1:1The 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,
1:2The 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,
1:3The 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.
1:4And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
1:5Go 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:
1:6Because the sins of their fathers are increased in them: for they have forgotten me, and have offered unto strange gods.
1:7Am 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.
1:8Pull 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.
1:9How long shall I forbear them, into whom I have done so much good?
1:10Many kings have I destroyed for their sakes; Pharaoh with his servants and all his power have I smitten down.
1:11All 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.
1:12Speak thou therefore unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord,
1:13I 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.
1:14I gave you light in a pillar of fire, and great wonders have I done among you; yet have ye forgotten me, saith the Lord.
1:15Thus saith the Almighty Lord, The quails were as a token to you; I gave you tents for your safeguard: nevertheless ye murmured there,
1:16And triumphed not in my name for the destruction of your enemies, but ever to this day do ye yet murmur.
1:17Where are the benefits that I have done for you? when ye were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, did ye not cry unto me,
1:18Saying, 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.
1:19Then had I pity upon your mournings, and gave you manna to eat; so ye did eat angels' bread.
1:20When 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.
1:21I 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.
1:22Thus saith the Almighty Lord, When ye were in the wilderness, in the river of the Amorites, being athirst, and blaspheming my name,
1:23I gave you not fire for your blasphemies, but cast a tree in the water, and made the river sweet.
1:24What 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.
1:25Seeing 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.
1:26Whensoever 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.
1:27Ye have not as it were forsaken me, but your own selves, saith the Lord.
1:28Thus 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,
1:29That ye would be my people, and I should be your God; that ye would be my children, and I should be your father?
1:30I 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.
1:31When ye offer unto me, I will turn my face from you: for your solemn feastdays, your new moons, and your circumcisions, have I forsaken.
1:32I 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.
1:33Thus saith the Almighty Lord, Your house is desolate, I will cast you out as the wind doth stubble.
1:34And your children shall not be fruitful; for they have despised my commandment, and done the thing that is an evil before me.
1:35Your 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.
1:36They have seen no prophets, yet they shall call their sins to remembrance, and acknowledge them.
1:37I 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.
1:38And now, brother, behold what glory; and see the people that come from the east:
1:39Unto whom I will give for leaders, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Oseas, Amos, and Micheas, Joel, Abdias, and Jonas,
1:40Nahum, and Abacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zachary, and Malachy, which is called also an angel of the Lord.
2:1Thus 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.
2:2The mother that bare them saith unto them, Go your way, ye children; for I am a widow and forsaken.
2:3I 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.
2:4But 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.
2:5As for me, O father, I call upon thee for a witness over the mother of these children, which would not keep my covenant,
2:6That thou bring them to confusion, and their mother to a spoil, that there may be no offspring of them.
2:7Let them be scattered abroad among the heathen, let their names be put out of the earth: for they have despised my covenant.
2:8Woe be unto thee, Assur, thou that hidest the unrighteous in thee! O thou wicked people, remember what I did unto Sodom and Gomorrha;
2:9Whose 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.
2:10Thus saith the Lord unto Esdras, Tell my people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I would have given unto Israel.
2:11Their glory also will I take unto me, and give these the everlasting tabernacles, which I had prepared for them.
2:12They shall have the tree of life for an ointment of sweet savour; they shall neither labour, nor be weary.
2:13Go, and ye shall receive: pray for few days unto you, that they may be shortened: the kingdom is already prepared for you: watch.
2:14Take heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in pieces, and created the good: for I live, saith the Lord.
2:15Mother, 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.
2:16And 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.
2:17Fear not, thou mother of the children: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.
2:18For 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,
2:19And 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.
2:20Do right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,
2:21Heal 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.
2:22Keep the old and young within thy walls.
2:23Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and I will give thee the first place in my resurrection.
2:24Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness still come.
2:25Nourish thy children, O thou good nurse; stablish their feet.
2:26As for the servants whom I have given thee, there shall not one of them perish; for I will require them from among thy number.
2:27Be 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.
2:28The heathen shall envy thee, but they shall be able to do nothing against thee, saith the Lord.
2:29My hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not see hell.
2:30Be joyful, O thou mother, with thy children; for I will deliver thee, saith the Lord.
2:31Remember 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.
2:32Embrace thy children until I come and shew mercy unto them: for my wells run over, and my grace shall not fail.
2:33I 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.
2:34And 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.
2:35Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting light shall shine upon you for evermore.
2:36Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your glory: I testify my Saviour openly.
2:37O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto him that hath led you to the heavenly kingdom.
2:38Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed in the feast of the Lord;
2:39Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of the Lord.
2:40Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord.
2:41The 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.
2:42I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs.
2:43And 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.
2:44So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these?
2:45He 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.
2:46Then said I unto the angel, What young person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands?
2:47So 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.
2:48Then 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.
3:1In 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:
3:2For I saw the desolation of Sion, and the wealth of them that dwelt at Babylon.
3:3And my spirit was sore moved, so that I began to speak words full of fear to the most High, and said,
3:4O Lord, who bearest rule, thou spakest at the beginning, when thou didst plant the earth, and that thyself alone, and commandedst the people,
3:5And 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.
3:6And thou leadest him into paradise, which thy right hand had planted, before ever the earth came forward.
3:7And 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.
3:8And every people walked after their own will, and did wonderful things before thee, and despised thy commandments.
3:9And again in process of time thou broughtest the flood upon those that dwelt in the world, and destroyedst them.
3:10And it came to pass in every of them, that as death was to Adam, so was the flood to these.
3:11Nevertheless one of them thou leftest, namely, Noah with his household, of whom came all righteous men.
3:12And 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.
3:13Now when they lived so wickedly before thee, thou didst choose thee a man from among them, whose name was Abraham.
3:14Him thou lovedst, and unto him only thou shewedst thy will:
3:15And madest an everlasting covenant with him, promising him that thou wouldest never forsake his seed.
3:16And 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.
3:17And it came to pass, that when thou leadest his seed out of Egypt, thou broughtest them up to the mount Sinai.
3:18And 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.
3:19And 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.
