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?