Apocrypha:
1 Esdras Chapter 1
1 And Josias held the feast of the passover
in Jerusalem unto his Lord, and offered the passover the fourteenth day of the
first month;
2 Having set the priests according to their daily
courses, being arrayed in long garments, in the temple of the Lord.
3 And he spake unto the Levites, the holy ministers of
Israel, that they should hallow themselves unto the Lord, to set the holy ark
of the Lord in the house that king Solomon the son of David had built:
4 And said, Ye shall no more
bear the ark upon your shoulders: now therefore serve the Lord your God, and
minister unto his people Israel, and prepare you after your families and
kindreds,
5 According as David the king of Israel prescribed,
and according to the magnificence of Solomon his son: and standing in the
temple according to the several dignity of the families of you the Levites, who
minister in the presence of your brethren the children of Israel,
6 Offer the passover in
order, and make ready the sacrifices for your brethren, and keep the passover
according to the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto Moses.
7 And unto the people that was found there Josias gave
thirty thousand lambs and kids, and three thousand calves: these things were
given of the king's allowance, according as he promised, to the people, to the
priests, and to the Levites.
8 And Helkias, Zacharias, and Syelus, the governors of
the temple, gave to the priests for the passover two
thousand and six hundred sheep, and three hundred calves.
9 And Jeconias, and Samaias, and Nathanael his
brother, and Assabias, and Ochiel, and Joram, captains over thousands, gave to
the Levites for the passover five thousand sheep, and
seven hundred calves.
10 And when these things were done, the priests and
Levites, having the unleavened bread, stood in very comely order according to
the kindreds,
11 And according to the several dignities of the
fathers, before the people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the book
of Moses: and thus did they in the morning.
12 And they roasted the passover
with fire, as appertaineth: as for the sacrifices, they sod them in brass pots
and pans with a good savour,
13 And set them before all the people: and afterward
they prepared for themselves, and for the priests their brethren, the sons of
Aaron.
14 For the priests offered the fat until night: and
the Levites prepared for themselves, and the priests their brethren, the sons
of Aaron.
15 The holy singers also, the sons of Asaph, were in
their order, according to the appointment of David, to wit, Asaph, Zacharias,
and Jeduthun, who was of the king's retinue.
16 Moreover the porters were at every gate; it was not
lawful for any to go from his ordinary service: for their brethren the Levites
prepared for them.
17 Thus were the things that belonged to the
sacrifices of the Lord accomplished in that day, that they might hold the passover,
18 And offer sacrifices upon the altar of the Lord,
according to the commandment of king Josias.
19 So the children of Israel which were present held
the passover at that time, and the feast of sweet
bread seven days.
20 And such a passover was
not kept in Israel since the time of the prophet Samuel.
21 Yea, all the kings of Israel held not such a
passover as Josias, and the priests, and the Levites, and the Jews, held with
all Israel that were found dwelling at Jerusalem.
22 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias was
this passover kept.
23 And the works or Josias were upright before his
Lord with an heart full of godliness.
24 As for the things that came to pass in his time,
they were written in former times, concerning those that sinned, and did
wickedly against the Lord above all people and kingdoms, and how they grieved
him exceedingly, so that the words of the Lord rose up against Israel.
25 Now after all these acts of Josias it came to pass,
that Pharaoh the king of Egypt came to raise war at Carchamis upon Euphrates:
and Josias went out against him.
26 But the king of Egypt sent to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, O king of Judea?
27 I am not sent out from the Lord God against thee;
for my war is upon Euphrates: and now the Lord is with me, yea, the Lord is
with me hasting me forward: depart from me, and be not against the Lord.
28 Howbeit Josias did not turn back his chariot from
him, but undertook to fight with him, not regarding the words of the prophet
Jeremy spoken by the mouth of the Lord:
29 But joined battle with him in the plain of Magiddo,
and the princes came against king Josias.
30 Then said the king unto his servants, Carry me away out of the battle; for I am very weak. And
immediately his servants took him away out of the battle.
31 Then gat he up upon his second chariot; and being
brought back to Jerusalem died, and was buried in his father's sepulchre.
32 And in all Jewry they mourned for Josias, yea,
Jeremy the prophet lamented for Josias, and the chief men with the women made
lamentation for him unto this day: and this was given out for an ordinance to
be done continually in all the nation of Israel.
33 These things are written in the book of the stories
of the kings of Judah, and every one of the acts that Josias did, and his
glory, and his understanding in the law of the Lord, and the things that he had
done before, and the things now recited, are reported in the book of the kings
of Israel and Judea.
34 And the people took Joachaz the son of Josias, and
made him king instead of Josias his father, when he was twenty and three years
old.
35 And he reigned in Judea and in Jerusalem three
months: and then the king of Egypt deposed him from reigning in Jerusalem.
36 And he set a tax upon the land of an hundred
talents of silver and one talent of gold.
37 The king of Egypt also made king Joacim his brother
king of Judea and Jerusalem.
38 And he bound Joacim and the nobles: but Zaraces his
brother he apprehended, and brought him out of Egypt.
