1:1 The second book of the prophet Esdras, the son of Saraias, the son
of Azarias, the son of Helchias, the son of Sadamias, the sou of Sadoc,
the son of Achitob,
1:2 The son of Achias, the son of Phinees, the son of Heli, the son of
Amarias, the son of Aziei, the son of Marimoth, the son of And he spake
unto the of Borith, the son of Abisei, the son of Phinees, the son of
Eleazar,
1:3 The son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi; which was captive in the
land of the Medes, in the reign of Artexerxes king of the Persians.
1:4 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
1:5 Go thy way, and shew my people their sinful deeds, and their
children their wickedness which they have done against me; that they
may tell their children’s children:
1:6 Because the sins of their fathers are increased in them: for they
have forgotten me, and have offered unto strange gods.
1:7 Am not I even he that brought them out of the land of Egypt, from
the house of bondage? but they have provoked me unto wrath, and
despised my counsels.
1:8 Pull thou off then the hair of thy head, and cast all evil upon
them, for they have not been obedient unto my law, but it is a
rebellious people.
1:9 How long shall I forbear them, into whom I have done so much good?
1:10 Many kings have I destroyed for their sakes; Pharaoh with his
servants and all his power have I smitten down.
1:11 All the nations have I destroyed before them, and in the east I
have scattered the people of two provinces, even of Tyrus and Sidon,
and have slain all their enemies.
1:12 Speak thou therefore unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord,
1:13 I led you through the sea and in the beginning gave you a large
and safe passage; I gave you Moses for a leader, and Aaron for a
priest.
1:14 I gave you light in a pillar of fire, and great wonders have I
done among you; yet have ye forgotten me, saith the Lord.
1:15 Thus saith the Almighty Lord, The quails were as a token to you; I
gave you tents for your safeguard: nevertheless ye murmured there,
1:16 And triumphed not in my name for the destruction of your enemies,
but ever to this day do ye yet murmur.
1:17 Where are the benefits that I have done for you? when ye were
hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, did ye not cry unto me,
1:18 Saying, Why hast thou brought us into this wilderness to kill us?
it had been better for us to have served the Egyptians, than to die in
this wilderness.
1:19 Then had I pity upon your mournings, and gave you manna to eat; so
ye did eat angels’ bread.
1:20 When ye were thirsty, did I not cleave the rock, and waters flowed
out to your fill? for the heat I covered you with the leaves of the
trees.
1:21 I divided among you a fruitful land, I cast out the Canaanites,
the Pherezites, and the Philistines, before you: what shall I yet do
more for you? saith the Lord.
1:22 Thus saith the Almighty Lord, When ye were in the wilderness, in
the river of the Amorites, being athirst, and blaspheming my name,
1:23 I gave you not fire for your blasphemies, but cast a tree in the
water, and made the river sweet.
1:24 What shall I do unto thee, O Jacob? thou, Juda, wouldest not obey
me: I will turn me to other nations, and unto those will I give my
name, that they may keep my statutes.
1:25 Seeing ye have forsaken me, I will forsake you also; when ye
desire me to be gracious unto you, I shall have no mercy upon you.
1:26 Whensoever ye shall call upon me, I will not hear you: for ye have
defiled your hands with blood, and your feet are swift to commit
manslaughter.
1:27 Ye have not as it were forsaken me, but your own selves, saith the
Lord.
1:28 Thus saith the Almighty Lord, Have I not prayed you as a father
his sons, as a mother her daughters, and a nurse her young babes,
1:29 That ye would be my people, and I should be your God; that ye
would be my children, and I should be your father?
1:30 I gathered you together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings: but now, what shall I do unto you? I will cast you out from my
face.
1:31 When ye offer unto me, I will turn my face from you: for your
solemn feastdays, your new moons, and your circumcisions, have I
forsaken.
1:32 I sent unto you my servants the prophets, whom ye have taken and
slain, and torn their bodies in pieces, whose blood I will require of
your hands, saith the Lord.
1:33 Thus saith the Almighty Lord, Your house is desolate, I will cast
you out as the wind doth stubble.
1:34 And your children shall not be fruitful; for they have despised my
commandment, and done the thing that is an evil before me.
1:35 Your houses will I give to a people that shall come; which not
having heard of me yet shall believe me; to whom I have shewed no
signs, yet they shall do that I have commanded them.
1:36 They have seen no prophets, yet they shall call their sins to
remembrance, and acknowledge them.
1:37 I take to witness the grace of the people to come, whose little
ones rejoice in gladness: and though they have not seen me with bodily
eyes, yet in spirit they believe the thing that I say.
1:38 And now, brother, behold what glory; and see the people that come
from the east:
1:39 Unto whom I will give for leaders, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Oseas, Amos, and Micheas, Joel, Abdias, and Jonas,
1:40 Nahum, and Abacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zachary, and Malachy, which
is called also an angel of the Lord.
