the disposition of them which\nhave sinned before death, before judgment, before destruction:\n39\nBut I will rejoice over the disposition of the righteous, and\nI will remember also their pilgrimage, and the salvation, and\nthe reward, that they shall have.\n40\nLike as I have spoken now, so shall it come to pass.\n41\nFor as the husbandman soweth much seed upon the ground, and\nplanteth many trees, and yet the thing that is sown good in his\nseason cometh not up, neither doth all that is planted take\nroot: even so is it of them that are sown in the world; they\nshall not all be saved.\n42\nI answered then and said, If I have found grace, let me\nspeak.\n43\nLike as the husbandman's seed perisheth, if it come not up,\nand receive not thy rain in due season; or if there come too\nmuch rain, and corrupt it:\n44\nEven so perisheth man also, which is formed with thy hands,\nand is called thine own image, because thou art like unto him,\nfor whose sake thou hast made all things, and likened him unto\nthe husbandman's seed.\n45\nBe not wroth with us but spare thy people, and have mercy\nupon thine own inheritance: for thou art merciful unto thy\ncreature.\n46\nThen answered he me, and said, Things present are for the\npresent, and things to cometh for such as be to come.\n47\nFor thou comest far short that thou shouldest be able to love\nmy creature more than I: but I have ofttimes drawn nigh unto\nthee, and unto it, but never to the unrighteous.\n48\nIn this also thou art marvellous before the most High:\n49\nIn that thou hast humbled thyself, as it becometh thee, and\nhast not judged thyself worthy to be much glorified among the\nrighteous.\n50\nFor many great miseries shall be done to them that in the\nlatter time shall dwell in the world, because they have walked\nin great pride.\n51\nBut understand thou for thyself, and seek out the glory for\nsuch as be like thee.\n52\nFor unto you is paradise opened, the tree of life is planted,\nthe time to come is prepared, plenteousness is made ready, a\ncity is builded, and rest is allowed, yea, perfect goodness and\nwisdom.\n53\nThe root of evil is sealed up from you, weakness and the moth\nis hid from you, and corruption is fled into hell to be\nforgotten:\n54\nSorrows are passed, and in the end is shewed the treasure of\nimmortality.\n55\nAnd therefore ask thou no more questions concerning the\nmultitude of them that perish.\n56\nFor when they had taken liberty, they despised the most High,\nthought scorn of his law, and forsook his ways.\n57\nMoreover they have trodden down his righteous,\n58\nAnd said in their heart, that there is no God; yea, and that\nknowing they must die.\n59\nFor as the things aforesaid shalt receive you, so thirst and\npain are prepared for them: for it was not his will that men\nshould come to nought:\n60\nBut they which be created have defiled the name of him that\nmade them, and were unthankful unto him which prepared life for\nthem.\n61\nAnd therefore is my judgment now at hand.\n62\nThese things have I not shewed unto all men, but unto thee,\nand a few like thee. Then answered I and said,\n63\nBehold, O Lord, now hast thou shewed me the multitude of the\nwonders, which thou wilt begin to do in the last times: but at\nwhat time, thou hast not shewed me.\n2Esdr 9\nHe answered me then, and said, Measure thou the time\ndiligently in itself: and when thou seest part of the signs\npast, which I have told thee before,\n2\nThen shalt thou understand, that it is the very same time,\nwherein the Highest will begin to visit the world which he made.\n3\nTherefore when there shall be seen earthquakes and uproars of\nthe people in the world:\n4\nThen shalt thou well understand, that the most High spake of\nthose things from the days that were before thee, even from the\nbeginning.\n5\nFor like as all that is made in the world hath a beginning\nand an end, and the end is manifest:\n6\nEven so the times also of the Highest have plain beginnings\nin wonder and powerful works, and endings in effects and signs.\n7\nAnd every one that shall be saved, and shall be able to\nescape by his works, and by faith, whereby ye have believed,\n8\nShall be preserved from the said perils, and shall see my\nsalvation in my land, and within my borders: for I have\nsanctified them for me from the beginning.\n9\nThen shall they be in pitiful case, which now have abused my\nways: and they that have cast them away despitefully shall dwell\nin torments.\n10\nFor such as in their life have received benefits, and have\nnot known me;\n11\nAnd they that have loathed my law, while they had yet liberty,\nand, when as yet place of repentance was open unto them,\nunderstood not, but despised it;\n12\nThe same must know it after death by pain.\n13\nAnd therefore be thou not curious how the ungodly shall be\npunished, and when: but enquire how the righteous shall be\nsaved, whose the world is, and for whom the world is created.\n14\nThen answered I and said,\n15\nI have said before, and now do speak, and will speak it also\nhereafter, that there be many more of them which perish, than of\nthem which shall be saved:\n16\nLike as a wave is greater than a drop.\n17\nAnd he answered me, saying, Like as the field is, so is also\nthe seed; as the flowers be, such are the colours also; such as\nthe workman is, such also is the work; and as the husbandman ls\nhimself, so is his husbandry also: for it was the time of the\nworld.\n18\nAnd now when I prepared the world, which was not yet made,\neven for them to dwell in that now live, no man spake against\nme.\n19\nFor then every one obeyed: but now the manners of them which\nare created in this world that is made are corrupted by a\nperpetual seed, and by a law which is unsearchable rid\nthemselves.\n20\nSo I considered the world, and, behold, there was peril\nbecause of the devices that were come into it.\n21\nAnd I saw, and spared it greatly, and have kept me a grape of\nthe cluster, and a plant of a great people.\n22\nLet the multitude perish then, which was born in vain; and\nlet my grape be kept, and my plant; for with great labour have I\nmade it perfect.\n23\nNevertheless, if thou wilt cease yet seven days more, (but\nthou shalt not fast in them,\n24\nBut go into a field of flowers, where no house is builded,\nand eat only the flowers of the field; taste no flesh, drink no\nwine, but eat flowers only;)\n25\nAnd pray unto the Highest continually, then will I come and\ntalk with thee.\n26\nSo I went my way into the field which is called Ardath, like\nas he commanded me; and there I sat among the flowers, and did\neat of the herbs of the field, and the meat of the same\nsatisfied me.\n27\nAfter seven days I sat upon the grass, and my heart was vexed\nwithin me, like as before:\n28\nAnd I opened my mouth, and began to talk before the most\nHigh, and said,\n29\nO Lord, thou that shewest thyself unto us, thou wast shewed\nunto our fathers in the wilderness, in a place where no man\ntreadeth, in a barren place, when they came out of Egypt.\n30\nAnd thou spakest saying, Hear me, O Israel; and mark my\nwords, thou seed of Jacob.\n31\nFor, behold, I sow my law in you, and it shall bring fruit in\nyou, and ye shall be honoured in it for ever.\n32\nBut our fathers, which received the law, kept it not, and\nobserved not thy ordinances: and though the fruit of thy law did\nnot perish, neither could it, for it was thine;\n33\nYet they that received it perished, because they kept not the\nthing that was sown in them.