39 Five and twenty years old was Joacim when he was
made king in the land of Judea and Jerusalem; and he did evil before the Lord.
40 Wherefore against him Nabuchodonosor the king of
Babylon came up, and bound him with a chain of brass, and carried him into
Babylon.
41 Nabuchodonosor also took of the holy vessels of the
Lord, and carried them away, and set them in his own temple at Babylon.
42 But those things that are recorded of him, and of
his uncleaness and impiety, are written in the chronicles of the kings.
43 And Joacim his son reigned in his stead: he was
made king being eighteen years old;
44 And reigned but three months and ten days in
Jerusalem; and did evil before the Lord.
45 So after a year Nabuchodonosor sent and caused him
to be brought into Babylon with the holy vessels of the Lord;
46 And made Zedechias king of Judea and Jerusalem,
when he was one and twenty years old; and he reigned eleven years:
47 And he did evil also in the sight of the Lord, and
cared not for the words that were spoken unto him by the prophet Jeremy from
the mouth of the Lord.
48 And after that king Nabuchodonosor had made him to
swear by the name of the Lord, he forswore himself, and rebelled; and hardening
his neck, his heart, he transgressed the laws of the Lord God of Israel.
49 The governors also of the people and of the priests
did many things against the laws, and passed all the pollutions of all nations,
and defiled the temple of the Lord, which was sanctified in Jerusalem.
50 Nevertheless the God of their fathers sent by his
messenger to call them back, because he spared them and his tabernacle also.
51 But they had his messengers in derision; and, look,
when the Lord spake unto them, they made a sport of
his prophets:
52 So far forth, that he, being wroth with his people
for their great ungodliness, commanded the kings of the Chaldees to come up
against them;
53 Who slew their young men with the sword, yea, even
within the compass of their holy temple, and spared neither young man nor maid,
old man nor child, among them; for he delivered all into their hands.
54 And they took all the holy vessels of the Lord,
both great and small, with the vessels of the ark of God, and the king's treasures,
and carried them away into Babylon.
55 As for the house of the Lord, they burnt it, and
brake down the walls of Jerusalem, and set fire upon her towers:
56 And as for her glorious things, they never ceased
till they had consumed and brought them all to nought: and the people that were
not slain with the sword he carried unto Babylon:
57 Who became servants to him and his children, till
the Persians reigned, to fulfil the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremy:
58 Until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths,
the whole time of her desolation shall she rest, until the full term of seventy
years.
1 In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, that the
word of the Lord might be accomplished, that he had promised by the mouth of
Jeremy;
2 The Lord raised up the spirit of Cyrus the king of the
Persians, and he made proclamation through all his kingdom, and also by
writing,
3 Saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of the Persians; The Lord of
Israel, the most high Lord, hath made me king of the whole world,
4 And commanded me to build him an
house at Jerusalem in Jewry.
5 If therefore there be any of you that are of his people,
let the Lord, even his Lord, be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem that is
in Judea, and build the house of the Lord of Israel: for he is the Lord that
dwelleth in Jerusalem.
6 Whosoever then dwell in the places about, let them help
him, those, I say, that are his neighbours, with gold, and with silver,
7 With gifts, with horses, and with cattle, and other things,
which have been set forth by vow, for the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem.
8 Then the chief of the families of Judea and of the tribe of
Benjamin stood up; the priests also, and the Levites, and all they whose mind
the Lord had moved to go up, and to build an house for the Lord at Jerusalem,
9 And they that dwelt round about them, and helped them in
all things with silver and gold, with horses and cattle, and with very many
free gifts of a great number whose minds were stirred up thereto.
10 King Cyrus also brought forth the holy vessels, which
Nabuchodonosor had carried away from Jerusalem, and had set up in his temple of
idols.
11 Now when Cyrus king of the Persians had brought them
forth, he delivered them to Mithridates his treasurer:
12 And by him they were delivered to Sanabassar the governor
of Judea.
13 And this was the number of them; A thousand golden cups,
and a thousand of silver, censers of silver twenty nine, vials of gold thirty,
and of silver two thousand four hundred and ten, and a thousand other vessels.
14 So all the vessels of gold and of silver, which were
carried away, were five thousand four hundred threescore and nine.
15 These were brought back by Sanabassar, together with them
of the captivity, from Babylon to Jerusalem.
16 But in the time of Artexerxes king of the Persians
Belemus, and Mithridates, and Tabellius, and Rathumus, and Beeltethmus, and
Semellius the secretary, with others that were in commission with them,
dwelling in Samaria and other places, wrote unto him against them that dwelt in
Judea and Jerusalem these letters following;
17 To king Artexerxes our lord, Thy servants, Rathumus the
storywriter, and Semellius the scribe, and the rest of their council, and the
judges that are in Celosyria and Phenice.
18 Be it now known to the lord king, that the Jews that are
up from you to us, being come into Jerusalem, that rebellious and wicked city,
do build the marketplaces, and repair the walls of it and do lay the foundation
of the temple.
19 Now if this city and the walls thereof be made up again,
they will not only refuse to give tribute, but also rebel against kings.
