Esdras is bid to denounce, that assuredly manie euiles wil come to the
world. 9. God wil protect his people, the wicked shal be punished, and
lament their final miseries, God reuenging for the good.
BEHOLD speake into the eares of my people the wordes of prophecie, which
I shal put into thy mouth, sayth our Lord: 2 and see that they be
written in paper, because they be faithful and true. 3 Be not afrayd of
the cogitations against thee, neither let the incredulities truble thee
of them that speake. 4 Because euerie incredulous person shal dye in his
incredulitie. 5 Behold I bring in, sayth our Lord, vpon the whole earth
euils, sword, and famine, and death, and destruction. 6 Because
iniquitie hath fully polluted ouer al the earth, and their hurtful workes
are accomplished. 7 Therefore sayth our Lord: 8 I wil not now kepe
silence of their impieties which they doe irreligiously, neither wil I
beare with those thinges, which they practise vniustly. Behold the
innocent & iust bloud crieth to me, & the soules of the iust crie
continually. 9 Reuenging I wil reuenge them, sayth our Lord, and I wil
take al innocent bloud out of them vnto me. (Apoc 6:10 & 19:2)
10 Behold my people is led to slaughter as a flocke, I wil no more suffer
it to dwel in the land of AEgypt. 11 But I wil bring them forth in a
mightie hand and valiant arme, and wil strike with plague as before, and
wil corrupt al the land thereof. 12 AEgypt shal mourne, and fundations
thereof beaten with plague, and with the chastisement which God wil bring
vpon it. 13 The husbandmen that til the ground shal mourne, because
their seedes shal perish by blasting, and haile, and by a terible starre.
14 Woe to the world and them that dwel therein. 15 Because the sword is
at hand and the destruction of them, and nation shal rise vp against
nation to fight, & sword in their handes. (Matt 24 / Luke 21) 16 For
there shal be instabilitie to men, & growing one against an other they
shal not care for their king, & the princes of the way of their doinges,
in their might. 17 For a man shal desire to go into the citie & can not.
18 Because of their prides the cities shal be trubled, the houses raised,
the men shal feare. 19 Man shal not pitie his neighbour, to make their
houses nothing worth in the sword, to spoyle their goodes for famine of
bread, & much tribulation. 20 Behold, I cal together sayth God, al the
kinges of the earth to feare me, that are from the Orient, & from the
South, from the East, & from Libanus, to be turned vpon themselues, and
to render the thinges that they haue geuen them. 21 As they doe vntil
this day to myne elect, so wil I doe, and render in their bosome. Thus
sayth our Lord God: 22 My right hand shal not spare sinners, neither
shal the sword cease vpon them that shede innocent bloud vpon the earth.
23 Fire came forth from his wrath, and hath deuoured the fundations of
the earth, and sinners as it were straw set on fire. 24 Woe to them that
sinne, and obserue not my comandmentes, sayth our Lord. 25 I wil not
spare them: depart o children from the powre. Defile not my
sanctification: 26 because the Lord knoweth al that sinne against him;
therefore hath he deliuered them into death and into slaughter. 27 For
now are euils come vpon the world, and you shal tarrie in them. For God
wil not deliuer you, because you haue sinned against him. 28 Behold an
horrible vision, and the face of it from the east. 29 And the nations of
dragons of Arabians shal come forth in manie chariots, & as a winde the
number of them is caried vpon the earth, so that now al doe feare and
tremble, that shal heare them. 30 the Carmonians madde for anger, and
they shal goe forth as wild boares out of the wood, & they shal come with
great power, and shal stand in fight with them, & they shal waste the
portion of the land of the Assirians. 31 And after these thinges the
dragons shal preuaile mindful of their natiuitie, and conspiring shal
turne themselues in great force to pursue them. 32 These shal be trubled
and hold their peace at their force, and shal turne their fete into
flight. 33 And from the territorie of the Assirians the besiegers shal
beseige them, and shal consume one of them, and there shal be feare and
trembling in their armie, and contention against their kinges. 34 Behold
cloudes from the east, and from the north vnto the south, and their face
very horrible, ful of wrath and storme. 35 And they shal beate one
against an other, and they shal beate downe manie starres, and their
starre vpon the earth, and bloud shal be from the sword vnto the bellie.
36 And mans dung vnto the camels litter, and there shal be much feare,
and trembling vpon the earth. 37 And they shal shake that shal see that
wrath, and tremble shal take them: and after these thinges there shal
manie showers be moued: 38 from the south, and the north: and an other
portion from the weast. 39 And the windes from the east shal reuaile
vpon it, and shal shut it vp, and the cloudes which he raised in wrath,
and the starre to make terrour to the east winde, and the west shal be
destroyed. 40 And there shal be exalted great and mightie cloudes ful of
wrath, and a starre to terrifie al the earth, and the inhabitantes
therof, and they shal powre in vpon euerie high, and eminent place a
terrible starre, 41 fire, and haile, and flying swordes, and manie
waters, so that al fildes also shal be filled, and al riuers with the
fulnes of manie waters. 42 And they shal throw downe cities, and walles,
and mountaines, and hilles, and the trees of the woodes, and the grasse
of the medowes, and their corne. 43 And they shal passe constant vnto
Babylon, and shal raise her. (Apoc 18) 44 They shal come together
against her, and shal compasse her, and shal power out the starre, and al
wrath vpon her, and the dust and smoke shal goe vp euen into heauen, and
round about shal lament her. 45 And they that shal remaine vnder her,
shal serue them that terified her. 46 And thou Asia agreeing into the
hope of Babylon, and the glorie of her person, 47 woe be to thee thou
wretch, because thou art like to her, and hast adorned thy daughters in
fornication, to please & glorie in thy louers, which haue desired alwayes
to fornicate with thee. 48 Thou hast imitated the odious in al her
workes, and in her inuentions: therefore sayth God: 49 I wil send in
euils vpon thee, widowhood, pouertie, and famine, and sword, and
pestilence, to destroy thy houses by violation, and death, and glorie of
thy vertue. 50 As a flower shal be withered, when the heate shal rise
that is sent forth vpon thee, 51 thou shalt be weakned as a litle poore
soule plaged and chastised of wemen, that the mightie and the louers may
not receiue thee. 52 Wil I be zealous against thee sayth our Lord,
53 vnles thou hadst slayne myne elect at al times, exalting the slaughter
of the handes, and saying vpon their death, when thou wast drunken.
54 Adorne the beautie of thy countenance. 55 The reward of thy
fornication is in thy bosome, therefore thou shalt receiue recompence.
56 As thou shalt doe to my elect, sayth our Lord, so shal God do to thee,
and shal deliuer thee vnto euil. 57 And thy children shal dye for
famine: and thou shalt fal by the sword, and thy cities shal be
destroyed, & al thyne shal fal in the filde by the sword. 58 And they
that are in the mountaines, shal perish, with famine, and shal eate their
owne flesh, & drinke bloud, for the famine of bread and thirst of waters.
59 Vnhappie by the seas shalt thou come, and againe thou shalt receuie
euils. 60 And in the passage they shal beate against the idle citie, and
shal destroy some portion of thy land, and shal deface part of thy
glorie, againe returning to Babylon ourethrowen. 61 And being throwen
downe thou shalt be to them for stubble, and they shal be to thee fire:
62 and deuoure thee, and thy cities, thy land, and thy mountaynes, al thy
woodes and fruitful trees they wil burne with fire. 63 Thy children they
shal lead captiue, & shal haue thy goodes for a praye, and the glorie of
thy face they shal destroy.