\n34\nAnd, lo, it ls a custom, when the ground hath received seed,\nor the sea a ship, or any vessel meat or drink, that, that being\nperished wherein it was sown or cast into,\n35\nThat thing also which was sown, or cast therein, or received,\ndoth perish, and remaineth not with us: but with us it hath not\nhappened so.\n36\nFor we that have received the law perish by sin, and our\nheart also which received it\n37\nNotwithstanding the law perisheth not, but remaineth in his\nforce.\n38\nAnd when I spake these things in my heart, I looked back with\nmine eyes, and upon the right side I saw a woman, and, behold,\nshe mourned and wept with a loud voice, and was much grieved in\nheart, and her clothes were rent, and she had ashes upon her\nhead.\n39\nThen let I my thoughts go that I was in, and turned me unto\nher,\n40\nAnd said unto her, Wherefore weepest thou? why art thou so\ngrieved in thy mind?\n41\nAnd she said unto me, Sir, let me alone, that I may bewail\nmyself, and add unto my sorrow, for I am sore vexed in my mind,\nand brought very low.\n42\nAnd I said unto her, What aileth thee? tell me.\n43\nShe said unto me, I thy servant have been barren, and had no\nchild, though I had an husband thirty years,\n44\nAnd those thirty years I did nothing else day and night, and\nevery hour, but make my, prayer to the Highest.\n45\nAfter thirty years God heard me thine handmaid, looked upon\nmy misery, considered my trouble, and gave me a son: and I was\nvery glad of him, so was my husband also, and all my neighbours:\nand we gave great honour unto the Almighty.\n46\nAnd I nourished him with great travail.\n47\nSo when he grew up, and came to the time that he should have\na wife, I made a feast.\n2Esdr 10\nAnd it so came to pass, that when my son was entered into his\nwedding chamber, he fell down, and died.\n2\nThen we all overthrew the lights, and all my neighbours rose\nup to comfort me: so I took my rest unto the second day at\nnight.\n3\nAnd it came to pass, when they had all left off to comfort\nme, to the end I might be quiet; then rose I up by night and\nfled, and came hither into this field, as thou seest.\n4\nAnd I do now purpose not to return into the city, but here to\nstay, and neither to eat nor drink, but continually to mourn and\nto fast until I die.\n5\nThen left I the meditations wherein I was, and spake to her\nin anger, saying,\n6\nThou foolish woman above all other, seest thou not our\nmourning, and what happeneth unto us?\n7\nHow that Sion our mother is full of all heaviness, and much\nhumbled, mourning very sore?\n8\nAnd now, seeing we all mourn and are sad, for we are all in\nheaviness, art thou grieved for one son?\n9\nFor ask the earth, and she shall tell thee, that it is she\nwhich ought to mourn for the fall of so many that grow upon her.\n10\nFor out of her came all at the first, and out of her shall\nall others come, and, behold, they walk almost all into\ndestruction, and a multitude of them is utterly rooted out.\n11\nWho then should make more mourning than she, that hath lost\nso great a multitude; and not thou, which art sorry but for one?\n12\nBut if thou sayest unto me, My lamentation is not like the\nearth's, because I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I\nbrought forth with pains, and bare with sorrows;\n13\nBut the earth not so: for the multitude present in it\naccording to the course of the earth is gone, as it came:\n14\nThen say I unto thee, Like as thou hast brought forth with\nlabour; even so the earth also hath given her fruit, namely,\nman, ever since the beginning unto him that made her.\n15\nNow therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a\ngood courage that which hath befallen thee.\n16\nFor if thou shalt acknowledge the determination of God to be\njust, thou shalt both receive thy son in time, and shalt be\ncommended among women.\n17\nGo thy way then into the city to thine husband.\n18\nAnd she said unto me, That will I not do: I will not go into\nthe city, but here will I die.\n19\nSo I proceeded to speak further unto her, and said,\n20\nDo not so, but be counselled. by me: for how many are the\nadversities of Sion? be comforted in regard of the sorrow of\nJerusalem.\n21\nFor thou seest that our sanctuary is laid waste, our altar\nbroken down, our temple destroyed;\n22\nOur psaltery is laid on the ground, our song is put to\nsilence, our rejoicing is at an end, the light of our\ncandlestick is put out, the ark of our covenant is spoiled, our\nholy things are defiled, and the name that is called upon us is\nalmost profaned: our children are put to shame, our priests are\nburnt, our Levites are gone into captivity, our virgins are\ndefiled, and our wives ravished; our righteous men carried away,\nour little ones destroyed, our young men are brought in bondage,\nand our strong men are become weak;\n23\nAnd, which is the greatest of all, the seal of Sion hath now\nlost her honour; for she is delivered into the hands of them\nthat hate us.\n24\nAnd therefore shake off thy great heaviness, and put away the\nmultitude of sorrows, that the Mighty may be merciful unto thee\nagain, and the Highest shall give thee rest and ease from thy\nlabour.\n25\nAnd it came to pass while I was talking with her, behold, her\nface upon a sudden shined exceedingly, and her countenance\nglistered, so that I was afraid of her, and mused what it might\nbe.\n26\nAnd, behold, suddenly she made a great cry very fearful: so\nthat the earth shook at the noise of the woman.\n27\nAnd I looked, and, behold, the woman appeared unto me no\nmore, but there was a city builded, and a large place shewed\nitself from the foundations: then was I afraid, and cried with a\nloud voice, and said,\n28\nWhere is Uriel the angel, who came unto me at the first? for\nhe hath caused me to fall into many trances, and mine end is\nturned into corruption, and my prayer to rebuke.\n29\nAnd as I was speaking these words behold, he came unto me,\nand looked upon me.\n30\nAnd, lo, I lay as one that had been dead, and mine\nunderstanding was taken from me: and he took me by the right\nhand, and comforted me, and set me upon my feet, and said unto\nme,\n31\nWhat aileth thee? and why art thou so disquieted? and why is\nthine understanding troubled, and the thoughts of thine heart?\n32\nAnd I said, Because thou hast forsaken me, and yet I did\naccording to thy words, and I went into the field, and, lo, I\nhave seen, and yet see, that I am not able to express.\n33\nAnd he said unto me, Stand up manfully, and I will advise\nthee.\n34\nThen said I, Speak on, my lord, in me; only forsake me not,\nlest I die frustrate of my hope.\n35\nFor I have seen that I knew not, and hear that I do not know.\n36\nOr is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream?\n37\nNow therefore I beseech thee that thou wilt shew thy servant\nof this vision.\n38\nHe answered me then, and said, Hear me, and I shall inform\nthee, and tell thee wherefore thou art afraid: for the Highest\nwill reveal many secret things unto thee.\n39\nHe hath seen that thy way is right: for that thou sorrowest\ncontinually for thy people, and makest great lamentation for\nSion.\n40\nThis therefore is the meaning of the vision which thou lately\nsawest:\n41\nThou sawest a woman mourning, and thou begannest to comfort\nher:\n42\nBut now seest thou the likeness of the woman no more, but\nthere appeared unto thee a city builded.