20 And forasmuch as the things pertaining to the temple are
now in hand, we think it meet not to neglect such a matter,
21 But to speak unto our lord the king, to the intent that,
if it be thy pleasure it may be sought out in the books of thy fathers:
22 And thou shalt find in the chronicles what is written
concerning these things, and shalt understand that that city was rebellious,
troubling both kings and cities:
23 And that the Jews were rebellious, and raised always wars
therein; for the which cause even this city was made
desolate.
24 Wherefore now we do declare unto thee, O lord the king,
that if this city be built again, and the walls thereof set up anew, thou shalt
from henceforth have no passage into Celosyria and Phenice.
25 Then the king wrote back again to Rathumus the
storywriter, to Beeltethmus, to Semellius the scribe, and to the rest that were
in commission, and dwellers in Samaria and Syria and Phenice, after this
manner;
26 I have read the epistle which ye have sent unto me:
therefore I commanded to make diligent search, and it hath been found that that
city was from the beginning practising against kings;
27 And the men therein were given to rebellion and war: and
that mighty kings and fierce were in Jerusalem, who reigned and exacted
tributes in Celosyria and Phenice.
28 Now therefore I have commanded to hinder those men from
building the city, and heed to be taken that there be no more done in it;
29 And that those wicked workers proceed no further to the
annoyance of kings,
30 Then king Artexerxes his letters being read, Rathumus, and
Semellius the scribe, and the rest that were in commission with them, removing
in haste toward Jerusalem with a troop of horsemen and a multitude of people in
battle array, began to hinder the builders; and the building of the temple in
Jerusalem ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of the
Persians.
1 Now when Darius reigned, he made a great feast unto all his
subjects, and unto all his household, and unto all the princes of Media and
Persia,
2 And to all the governors and captains and lieutenants that
were under him, from India unto Ethiopia, of an hundred twenty and seven
provinces.
3 And when they had eaten and drunken, and being satisfied
were gone home, then Darius the king went into his bedchamber, and slept, and
soon after awaked.
4 Then three young men, that were of the guard that kept the
king's body, spake one to another;
5 Let every one of us speak a sentence: he that shall overcome,
and whose sentence shall seem wiser than the others, unto him shall the king
Darius give great gifts, and great things in token of victory:
6 As, to be clothed in purple, to drink in gold, and to sleep
upon gold, and a chariot with bridles of gold, and an headtire of fine linen,
and a chain about his neck:
7 And he shall sit next to Darius because of his wisdom, and
shall be called Darius his cousin.
8 And then every one wrote his sentence, sealed it, and laid
it under king Darius his pillow;
9 And said that, when the king is risen, some will give him
the writings; and of whose side the king and the three princes of Persia shall
judge that his sentence is the wisest, to him shall the victory be given, as
was appointed.
10 The first wrote, Wine is the strongest.
11 The second wrote, The king is
strongest.
12 The third wrote, Women are strongest: but above all things
Truth beareth away the victory.
13 Now when the king was risen up, they took their writings,
and delivered them unto him, and so he read them:
14 And sending forth he called all the princes of Persia and
Media, and the governors, and the captains, and the lieutenants, and the chief
officers;
15 And sat him down in the royal
seat of judgment; and the writings were read before them.
16 And he said, Call the young men, and they shall declare
their own sentences. So they were called, and came in.
17 And he said unto them, Declare unto us your mind
concerning the writings. Then began the first, who had spoken of the strength
of wine;
18 And he said thus, O ye men, how exceeding strong is wine! it causeth all men to err that drink it:
19 It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child
to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the
rich:
20 It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so
that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt:
21 And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth
neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by talents:
22 And when they are in their cups, they forget their love
both to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords:
23 But when they are from the wine, they remember not what
they have done.
24 O ye men, is not wine the strongest, that enforceth to do
thus? And when he had so spoken, he held his peace.
1 Then the second, that had spoken of the
strength of the king, began to say,
2 O ye men, do not men excel in strength that bear rule over
sea and land and all things in them?
3 But yet the king is more mighty:
for he is lord of all these things, and hath dominion over them; and whatsoever
he commandeth them they do.
4 If he bid them make war the one against the other, they do
it: if he send them out against the enemies, they go, and break down mountains
walls and towers.
5 They slay and are slain, and transgress not the king's
commandment: if they get the victory, they bring all to the king, as well the
spoil, as all things else.
6 Likewise for those that are no soldiers, and have not to do
with wars, but use husbundry, when they have reaped again that which they had
sown, they bring it to the king, and compel one another to pay tribute unto the
king.
7 And yet he is but one man: if he command to kill, they
kill; if he command to spare, they spare;
8 If he command to smite, they smite; if he command to make
desolate, they make desolate; if he command to build, they build;
9 If he command to cut down, they cut down; if he command to
plant, they plant.
10 So all his people and his armies obey him: furthermore he
lieth down, he eateth and drinketh, and taketh his rest:
11 And these keep watch round about him, neither may any one
depart, and do his own business, neither disobey they him in any thing.