2:1 Thus saith the Lord, I brought this people out of bondage, and I
gave them my commandments by menservants the prophets; whom they would
not hear, but despised my counsels.
2:2 The mother that bare them saith unto them, Go your way, ye
children; for I am a widow and forsaken.
2:3 I brought you up with gladness; but with sorrow and heaviness have
I lost you: for ye have sinned before the Lord your God, and done that
thing that is evil before him.
2:4 But what shall I now do unto you? I am a widow and forsaken: go
your way, O my children, and ask mercy of the Lord.
2:5 As for me, O father, I call upon thee for a witness over the mother
of these children, which would not keep my covenant,
2:6 That thou bring them to confusion, and their mother to a spoil,
that there may be no offspring of them.
2:7 Let them be scattered abroad among the heathen, let their names be
put out of the earth: for they have despised my covenant.
2:8 Woe be unto thee, Assur, thou that hidest the unrighteous in thee!
O thou wicked people, remember what I did unto Sodom and Gomorrha;
2:9 Whose land lieth in clods of pitch and heaps of ashes: even so also
will I do unto them that hear me not, saith the Almighty Lord.
2:10 Thus saith the Lord unto Esdras, Tell my people that I will give
them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I would have given unto Israel.
2:11 Their glory also will I take unto me, and give these the
everlasting tabernacles, which I had prepared for them.
2:12 They shall have the tree of life for an ointment of sweet savour;
they shall neither labour, nor be weary.
2:13 Go, and ye shall receive: pray for few days unto you, that they
may be shortened: the kingdom is already prepared for you: watch.
2:14 Take heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in
pieces, and created the good: for I live, saith the Lord.
2:15 Mother, embrace thy children, and bring them up with gladness,
make their feet as fast as a pillar: for I have chosen thee, saith the
Lord.
2:16 And those that be dead will I raise up again from their places,
and bring them out of the graves: for I have known my name in Israel.
2:17 Fear not, thou mother of the children: for I have chosen thee,
saith the Lord.
2:18 For thy help will I send my servants Esau and Jeremy, after whose
counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees laden with
divers fruits,
2:19 And as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven
mighty mountains, whereupon there grow roses and lilies, whereby I will
fill thy children with joy.
2:20 Do right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor,
defend the orphan, clothe the naked,
2:21 Heal the broken and the weak, laugh not a lame man to scorn,
defend the maimed, and let the blind man come into the sight of my
clearness.
2:22 Keep the old and young within thy walls.
2:23 Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and I
will give thee the first place in my resurrection.
2:24 Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness
still come.
2:25 Nourish thy children, O thou good nurse; stablish their feet.
2:26 As for the servants whom I have given thee, there shall not one of
them perish; for I will require them from among thy number.
2:27 Be not weary: for when the day of trouble and heaviness cometh,
others shall weep and be sorrowful, but thou shalt be merry and have
abundance.
2:28 The heathen shall envy thee, but they shall be able to do nothing
against thee, saith the Lord.
2:29 My hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not see
hell.
2:30 Be joyful, O thou mother, with thy children; for I will deliver
thee, saith the Lord.
2:31 Remember thy children that sleep, for I shall bring them out of
the sides of the earth, and shew mercy unto them: for I am merciful,
saith the Lord Almighty.
2:32 Embrace thy children until I come and shew mercy unto them: for my
wells run over, and my grace shall not fail.
2:33 I Esdras received a charge of the Lord upon the mount Oreb, that I
should go unto Israel; but when I came unto them, they set me at
nought, and despised the commandment of the Lord.
2:34 And therefore I say unto you, O ye heathen, that hear and
understand, look for your Shepherd, he shall give you everlasting rest;
for he is nigh at hand, that shall come in the end of the world.
2:35 Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting light
shall shine upon you for evermore.
2:36 Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your
glory: I testify my Saviour openly.
2:37 O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks
unto him that hath led you to the heavenly kingdom.
2:38 Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed in
the feast of the Lord;
2:39 Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received
glorious garments of the Lord.
2:40 Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are
clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord.
2:41 The number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled:
beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which have been called
from the beginning, may be hallowed.
2:42 I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not
number, and they all praised the Lord with songs.
2:43 And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature,
taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set
crowns, and was more exalted; which I marvelled at greatly.
2:44 So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these?
2:45 He answered and said unto me, These be they that have put off the
mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name
of God: now are they crowned, and receive palms.
2:46 Then said I unto the angel, What young person is it that crowneth
them, and giveth them palms in their hands?
2:47 So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they
have confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to commend them that
stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord.
2:48 Then the angel said unto me, Go thy way, and tell my people what
manner of things, and how great wonders of the Lord thy God, thou hast
seen.
3:1 In the thirtieth year after the ruin of the city I was in Babylon,
and lay troubled upon my bed, and my thoughts came up over my heart:
3:2 For I saw the desolation of Sion, and the wealth of them that dwelt
at Babylon.