\n43\nAnd whereas she told thee of the death of her son, this is\nthe solution:\n44\nThis woman, whom thou sawest is Sion: and whereas she said\nunto thee, even she whom thou seest as a city builded,\n45\nWhereas, I say, she said unto thee, that she hath been thirty\nyears barren: those are the thirty years wherein there was no\noffering made in her.\n46\nBut after thirty years Solomon builded the city and offered\nofferings: and then bare the barren a son.\n47\nAnd whereas she told thee that she nourished him with labour:\nthat was the dwelling in Jerusalem.\n48\nBut whereas she said unto thee, That my son coming into his\nmarriage chamber happened to have a fail, and died: this was the\ndestruction that came to Jerusalem.\n49\nAnd, behold, thou sawest her likeness, and because she\nmourned for her son, thou begannest to comfort her: and of these\nthings which have chanced, these are to be opened unto thee.\n50\nFor now the most High seeth that thou art grieved\nunfeignedly, and sufferest from thy whole heart for her, so hath\nhe shewed thee the brightness of her glory, and the comeliness\nof her beauty:\n51\nAnd therefore I bade thee remain in the field where no house\nwas builded:\n52\nFor I knew that the Highest would shew this unto thee.\n53\nTherefore I commanded thee to go into the field, where no\nfoundation of any building was.\n54\nFor in the place wherein the Highest beginneth to shew his\ncity, there can no man's building be able to stand.\n55\nAnd therefore fear not, let not thine heart be affrighted,\nbut go thy way in, and see the beauty and greatness of the\nbuilding, as much as thine eyes be able to see:\n56\nAnd then shalt thou hear as much as thine ears may\ncomprehend.\n57\nFor thou art blessed above many other, and art called with\nthe Highest; and so are but few.\n58\nBut to morrow at night thou shalt remain here;\n59\nAnd so shall the Highest shew thee visions of the high\nthings, which the most High will do unto them that dwell upon\nthe earth in the last days. So I slept that night and another,\nlike as he commanded me.\n2Esdr 11\nThen saw I a dream, and, behold, there came up from the sea\nan eagle, which had twelve feathered wings, and three heads.\n2\nAnd I saw, and, behold, she spread her wings over all the\nearth, and all the winds of the air blew on her, and were\ngathered together.\n3\nAnd I beheld, and out of her feathers there grew other\ncontrary feathers; and they became little feathers and small.\n4\nBut her heads were at rest: the head in the midst was greater\nthan the other, yet rested it with the residue.\n5\nMoreover I beheld, and, lo, the eagle flew with her feathers,\nand reigned upon earth, and over them that dwelt therein.\n6\nAnd I saw that all things under heaven were subject unto her,\nand no man spake against her, no, not one creature upon earth.\n7\nAnd I beheld, and, lo, the eagle rose upon her talons, and\nspake to her feathers, saying,\n8\nWatch not all at once: sleep every one in his own place, and\nwatch by course:\n9\nBut let the heads be preserved for the last.\n10\nAnd I beheld, and, lo, the voice went not out of her heads,\nbut from the midst of her body.\n11\nAnd I numbered her contrary feathers, and, behold, there were\neight of them.\n12\nAnd I looked, and, behold, on the right side there arose one\nfeather, and reigned over all the earth;\n13\nAnd so it was, that when it reigned, the end of it came, and\nthe place thereof appeared no more: so the next following stood\nup. and reigned, and had a great time;\n14\nAnd it happened, that when it reigned, the end of it came\nalso, like as the first, so that it appeared no more.\n15\nThen came there a voice unto it, and said,\n16\nHear thou that hast borne rule over the earth so long: this I\nsay unto thee, before thou beginnest to appear no more,\n17\nThere shall none after thee attain unto thy time, neither\nunto the half thereof.\n18\nThen arose the third, and reigned as the other before, and\nappeared no more also.\n19\nSo went it with all the residue one after another, as that\nevery one reigned, and then appeared no more.\n20\nThen I beheld, and, lo, in process of time the feathers that\nfollowed stood up upon the right side, that they might rule\nalso; and some of them ruled, but within a while they appeared\nno more:\n21\nFor some of them were set up, but ruled not.\n22\nAfter this I looked, and, behold, the twelve feathers\nappeared no more, nor the two little feathers:\n23\nAnd there was no more upon the eagle's body, but three heads\nthat rested, and six little wings.\n24\nThen saw I also that two little feathers divided themselves\nfrom the six, and remained under the head that was upon the\nright side: for the four continued in their place.\n25\nAnd I beheld, and, lo, the feathers that were under the wing\nthought to set up themselves and to have the rule.\n26\nAnd I beheld, and, lo, there was one set up, but shortly it\nappeared no more.\n27\nAnd the second was sooner away than the first.\n28\nAnd I beheld, and, lo, the two that remained thought also in\nthemselves to reign:\n29\nAnd when they so thought, behold, there awaked one of the\nheads that were at rest, namely, it that was in the midst; for\nthat was greater than the two other heads.\n30\nAnd then I saw that the two other heads were joined with it.\n31\nAnd, behold, the head was turned with them that were with it,\nand did eat up the two feathers under the wing that would have\nreigned.\n32\nBut this head put the whole earth in fear, and bare rule in\nit over all those that dwelt upon the earth with much\noppression; and it had the governance of the world more than all\nthe wings that had been.\n33\nAnd after this I beheld, and, lo, the head that was in the\nmidst suddenly appeared no more, like as the wings.\n34\nBut there remained the two heads, which also in like sort\nruled upon the earth, and over those that dwelt therein.\n35\nAnd I beheld, and, lo, the head upon the right side devoured\nit that was upon the left side.\n36\nThen I head a voice, which said unto me, Look before thee,\nand consider the thing that thou seest.\n37\nAnd I beheld, and lo, as it were a roaring lion chased out of\nthe wood: and I saw that he sent out a man's voice unto the\neagle, and said,\n38\nHear thou, I will talk with thee, and the Highest shall say\nunto thee,\n39\nArt not thou it that remainest of the four beasts, whom I\nmade to reign in my world, that the end of their times might\ncome through them?\n40\nAnd the fourth came, and overcame all the beasts that were\npast, and had power over the world with great fearfulness, and\nover the whole compass of the earth with much wicked oppression;\nand so long time dwelt he upon the earth with deceit.\n41\nFor the earth hast thou not judged with truth.\n42\nFor thou hast afflicted the meek, thou hast hurt the\npeaceable, thou hast loved liars, and destroyed the dwellings of\nthem that brought forth fruit, and hast cast down the walls of\nsuch as did thee no harm.\n43\nTherefore is thy wrongful dealing come up unto the Highest,\nand thy pride unto the Mighty.\n44\nThe Highest also hath looked upon the proud times, and,\nbehold, they are ended, and his abominations are fulfilled.\n45\nAnd therefore appear no more, thou eagle, nor thy horrible\nwings, nor thy wicked feathers nor thy malicious heads, nor thy\nhurtful claws, nor all thy vain body:\n46\nThat all the earth may be refreshed, and may return, being\ndelivered from thy violence, and that she may hope for the\njudgment and mercy of him that made her.