God knowing al thinges before they were made, created them 54. for man:
and considerth the endes of al.
AND he sayd to me: In the beginning of the earthlie world, and before
the endes of the world stood, and before the congregation of the windes
did blow, (Prov 8) 2 and before the voyces of thunders sounded, &
before the flashinges of lightenings shined, and before the fundations
of paradise were confirmed, 3 and before beautiful flowers were sene,
and before the moued powers were established, and before the
innumerable hostes of Angels were gathered, 4 and before the heightes
of the ayre were aduanced, and before the measures of the firmaments
were named, and before the chymneies were hote in Sion, 5 and before
the present yeares were searched out, and before their inuentions that
now sinne, were put away, and they signed that made fayth their
treasure: 6 then I thought, and they were made by me only, and not by
any other: and the end by me, and not by any other. 7 And I answered,
and sayd: What separation of times shal there be? and when shal the end
of the former be, and the begynning of that which foloweth? 8 And he
sayd to me, from Abraham vnto Isaac, when Iacob and Esau were borne of
him, the hand of Iacob held from the begynning the heele of Esau, 9 for
the end of this world is Esau, and the begynning of the next Iacob. 10
The hand of a man betwen the heele and the hand. Aske no other thing
Esdras. 11 And I answered, and sayd: O Lord dominatour, if I haue found
grace before thyne eyes, 12 I pray thee shew thy seruant the end of thy
signes, wherof thou didst shew me part the night before. 13 And he
answered, and sayd to me: Arise vpon thy feete, and heare a voice most
ful of sound. 14 And it shal be as it were a commotion, neither shal
the place be moued wherin thou standest. 15 Therfore when it speaketh
be not thou afrayd, because of the end is the word, and the fundation
of the earth vnderstood, 16 for concerning them the word trembleth and
is moued, for it knoweth that their end must be changed. 17 And it came
to passe, when I had heard, I rose vpon my feete, and I heard: and
behold a voice speaking, and the sound therof as the sound of manie
waters: 18 and it sayd: Behold the dayes come, and the time shal be
when I wil begyne to approch, that I may visite the inhabitantes vpon
the earth. 19 And when I wil begin to enquire of them that vniustly
haue hurt with their iniustice, and when the humilitie of Sion shal be
accomplished. 20 And when the world shal be ouersigned that shal
beginne to passe, I wil doe these signes: Bookes shal be opened before
the face of the firmament, and al shal see together, 21 and infantes of
one yeare shal speake with their voices, & wemen with child shal bring
forth vntimely infantes not ripe of three or foure monethes, and shal
liue, and shal be raysed vp. 22 And sodenly shal appeare sowen places
not sowen, & ful cellers shal sodenly be found emptie: 23 and a trumpet
shal sound; which when al shal heare, they wil sodenly be afrayd. 24
And it shal be in that time, freindes as enimies shal ouerthrow
freindes, and the earth shal be afrayd with them: & the vaynes of
fountaynes shal stand, and shal not runne in three howres: 25 and it
shal be, euerie one that shal be leaft of al these, of whom I haue
foretold thee, he shal be saued, and shal see my saluation, & the end
of your world. 26 And the men that are receiued, shal see, they that
tasted not death from their natiuitie, and the hart of the inhabitantes
shal be turned into an other sense. 27 For euil shal be put out, and
deceite shal be extinguished, 28 but fayth shal florish, and corruption
shal be ouercome, and truth shal be shewed, which was without fruite so
manie dayes. 29 And it came to passe, when he spake to me, & I loe by
litle & litle looked on him before whom I stood, 30 and he sayd to me
these wordes: I am come to shew thee the time of the night to come. 31
If therfore thou pray agayne, and fast agayne seuen dayes, agayne I wil
tel thee greater thinges by the day which I haue heard. 32 For thy
voice is heard before the Highest. For the strong hath sene thy
direction, and hath fore sene the chastitie which thou hast had from
thy youth: 33 and for this cause he hath sent me to shew thee al these
thinges, and to say to thee, haue confidence, and feare not, 34 and
hasten not with the former times to thinke vayne thinges, that thou
hasten not from the last times. 35 And it came to passe after these
thinges, and I wept againe, and in like maner I fasted seuen dayes, to
accomplish the three weekes, that were told me. 36 And it came to passe
in the eight night, and my hart was trubled againe in me, and I began
to speake before the Highest. 37 For my spirit was inflamed excedingly,
and my soul was distressed. 38 And I sayd: O Lord, speaking thou didst
speake from the beginning of creature from the first day, saying: Let
heauen be made and earth: and thy word was a perfect worke. 39 And then
there was spirit, and darknesse was caried about, and silence, the
sound of the voyce of man was not yet from thee. 40 Then thou didst
command the lighsome light to be brought forth of thy treasures, wherby
thy worke might appeare. 41 And in the second day thou didst create the
spirit of the firmament, and commandest it to diuide, and to make a
diuision betwen the waters, that a certayn part should depart vpward,
and part should remaine beneth. 42 And in the third day thou didst
command the waters to be gathered together in the seuenth part of the
earth: but sixe partes thou didst drie and preserue, that of them might
be seruing before thee thinges sowen of God, and tilled. 43 For thy
word proceded, and the worke forth with was made. 44 For sodenly came
forth fruite of multitude infinite, and diurse tastes of concupiscence,
and flowers of vnchangeable colour, and odours of vnsearcheable smel,
and in the third day these thinges were made. 45 And in the fourth day
thou didst command to be made the brightnesse of the sunne, the light
of the moone, the disposition of the starres: 46 and didst command them
that they should serue man, that should be made. 47 And in the fifth
day: thou saydst to the seuenth part, where the water was gathered
together, that it should bring forth beastes, and foules, and fishes:
and so was it done, 48 the dumme water and without life, the thinges
that by Gods appointement were commanded, made beastes, that therby the
nations may declare thy meruelous workes. 49 And then thou didst
preserue two soules: the name of one thou didst cal Henoch, and the
name of the second thou didst cal Leuiathan, 50 and thou didst separate
them from eche other. For the seuenth part, where the water was
gathered together, could not hold them. 51 And thou gauest to Henoch
one part, which was dried the third day, to dwelt therin, where are a
thousand mountaynes. 52 But to Leuiathan thou gauest the seuenth part
being moyst, and kepst it, that it might be to deuoure whom thou wilt,
and when thou wilt. 53 And in the sixt day thou didst command the
earth, to create before thee cattel, and beastes, and creeping
creatures: 54 and ouer these Adam, whom thou madest ruler ouer al the
workes, which thou didst make, & out of him are al we brought forth,
and the people whom thou hast chosen. 55 And al these thinges I haue
sayd before thee o Lord, because thou didst create the world for vs. 56
But the residue of the nations borne of Adam thou saydst that they were
nothing, and that they were like to spittle, and as it were the droping
out of a vessel thou didst liken the abundance of them. 57 And now
Lord, behold these nations which are reputed for nothing, haue begune
to rule ouer vs, and to deuoure vs: 58 but we thy people whom thou
didst cal thy first onlie begotten emulatour, are deliuered into their
handes: 59 and if the world was created for vs, why doe not we possesse
inheritance with the world? how long these thinges?