3:20And yet tookest thou not away from them a wicked heart, that thy law might bring forth fruit in them.
3:21For the first Adam bearing a wicked heart transgressed, and was overcome; and so be all they that are born of him.
3:22Thus 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.
3:23So the times passed away, and the years were brought to an end: then didst thou raise thee up a servant, called David:
3:24Whom thou commandedst to build a city unto thy name, and to offer incense and oblations unto thee therein.
3:25When this was done many years, then they that inhabited the city forsook thee,
3:26And in all things did even as Adam and all his generations had done: for they also had a wicked heart:
3:27And so thou gavest thy city over into the hands of thine enemies.
3:28Are their deeds then any better that inhabit Babylon, that they should therefore have the dominion over Sion?
3:29For 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.
3:30For 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.
3:31I do not remember how this way may be left: Are they then of Babylon better than they of Sion?
3:32Or is there any other people that knoweth thee beside Israel? or what generation hath so believed thy covenants as Jacob?
3:33And 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.
3:34Weigh thou therefore our wickedness now in the balance, and their's also that dwell the world; and so shall thy name no where be found but in Israel.
3:35Or when was it that they which dwell upon the earth have not sinned in thy sight? or what people have so kept thy commandments?
3:36Thou shalt find that Israel by name hath kept thy precepts; but not the heathen.
4:1And the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel, gave me an answer,
4:2And said, Thy heart hath gone to far in this world, and thinkest thou to comprehend the way of the most High?
4:3Then 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:
4:4Whereof 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.
4:5And 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.
4:6Then answered I and said, What man is able to do that, that thou shouldest ask such things of me?
4:7And 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:
4:8Peradventure 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.
4:9Nevertheless 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.
4:10He said moreover unto me, Thine own things, and such as are grown up with thee, canst thou not know;
4:11How 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?
4:12Then 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.
4:13He answered me, and said, I went into a forest into a plain, and the trees took counsel,
4:14And 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.
4:15The 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.
4:16The thought of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and consumed it.
4:17The thought of the floods of the sea came likewise to nought, for the sand stood up and stopped them.
4:18If thou wert judge now betwixt these two, whom wouldest thou begin to justify? or whom wouldest thou condemn?
4:19I 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.
4:20Then answered he me, and said, Thou hast given a right judgment, but why judgest thou not thyself also?
4:21For 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.
4:22Then answered I and said, I beseech thee, O Lord, let me have understanding:
4:23For 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,
4:24And we pass away out of the world as grasshoppers, and our life is astonishment and fear, and we are not worthy to obtain mercy.
4:25What will he then do unto his name whereby we are called? of these things have I asked.
4:26Then answered he me, and said, The more thou searchest, the more thou shalt marvel; for the world hasteth fast to pass away,
4:27And cannot comprehend the things that are promised to the righteous in time to come: for this world is full of unrighteousness and infirmities.
4:28But 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.
4:29If 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.
4:30For 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?
4:31Ponder now by thyself, how great fruit of wickedness the grain of evil seed hath brought forth.
4:32And when the ears shall be cut down, which are without number, how great a floor shall they fill?
4:33Then I answered and said, How, and when shall these things come to pass? wherefore are our years few and evil?
4:34And 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.
4:35Did 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?
4:36And 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.
4:37By 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.
4:38Then answered I and said, O Lord that bearest rule, even we all are full of impiety.
4:39And 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.
4:40So 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.
4:41Then 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:
4:42For 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.
4:43From the beginning, look, what thou desirest to see, it shall be shewed thee.
4:44Then answered I and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, and if it be possible, and if I be meet therefore,
4:45Shew me then whether there be more to come than is past, or more past than is to come.
4:46What is past I know, but what is for to come I know not.
4:47And he said unto me, Stand up upon the right side, and I shall expound the similitude unto thee.
4:48So 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.
4:49After 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.
4:50Then 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.
4:51Then I prayed, and said, May I live, thinkest thou, until that time? or what shall happen in those days?
4:52He 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.
5:1Nevertheless 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.
5:2But iniquity shall be increased above that which now thou seest, or that thou hast heard long ago.
5:3And the land, that thou seest now to have root, shalt thou see wasted suddenly.
5:4But 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:
5:5And blood shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give his voice, and the people shall be troubled:
5:6And even he shall rule, whom they look not for that dwell upon the earth, and the fowls shall take their flight away together:
5:7And 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.
5:8There 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:
5:9And 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,
5:10And shall be sought of many, and yet not be found: then shall unrighteousness and incontinency be multiplied upon earth.
5:11One land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness that maketh a man righteous gone through thee? And it shall say, No.
5:12At the same time shall men hope, but nothing obtain: they shall labour, but their ways shall not prosper.
5:13To 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.
5:14Then I awaked, and an extreme fearfulness went through all my body, and my mind was troubled, so that it fainted.
5:15So the angel that was come to talk with me held me, comforted me, and set me up upon my feet.
5:16And 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?
5:17Knowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the land of their captivity?
5:18Up then, and eat bread, and forsake us not, as the shepherd that leaveth his flock in the hands of cruel wolves.
5:19Then said I unto him, Go thy ways from me, and come not nigh me. And he heard what I said, and went from me.
5:20And so I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, like as Uriel the angel commanded me.
5:21And after seven days so it was, that the thoughts of my heart were very grievous unto me again,
5:22And my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began to talk with the most High again,
5:23And 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:
5:24And of all lands of the whole world thou hast chosen thee one pit: and of all the flowers thereof one lily:
5:25And of all the depths of the sea thou hast filled thee one river: and of all builded cities thou hast hallowed Sion unto thyself:
5:26And 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:
5:27And 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.
5:28And 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?
5:29And they which did gainsay thy promises, and believed not thy covenants, have trodden them down.
5:30If thou didst so much hate thy people, yet shouldest thou punish them with thine own hands.
5:31Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the night afore was sent unto me,
5:32And said unto me, Hear me, and I will instruct thee; hearken to the thing that I say, and I shall tell thee more.
5:33And 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?
5:34And 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.
5:35And 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?
5:36And 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,
5:37Open 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.