3:3 And my spirit was sore moved, so that I began to speak words full
of fear to the most High, and said,
3:4 O Lord, who bearest rule, thou spakest at the beginning, when thou
didst plant the earth, and that thyself alone, and commandedst the
people,
3:5 And gavest a body unto Adam without soul, which was the workmanship
of thine hands, and didst breathe into him the breath of life, and he
was made living before thee.
3:6 And thou leadest him into paradise, which thy right hand had
planted, before ever the earth came forward.
3:7 And unto him thou gavest commandment to love thy way: which he
transgressed, and immediately thou appointedst death in him and in his
generations, of whom came nations, tribes, people, and kindreds, out of
number.
3:8 And every people walked after their own will, and did wonderful
things before thee, and despised thy commandments.
3:9 And again in process of time thou broughtest the flood upon those
that dwelt in the world, and destroyedst them.
3:10 And it came to pass in every of them, that as death was to Adam,
so was the flood to these.
3:11 Nevertheless one of them thou leftest, namely, Noah with his
household, of whom came all righteous men.
3:12 And it happened, that when they that dwelt upon the earth began to
multiply, and had gotten them many children, and were a great people,
they began again to be more ungodly than the first.
3:13 Now when they lived so wickedly before thee, thou didst choose
thee a man from among them, whose name was Abraham.
3:14 Him thou lovedst, and unto him only thou shewedst thy will:
3:15 And madest an everlasting covenant with him, promising him that
thou wouldest never forsake his seed.
3:16 And unto him thou gavest Isaac, and unto Isaac also thou gavest
Jacob and Esau. As for Jacob, thou didst choose him to thee, and put by
Esau: and so Jacob became a great multitude.
3:17 And it came to pass, that when thou leadest his seed out of Egypt,
thou broughtest them up to the mount Sinai.
3:18 And bowing the heavens, thou didst set fast the earth, movedst the
whole world, and madest the depths to tremble, and troubledst the men
of that age.
3:19 And thy glory went through four gates, of fire, and of earthquake,
and of wind, and of cold; that thou mightest give the law unto the seed
of Jacob, and diligence unto the generation of Israel.
3:20 And yet tookest thou not away from them a wicked heart, that thy
law might bring forth fruit in them.
3:21 For the first Adam bearing a wicked heart transgressed, and was
overcome; and so be all they that are born of him.
3:22 Thus infirmity was made permanent; and the law (also) in the heart
of the people with the malignity of the root; so that the good departed
away, and the evil abode still.
3:23 So the times passed away, and the years were brought to an end:
then didst thou raise thee up a servant, called David:
3:24 Whom thou commandedst to build a city unto thy name, and to offer
incense and oblations unto thee therein.
3:25 When this was done many years, then they that inhabited the city
forsook thee,
3:26 And in all things did even as Adam and all his generations had
done: for they also had a wicked heart:
3:27 And so thou gavest thy city over into the hands of thine enemies.
3:28 Are their deeds then any better that inhabit Babylon, that they
should therefore have the dominion over Sion?
3:29 For when I came thither, and had seen impieties without number,
then my soul saw many evildoers in this thirtieth year, so that my
heart failed me.
3:30 For I have seen how thou sufferest them sinning, and hast spared
wicked doers: and hast destroyed thy people, and hast preserved thine
enemies, and hast not signified it.
3:31 I do not remember how this way may be left: Are they then of
Babylon better than they of Sion?
3:32 Or is there any other people that knoweth thee beside Israel? or
what generation hath so believed thy covenants as Jacob?
3:33 And yet their reward appeareth not, and their labour hath no
fruit: for I have gone here and there through the heathen, and I see
that they flow in wealth, and think not upon thy commandments.
3:34 Weigh thou therefore our wickedness now in the balance, and theirs
also that dwell the world; and so shall thy name no where be found but
in Israel.
3:35 Or when was it that they which dwell upon the earth have not
sinned in thy sight? or what people have so kept thy commandments?
3:36 Thou shalt find that Israel by name hath kept thy precepts; but
not the heathen.
4:1 And the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel, gave me
an answer,
4:2 And said, Thy heart hath gone to far in this world, and thinkest
thou to comprehend the way of the most High?
4:3 Then said I, Yea, my lord. And he answered me, and said, I am sent
to shew thee three ways, and to set forth three similitudes before
thee:
4:4 Whereof if thou canst declare me one, I will shew thee also the way
that thou desirest to see, and I shall shew thee from whence the wicked
heart cometh.
4:5 And I said, Tell on, my lord. Then said he unto me, Go thy way,
weigh me the weight of the fire, or measure me the blast of the wind,
or call me again the day that is past.
4:6 Then answered I and said, What man is able to do that, that thou
shouldest ask such things of me?
4:7 And he said unto me, If I should ask thee how great dwellings are
in the midst of the sea, or how many springs are in the beginning of
the deep, or how many springs are above the firmament, or which are the
outgoings of paradise:
4:8 Peradventure thou wouldest say unto me, I never went down into the
deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever climb up into heaven.