12 O ye men, how should not the king be mightiest, when in
such sort he is obeyed? And he held his tongue.
13 Then the third, who had spoken of women, and of the truth,
(this was Zorobabel) began to speak.
14 O ye men, it is not the great king, nor the multitude of
men, neither is it wine, that excelleth; who is it then that ruleth them, or
hath the lordship over them? are they not women?
15 Women have borne the king and all the people that bear
rule by sea and land.
16 Even of them came they: and they nourished them up that
planted the vineyards, from whence the wine cometh.
17 These also make garments for men; these bring glory unto
men; and without women cannot men be.
18 Yea, and if men have gathered together gold and silver, or
any other goodly thing, do they not love a woman which is comely in favour and
beauty?
19 And letting all those things go, do they not gape, and
even with open mouth fix their eyes fast on her; and have not all men more
desire unto her than unto silver or gold, or any goodly thing whatsoever?
20 A man leaveth his own father that brought him up, and his
own country, and cleaveth unto his wife.
21 He sticketh not to spend his life with his wife. and remembereth neither father, nor mother, nor country.
22 By this also ye must know that women have dominion over you:
do ye not labour and toil, and give and bring all to the woman?
23 Yea, a man taketh his sword, and goeth his way to rob and
to steal, to sail upon the sea and upon rivers;
24 And looketh upon a lion, and goeth in the darkness; and
when he hath stolen, spoiled, and robbed, he bringeth it to his love.
25 Wherefore a man loveth his wife better than father or
mother.
26 Yea, many there be that have run out of their wits for
women, and become servants for their sakes.
27 Many also have perished, have erred, and sinned, for
women.
28 And now do ye not believe me? is
not the king great in his power? do not all regions
fear to touch him?
29 Yet did I see him and Apame the king's concubine, the
daughter of the admirable Bartacus, sitting at the right hand of the king,
30 And taking the crown from the king's head, and setting it
upon her own head; she also struck the king with her left hand.
31 And yet for all this the king gaped and gazed upon her
with open mouth: if she laughed upon him, he laughed also: but if she took any
displeasure at him, the king was fain to flatter, that she might be reconciled
to him again.
32 O ye men, how can it be but women should be strong, seeing
they do thus?
33 Then the king and the princes looked one upon another: so
he began to speak of the truth.
34 O ye men, are not women strong? great is the earth, high
is the heaven, swift is the sun in his course, for he compasseth the heavens
round about, and fetcheth his course again to his own place in one day.
35 Is he not great that maketh these things? therefore great is the truth, and stronger than all things.
36 All the earth crieth upon the truth, and the heaven
blesseth it: all works shake and tremble at it, and with it is no unrighteous
thing.
37 Wine is wicked, the king is wicked, women are wicked, all
the children of men are wicked, and such are all their wicked works; and there
is no truth in them; in their unrighteousness also they shall perish.
38 As for the truth, it endureth, and is alwaYs strong; it
liveth and conquereth for evermore.
39 With her there is no accepting of persons or rewards; but
she doeth the things that are just, and refraineth from all unjust and wicked
things; and all men do well like of her works.
40 Neither in her judgment is any unrighteousness; and she is
the strength, kingdom, power, and majesty, of all ages. Blessed be the God of
truth.
41 And with that he held his peace. And all the people then
shouted, and said, Great is Truth, and mighty above
all things.
42 Then said the king unto him, Ask
what thou wilt more than is appointed in the writing, and we will give it thee,
because thou art found wisest; and thou shalt sit next me, and shalt be called
my cousin.
43 Then said he unto the king, Remember thy vow, which thou
hast vowed to build Jerusalem, in the day when thou camest to thy kingdom,
44 And to send away all the vessels that were taken away out
of Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart, when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and to send
them again thither.
45 Thou also hast vowed to build up the temple, which the
Edomites burned when Judea was made desolate by the Chaldees.
46 And now, O lord the king, this is that which I require,
and which I desire of thee, and this is the princely liberality proceeding from
thyself: I desire therefore that thou make good the vow, the performance
whereof with thine own mouth thou hast vowed to the King of heaven.
47 Then Darius the king stood up, and kissed him, and wrote
letters for him unto all the treasurers and lieutenants and captains and
governors, that they should safely convey on their way both him, and all those
that go up with him to build Jerusalem.
48 He wrote letters also unto the lieutenants that were in
Celosyria and Phenice, and unto them in Libanus, that they should bring cedar
wood from Libanus unto Jerusalem, and that they should build the city with him.
49 Moreover he wrote for all the Jews that went out of his
realm up into Jewry, concerning their freedom, that no
officer, no ruler, no lieutenant, nor treasurer, should forcibly enter into
their doors;
50 And that all the country which they hold should be free
without tribute; and that the Edomites should give over the villages of the
Jews which then they held:
51 Yea, that there should be yearly given twenty talents to
the building of the temple, until the time that it were built;
52 And other ten talents yearly, to maintain the burnt
offerings upon the altar every day, as they had a commandment to offer
seventeen:
53 And that all they that went from Babylon to build the city
should have free liberty, as well they as their posterity, and all the priests
that went away.