5:38And I said, O Lord that bearest rule, who may know these things, but he that hath not his dwelling with men?
5:39As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things whereof thou askest me?
5:40Then 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.
5:41And 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?
5:42And 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.
5:43So 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?
5:44Then 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.
5:45And 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.
5:46And 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.
5:47And I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time.
5:48Then said he unto me, Even so have I given the womb of the earth to those that be sown in it in their times.
5:49For 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.
5:50And 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.
5:51He answered me, and said, Ask a woman that beareth children, and she shall tell thee.
5:52Say unto her, Wherefore are unto they whom thou hast now brought forth like those that were before, but less of stature?
5:53And she shall answer thee, They that be born in the the strength of youth are of one fashion, and they that are born in the time of age, when the womb faileth, are otherwise.
5:54Consider thou therefore also, how that ye are less of stature than those that were before you.
5:55And 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.
5:56Then said I, Lord, I beseech thee, if I have found favour in thy sight, shew thy servant by whom thou visitest thy creature.
6:1And he said unto me, In the beginning, when the earth was made, before the borders of the world stood, or ever the winds blew,
6:2Before it thundered and lightened, or ever the foundations of paradise were laid,
6:3Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable powers were established, before the innumerable multitude of angels were gathered together,
6:4Or 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,
6:5And 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:
6:6Then 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.
6:7Then 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?
6:8And 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.
6:9For Esau is the end of the world, and Jacob is the beginning of it that followeth.
6:10The hand of man is betwixt the heel and the hand: other question, Esdras, ask thou not.
6:11I answered then and said, O Lord that bearest rule, if I have found favour in thy sight,
6:12I beseech thee, shew thy servant the end of thy tokens, whereof thou shewedst me part the last night.
6:13So he answered and said unto me, Stand up upon thy feet, and hear a mighty sounding voice.
6:14And it shall be as it were a great motion; but the place where thou standest shall not be moved.
6:15And therefore when it speaketh be not afraid: for the word is of the end, and the foundation of the earth is understood.
6:16And why? because the speech of these things trembleth and is moved: for it knoweth that the end of these things must be changed.
6:17And 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.
6:18And it said, Behold, the days come, that I will begin to draw nigh, and to visit them that dwell upon the earth,
6:19And 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;
6:20And 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:
6:21And 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.
6:22And suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, the full storehouses shall suddenly be found empty:
6:23And tha trumpet shall give a sound, which when every man heareth, they shall be suddenly afraid.
6:24At 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.
6:25Whosoever remaineth from all these that I have told thee shall escape, and see my salvation, and the end of your world.
6:26And 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.
6:27For evil shall be put out, and deceit shall be quenched.
6:28As for faith, it shall flourish, corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which hath been so long without fruit, shall be declared.
6:29And when he talked with me, behold, I looked by little and little upon him before whom I stood.
6:30And these words said he unto me; I am come to shew thee the time of the night to come.
6:31If thou wilt pray yet more, and fast seven days again, I shall tell thee greater things by day than I have heard.
6:32For 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.
6:33And therefore hath he sent me to shew thee all these things, and to say unto thee, Be of good comfort and fear not
6:34And hasten not with the times that are past, to think vain things, that thou mayest not hasten from the latter times.
6:35And 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.
6:36And in the eighth night was my heart vexed within me again, and I began to speak before the most High.
6:37For my spirit was greatly set on fire, and my soul was in distress.
6:38And 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.
6:39And then was the spirit, and darkness and silence were on every side; the sound of man's voice was not yet formed.
6:40Then commandedst thou a fair light to come forth of thy treasures, that thy work might appear.
6:41Upon 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.
6:42Upon 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.
6:43For as soon as thy word went forth the work was made.
6:44For 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.
6:45Upon the fourth day thou commandedst that the sun should shine, and the moon give her light, and the stars should be in order:
6:46And gavest them a charge to do service unto man, that was to be made.
6:47Upon 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.
6:48For the dumb water and without life brought forth living things at the commandment of God, that all people might praise thy wondrous works.
6:49Then didst thou ordain two living creatures, the one thou calledst Enoch, and the other Leviathan;
6:50And didst separate the one from the other: for the seventh part, namely, where the water was gathered together, might not hold them both.
6:51Unto 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:
6:52But unto Leviathan thou gavest the seventh part, namely, the moist; and hast kept him to be devoured of whom thou wilt, and when.
6:53Upon the sixth day thou gavest commandment unto the earth, that before thee it should bring forth beasts, cattle, and creeping things:
6:54And 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.
6:55All this have I spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou madest the world for our sakes
6:56As 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.
6:57And now, O Lord, behold, these heathen, which have ever been reputed as nothing, have begun to be lords over us, and to devour us.
6:58But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy firstborn, thy only begotten, and thy fervent lover, are given into their hands.
6:59If the world now be made for our sakes, why do we not possess an inheritance with the world? how long shall this endure?
7:1And 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:
7:2And he said unto me, Up, Esdras, and hear the words that I am come to tell thee.
7:3And 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.
7:4But put the case the entrance were narrow, and like a river;
7:5Who 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?
7:6There is also another thing; A city is builded, and set upon a broad field, and is full of all good things:
7:7The 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:
7:8And 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.
7:9If 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?
7:10And I said, It is so, Lord. Then said he unto me, Even so also is Israel's portion.
7:11Because for their sakes I made the world: and when Adam transgressed my statutes, then was decreed that now is done.
7:12Then 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.
7:13For the entrances of the elder world were wide and sure, and brought immortal fruit.
7:14If then they that live labour not to enter these strait and vain things, they can never receive those that are laid up for them.
7:15Now therefore why disquietest thou thyself, seeing thou art but a corruptible man? and why art thou moved, whereas thou art but mortal?
7:16Why hast thou not considered in thy mind this thing that is to come, rather than that which is present?
7:17Then 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.
7:18Nevertheless 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.
7:19And he said unto me. There is no judge above God, and none that hath understanding above the Highest.
7:20For there be many that perish in this life, because they despise the law of God that is set before them.
7:21For 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.