4:9 Nevertheless now have I asked thee but only of the fire and wind,
and of the day wherethrough thou hast passed, and of things from which
thou canst not be separated, and yet canst thou give me no answer of
them.
4:10 He said moreover unto me, Thine own things, and such as are grown
up with thee, canst thou not know;
4:11 How should thy vessel then be able to comprehend the way of the
Highest, and, the world being now outwardly corrupted to understand the
corruption that is evident in my sight?
4:12 Then said I unto him, It were better that we were not at all, than
that we should live still in wickedness, and to suffer, and not to know
wherefore.
4:13 He answered me, and said, I went into a forest into a plain, and
the trees took counsel,
4:14 And said, Come, let us go and make war against the sea that it may
depart away before us, and that we may make us more woods.
4:15 The floods of the sea also in like manner took counsel, and said,
Come, let us go up and subdue the woods of the plain, that there also
we may make us another country.
4:16 The thought of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and
consumed it.
4:17 The thought of the floods of the sea came likewise to nought, for
the sand stood up and stopped them.
4:18 If thou wert judge now betwixt these two, whom wouldest thou begin
to justify? or whom wouldest thou condemn?
4:19 I answered and said, Verily it is a foolish thought that they both
have devised, for the ground is given unto the wood, and the sea also
hath his place to bear his floods.
4:20 Then answered he me, and said, Thou hast given a right judgment,
but why judgest thou not thyself also?
4:21 For like as the ground is given unto the wood, and the sea to his
floods: even so they that dwell upon the earth may understand nothing
but that which is upon the earth: and he that dwelleth above the
heavens may only understand the things that are above the height of the
heavens.
4:22 Then answered I and said, I beseech thee, O Lord, let me have
understanding:
4:23 For it was not my mind to be curious of the high things, but of
such as pass by us daily, namely, wherefore Israel is given up as a
reproach to the heathen, and for what cause the people whom thou hast
loved is given over unto ungodly nations, and why the law of our
forefathers is brought to nought, and the written covenants come to
none effect,
4:24 And we pass away out of the world as grasshoppers, and our life is
astonishment and fear, and we are not worthy to obtain mercy.
4:25 What will he then do unto his name whereby we are called? of these
things have I asked.
4:26 Then answered he me, and said, The more thou searchest, the more
thou shalt marvel; for the world hasteth fast to pass away,
4:27 And cannot comprehend the things that are promised to the
righteous in time to come: for this world is full of unrighteousness
and infirmities.
4:28 But as concerning the things whereof thou askest me, I will tell
thee; for the evil is sown, but the destruction thereof is not yet
come.
4:29 If therefore that which is sown be not turned upside down, and if
the place where the evil is sown pass not away, then cannot it come
that is sown with good.
4:30 For the grain of evil seed hath been sown in the heart of Adam
from the beginning, and how much ungodliness hath it brought up unto
this time? and how much shall it yet bring forth until the time of
threshing come?
4:31 Ponder now by thyself, how great fruit of wickedness the grain of
evil seed hath brought forth.
4:32 And when the ears shall be cut down, which are without number, how
great a floor shall they fill?
4:33 Then I answered and said, How, and when shall these things come to
pass? wherefore are our years few and evil?
4:34 And he answered me, saying, Do not thou hasten above the most
Highest: for thy haste is in vain to be above him, for thou hast much
exceeded.
4:35 Did not the souls also of the righteous ask question of these
things in their chambers, saying, How long shall I hope on this
fashion? when cometh the fruit of the floor of our reward?
4:36 And unto these things Uriel the archangel gave them answer, and
said, Even when the number of seeds is filled in you: for he hath
weighed the world in the balance.
4:37 By measure hath he measured the times; and by number hath he
numbered the times; and he doth not move nor stir them, until the said
measure be fulfilled.
4:38 Then answered I and said, O Lord that bearest rule, even we all
are full of impiety.
4:39 And for our sakes peradventure it is that the floors of the
righteous are not filled, because of the sins of them that dwell upon
the earth.
4:40 So he answered me, and said, Go thy way to a woman with child, and
ask of her when she hath fulfilled her nine months, if her womb may
keep the birth any longer within her.
4:41 Then said I, No, Lord, that can she not. And he said unto me, In
the grave the chambers of souls are like the womb of a woman:
4:42 For like as a woman that travaileth maketh haste to escape the
necessity of the travail: even so do these places haste to deliver
those things that are committed unto them.
4:43 From the beginning, look, what thou desirest to see, it shall be
shewed thee.
4:44 Then answered I and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, and
if it be possible, and if I be meet therefore,
4:45 Shew me then whether there be more to come than is past, or more
past than is to come.
4:46 What is past I know, but what is for to come I know not.
4:47 And he said unto me, Stand up upon the right side, and I shall
expound the similitude unto thee.
4:48 So I stood, and saw, and, behold, an hot burning oven passed by
before me: and it happened that when the flame was gone by I looked,
and, behold, the smoke remained still.