54 He wrote also concerning. the
charges, and the priests' vestments wherein they minister;
55 And likewise for the charges of the Levites, to be given
them until the day that the house were finished, and Jerusalem builded up.
56 And he commanded to give to all that kept the city
pensions and wages.
57 He sent away also all the vessels from Babylon, that Cyrus
had set apart; and all that Cyrus had given in commandment, the same charged he also to be done, and sent unto Jerusalem.
58 Now when this young man was gone forth, he lifted up his
face to heaven toward Jerusalem, and praised the King of heaven,
59 And said, From thee cometh
victory, from thee cometh wisdom, and thine is the glory, and I am thy servant.
60 Blessed art thou, who hast given me wisdom: for to thee I
give thanks, O Lord of our fathers.
61 And so he took the letters, and went out, and came unto
Babylon, and told it all his brethren.
62 And they praised the God of their fathers, because he had
given them freedom and liberty
63 To go up, and to build Jerusalem, and the temple which is
called by his name: and they feasted with instruments of musick and gladness
seven days.
1 After this were the principal men of the families chosen
according to their tribes, to go up with their wives and sons and daughters,
with their menservants and maidservants, and their cattle.
2 And Darius sent with them a thousand horsemen, till they
had brought them back to Jerusalem safely, and with musical [instruments]
tabrets and flutes.
3 And all their brethren played, and he made them go up
together with them.
4 And these are the names of the men which went up, according
to their families among their tribes, after their several heads.
5 The priests, the sons of Phinees the son of Aaron: Jesus
the son of Josedec, the son of Saraias, and Joacim the son of Zorobabel, the
son of Salathiel, of the house of David, out of the kindred of Phares, of the
tribe of Judah;
6 Who spake wise sentences before Darius the king of Persia
in the second year of his reign, in the month Nisan, which is the first month.
7 And these are they of Jewry that came up from the
captivity, where they dwelt as strangers, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of
Babylon had carried away unto Babylon.
8 And they returned unto Jerusalem, and to the other parts of
Jewry, every man to his own city, who came with Zorobabel, with Jesus,
Nehemias, and Zacharias, and Reesaias, Enenius, Mardocheus. Beelsarus,
Aspharasus, Reelius, Roimus, and Baana, their guides.
9 The number of them of the nation, and their governors, sons
of Phoros, two thousand an hundred seventy and two; the sons of Saphat, four
hundred seventy and two:
10 The sons of Ares, seven hundred fifty and six:
11 The sons of Phaath Moab, two thousand eight hundred and
twelve:
12 The sons of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four:
the sons of Zathul, nine hundred forty and five: the sons of Corbe, seven
hundred and five: the sons of Bani, six hundred forty and eight:
13 The sons of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three: the sons
of Sadas, three thousand two hundred twenty and two:
14 The sons of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and seven: the
sons of Bagoi, two thousand sixty and six: the sons of Adin, four hundred fifty
and four:
15 The sons of Aterezias, ninety and two: the sons of Ceilan
and Azetas threescore and seven: the sons of Azuran, four hundred thirty and
two:
16 The sons of Ananias, an hundred and one: the sons of Arom,
thirty two: and the sons of Bassa, three hundred twenty and three: the sons of
Azephurith, an hundred and two:
17 The sons of Meterus, three thousand and five: the sons of
Bethlomon, an hundred twenty and three:
18 They of Netophah, fifty and five: they of Anathoth, an
hundred fifty and eight: they of Bethsamos, forty and two:
19 They of Kiriathiarius, twenty and five: they of Caphira
and Beroth, seven hundred forty and three: they of Pira, seven hundred:
20 They of Chadias and Ammidoi, four hundred twenty and two:
they of Cirama and Gabdes, six hundred twenty and one:
21 They of Macalon, an hundred twenty and two: they of
Betolius, fifty and two: the sons of Nephis, an hundred fifty and six:
22 The sons of Calamolalus and Onus, seven hundred twenty and
five: the sons of Jerechus, two hundred forty and five:
23 The sons of Annas, three thousand three hundred and
thirty.
24 The priests: the sons of Jeddu, the son of Jesus among the
sons of Sanasib, nine hundred seventy and two: the sons of Meruth, a thousand
fifty and two:
25 The sons of Phassaron, a thousand forty and seven: the
sons of Carme, a thousand and seventeen.
26 The Levites: the sons of Jessue, and Cadmiel, and Banuas,
and Sudias, seventy and four.
27 The holy singers: the sons of Asaph, an hundred twenty and
eight.
28 The porters: the sons of Salum, the sons of Jatal, the
sons of Talmon, the sons of Dacobi, the sons of Teta, the sons of Sami, in all
an hundred thirty and nine.