7:22Nevertheless they were not obedient unto him; but spake against him, and imagined vain things;
7:23And deceived themselves by their wicked deeds; and said of the most High, that he is not; and knew not his ways:
7:24But his law have they despised, and denied his covenants; in his statutes have they not been faithful, and have not performed his works.
7:25And therefore, Esdras, for the empty are empty things, and for the full are the full things.
7:26Behold, 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.
7:27And whosoever is delivered from the foresaid evils shall see my wonders.
7:28For my son Jesus shall be revealed with those that be with him, and they that remain shall rejoice within four hundred years.
7:29After these years shall my son Christ die, and all men that have life.
7:30And the world shall be turned into the old silence seven days, like as in the former judgments: so that no man shall remain.
7:31And after seven days the world, that yet awaketh not, shall be raised up, and that shall die that is corrupt
7:32And 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.
7:33And the most High shall appear upon the seat of judgment, and misery shall pass away, and the long suffering shall have an end:
7:34But judgment only shall remain, truth shall stand, and faith shall wax strong:
7:35And 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.
7:36Then said I, Abraham prayed first for the Sodomites, and Moses for the fathers that sinned in the wilderness:
7:37And Jesus after him for Israel in the time of Achan:
7:38And Samuel and David for the destruction: and Solomon for them that should come to the sanctuary:
7:39And Helias for those that received rain; and for the dead, that he might live:
7:40And Ezechias for the people in the time of Sennacherib: and many for many.
7:41Even 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?
7:42He answered me, and said, This present life is not the end where much glory doth abide; therefore have they prayed for the weak.
7:43But the day of doom shall be the end of this time, and the beginning of the immortality for to come, wherein corruption is past,
7:44Intemperance is at an end, infidelity is cut off, righteousness is grown, and truth is sprung up.
7:45Then shall no man be able to save him that is destroyed, nor to oppress him that hath gotten the victory.
7:46I 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.
7:47For what profit is it for men now in this present time to live in heaviness, and after death to look for punishment?
7:48O 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.
7:49For what profit is it unto us, if there be promised us an immortal time, whereas we have done the works that bring death?
7:50And that there is promised us an everlasting hope, whereas ourselves being most wicked are made vain?
7:51And that there are laid up for us dwellings of health and safety, whereas we have lived wickedly?
7:52And 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?
7:53And that there should be shewed a paradise, whose fruit endureth for ever, wherein is security and medicine, since we shall not enter into it?
7:54(For we have walked in unpleasant places.)
7:55And that the faces of them which have used abstinence shall shine above the stars, whereas our faces shall be blacker than darkness?
7:56For while we lived and committed iniquity, we considered not that we should begin to suffer for it after death.
7:57Then answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the battle, which man that is born upon the earth shall fight;
7:58That, if he be overcome, he shall suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, he shall receive the thing that I say.
7:59For this is the life whereof Moses spake unto the people while he lived, saying, Choose thee life, that thou mayest live.
7:60Nevertheless they believed not him, nor yet the prophets after him, no nor me which have spoken unto them,
7:61That there should not be such heaviness in their destruction, as shall be joy over them that are persuaded to salvation.
7:62I answered then, and said, I know, Lord, that the most High is called merciful, in that he hath mercy upon them which are not yet come into the world,
7:63And upon those also that turn to his law;
7:64And that he is patient, and long suffereth those that have sinned, as his creatures;
7:65And that he is bountiful, for he is ready to give where it needeth;
7:66And that he is of great mercy, for he multiplieth more and more mercies to them that are present, and that are past, and also to them which are to come.
7:67For if he shall not multiply his mercies, the world would not continue with them that inherit therein.
7:68And he pardoneth; for if he did not so of his goodness, that they which have committed iniquities might be eased of them, the ten thousandth part of men should not remain living.
7:69And being judge, if he should not forgive them that are cured with his word, and put out the multitude of contentions,
7:70There should be very few left peradventure in an innumerable multitude.
8:1And he answered me, saying, The most High hath made this world for many, but the world to come for few.
8:2I will tell thee a similitude, Esdras; As when thou askest the earth, it shall say unto thee, that it giveth much mould whereof earthen vessels are made, but little dust that gold cometh of: even so is the course of this present world.
8:3There be many created, but few shall be saved.
8:4So answered I and said, Swallow then down, O my soul, understanding, and devour wisdom.
8:5For thou hast agreed to give ear, and art willing to prophesy: for thou hast no longer space than only to live.
8:6O Lord, if thou suffer not thy servant, that we may pray before thee, and thou give us seed unto our heart, and culture to our understanding, that there may come fruit of it; how shall each man live that is corrupt, who beareth the place of a man?
8:7For thou art alone, and we all one workmanship of thine hands, like as thou hast said.
8:8For when the body is fashioned now in the mother's womb, and thou givest it members, thy creature is preserved in fire and water, and nine months doth thy workmanship endure thy creature which is created in her.
8:9But that which keepeth and is kept shall both be preserved: and when the time cometh, the womb preserved delivereth up the things that grew in it.
8:10For thou hast commanded out of the parts of the body, that is to say, out of the breasts, milk to be given, which is the fruit of the breasts,
8:11That the thing which is fashioned may be nourished for a time, till thou disposest it to thy mercy.
8:12Thou broughtest it up with thy righteousness, and nurturedst it in thy law, and reformedst it with thy judgment.
8:13And thou shalt mortify it as thy creature, and quicken it as thy work.
8:14If therefore thou shalt destroy him which with so great labour was fashioned, it is an easy thing to be ordained by thy commandment, that the thing which was made might be preserved.
8:15Now therefore, Lord, I will speak; touching man in general, thou knowest best; but touching thy people, for whose sake I am sorry;
8:16And for thine inheritance, for whose cause I mourn; and for Israel, for whom I am heavy; and for Jacob, for whose sake I am troubled;
8:17Therefore will I begin to pray before thee for myself and for them: for I see the falls of us that dwell in the land.
8:18But I have heard the swiftness of the judge which is to come.