\n2Esdr 12\nAnd it came to pass, whiles the lion spake these words unto\nthe eagle, I saw,\n2\nAnd, behold, the head that remained and the four wings\nappeared no more, and the two went unto it and set themselves up\nto reign, and their kingdom was small, and fill of uproar.\n3\nAnd I saw, and, behold, they appeared no more, and the whole\nbody of the eagle was burnt so that the earth was in great fear:\nthen awaked I out of the trouble and trance of my mind, and from\ngreat fear, and said unto my spirit,\n4\nLo, this hast thou done unto me, in that thou searchest out\nthe ways of the Highest.\n5\nLo, yet am I weary in my mind, and very weak in my spirit;\nand little strength is there in me, for the great fear wherewith\nI was afflicted this night.\n6\nTherefore will I now beseech the Highest, that he will\ncomfort me unto the end.\n7\nAnd I said, Lord that bearest rule, if I have found grace\nbefore thy sight, and if I am justified with thee before many\nothers, and if my prayer indeed be come up before thy face;\n8\nComfort me then, and shew me thy servant the interpretation\nand plain difference of this fearful vision, that thou mayest\nperfectly comfort my soul.\n9\nFor thou hast judged me worthy to shew me the last times.\n10\nAnd he said unto me, This is the interpretation of the\nvision:\n11\nThe eagle, whom thou sawest come up from the sea, is the\nkingdom which was seen in the vision of thy brother Daniel.\n12\nBut it was not expounded unto him, therefore now I declare it\nunto thee.\n13\nBehold, the days will come, that there shall rise up a\nkingdom upon earth, and it shall be feared above all the\nkingdoms that were before it.\n14\nIn the same shall twelve kings reign, one after another:\n15\nWhereof the second shall begin to reign, and shall have more\ntime than any of the twelve.\n16\nAnd this do the twelve wings signify, which thou sawest.\n17\nAs for the voice which thou heardest speak, and that thou\nsawest not to go out from the heads but from the midst of the\nbody thereof, this is the interpretation:\n18\nThat after the time of that kingdom there shall arise great\nstrivings, and it shall stand in peril of failing: nevertheless\nit shall not then fall, but shall be restored again to his\nbeginning.\n19\nAnd whereas thou sawest the eight small under feathers\nsticking to her wings, this is the interpretation:\n20\nThat in him there shall arise eight kings, whose times shall\nbe but small, and their years swift.\n21\nAnd two of them shall perish, the middle time approaching:\nfour shall be kept until their end begin to approach: but two\nshall be kept unto the end.\n22\nAnd whereas thou sawest three heads resting, this is the\ninterpretation:\n23\nIn his last days shall the most High raise up three kingdoms,\nand renew many things therein, and they shall have the dominion\nof the earth,\n24\nAnd of those that dwell therein, with much oppression, above\nall those that were before them: therefore are they called the\nheads of the eagle.\n25\nFor these are they that shall accomplish his wickedness, and\nthat shall finish his last end.\n26\nAnd whereas thou sawest that the great head appeared no more,\nit signifieth that one of them shall die upon his bed, and yet\nwith pain.\n27\nFor the two that remain shall be slain with the sword.\n28\nFor the sword of the one shall devour the other: but at the\nlast shall he fall through the sword himself.\n29\nAnd whereas thou sawest two feathers under the wings passing\nover the head that is on the right side;\n30\nIt signifieth that these are they, whom the Highest hath kept\nunto their end: this is the small kingdom and full of trouble,\nas thou sawest.\n31\nAnd the lion, whom thou sawest rising up out of the wood, and\nroaring, and speaking to the eagle, and rebuking her for her\nunrighteousness with all the words which thou hast heard;\n32\nThis is the anointed, which the Highest hath kept for them\nand for their wickedness unto the end: he shall reprove them,\nand shall upbraid them with their cruelty.\n33\nFor he shall set them before him alive in judgment, and shall\nrebuke them, and correct them.\n34\nFor the rest of my people shall he deliver with mercy, those\nthat have been pressed upon my borders, and he shall make them\njoyful until the coming of the day of judgment, whereof I have\nspoken unto thee from the the beginning.\n35\nThis is the dream that thou sawest, and these are the\ninterpretations.\n36\nThou only hast been meet to know this secret of the Highest.\n37\nTherefore write all these things that thou hast seen in a\nbook, and hide them:\n38\nAnd teach them to the wise of the people, whose hearts thou\nknowest may comprehend and keep these secrets.\n39\nBut wait thou here thyself yet seven days more, that it may\nbe shewed thee, whatsoever it pleaseth the Highest to declare\nunto thee. And with that he went his way.\n40\nAnd it came to pass, when all the people saw that the seven\ndays were past, and I not come again into the city, they\ngathered them all together, from the least unto the greatest,\nand came unto me, and said,\n41\nWhat have we offended thee? and what evil have we done\nagainst thee, that thou forsakest us, and sittest here in this\nplace?\n42\nFor of all the prophets thou only art left us, as a cluster\nof the vintage, and as a candle in a dark place, and as a haven\nor ship preserved from the tempest.\n43\nAre not the evils which are come to us sufficient?\n44\nIf thou shalt forsake us, how much better had it been for us,\nif we also had been burned in the midst of Sion?\n45\nFor we are not better than they that died there. And they\nwept with a loud voice. Then answered I them, and said,\n46\nBe of good comfort, O Israel; and be not heavy, thou house of\nJacob:\n47\nFor the Highest hath you in remembrance, and the Mighty hath\nnot forgotten you in temptation.\n48\nAs for me, I have not forsaken you, neither am I departed\nfrom you: but am come into this place, to pray for the\ndesolation of Sion, and that I might seek mercy for the low\nestate of your sanctuary.\n49\nAnd now go your way home every man, and after these days will\nI come unto you.\n50\nSo the people went their way into the city, like as I\ncommanded them:\n51\nBut I remained still in the field seven days, as the angel\ncommanded me; and did eat only in those days of the flowers of\nthe field, and had my meat of the herbs\n2Esdr 13\nAnd it came to pass after seven days, I dreamed a dream by\nnight:\n2\nAnd, lo, there arose a wind from the sea, that it moved all\nthe waves thereof.\n3\nAnd I beheld, and, lo, that man waxed strong with the\nthousands of heaven: and when he turned his countenance to look,\nall the things trembled that were seen under him.\n4\nAnd whensoever the voice went out of his mouth, all they\nburned that heard his voice, like as the earth faileth when it\nfeeleth the fire.\n5\nAnd after this I beheld, and, lo, there was gathered together\na multitude of men, out of number, from the four winds of the\nheaven, to subdue the man that came out of the sea\n6\nBut I beheld, and, lo, he had graved himself a great\nmountain, and flew up upon it.\n7\nBut I would have seen the region or place whereout the hill\nwas graven, and I could not.\n8\nAnd after this I beheld, and, lo, all they which were\ngathered together to subdue him were sore afraid, and yet durst\nfight.\n9\nAnd, lo, as he saw the violence of the multitude that came,\nhe neither lifted up his hand, nor held sword, nor any\ninstrument of war:\n10\nBut only I saw that he sent out of his mouth as it had been a\nblast of fire, and out of his lips a flaming breath, and out of\nhis tongue he cast out sparks and tempests.