29 The servants of the temple: the sons of Esau, the sons of
Asipha, the sons of Tabaoth, the sons of Ceras, the sons of Sud, the sons of
Phaleas, the sons of Labana, the sons of Graba,
30 The sons of Acua, the sons of Uta, the sons of Cetab, the
sons of Agaba, the sons of Subai, the sons of Anan, the sons of Cathua, the
sons of Geddur,
31 The sons of Airus, the sons of Daisan, the sons of Noeba,
the sons of Chaseba, the sons of Gazera, the sons of Azia, the sons of Phinees,
the sons of Azare, the sons of Bastai, the sons of Asana, the sons of Meani,
the sons of Naphisi, the sons of Acub, the sons of Acipha, the sons of Assur,
the sons of Pharacim, the sons of Basaloth,
32 The sons of Meeda, the sons of Coutha, the sons of Charea,
the sons of Charcus, the sons of Aserer, the sons of Thomoi, the sons of
Nasith, the sons of Atipha.
33 The sons of the servants of Solomon: the sons of Azaphion,
the sons of Pharira, the sons of Jeeli, the sons of Lozon, the sons of Israel,
the sons of Sapheth,
34 The sons of Hagia, the sons of Pharacareth, the sons of
Sabi, the sons of Sarothie, the sons of Masias, the sons of Gar, the sons of
Addus, the sons of Suba, the sons of Apherra, the sons of Barodis, the sons of
Sabat, the sons of Allom.
35 All the ministers of the temple, and the sons of the
servants of Solomon, were three hundred seventy and two.
36 These came up from Thermeleth and Thelersas, Charaathalar
leading them, and Aalar;
37 Neither could they shew their families, nor their stock,
how they were of Israel: the sons of Ladan, the son of Ban, the sons of
Necodan, six hundred fifty and two.
38 And of the priests that usurped the office of the
priesthood, and were not found: the sons of Obdia, the sons of Accoz, the sons
of Addus, who married Augia one of the daughters of Barzelus, and was named
after his name.
39 And when the description of the kindred of these men was
sought in the register, and was not found, they were removed from executing the
office of the priesthood:
40 For unto them said Nehemias and Atharias, that they should
not be partakers of the holy things, till there arose up an
high priest clothed with doctrine and truth.
41 So of Israel, from them of twelve years old and upward,
they were all in number forty thousand, beside menservants and womenservants
two thousand three hundred and sixty.
42 Their menservants and handmaids were seven thousand three
hundred forty and seven: the singing men and singing women, two hundred forty
and five:
43 Four hundred thirty and five camels, seven thousand thirty
and six horses, two hundred forty and five mules, five thousand five hundred
twenty and five beasts used to the yoke.
44 And certain of the chief of their families, when they came
to the temple of God that is in Jerusalem, vowed to set up the house again in
his own place according to their ability,
45 And to give into the holy treasury of the works a thousand
pounds of gold, five thousand of silver, and an hundred priestly vestments.
46 And so dwelt the priests and the Levites and the people in
Jerusalem, and in the country, the singers also and the porters; and all Israel
in their villages.
47 But when the seventh month was at hand, and when the
children of Israel were every man in his own place, they came all together with
one consent into the open place of the first gate which is toward the east.
48 Then stood up Jesus the son of Josedec, and his brethren
the priests and Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and his brethren, and made
ready the altar of the God of Israel,
49 To offer burnt sacrifices upon it, according as it is
expressly commanded in the book of Moses the man of God.
50 And there were gathered unto them out of the other nations
of the land, and they erected the altar upon his own place, because all the
nations of the land were at enmity with them, and oppressed them; and they
offered sacrifices according to the time, and burnt offerings to the Lord both
morning and evening.
51 Also they held the feast of tabernacles, as it is
commanded in the law, and offered sacrifices daily, as was meet:
52 And after that, the continual oblations, and the sacrifice
of the sabbaths, and of the new moons, and of all holy
feasts.
53 And all they that had made any vow to God began to offer
sacrifices to God from the first day of the seventh month, although the temple
of the Lord was not yet built.
54 And they gave unto the masons and carpenters money, meat,
and drink, with cheerfulness.
55 Unto them of Zidon also and Tyre they gave carrs, that
they should bring cedar trees from Libanus, which should be brought by floats
to the haven of Joppa, according as it was commanded them by Cyrus king of the
Persians.
56 And in the second year and second month after his coming
to the temple of God at Jerusalem began Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and
Jesus the son of Josedec, and their brethren, and the priests, and the Levites,
and all they that were come unto Jerusalem out of the captivity:
57 And they laid the foundation of the house of God in the
first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come to Jewry
and Jerusalem.
58 And they appointed the Levites from twenty years old over
the works of the Lord. Then stood up Jesus, and his sons and brethren, and
Cadmiel his brother, and the sons of Madiabun, with the sons of Joda the son of
Eliadun, with their sons and brethren, all Levites, with one accord setters
forward of the business, labouring to advance the works in the house of God. So
the workmen built the temple of the Lord.
59 And the priests stood arrayed in their vestments with
musical instruments and trumpets; and the Levites the sons of Asaph had
cymbals,
60 Singing songs of thanksgiving, and praising the Lord,
according as David the king of Israel had ordained.
61 And they sung with loud voices songs to the praise of the
Lord, because his mercy and glory is for ever in all Israel.