8:19Therefore hear my voice, and understand my words, and I shall speak before thee. This is the beginning of the words of Esdras, before he was taken up: and I said,
8:20O Lord, thou that dwellest in everlastingness which beholdest from above things in the heaven and in the air;
8:21Whose throne is inestimable; whose glory may not be comprehended; before whom the hosts of angels stand with trembling,
8:22Whose service is conversant in wind and fire; whose word is true, and sayings constant; whose commandment is strong, and ordinance fearful;
8:23Whose look drieth up the depths, and indignation maketh the mountains to melt away; which the truth witnesseth:
8:24O hear the prayer of thy servant, and give ear to the petition of thy creature.
8:25For while I live I will speak, and so long as I have understanding I will answer.
8:26O look not upon the sins of thy people; but on them which serve thee in truth.
8:27Regard not the wicked inventions of the heathen, but the desire of those that keep thy testimonies in afflictions.
8:28Think not upon those that have walked feignedly before thee: but remember them, which according to thy will have known thy fear.
8:29Let it not be thy will to destroy them which have lived like beasts; but to look upon them that have clearly taught thy law.
8:30Take thou no indignation at them which are deemed worse than beasts; but love them that always put their trust in thy righteousness and glory.
8:31For we and our fathers do languish of such diseases: but because of us sinners thou shalt be called merciful.
8:32For if thou hast a desire to have mercy upon us, thou shalt be called merciful, to us namely, that have no works of righteousness.
8:33For the just, which have many good works laid up with thee, shall out of their own deeds receive reward.
8:34For what is man, that thou shouldest take displeasure at him? or what is a corruptible generation, that thou shouldest be so bitter toward it?
8:35For in truth them is no man among them that be born, but he hath dealt wickedly; and among the faithful there is none which hath not done amiss.
8:36For in this, O Lord, thy righteousness and thy goodness shall be declared, if thou be merciful unto them which have not the confidence of good works.
8:37Then answered he me, and said, Some things hast thou spoken aright, and according unto thy words it shall be.
8:38For indeed I will not think on the disposition of them which have sinned before death, before judgment, before destruction:
8:39But I will rejoice over the disposition of the righteous, and I will remember also their pilgrimage, and the salvation, and the reward, that they shall have.
8:40Like as I have spoken now, so shall it come to pass.
8:41For as the husbandman soweth much seed upon the ground, and planteth many trees, and yet the thing that is sown good in his season cometh not up, neither doth all that is planted take root: even so is it of them that are sown in the world; they shall not all be saved.
8:42I answered then and said, If I have found grace, let me speak.
8:43Like as the husbandman's seed perisheth, if it come not up, and receive not thy rain in due season; or if there come too much rain, and corrupt it:
8:44Even so perisheth man also, which is formed with thy hands, and is called thine own image, because thou art like unto him, for whose sake thou hast made all things, and likened him unto the husbandman's seed.
8:45Be not wroth with us but spare thy people, and have mercy upon thine own inheritance: for thou art merciful unto thy creature.
8:46Then answered he me, and said, Things present are for the present, and things to cometh for such as be to come.
8:47For thou comest far short that thou shouldest be able to love my creature more than I: but I have ofttimes drawn nigh unto thee, and unto it, but never to the unrighteous.
8:48In this also thou art marvellous before the most High:
8:49In that thou hast humbled thyself, as it becometh thee, and hast not judged thyself worthy to be much glorified among the righteous.
8:50For many great miseries shall be done to them that in the latter time shall dwell in the world, because they have walked in great pride.
8:51But understand thou for thyself, and seek out the glory for such as be like thee.
8:52For unto you is paradise opened, the tree of life is planted, the time to come is prepared, plenteousness is made ready, a city is builded, and rest is allowed, yea, perfect goodness and wisdom.
8:53The root of evil is sealed up from you, weakness and the moth is hid from you, and corruption is fled into hell to be forgotten:
8:54Sorrows are passed, and in the end is shewed the treasure of immortality.
8:55And therefore ask thou no more questions concerning the multitude of them that perish.
8:56For when they had taken liberty, they despised the most High, thought scorn of his law, and forsook his ways.
8:57Moreover they have trodden down his righteous,
8:58And said in their heart, that there is no God; yea, and that knowing they must die.
8:59For as the things aforesaid shalt receive you, so thirst and pain are prepared for them: for it was not his will that men should come to nought:
8:60But they which be created have defiled the name of him that made them, and were unthankful unto him which prepared life for them.
8:61And therefore is my judgment now at hand.
8:62These things have I not shewed unto all men, but unto thee, and a few like thee. Then answered I and said,
8:63Behold, O Lord, now hast thou shewed me the multitude of the wonders, which thou wilt begin to do in the last times: but at what time, thou hast not shewed me.
9:1He answered me then, and said, Measure thou the time diligently in itself: and when thou seest part of the signs past, which I have told thee before,
9:2Then shalt thou understand, that it is the very same time, wherein the Highest will begin to visit the world which he made.
9:3Therefore when there shall be seen earthquakes and uproars of the people in the world:
9:4Then shalt thou well understand, that the most High spake of those things from the days that were before thee, even from the beginning.
9:5For like as all that is made in the world hath a beginning and an end, and the end is manifest:
9:6Even so the times also of the Highest have plain beginnings in wonder and powerful works, and endings in effects and signs.
9:7And every one that shall be saved, and shall be able to escape by his works, and by faith, whereby ye have believed,
9:8Shall be preserved from the said perils, and shall see my salvation in my land, and within my borders: for I have sanctified them for me from the beginning.
9:9Then shall they be in pitiful case, which now have abused my ways: and they that have cast them away despitefully shall dwell in torments.
9:10For such as in their life have received benefits, and have not known me;
9:11And they that have loathed my law, while they had yet liberty, and, when as yet place of repentance was open unto them, understood not, but despised it;
9:12The same must know it after death by pain.
9:13And therefore be thou not curious how the ungodly shall be punished, and when: but enquire how the righteous shall be saved, whose the world is, and for whom the world is created.
9:14Then answered I and said,
9:15I have said before, and now do speak, and will speak it also hereafter, that there be many more of them which perish, than of them which shall be saved:
9:16Like as a wave is greater than a drop.