\n11\nAnd they were all mixed together; the blast of fire, the\nflaming breath, and the great tempest; and fell with violence\nupon the multitude which was prepared to fight, and burned them\nup every one, so that upon a sudden of an innumerable multitude\nnothing was to be perceived, but only dust and smell of smoke:\nwhen I saw this I was afraid.\n12\nAfterward saw I the same man come down from the mountain, and\ncall unto him another peaceable Multitude.\n13\nAnd there came much people unto him, whereof some were glad,\nsome were sorry, and some of them were bound, and other some\nbrought of them that were offered: then was I sick through great\nfear, and I awaked, and said,\n14\nThou hast shewed thy servant these wonders from the\nbeginning, and hast counted me worthy that thou shouldest\nreceive my prayer:\n15\nShew me now yet the interpretation of this dream.\n16\nFor as I conceive in mine understanding, woe unto them that\nshall be left in those days and much more woe unto them that are\nnot left behind!\n17\nFor they that were not left were in heaviness.\n18\nNow understand I the things that are laid up in the latter\ndays, which shall happen unto them, and to those that are left\nbehind.\n19\nTherefore are they come into great perils and many\nnecessities, like as these dreams declare.\n20\nYet is it easier for him that is in danger to come into these\nthings, than to pass away as a cloud out of the world, and not\nto see the things that happen in the last days. And he answered\nunto me, and said,\n21\nThe interpretation of the vision shall I shew thee, and I\nwill open unto thee the thing that thou hast required.\n22\nWhereas thou hast spoken of them that are left behind, this\nis the interpretation:\n23\nHe that shall endure the peril in that time hath kept\nhimself: they that be fallen into danger are such as have works,\nand faith toward the Almighty.\n24\nKnow this therefore, that they which be left behind are more\nblessed than they that be dead.\n25\nThis is the meaning of the vision: Whereas thou sawest a man\ncoming up from the midst of the sea:\n26\nThe same is he whom God the Highest hath kept a great season,\nwhich by his own self shall deliver his creature: and he shall\norder them that are left behind.\n27\nAnd whereas thou sawest, that out of his mouth there came as\na blast of wind, and fire, and storm;\n28\nAnd that he held neither sword, nor any instrument of war,\nbut that the rushing in of him destroyed the whole multitude\nthat came to subdue him; this is the interpretation:\n29\nBehold, the days come, when the most High will begin to\ndeliver them that are upon the earth.\n30\nAnd he shall come to the astonishment of them that dwell on\nthe earth.\n31\nAnd one shall undertake to fight against another, one city\nagainst another, one place against another, one people against\nanother, and one realm against another.\n32\nAnd the time shall be when these things shall come to pass,\nand the signs shall happen which I shewed thee before, and then\nshall my Son be declared, whom thou sawest as a man ascending.\n33\nAnd when all the people hear his voice, every man shall in\ntheir own land leave the battle they have one against another.\n34\nAnd an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as\nthou sawest them, willing to come, and to overcome him by\nfighting.\n35\nBut he shall stand upon the top of the mount Sion.\n36\nAnd Sion shall come, and shall be shewed to all men, being\nprepared and builded, like as thou sawest the hill graven\nwithout hands.\n37\nAnd this my Son shall rebuke the wicked inventions of those\nnations, which for their wicked life are fallen into the\ntempest;\n38\nAnd shall lay before them their evil thoughts, and the\ntorments wherewith they shall begin to be tormented, which are\nlike unto a flame: and he shall destroy them without labour by\nthe law which is like unto me.\n39\nAnd whereas thou sawest that he gathered another peaceable\nmultitude unto him;\n40\nThose are the ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners\nout of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom\nSalmanasar the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried\nthem over the waters, and so came they into another land.\n41\nBut they took this counsel among themselves, that they would\nleave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further\ncountry, where never mankind dwelt,\n42\nThat they might there keep their statutes, which they never\nkept in their own land.\n43\nAnd they entered into Euphrates by the narrow places of the\nriver.\n44\nFor the most High then shewed signs for them, and held still\nthe flood, till they were passed over.\n45\nFor through that country there was a great way to go, namely,\nof a year and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth.\n46\nThen dwelt they there until the latter time; and now when\nthey shall begin to come,\n47\nThe Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again, that\nthey may go through: therefore sawest thou the multitude with\npeace.\n48\nBut those that be left behind of thy people are they that are\nfound within my borders.\n49\nNow when he destroyeth the multitude of the nations that are\ngathered together, he shall defend his people that remain.\n50\nAnd then shall he shew them great wonders.\n51\nThen said I, O Lord that bearest rule, shew me this:\nWherefore have I seen the man coming up from the midst of the\nsea?\n52\nAnd he said unto me, Like as thou canst neither seek out nor\nknow the things that are in the deep of the sea: even so can no\nman upon earth see my Son, or those that be with him, but in the\nday time.\n53\nThis is the interpretation of the dream which thou sawest,\nand whereby thou only art here lightened.\n54\nFor thou hast forsaken thine own way, and applied thy\ndiligence unto my law, and sought it.\n55\nThy life hast thou ordered in wisdom, and hast called\nunderstanding thy mother.\n56\nAnd therefore have I shewed thee the treasures of the\nHighest: after other three days I will speak other things unto\nthee, and declare unto thee mighty and wondrous things.\n57\nThen went I forth into the field, giving praise and thanks\ngreatly unto the most High because of his wonders which he did\nin time;\n58\nAnd because he governeth the same, and such things as fall in\ntheir seasons: and there I sat three days.\n2Esdr 14\nAnd it came to pass upon the third day, I sat under an oak,\nand, behold, there came a voice out of a bush over against me,\nand said, Esdras, Esdras.\n2\nAnd I said, Here am I, Lord And I stood up upon my feet.\n3\nThen said he unto me, In the bush I did manifestly reveal\nmyself unto Moses, and talked with him, when my people served in\nEgypt:\n4\nAnd I sent him and led my people out of Egypt, and brought\nhim up to the mount of where I held him by me a long season,\n5\nAnd told him many wondrous things, and shewed him the secrets\nof the times, and the end; and commanded him, saying,\n6\nThese words shalt thou declare, and these shalt thou hide.\n7\nAnd now I say unto thee,\n8\nThat thou lay up in thy heart the signs that I have shewed,\nand the dreams that thou hast seen, and the interpretations\nwhich thou hast heard:\n9\nFor thou shalt be taken away from all, and from henceforth\nthou shalt remain with my Son, and with such as be like thee,\nuntil the times be ended.\n10\nFor the world hath lost his youth, and the times begin to wax\nold.