62 And all the people sounded trumpets, and shouted with a
loud voice, singing songs of thanksgiving unto the Lord for the rearing up of
the house of the Lord.
63 Also of the priests and Levites, and of the chief of their
families, the ancients who had seen the former house came to the building of
this with weeping and great crying.
64 But many with trumpets and joy shouted with loud voice,
65 Insomuch that the trumpets might not be heard for the
weeping of the people: yet the multitude sounded marvellously, so that it was
heard afar off.
66 Wherefore when the enemies of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin
heard it, they came to know what that noise of trumpets should mean.
67 And they perceived that they that were of the captivity
did build the temple unto the Lord God of Israel.
68 So they went to Zorobabel and Jesus, and to the chief of
the families, and said unto them, We will build
together with you.
69 For we likewise, as ye, do obey your Lord, and do
sacrifice unto him from the days of Azbazareth the king of the Assyrians, who
brought us hither.
70 Then Zorobabel and Jesus and the chief of the families of
Israel said unto them, It is not for us and you to
build together an house unto the Lord our God.
71 We ourselves alone will build unto the Lord of Israel,
according as Cyrus the king of the Persians hath commanded us.
72 But the heathen of the land lying heavy upon the
inhabitants of Judea, and holding them strait, hindered their building;
73 And by their secret plots, and popular persuasions and
commotions, they hindered the finishing of the building all the time that king Cyrus lived: so they were hindered from building for
the space of two years, until the reign of Darius.
1 Now in the second year of the reign of Darius Aggeus and
Zacharias the son of Addo, the prophets, prophesied unto the Jews in Jewry and
Jerusalem in the name of the Lord God of Israel, which was upon them.
2 Then stood up Zorobabel the son of Salatiel, and Jesus the
son of Josedec, and began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the
prophets of the Lord being with them, and helping them.
3 At the same time came unto them Sisinnes the governor of
Syria and Phenice, with Sathrabuzanes and his companions, and said unto them,
4 By whose appointment do ye build this house and this roof,
and perform all the other things? and who are the
workmen that perform these things?
5 Nevertheless the elders of the Jews obtained favour,
because the Lord had visited the captivity;
6 And they were not hindered from building, until such time
as signification was given unto Darius concerning them, and an answer received.
7 The copy of the letters which Sisinnes, governor of Syria
and Phenice, and Sathrabuzanes, with their companions, rulers in Syria and
Phenice, wrote and sent unto Darius; To king Darius, greeting:
8 Let all things be known unto our lord the king, that being
come into the country of Judea, and entered into the city of Jerusalem we found
in the city of Jerusalem the ancients of the Jews that were of the captivity
9 Building an house unto the Lord,
great and new, of hewn and costly stones, and the timber already laid upon the
walls.
10 And those works are done with great speed, and the work
goeth on prosperously in their hands, and with all glory and diligence is it
made.
11 Then asked we these elders, saying, By
whose commandment build ye this house, and lay the foundations of these works?
12 Therefore to the intent that we might give knowledge unto
thee by writing, we demanded of them who were the chief doers, and we required
of them the names in writing of their principal men.
13 So they gave us this answer, We
are the servants of the Lord which made heaven and earth.
14 And as for this house, it was builded many years ago by a
king of Israel great and strong, and was finished.
15 But when our fathers provoked God unto wrath, and sinned
against the Lord of Israel which is in heaven, he gave them over into the power
of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, of the Chaldees;
16 Who pulled down the house, and burned it, and carried away
the people captives unto Babylon.
17 But in the first year that king Cyrus reigned over the
country of Babylon Cyrus the king wrote to build up this house.
18 And the holy vessels of gold and of silver, that
Nabuchodonosor had carried away out of the house at Jerusalem, and had set them
in his own temple those Cyrus the king brought forth again out of the temple at
Babylon, and they were delivered to Zorobabel and to Sanabassarus the ruler,
19 With commandment that he should carry away the same
vessels, and put them in the temple at Jerusalem; and that the temple of the
Lord should be built in his place.
20 Then the same Sanabassarus, being come hither, laid the
foundations of the house of the Lord at Jerusalem; and from that time to this
being still a building, it is not yet fully ended.
21 Now therefore, if it seem good unto the king, let search
be made among the records of king Cyrus:
22 And if it be found that the building of the house of the
Lord at Jerusalem hath been done with the consent of king
Cyrus, and if our lord the king be so minded, let him signify unto us thereof.
23 Then commanded king Darius to seek among the records at
Babylon: and so at Ecbatane the palace, which is in the country of Media, there
was found a roll wherein these things were recorded.
24 In the first year of the reign of Cyrus king Cyrus
commanded that the house of the Lord at Jerusalem should be built again, where
they do sacrifice with continual fire:
25 Whose height shall be sixty cubits and the breadth sixty
cubits, with three rows of hewn stones, and one row of new wood of that
country; and the expences thereof to be given out of the house of king Cyrus:
26 And that the holy vessels of the house of the Lord, both
of gold and silver, that Nabuchodonosor took out of the house at Jerusalem, and
brought to Babylon, should be restored to the house at Jerusalem, and be set in
the place where they were before.