4:49 After this there passed by before me a watery cloud, and sent down
much rain with a storm; and when the stormy rain was past, the drops
remained still.
4:50 Then said he unto me, Consider with thyself; as the rain is more
than the drops, and as the fire is greater than the smoke; but the
drops and the smoke remain behind: so the quantity which is past did
more exceed.
4:51 Then I prayed, and said, May I live, thinkest thou, until that
time? or what shall happen in those days?
4:52 He answered me, and said, As for the tokens whereof thou askest
me, I may tell thee of them in part: but as touching thy life, I am not
sent to shew thee; for I do not know it.
5:1 Nevertheless as coming the tokens, behold, the days shall come,
that they which dwell upon earth shall be taken in a great number, and
the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of
faith.
5:2 But iniquity shall be increased above that which now thou seest, or
that thou hast heard long ago.
5:3 And the land, that thou seest now to have root, shalt thou see
wasted suddenly.
5:4 But if the most High grant thee to live, thou shalt see after the
third trumpet that the sun shall suddenly shine again in the night, and
the moon thrice in the day:
5:5 And blood shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give his
voice, and the people shall be troubled:
5:6 And even he shall rule, whom they look not for that dwell upon the
earth, and the fowls shall take their flight away together:
5:7 And the Sodomitish sea shall cast out fish, and make a noise in the
night, which many have not known: but they shall all hear the voice
thereof.
5:8 There shall be a confusion also in many places, and the fire shall
be oft sent out again, and the wild beasts shall change their places,
and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters:
5:9 And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall
destroy one another; then shall wit hide itself, and understanding
withdraw itself into his secret chamber,
5:10 And shall be sought of many, and yet not be found: then shall
unrighteousness and incontinency be multiplied upon earth.
5:11 One land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness that
maketh a man righteous gone through thee? And it shall say, No.
5:12 At the same time shall men hope, but nothing obtain: they shall
labour, but their ways shall not prosper.
5:13 To shew thee such tokens I have leave; and if thou wilt pray
again, and weep as now, and fast even days, thou shalt hear yet greater
things.
5:14 Then I awaked, and an extreme fearfulness went through all my
body, and my mind was troubled, so that it fainted.
5:15 So the angel that was come to talk with me held me, comforted me,
and set me up upon my feet.
5:16 And in the second night it came to pass, that Salathiel the
captain of the people came unto me, saying, Where hast thou been? and
why is thy countenance so heavy?
5:17 Knowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the land of
their captivity?
5:18 Up then, and eat bread, and forsake us not, as the shepherd that
leaveth his flock in the hands of cruel wolves.
5:19 Then said I unto him, Go thy ways from me, and come not nigh me.
And he heard what I said, and went from me.
5:20 And so I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, like as Uriel
the angel commanded me.
5:21 And after seven days so it was, that the thoughts of my heart were
very grievous unto me again,
5:22 And my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began to
talk with the most High again,
5:23 And said, O Lord that bearest rule, of every wood of the earth,
and of all the trees thereof, thou hast chosen thee one only vine:
5:24 And of all lands of the whole world thou hast chosen thee one pit:
and of all the flowers thereof one lily:
5:25 And of all the depths of the sea thou hast filled thee one river:
and of all builded cities thou hast hallowed Sion unto thyself:
5:26 And of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee one
dove: and of all the cattle that are made thou hast provided thee one
sheep:
5:27 And among all the multitudes of people thou hast gotten thee one
people: and unto this people, whom thou lovedst, thou gavest a law that
is approved of all.
5:28 And now, O Lord, why hast thou given this one people over unto
many? and upon the one root hast thou prepared others, and why hast
thou scattered thy only one people among many?
5:29 And they which did gainsay thy promises, and believed not thy
covenants, have trodden them down.
5:30 If thou didst so much hate thy people, yet shouldest thou punish
them with thine own hands.
5:31 Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the
night afore was sent unto me,
5:32 And said unto me, Hear me, and I will instruct thee; hearken to
the thing that I say, and I shall tell thee more.
5:33 And I said, Speak on, my Lord. Then said he unto me, Thou art sore
troubled in mind for Israel’s sake: lovest thou that people better than
he that made them?
5:34 And I said, No, Lord: but of very grief have I spoken: for my
reins pain me every hour, while I labour to comprehend the way of the
most High, and to seek out part of his judgment.
5:35 And he said unto me, Thou canst not. And I said, Wherefore, Lord?
whereunto was I born then? or why was not my mother’s womb then my
grave, that I might not have seen the travail of Jacob, and the
wearisome toil of the stock of Israel?
5:36 And he said unto me, Number me the things that are not yet come,
gather me together the dross that are scattered abroad, make me the
flowers green again that are withered,
5:37 Open me the places that are closed, and bring me forth the winds
that in them are shut up, shew me the image of a voice: and then I will
declare to thee the thing that thou labourest to know.