9:17And he answered me, saying, Like as the field is, so is also the seed; as the flowers be, such are the colours also; such as the workman is, such also is the work; and as the husbandman ls himself, so is his husbandry also: for it was the time of the world.
9:18And now when I prepared the world, which was not yet made, even for them to dwell in that now live, no man spake against me.
9:19For then every one obeyed: but now the manners of them which are created in this world that is made are corrupted by a perpetual seed, and by a law which is unsearchable rid themselves.
9:20So I considered the world, and, behold, there was peril because of the devices that were come into it.
9:21And I saw, and spared it greatly, and have kept me a grape of the cluster, and a plant of a great people.
9:22Let the multitude perish then, which was born in vain; and let my grape be kept, and my plant; for with great labour have I made it perfect.
9:23Nevertheless, if thou wilt cease yet seven days more, (but thou shalt not fast in them,
9:24But go into a field of flowers, where no house is builded, and eat only the flowers of the field; taste no flesh, drink no wine, but eat flowers only;)
9:25And pray unto the Highest continually, then will I come and talk with thee.
9:26So I went my way into the field which is called Ardath, like as he commanded me; and there I sat among the flowers, and did eat of the herbs of the field, and the meat of the same satisfied me.
9:27After seven days I sat upon the grass, and my heart was vexed within me, like as before:
9:28And I opened my mouth, and began to talk before the most High, and said,
9:29O Lord, thou that shewest thyself unto us, thou wast shewed unto our fathers in the wilderness, in a place where no man treadeth, in a barren place, when they came out of Egypt.
9:30And thou spakest saying, Hear me, O Israel; and mark my words, thou seed of Jacob.
9:31For, behold, I sow my law in you, and it shall bring fruit in you, and ye shall be honoured in it for ever.
9:32But our fathers, which received the law, kept it not, and observed not thy ordinances: and though the fruit of thy law did not perish, neither could it, for it was thine;
9:33Yet they that received it perished, because they kept not the thing that was sown in them.
9:34And, lo, it ls a custom, when the ground hath received seed, or the sea a ship, or any vessel meat or drink, that, that being perished wherein it was sown or cast into,
9:35That thing also which was sown, or cast therein, or received, doth perish, and remaineth not with us: but with us it hath not happened so.
9:36For we that have received the law perish by sin, and our heart also which received it
9:37Notwithstanding the law perisheth not, but remaineth in his force.
9:38And when I spake these things in my heart, I looked back with mine eyes, and upon the right side I saw a woman, and, behold, she mourned and wept with a loud voice, and was much grieved in heart, and her clothes were rent, and she had ashes upon her head.
9:39Then let I my thoughts go that I was in, and turned me unto her,
9:40And said unto her, Wherefore weepest thou? why art thou so grieved in thy mind?
9:41And she said unto me, Sir, let me alone, that I may bewail myself, and add unto my sorrow, for I am sore vexed in my mind, and brought very low.
9:42And I said unto her, What aileth thee? tell me.
9:43She said unto me, I thy servant have been barren, and had no child, though I had an husband thirty years,
9:44And those thirty years I did nothing else day and night, and every hour, but make my, prayer to the Highest.
9:45After thirty years God heard me thine handmaid, looked upon my misery, considered my trouble, and gave me a son: and I was very glad of him, so was my husband also, and all my neighbours: and we gave great honour unto the Almighty.
9:46And I nourished him with great travail.
9:47So when he grew up, and came to the time that he should have a wife, I made a feast.
10:1And it so came to pass, that when my son was entered into his wedding chamber, he fell down, and died.
10:2Then we all overthrew the lights, and all my neighbours rose up to comfort me: so I took my rest unto the second day at night.
10:3And it came to pass, when they had all left off to comfort me, to the end I might be quiet; then rose I up by night and fled, and came hither into this field, as thou seest.
10:4And I do now purpose not to return into the city, but here to stay, and neither to eat nor drink, but continually to mourn and to fast until I die.
10:5Then left I the meditations wherein I was, and spake to her in anger, saying,
10:6Thou foolish woman above all other, seest thou not our mourning, and what happeneth unto us?
10:7How that Sion our mother is full of all heaviness, and much humbled, mourning very sore?
10:8And now, seeing we all mourn and are sad, for we are all in heaviness, art thou grieved for one son?
10:9For ask the earth, and she shall tell thee, that it is she which ought to mourn for the fall of so many that grow upon her.
10:10For out of her came all at the first, and out of her shall all others come, and, behold, they walk almost all into destruction, and a multitude of them is utterly rooted out.
10:11Who then should make more mourning than she, that hath lost so great a multitude; and not thou, which art sorry but for one?
10:12But if thou sayest unto me, My lamentation is not like the earth's, because I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I brought forth with pains, and bare with sorrows;
10:13But the earth not so: for the multitude present in it according to the course of the earth is gone, as it came:
10:14Then say I unto thee, Like as thou hast brought forth with labour; even so the earth also hath given her fruit, namely, man, ever since the beginning unto him that made her.
10:15Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage that which hath befallen thee.
10:16For if thou shalt acknowledge the determination of God to be just, thou shalt both receive thy son in time, and shalt be commended among women.
10:17Go thy way then into the city to thine husband.
10:18And she said unto me, That will I not do: I will not go into the city, but here will I die.
10:19So I proceeded to speak further unto her, and said,
10:20Do not so, but be counselled. by me: for how many are the adversities of Sion? be comforted in regard of the sorrow of Jerusalem.
10:21For thou seest that our sanctuary is laid waste, our altar broken down, our temple destroyed;
10:22Our psaltery is laid on the ground, our song is put to silence, our rejoicing is at an end, the light of our candlestick is put out, the ark of our covenant is spoiled, our holy things are defiled, and the name that is called upon us is almost profaned: our children are put to shame, our priests are burnt, our Levites are gone into captivity, our virgins are defiled, and our wives ravished; our righteous men carried away, our little ones destroyed, our young men are brought in bondage, and our strong men are become weak;
10:23And, which is the greatest of all, the seal of Sion hath now lost her honour; for she is delivered into the hands of them that hate us.