\n11\nFor the world is divided into twelve parts, and the ten parts\nof it are gone already, and half of a tenth part:\n12\nAnd there remaineth that which is after the half of the tenth\npart.\n13\nNow therefore set thine house in order, and reprove thy\npeople, comfort such of them as be in trouble, and now renounce\ncorruption,\n14\nLet go from thee mortal thoughts, cast away the burdens of\nman, put off now the weak nature,\n15\nAnd set aside the thoughts that are most heavy unto thee, and\nhaste thee to flee from these times.\n16\nFor yet greater evils than those which thou hast seen happen\nshall be done hereafter.\n17\nFor look how much the world shall be weaker through age, so\nmuch the more shall evils increase upon them that dwell therein.\n18\nFor the time is fled far away, and leasing is hard at hand:\nfor now hasteth the vision to come, which thou hast seen.\n19\nThen answered I before thee, and said,\n20\nBehold, Lord, I will go, as thou hast commanded me, and\nreprove the people which are present: but they that shall be\nborn afterward, who shall admonish them? thus the world is set\nin darkness, and they that dwell therein are without light.\n21\nFor thy law is burnt, therefore no man knoweth the things\nthat are done of thee, or the work that shall begin.\n22\nBut if I have found grace before thee, send the Holy Ghost\ninto me, and I shall write all that hath been done in the world\nsince the beginning, which were written in thy law, that men may\nfind thy path, and that they which will live in the latter days\nmay live.\n23\nAnd he answered me, saying, Go thy way, gather the people\ntogether, and say unto them, that they seek thee not for forty\ndays.\n24\nBut look thou prepare thee many box trees, and take with thee\nSarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ecanus, and Asiel, these five which are\nready to write swiftly;\n25\nAnd come hither, and I shall light a candle of understanding\nin thine heart, which shall not be put out, till the things be\nperformed which thou shalt begin to write.\n26\nAnd when thou hast done, some things shalt thou publish, and\nsome things shalt thou shew secretly to the wise: to morrow this\nhour shalt thou begin to write.\n27\nThen went I forth, as he commanded, and gathered all the\npeople together, and said,\n28\nHear these words, O Israel.\n29\nOur fathers at the beginning were strangers in Egypt, from\nwhence they were delivered:\n30\nAnd received the law of life, which they kept not, which ye\nalso have transgressed after them.\n31\nThen was the land, even the land of Sion, parted among you by\nlot: but your fathers, and ye yourselves, have done\nunrighteousness, and have not kept the ways which the Highest\ncommanded you.\n32\nAnd forasmuch as he is a righteous judge, he took from you in\ntime the thing that he had given you.\n33\nAnd now are ye here, and your brethren among you.\n34\nTherefore if so be that ye will subdue your own\nunderstanding, and reform your hearts, ye shall be kept alive\nand after death ye shall obtain mercy.\n35\nFor after death shall the judgment come, when we shall live\nagain: and then shall the names of the righteous be manifest,\nand the works of the ungodly shall be declared.\n36\nLet no man therefore come unto me now, nor seek after me\nthese forty days.\n37\nSo I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we went into\nthe field, and remained there.\n38\nAnd the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, Esdras,\nopen thy mouth, and drink that I give thee to drink.\n39\nThen opened I my mouth, and, behold, he reached me a full\ncup, which was full as it were with water, but the colour of it\nwas like fire.\n40\nAnd I took it, and drank: and when I had drunk of it, my\nheart uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my breast, for\nmy spirit strengthened my memory:\n41\nAnd my mouth was opened, and shut no more.\n42\nThe Highest gave understanding unto the five men, and they\nwrote the wonderful visions of the night that were told, which\nthey knew not: and they sat forty days, and they wrote in the\nday, and at night they ate bread.\n43\nAs for me. I spake in the day, and I held not my tongue by\nnight.\n44\nIn forty days they wrote two hundred and four books.\n45\nAnd it came to pass, when the forty days were filled, that\nthe Highest spake, saying, The first that thou hast written\npublish openly, that the worthy and unworthy may read it:\n46\nBut keep the seventy last, that thou mayest deliver them only\nto such as be wise among the people:\n47\nFor in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of\nwisdom, and the stream of knowledge.\n48\nAnd I did so.\n2Esdr 15\nBehold, speak thou in the ears of my people the words of\nprophecy, which I will put in thy mouth, saith the Lord:\n2\nAnd cause them to be written in paper: for they are faithful\nand true.\n3\nFear not the imaginations against thee, let not the\nincredulity of them trouble thee, that speak against thee.\n4\nFor all the unfaithful shall die in their unfaithfulness.\n5\nBehold, saith the Lord, I will bring plagues upon the world;\nthe sword, famine, death, and destruction.\n6\nFor wickedness hath exceedingly polluted the whole earth, and\ntheir hurtful works are fulfilled.\n7\nTherefore saith the Lord,\n8\nI will hold my tongue no more as touching their wickedness,\nwhich they profanely commit, neither will I suffer them in those\nthings, in which they wickedly exercise themselves: behold, the\ninnocent and righteous blood crieth unto me, and the souls of\nthe just complain continually.\n9\nAnd therefore, saith the Lord, I will surely avenge them, and\nreceive unto me all the innocent blood from among them.\n10\nBehold, my people is led as a flock to the slaughter: I will\nnot suffer them now to dwell in the land of Egypt:\n11\nBut I will bring them with a mighty hand and a stretched out\narm, and smite Egypt with plagues, as before, and will destroy\nall the land thereof.\n12\nEgypt shall mourn, and the foundation of it shall be smitten\nwith the plague and punishment that God shall bring upon it.\n13\nThey that till the ground shall mourn: for their seeds shall\nfail through the blasting and hail, and with a fearful\nconstellation.\n14\nWoe to the world and them that dwell therein!\n15\nFor the sword and their destruction draweth nigh, and one\npeople shall stand up and fight against another, and swords in\ntheir hands.\n16\nFor there shall be sedition among men, and invading one\nanother; they shall not regard their kings nor princes, and the\ncourse of their actions shall stand in their power.\n17\nA man shall desire to go into a city, and shall not be able.\n18\nFor because of their pride the cities shall be troubled, the\nhouses shall be destroyed, and men shall be afraid.\n19\nA man shall have no pity upon his neighbour, but shall\ndestroy their houses with the sword, and spoil their goods,\nbecause of the lack of bread, and for great tribulation.\n20\nBehold, saith God, I will call together all the kings of the\nearth to reverence me, which are from the rising of the sun,\nfrom the south, from the east, and Libanus; to turn themselves\none against another, and repay the things that they have done to\nthem.\n21\nLike as they do yet this day unto my chosen, so will I do\nalso, and recompense in their bosom. Thus saith the Lord God;\n22\nMy right hand shall not spare the sinners, and my sword shall\nnot cease over them that shed innocent blood upon the earth.