5:38 And I said, O Lord that bearest rule, who may know these things,
but he that hath not his dwelling with men?
5:39 As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things
whereof thou askest me?
5:40 Then said he unto me, Like as thou canst do none of these things
that I have spoken of, even so canst thou not find out my judgment, or
in the end the love that I have promised unto my people.
5:41 And I said, Behold, O Lord, yet art thou nigh unto them that be
reserved till the end: and what shall they do that have been before me,
or we that be now, or they that shall come after us?
5:42 And he said unto me, I will liken my judgment unto a ring: like as
there is no slackness of the last, even so there is no swiftness of the
first.
5:43 So I answered and said, Couldest thou not make those that have
been made, and be now, and that are for to come, at once; that thou
mightest shew thy judgment the sooner?
5:44 Then answered he me, and said, The creature may not haste above
the maker; neither may the world hold them at once that shall be
created therein.
5:45 And I said, As thou hast said unto thy servant, that thou, which
givest life to all, hast given life at once to the creature that thou
hast created, and the creature bare it: even so it might now also bear
them that now be present at once.
5:46 And he said unto me, Ask the womb of a woman, and say unto her, If
thou bringest forth children, why dost thou it not together, but one
after another? pray her therefore to bring forth ten children at once.
5:47 And I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time.
5:48 Then said he unto me, Even so have I given the womb of the earth
to those that be sown in it in their times.
5:49 For like as a young child may not bring forth the things that
belong to the aged, even so have I disposed the world which I created.
5:50 And I asked, and said, Seeing thou hast now given me the way, I
will proceed to speak before thee: for our mother, of whom thou hast
told me that she is young, draweth now nigh unto age.
5:51 He answered me, and said, Ask a woman that beareth children, and
she shall tell thee.
5:52 Say unto her, Wherefore are unto they whom thou hast now brought
forth like those that were before, but less of stature?
5:53 And she shall answer thee, They that be born in the strength of
youth are of one fashion, and they that are born in the time of age,
when the womb faileth, are otherwise.
5:54 Consider thou therefore also, how that ye are less of stature than
those that were before you.
5:55 And so are they that come after you less than ye, as the creatures
which now begin to be old, and have passed over the strength of youth.
5:56 Then said I, Lord, I beseech thee, if I have found favour in thy
sight, shew thy servant by whom thou visitest thy creature.
6:1 And he said unto me, In the beginning, when the earth was made,
before the borders of the world stood, or ever the winds blew,
6:2 Before it thundered and lightened, or ever the foundations of
paradise were laid,
6:3 Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable powers were
established, before the innumerable multitude of angels were gathered
together,
6:4 Or ever the heights of the air were lifted up, before the measures
of the firmament were named, or ever the chimneys in Sion were hot,
6:5 And ere the present years were sought out, and or ever the
inventions of them that now sin were turned, before they were sealed
that have gathered faith for a treasure:
6:6 Then did I consider these things, and they all were made through me
alone, and through none other: by me also they shall be ended, and by
none other.
6:7 Then answered I and said, What shall be the parting asunder of the
times? or when shall be the end of the first, and the beginning of it
that followeth?
6:8 And he said unto me, From Abraham unto Isaac, when Jacob and Esau
were born of him, Jacob’s hand held first the heel of Esau.
6:9 For Esau is the end of the world, and Jacob is the beginning of it
that followeth.
6:10 The hand of man is betwixt the heel and the hand: other question,
Esdras, ask thou not.
6:11 I answered then and said, O Lord that bearest rule, if I have
found favour in thy sight,
6:12 I beseech thee, shew thy servant the end of thy tokens, whereof
thou shewedst me part the last night.
6:13 So he answered and said unto me, Stand up upon thy feet, and hear
a mighty sounding voice.
6:14 And it shall be as it were a great motion; but the place where
thou standest shall not be moved.
6:15 And therefore when it speaketh be not afraid: for the word is of
the end, and the foundation of the earth is understood.
6:16 And why? because the speech of these things trembleth and is
moved: for it knoweth that the end of these things must be changed.
6:17 And it happened, that when I had heard it I stood up upon my feet,
and hearkened, and, behold, there was a voice that spake, and the sound
of it was like the sound of many waters.
6:18 And it said, Behold, the days come, that I will begin to draw
nigh, and to visit them that dwell upon the earth,
6:19 And will begin to make inquisition of them, what they be that have
hurt unjustly with their unrighteousness, and when the affliction of
Sion shall be fulfilled;
6:20 And when the world, that shall begin to vanish away, shall be
finished, then will I shew these tokens: the books shall be opened
before the firmament, and they shall see all together:
6:21 And the children of a year old shall speak with their voices, the
women with child shall bring forth untimely children of three or four
months old, and they shall live, and be raised up.
6:22 And suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, the full
storehouses shall suddenly be found empty:
6:23 And tha trumpet shall give a sound, which when every man heareth,
they shall be suddenly afraid.