10:24And therefore shake off thy great heaviness, and put away the multitude of sorrows, that the Mighty may be merciful unto thee again, and the Highest shall give thee rest and ease from thy labour.
10:25And it came to pass while I was talking with her, behold, her face upon a sudden shined exceedingly, and her countenance glistered, so that I was afraid of her, and mused what it might be.
10:26And, behold, suddenly she made a great cry very fearful: so that the earth shook at the noise of the woman.
10:27And I looked, and, behold, the woman appeared unto me no more, but there was a city builded, and a large place shewed itself from the foundations: then was I afraid, and cried with a loud voice, and said,
10:28Where is Uriel the angel, who came unto me at the first? for he hath caused me to fall into many trances, and mine end is turned into corruption, and my prayer to rebuke.
10:29And as I was speaking these words behold, he came unto me, and looked upon me.
10:30And, lo, I lay as one that had been dead, and mine understanding was taken from me: and he took me by the right hand, and comforted me, and set me upon my feet, and said unto me,
10:31What aileth thee? and why art thou so disquieted? and why is thine understanding troubled, and the thoughts of thine heart?
10:32And I said, Because thou hast forsaken me, and yet I did according to thy words, and I went into the field, and, lo, I have seen, and yet see, that I am not able to express.
10:33And he said unto me, Stand up manfully, and I will advise thee.
10:34Then said I, Speak on, my lord, in me; only forsake me not, lest I die frustrate of my hope.
10:35For I have seen that I knew not, and hear that I do not know.
10:36Or is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream?
10:37Now therefore I beseech thee that thou wilt shew thy servant of this vision.
10:38He answered me then, and said, Hear me, and I shall inform thee, and tell thee wherefore thou art afraid: for the Highest will reveal many secret things unto thee.
10:39He hath seen that thy way is right: for that thou sorrowest continually for thy people, and makest great lamentation for Sion.
10:40This therefore is the meaning of the vision which thou lately sawest:
10:41Thou sawest a woman mourning, and thou begannest to comfort her:
10:42But now seest thou the likeness of the woman no more, but there appeared unto thee a city builded.
10:43And whereas she told thee of the death of her son, this is the solution:
10:44This woman, whom thou sawest is Sion: and whereas she said unto thee, even she whom thou seest as a city builded,
10:45Whereas, I say, she said unto thee, that she hath been thirty years barren: those are the thirty years wherein there was no offering made in her.
10:46But after thirty years Solomon builded the city and offered offerings: and then bare the barren a son.
10:47And whereas she told thee that she nourished him with labour: that was the dwelling in Jerusalem.
10:48But whereas she said unto thee, That my son coming into his marriage chamber happened to have a fail, and died: this was the destruction that came to Jerusalem.
10:49And, behold, thou sawest her likeness, and because she mourned for her son, thou begannest to comfort her: and of these things which have chanced, these are to be opened unto thee.
10:50For now the most High seeth that thou art grieved unfeignedly, and sufferest from thy whole heart for her, so hath he shewed thee the brightness of her glory, and the comeliness of her beauty:
10:51And therefore I bade thee remain in the field where no house was builded:
10:52For I knew that the Highest would shew this unto thee.
10:53Therefore I commanded thee to go into the field, where no foundation of any building was.
10:54For in the place wherein the Highest beginneth to shew his city, there can no man's building be able to stand.
10:55And therefore fear not, let not thine heart be affrighted, but go thy way in, and see the beauty and greatness of the building, as much as thine eyes be able to see:
10:56And then shalt thou hear as much as thine ears may comprehend.
10:57For thou art blessed above many other, and art called with the Highest; and so are but few.
10:58But to morrow at night thou shalt remain here;
10:59And so shall the Highest shew thee visions of the high things, which the most High will do unto them that dwell upon the earth in the last days. So I slept that night and another, like as he commanded me.
11:1Then saw I a dream, and, behold, there came up from the sea an eagle, which had twelve feathered wings, and three heads.
11:2And I saw, and, behold, she spread her wings over all the earth, and all the winds of the air blew on her, and were gathered together.
11:3And I beheld, and out of her feathers there grew other contrary feathers; and they became little feathers and small.
11:4But her heads were at rest: the head in the midst was greater than the other, yet rested it with the residue.
11:5Moreover I beheld, and, lo, the eagle flew with her feathers, and reigned upon earth, and over them that dwelt therein.
11:6And I saw that all things under heaven were subject unto her, and no man spake against her, no, not one creature upon earth.
11:7And I beheld, and, lo, the eagle rose upon her talons, and spake to her feathers, saying,
11:8Watch not all at once: sleep every one in his own place, and watch by course:
11:9But let the heads be preserved for the last.
11:10And I beheld, and, lo, the voice went not out of her heads, but from the midst of her body.
11:11And I numbered her contrary feathers, and, behold, there were eight of them.
11:12And I looked, and, behold, on the right side there arose one feather, and reigned over all the earth;
11:13And so it was, that when it reigned, the end of it came, and the place thereof appeared no more: so the next following stood up. and reigned, and had a great time;
11:14And it happened, that when it reigned, the end of it came also, like as the first, so that it appeared no more.
11:15Then came there a voice unto it, and said,
11:16Hear thou that hast borne rule over the earth so long: this I say unto thee, before thou beginnest to appear no more,
11:17There shall none after thee attain unto thy time, neither unto the half thereof.
11:18Then arose the third, and reigned as the other before, and appeared no more also.
11:19So went it with all the residue one after another, as that every one reigned, and then appeared no more.
11:20Then I beheld, and, lo, in process of time the feathers that followed stood up upon the right side, that they might rule also; and some of them ruled, but within a while they appeared no more:
11:21For some of them were set up, but ruled not.
11:22After this I looked, and, behold, the twelve feathers appeared no more, nor the two little feathers:
11:23And there was no more upon the eagle's body, but three heads that rested, and six little wings.
11:24Then saw I also that two little feathers divided themselves from the six, and remained under the head that was upon the right side: for the four continued in their place.