\n23\nThe fire is gone forth from his wrath, and hath consumed the\nfoundations of the earth, and the sinners, like the straw that\nis kindled.\n24\nWoe to them that sin, and keep not my commandments! saith\nthe Lord.\n25\nI will not spare them: go your way, ye children, from the\npower, defile not my sanctuary.\n26\nFor the Lord knoweth all them that sin against him, and\ntherefore delivereth he them unto death and destruction.\n27\nFor now are the plagues come upon the whole earth and ye\nshall remain in them: for God shall not deliver you, because ye\nhave sinned against him.\n28\nBehold an horrible vision, and the appearance thereof from\nthe east:\n29\nWhere the nations of the dragons of Arabia shall come out\nwith many chariots, and the multitude of them shall be carried\nas the wind upon earth, that all they which hear them may fear\nand tremble.\n30\nAlso the Carmanians raging in wrath shall go forth as the\nwild boars of the wood, and with great power shall they come,\nand join battle with them, and shall waste a portion of the land\nof the Assyrians.\n31\nAnd then shall the dragons have the upper hand, remembering\ntheir nature; and if they shall turn themselves, conspiring\ntogether in great power to persecute them,\n32\nThen these shall be troubled bled, and keep silence through\ntheir power, and shall flee.\n33\nAnd from the land of the Assyrians shall the enemy besiege\nthem, and consume some of them, and in their host shall be fear\nand dread, and strife among their kings.\n34\nBehold clouds from the east and from the north unto the\nsouth, and they are very horrible to look upon, full of wrath\nand storm.\n35\nThey shall smite one upon another, and they shall smite down\na great multitude of stars upon the earth, even their own star;\nand blood shall be from the sword unto the belly,\n36\nAnd dung of men unto the camel's hough.\n37\nAnd there shall be great fearfulness and trembling upon\nearth: and they that see the wrath shall be afraid, and\ntrembling shall come upon them.\n38\nAnd then shall there come great storms from the south, and\nfrom the north, and another part from the west.\n39\nAnd strong winds shall arise from the east, and shall open\nit; and the cloud which he raised up in wrath, and the star\nstirred to cause fear toward the east and west wind, shall be\ndestroyed.\n40\nThe great and mighty clouds shall be puffed up full of wrath,\nand the star, that they may make all the earth afraid, and them\nthat dwell therein; and they shall pour out over every high and\neminent place an horrible star,\n41\nFire, and hail, and flying swords, and many waters, that all\nfields may be full, and all rivers, with the abundance of great\nwaters.\n42\nAnd they shall break down the cities and walls, mountains and\nhills, trees of the wood, and grass of the meadows, and their\ncorn.\n43\nAnd they shall go stedfastly unto Babylon, and make her\nafraid.\n44\nThey shall come to her, and besiege her, the star and all\nwrath shall they pour out upon her: then shall the dust and\nsmoke go up unto the heaven, and all they that be about her\nshall bewail her.\n45\nAnd they that remain under her shall do service unto them\nthat have put her in fear.\n46\nAnd thou, Asia, that art partaker of the hope of Babylon, and\nart the glory of her person:\n47\nWoe be unto thee, thou wretch, because thou hast made thyself\nlike unto her; and hast decked thy daughters in whoredom, that\nthey might please and glory in thy lovers, which have always\ndesired to commit whoredom with thee.\n48\nThou hast followed her that is hated in all her works and\ninventions: therefore saith God,\n49\nI will send plagues upon thee; widowhood, poverty, famine,\nsword, and pestilence, to waste thy houses with destruction and\ndeath.\n50\nAnd the glory of thy Power shall be dried up as a flower, the\nheat shall arise that is sent over thee.\n51\nThou shalt be weakened as a poor woman with stripes, and as\none chastised with wounds, so that the mighty and lovers shall\nnot be able to receive thee.\n52\nWould I with jealousy have so proceeded against thee, saith\nthe Lord,\n53\nIf thou hadst not always slain my chosen, exalting the stroke\nof thine hands, and saying over their dead, when thou wast\ndrunken,\n54\nSet forth the beauty of thy countenance?\n55\nThe reward of thy whoredom shall be in thy bosom, therefore\nshalt thou receive recompence.\n56\nLike as thou hast done unto my chosen, saith the Lord, even\nso shall God do unto thee, and shall deliver thee into mischief\n57\nThy children shall die of hunger, and thou shalt fall through\nthe sword: thy cities shall be broken down, and all thine shall\nperish with the sword in the field.\n58\nThey that be in the mountains shall die of hunger, and eat\ntheir own flesh, and drink their own blood, for very hunger of\nbread, and thirst of water.\n59\nThou as unhappy shalt come through the sea, and receive\nplagues again.\n60\nAnd in the passage they shall rush on the idle city, and\nshall destroy some portion of thy land, and consume part of thy\nglory, and shall return to Babylon that was destroyed.\n61\nAnd thou shalt be cast down by them as stubble, and they\nshall be unto thee as fire;\n62\nAnd shall consume thee, and thy cities, thy land, and thy\nmountains; all thy woods and thy fruitful trees shall they burn\nup with fire.\n63\nThy children shall they carry away captive, and, look, what\nthou hast, they shall spoil it, and mar the beauty of thy face.\n2Esdr 16\nWoe be unto thee, Babylon, and Asia! woe be unto thee, Egypt\nand Syria!\n2\nGird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail your\nchildren, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand.\n3\nA sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back?\n4\nA fire is sent among you, and who may quench it?\n5\nPlagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive them\naway?\n6\nMay any man drive away an hungry lion in the wood? or may any\none quench the fire in stubble, when it hath begun to burn?\n7\nMay one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong archer?\n8\nThe mighty Lord sendeth the plagues and who is he that can\ndrive them away?\n9\nA fire shall go forth from his wrath, and who is he that may\nquench it?\n10\nHe shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? he shall\nthunder, and who shall not be afraid?\n11\nThe Lord shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly beaten\nto powder at his presence?\n12\nThe earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea\nariseth up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are\ntroubled, and the fishes thereof also, before the Lord, and\nbefore the glory of his power:\n13\nFor strong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, his arrows\nthat he shooteth are sharp, and shall not miss, when they begin\nto be shot into the ends of the world.\n14\nBehold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again,\nuntil they come upon the earth.\n15\nThe fire is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it\nconsume the foundation of the earth.\n16\nLike as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer returneth\nnot backward: even so the plagues that shall be sent upon earth\nshall not return again.\n17\nWoe is me! woe is me! who will deliver me in those days?\n18\nThe beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the beginning\nof famine and great death; the beginning of wars, and the powers\nshall stand in fear; the beginning of evils! what shall I do\nwhen these evils shall come?