6:24 At that time shall friends fight one against another like enemies,
and the earth shall stand in fear with those that dwell therein, the
springs of the fountains shall stand still, and in three hours they
shall not run.
6:25 Whosoever remaineth from all these that I have told thee shall
escape, and see my salvation, and the end of your world.
6:26 And the men that are received shall see it, who have not tasted
death from their birth: and the heart of the inhabitants shall be
changed, and turned into another meaning.
6:27 For evil shall be put out, and deceit shall be quenched.
6:28 As for faith, it shall flourish, corruption shall be overcome, and
the truth, which hath been so long without fruit, shall be declared.
6:29 And when he talked with me, behold, I looked by little and little
upon him before whom I stood.
6:30 And these words said he unto me; I am come to shew thee the time
of the night to come.
6:31 If thou wilt pray yet more, and fast seven days again, I shall
tell thee greater things by day than I have heard.
6:32 For thy voice is heard before the most High: for the Mighty hath
seen thy righteous dealing, he hath seen also thy chastity, which thou
hast had ever since thy youth.
6:33 And therefore hath he sent me to shew thee all these things, and
to say unto thee, Be of good comfort and fear not
6:34 And hasten not with the times that are past, to think vain things,
that thou mayest not hasten from the latter times.
6:35 And it came to pass after this, that I wept again, and fasted
seven days in like manner, that I might fulfil the three weeks which he
told me.
6:36 And in the eighth night was my heart vexed within me again, and I
began to speak before the most High.
6:37 For my spirit was greatly set on fire, and my soul was in
distress.
6:38 And I said, O Lord, thou spakest from the beginning of the
creation, even the first day, and saidst thus; Let heaven and earth be
made; and thy word was a perfect work.
6:39 And then was the spirit, and darkness and silence were on every
side; the sound of man’s voice was not yet formed.
6:40 Then commandedst thou a fair light to come forth of thy treasures,
that thy work might appear.
6:41 Upon the second day thou madest the spirit of the firmament, and
commandedst it to part asunder, and to make a division betwixt the
waters, that the one part might go up, and the other remain beneath.
6:42 Upon the third day thou didst command that the waters should be
gathered in the seventh part of the earth: six pats hast thou dried up,
and kept them, to the intent that of these some being planted of God
and tilled might serve thee.
6:43 For as soon as thy word went forth the work was made.
6:44 For immediately there was great and innumerable fruit, and many
and divers pleasures for the taste, and flowers of unchangeable colour,
and odours of wonderful smell: and this was done the third day.
6:45 Upon the fourth day thou commandedst that the sun should shine,
and the moon give her light, and the stars should be in order:
6:46 And gavest them a charge to do service unto man, that was to be
made.
6:47 Upon the fifth day thou saidst unto the seventh part, where the
waters were gathered that it should bring forth living creatures, fowls
and fishes: and so it came to pass.
6:48 For the dumb water and without life brought forth living things at
the commandment of God, that all people might praise thy wondrous
works.
6:49 Then didst thou ordain two living creatures, the one thou calledst
Enoch, and the other Leviathan;
6:50 And didst separate the one from the other: for the seventh part,
namely, where the water was gathered together, might not hold them
both.
6:51 Unto Enoch thou gavest one part, which was dried up the third day,
that he should dwell in the same part, wherein are a thousand hills:
6:52 But unto Leviathan thou gavest the seventh part, namely, the
moist; and hast kept him to be devoured of whom thou wilt, and when.
6:53 Upon the sixth day thou gavest commandment unto the earth, that
before thee it should bring forth beasts, cattle, and creeping things:
6:54 And after these, Adam also, whom thou madest lord of all thy
creatures: of him come we all, and the people also whom thou hast
chosen.
6:55 All this have I spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou madest
the world for our sakes
6:56 As for the other people, which also come of Adam, thou hast said
that they are nothing, but be like unto spittle: and hast likened the
abundance of them unto a drop that falleth from a vessel.
6:57 And now, O Lord, behold, these heathen, which have ever been
reputed as nothing, have begun to be lords over us, and to devour us.
6:58 But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy firstborn, thy only
begotten, and thy fervent lover, are given into their hands.
6:59 If the world now be made for our sakes, why do we not possess an
inheritance with the world? how long shall this endure?
7:1 And when I had made an end of speaking these words, there was sent
unto me the angel which had been sent unto me the nights afore:
7:2 And he said unto me, Up, Esdras, and hear the words that I am come
to tell thee.
7:3 And I said, Speak on, my God. Then said he unto me, The sea is set
in a wide place, that it might be deep and great.
7:4 But put the case the entrance were narrow, and like a river;
7:5 Who then could go into the sea to look upon it, and to rule it? if
he went not through the narrow, how could he come into the broad?
7:6 There is also another thing; A city is builded, and set upon a
broad field, and is full of all good things:
7:7 The entrance thereof is narrow, and is set in a dangerous place to
fall, like as if there were a fire on the right hand, and on the left a
deep water:
7:8 And one only path between them both, even between the fire and the
water, so small that there could but one man go there at once.