11:25And I beheld, and, lo, the feathers that were under the wing thought to set up themselves and to have the rule.
11:26And I beheld, and, lo, there was one set up, but shortly it appeared no more.
11:27And the second was sooner away than the first.
11:28And I beheld, and, lo, the two that remained thought also in themselves to reign:
11:29And when they so thought, behold, there awaked one of the heads that were at rest, namely, it that was in the midst; for that was greater than the two other heads.
11:30And then I saw that the two other heads were joined with it.
11:31And, behold, the head was turned with them that were with it, and did eat up the two feathers under the wing that would have reigned.
11:32But this head put the whole earth in fear, and bare rule in it over all those that dwelt upon the earth with much oppression; and it had the governance of the world more than all the wings that had been.
11:33And after this I beheld, and, lo, the head that was in the midst suddenly appeared no more, like as the wings.
11:34But there remained the two heads, which also in like sort ruled upon the earth, and over those that dwelt therein.
11:35And I beheld, and, lo, the head upon the right side devoured it that was upon the left side.
11:36Then I head a voice, which said unto me, Look before thee, and consider the thing that thou seest.
11:37And I beheld, and lo, as it were a roaring lion chased out of the wood: and I saw that he sent out a man's voice unto the eagle, and said,
11:38Hear thou, I will talk with thee, and the Highest shall say unto thee,
11:39Art not thou it that remainest of the four beasts, whom I made to reign in my world, that the end of their times might come through them?
11:40And the fourth came, and overcame all the beasts that were past, and had power over the world with great fearfulness, and over the whole compass of the earth with much wicked oppression; and so long time dwelt he upon the earth with deceit.
11:41For the earth hast thou not judged with truth.
11:42For thou hast afflicted the meek, thou hast hurt the peaceable, thou hast loved liars, and destroyed the dwellings of them that brought forth fruit, and hast cast down the walls of such as did thee no harm.
11:43Therefore is thy wrongful dealing come up unto the Highest, and thy pride unto the Mighty.
11:44The Highest also hath looked upon the proud times, and, behold, they are ended, and his abominations are fulfilled.
11:45And therefore appear no more, thou eagle, nor thy horrible wings, nor thy wicked feathers nor thy malicious heads, nor thy hurtful claws, nor all thy vain body:
11:46That all the earth may be refreshed, and may return, being delivered from thy violence, and that she may hope for the judgment and mercy of him that made her.
12:1And it came to pass, whiles the lion spake these words unto the eagle, I saw,
12:2And, behold, the head that remained and the four wings appeared no more, and the two went unto it and set themselves up to reign, and their kingdom was small, and fill of uproar.
12:3And I saw, and, behold, they appeared no more, and the whole body of the eagle was burnt so that the earth was in great fear: then awaked I out of the trouble and trance of my mind, and from great fear, and said unto my spirit,
12:4Lo, this hast thou done unto me, in that thou searchest out the ways of the Highest.
12:5Lo, yet am I weary in my mind, and very weak in my spirit; and little strength is there in me, for the great fear wherewith I was afflicted this night.
12:6Therefore will I now beseech the Highest, that he will comfort me unto the end.
12:7And I said, Lord that bearest rule, if I have found grace before thy sight, and if I am justified with thee before many others, and if my prayer indeed be come up before thy face;
12:8Comfort me then, and shew me thy servant the interpretation and plain difference of this fearful vision, that thou mayest perfectly comfort my soul.
12:9For thou hast judged me worthy to shew me the last times.
12:10And he said unto me, This is the interpretation of the vision:
12:11The eagle, whom thou sawest come up from the sea, is the kingdom which was seen in the vision of thy brother Daniel.
12:12But it was not expounded unto him, therefore now I declare it unto thee.
12:13Behold, the days will come, that there shall rise up a kingdom upon earth, and it shall be feared above all the kingdoms that were before it.
12:14In the same shall twelve kings reign, one after another:
12:15Whereof the second shall begin to reign, and shall have more time than any of the twelve.
12:16And this do the twelve wings signify, which thou sawest.
12:17As for the voice which thou heardest speak, and that thou sawest not to go out from the heads but from the midst of the body thereof, this is the interpretation:
12:18That after the time of that kingdom there shall arise great strivings, and it shall stand in peril of failing: nevertheless it shall not then fall, but shall be restored again to his beginning.
12:19And whereas thou sawest the eight small under feathers sticking to her wings, this is the interpretation:
12:20That in him there shall arise eight kings, whose times shall be but small, and their years swift.
12:21And two of them shall perish, the middle time approaching: four shall be kept until their end begin to approach: but two shall be kept unto the end.
12:22And whereas thou sawest three heads resting, this is the interpretation:
12:23In his last days shall the most High raise up three kingdoms, and renew many things therein, and they shall have the dominion of the earth,
12:24And of those that dwell therein, with much oppression, above all those that were before them: therefore are they called the heads of the eagle.
12:25For these are they that shall accomplish his wickedness, and that shall finish his last end.
12:26And whereas thou sawest that the great head appeared no more, it signifieth that one of them shall die upon his bed, and yet with pain.
12:27For the two that remain shall be slain with the sword.
12:28For the sword of the one shall devour the other: but at the last shall he fall through the sword himself.
12:29And whereas thou sawest two feathers under the wings passing over the head that is on the right side;
12:30It signifieth that these are they, whom the Highest hath kept unto their end: this is the small kingdom and full of trouble, as thou sawest.
12:31And the lion, whom thou sawest rising up out of the wood, and roaring, and speaking to the eagle, and rebuking her for her unrighteousness with all the words which thou hast heard;
12:32This is the anointed, which the Highest hath kept for them and for their wickedness unto the end: he shall reprove them, and shall upbraid them with their cruelty.
12:33For he shall set them before him alive in judgment, and shall rebuke them, and correct them.
12:34For the rest of my people shall he deliver with mercy, those that have been pressed upon my borders, and he shall make them joyful until the coming of the day of judgment, whereof I have spoken unto thee from the the beginning.
12:35This is the dream that thou sawest, and these are the interpretations. </