\n19\nBehold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish, are sent\nas scourges for amendment.\n20\nBut for all these things they shall not turn from their\nwickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.\n21\nBehold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that they\nshall think themselves to be in good case, and even then shall\nevils grow upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.\n22\nFor many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of\nfamine; and the other, that escape the hunger, shall the sword\ndestroy.\n23\nAnd the dead shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be no\nman to comfort them: for the earth shall be wasted, and the\ncities shall be cast down.\n24\nThere shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow it\n25\nThe trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them?\n26\nThe grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all\nplaces shall be desolate of men:\n27\nSo that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear his\nvoice.\n28\nFor of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the field,\nwhich shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the\nclefts of the rocks.\n29\nAs in an orchard of Olives upon every tree there are left\nthree or four olives;\n30\nOr as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some\nclusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard:\n31\nEven so in those days there shall be three or four left by\nthem that search their houses with the sword.\n32\nAnd the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof\nshall wax old, and her ways and all her paths shall grow full of\nthorns, because no man shall travel therethrough.\n33\nThe virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women\nshall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn,\nhaving no helpers.\n34\nIn the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and their\nhusbands shall perish of famine.\n35\nHear now these things and understand them, ye servants of the\nLord.\n36\nBehold, the word of the Lord, receive it: believe not the\ngods of whom the Lord spake.\n37\nBehold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack.\n38\nAs when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth\nher son, with two or three hours of her birth great pains\ncompass her womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they\nslack not a moment:\n39\nEven so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the\nearth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it\non every side.\n40\nO my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle, and\nin those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth.\n41\nHe that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he\nthat buyeth, as one that will lose:\n42\nHe that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by\nit: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein:\n43\nHe that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that\nplanteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes:\n44\nThey that marry, as they that shall get no children; and they\nthat marry not, as the widowers.\n45\nAnd therefore they that labour labour in vain:\n46\nFor strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their goods,\noverthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for in\ncaptivity and famine shall they get children.\n47\nAnd they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more\nthey deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and\ntheir own persons:\n48\nThe more will I be angry with them for their sin, saith the\nLord.\n49\nLike as a whore envieth a right honest and virtuous woman:\n50\nSo shall righteousness hate iniquity, when she decketh\nherself, and shall accuse her to her face, when he cometh that\nshall defend him that diligently searcheth out every sin upon\nearth.\n51\nAnd therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works\nthereof.\n52\nFor yet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of the\nearth, and righteousness shall reign among you.\n53\nLet not the sinner say that he hath not sinned: for God shall\nburn coals of fire upon his head, which saith before the Lord\nGod and his glory, I have not sinned.\n54\nBehold, the Lord knoweth all the works of men, their\nimaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts:\n55\nWhich spake but the word, Let the earth be made; and it was\nmade: Let the heaven be made; and it was created.\n56\nIn his word were the stars made, and he knoweth the number of\nthem.\n57\nHe searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath\nmeasured the sea, and what it containeth.\n58\nHe hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his\nword hath he hanged the earth upon the waters.\n59\nHe spreadeth out the heavens like a vault; upon the waters\nhath he founded it.\n60\nIn the desert hath he made springs of water, and pools upon\nthe tops of the mountains, that the floods might pour down from\nthe high rocks to water the earth.\n61\nHe made man, and put his heart in the midst of the body, and\ngave him breath, life, and understanding.\n62\nYea and the Spirit of Almighty God, which made all things,\nand searcheth out all hidden things in the secrets of the earth,\n63\nSurely he knoweth your inventions, and what ye think in your\nhearts, even them that sin, and would hide their sin.\n64\nTherefore hath the Lord exactly searched out all your works,\nand he will put you all to shame.\n65\nAnd when your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed\nbefore men, and your own sins shall be your accusers in that\nday.\n66\nWhat will ye do? or how will ye hide your sins before God and\nhis angels?\n67\nBehold, God himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from\nyour sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with\nthem for ever: so shall God lead you forth, and deliver you from\nall trouble.\n68\nFor, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is\nkindled over you, and they shall take away certain of you, and\nfeed you, being idle, with things offered unto idols.\n69\nAnd they that consent unto them shall be had in derision and\nin reproach, and trodden under foot.\n70\nFor there shall be in every place, and in the next cities, a\ngreat insurrection upon those that fear the Lord.\n71\nThey shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling\nand destroying those that fear the Lord.\n72\nFor they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them\nout of their houses.\n73\nThen shall they be known, who are my chosen; and they shall\nbe tried as the gold in the fire.\n74\nHear, O ye my beloved, saith the Lord: behold, the days of\ntrouble are at hand, but I will deliver you from the same.\n75\nBe ye not afraid neither doubt; for God is your guide,\n76\nAnd the guide of them who keep my commandments and precepts,\nsaith the Lord God: let not your sins weigh you down, and let\nnot your iniquities lift up themselves.\n77\nWoe be unto them that are bound with their sins, and covered\nwith their iniquities like as a field is covered over with\nbushes, and the path thereof covered with thorns, that no man\nmay travel through!\n78\nIt is left undressed, and is cast into the fire to be\nconsumed therewith.","title":"The Second Book of Esdras Esdras [sometimes Fourth Book of Ezra]","type":"page"}