7:9 If this city now were given unto a man for an inheritance, if he
never shall pass the danger set before it, how shall he receive this
inheritance?
7:10 And I said, It is so, Lord. Then said he unto me, Even so also is
Israel’s portion.
7:11 Because for their sakes I made the world: and when Adam
transgressed my statutes, then was decreed that now is done.
7:12 Then were the entrances of this world made narrow, full of sorrow
and travail: they are but few and evil, full of perils,: and very
painful.
7:13 For the entrances of the elder world were wide and sure, and
brought immortal fruit.
7:14 If then they that live labour not to enter these strait and vain
things, they can never receive those that are laid up for them.
7:15 Now therefore why disquietest thou thyself, seeing thou art but a
corruptible man? and why art thou moved, whereas thou art but mortal?
7:16 Why hast thou not considered in thy mind this thing that is to
come, rather than that which is present?
7:17 Then answered I and said, O Lord that bearest rule, thou hast
ordained in thy law, that the righteous should inherit these things,
but that the ungodly should perish.
7:18 Nevertheless the righteous shall suffer strait things, and hope
for wide: for they that have done wickedly have suffered the strait
things, and yet shall not see the wide.
7:19 And he said unto me. There is no judge above God, and none that
hath understanding above the Highest.
7:20 For there be many that perish in this life, because they despise
the law of God that is set before them.
7:21 For God hath given strait commandment to such as came, what they
should do to live, even as they came, and what they should observe to
avoid punishment.
7:22 Nevertheless they were not obedient unto him; but spake against
him, and imagined vain things;
7:23 And deceived themselves by their wicked deeds; and said of the
most High, that he is not; and knew not his ways:
7:24 But his law have they despised, and denied his covenants; in his
statutes have they not been faithful, and have not performed his works.
7:25 And therefore, Esdras, for the empty are empty things, and for the
full are the full things.
7:26 Behold, the time shall come, that these tokens which I have told
thee shall come to pass, and the bride shall appear, and she coming
forth shall be seen, that now is withdrawn from the earth.
7:27 And whosoever is delivered from the foresaid evils shall see my
wonders.
7:28 For my son Jesus shall be revealed with those that be with him,
and they that remain shall rejoice within four hundred years.
7:29 After these years shall my son Christ die, and all men that have
life.
7:30 And the world shall be turned into the old silence seven days,
like as in the former judgments: so that no man shall remain.
7:31 And after seven days the world, that yet awaketh not, shall be
raised up, and that shall die that is corrupt
7:32 And the earth shall restore those that are asleep in her, and so
shall the dust those that dwell in silence, and the secret places shall
deliver those souls that were committed unto them.
7:33 And the most High shall appear upon the seat of judgment, and
misery shall pass away, and the long suffering shall have an end:
7:34 But judgment only shall remain, truth shall stand, and faith shall
wax strong:
7:35 And the work shall follow, and the reward shall be shewed, and the
good deeds shall be of force, and wicked deeds shall bear no rule.
7:36 Then said I, Abraham prayed first for the Sodomites, and Moses for
the fathers that sinned in the wilderness:
7:37 And Jesus after him for Israel in the time of Achan:
7:38 And Samuel and David for the destruction: and Solomon for them
that should come to the sanctuary:
7:39 And Helias for those that received rain; and for the dead, that he
might live:
7:40 And Ezechias for the people in the time of Sennacherib: and many
for many.
7:41 Even so now, seeing corruption is grown up, and wickedness
increased, and the righteous have prayed for the ungodly: wherefore
shall it not be so now also?
7:42 He answered me, and said, This present life is not the end where
much glory doth abide; therefore have they prayed for the weak.
7:43 But the day of doom shall be the end of this time, and the
beginning of the immortality for to come, wherein corruption is past,
7:44 Intemperance is at an end, infidelity is cut off, righteousness is
grown, and truth is sprung up.
7:45 Then shall no man be able to save him that is destroyed, nor to
oppress him that hath gotten the victory.
7:46 I answered then and said, This is my first and last saying, that
it had been better not to have given the earth unto Adam: or else, when
it was given him, to have restrained him from sinning.
7:47 For what profit is it for men now in this present time to live in
heaviness, and after death to look for punishment?
7:48 O thou Adam, what hast thou done? for though it was thou that
sinned, thou art not fallen alone, but we all that come of thee.
7:49 For what profit is it unto us, if there be promised us an immortal
time, whereas we have done the works that bring death?
7:50 And that there is promised us an everlasting hope, whereas
ourselves being most wicked are made vain?
7:51 And that there are laid up for us dwellings of health and safety,
whereas we have lived wickedly?
7:52 And that the glory of the most High is kept to defend them which
have led a wary life, whereas we have walked in the most wicked ways of
all?
7:53 And that there should be shewed a paradise, whose fruit endureth
for ever, wherein is security and medicine, since we shall not enter
into it?