27 And also he commanded that Sisinnes the governor of Syria
and Phenice, and Sathrabuzanes, and their companions, and those which were
appointed rulers in Syria and Phenice, should be careful not to meddle with the
place, but suffer Zorobabel, the servant of the Lord, and governor of Judea,
and the elders of the Jews, to build the house of the Lord in that place.
28 I have commanded also to have it built up whole again; and
that they look diligently to help those that be of the captivity of the Jews,
till the house of the Lord be finished:
29 And out of the tribute of Celosyria and Phenice a portion
carefully to be given these men for the sacrifices of the Lord, that is, to
Zorobabel the governor, for bullocks, and rams, and lambs;
30 And also corn, salt, wine, and oil, and that continually
every year without further question, according as the priests that be in
Jerusalem shall signify to be daily spent:
31 That offerings may be made to the most
high God for the king and for his children, and that they may pray for
their lives.
32 And he commanded that whosoever should transgress, yea, or
make light of any thing afore spoken or written, out of his own house should a
tree be taken, and he thereon be hanged, and all his goods seized for the king.
33 The Lord therefore, whose name is there called upon,
utterly destroy every king and nation, that stretcheth out his hand to hinder
or endamage that house of the Lord in Jerusalem.
34 I Darius the king have ordained that according unto these
things it be done with diligence.
1 Then Sisinnes the governor of Celosyria and Phenice, and
Sathrabuzanes, with their companions following the commandments of king Darius,
2 Did very carefully oversee the holy works, assisting the
ancients of the Jews and governors of the temple.
3 And so the holy works prospered, when Aggeus and Zacharias
the prophets prophesied.
4 And they finished these things by the commandment of the
Lord God of Israel, and with the consent of Cyrus, Darius, and Artexerxes,
kings of Persia.
5 And thus was the holy house finished in the three and
twentieth day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of Darius king of the
Persians
6 And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites,
and others that were of the captivity, that were added unto them, did according
to the things written in the book of Moses.
7 And to the dedication of the temple of the Lord they
offered an hundred bullocks two hundred rams, four hundred lambs;
8 And twelve goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the
number of the chief of the tribes of Israel.
9 The priests also and the Levites stood arrayed in their
vestments, according to their kindreds, in the service of the Lord God of
Israel, according to the book of Moses: and the porters at every gate.
10 And the children of Israel that were of the captivity held
the passover the fourteenth day of the first month,
after that the priests and the Levites were sanctified.
11 They that were of the captivity were not all sanctified
together: but the Levites were all sanctified together.
12 And so they offered the passover
for all them of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for
themselves.
13 And the children of Israel that came out of the captivity
did eat, even all they that had separated themselves from the abominations of
the people of the land, and sought the Lord.
14 And they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days,
making merry before the Lord,
15 For that he had turned the counsel of the king of Assyria
toward them, to strengthen their hands in the works of the Lord God of Israel.
1 And after these things, when Artexerxes the king of the
Persians reigned came Esdras the son of Saraias, the son of Ezerias, the son of
Helchiah, the son of Salum,
2 The son of Sadduc, the son of Achitob, the son of Amarias,
the son of Ezias, the son of Meremoth, the son of Zaraias, the son of Savias,
the son of Boccas, the son of Abisum, the son of Phinees, the son of Eleazar,
the son of Aaron the chief priest.
3 This Esdras went up from Babylon, as a scribe, being very
ready in the law of Moses, that was given by the God
of Israel.
4 And the king did him honour: for he found grace in his
sight in all his requests.
5 There went up with him also certain of the children of
Israel, of the priest of the Levites, of the holy singers, porters, and
ministers of the temple, unto Jerusalem,
6 In the seventh year of the reign of Artexerxes, in the
fifth month, this was the king's seventh year; for they went from Babylon in
the first day of the first month, and came to Jerusalem, according to the
prosperous journey which the Lord gave them.
7 For Esdras had very great skill, so that he omitted nothing
of the law and commandments of the Lord, but taught all Israel the ordinances
and judgments.
8 Now the copy of the commission, which was written from
Artexerxes the king, and came to Esdras the priest and reader of the law of the
Lord, is this that followeth;
9 King Artexerxes unto Esdras the priest and reader of the
law of the Lord sendeth greeting:
10 Having determined to deal graciously, I have given order, that such of the nation of the Jews, and of the
priests and Levites being within our realm, as are willing and desirous should
go with thee unto Jerusalem.
11 As many therefore as have a mind thereunto, let them
depart with thee, as it hath seemed good both to me and my seven friends the
counsellors;
12 That they may look unto the affairs of Judea and
Jerusalem, agreeably to that which is in the law of the Lord;
13 And carry the gifts unto the Lord of Israel to Jerusalem,
which I and my friends have vowed, and all the gold and silver that in the
country of Babylon can be found, to the Lord in Jerusalem,
14 With that also which is given of the people for the temple
of the Lord their God at Jerusalem: and that silver and gold may be collected
for bullocks, rams, and lambs, and things thereunto appertaining;
15 To the end that they may offer sacrifices unto the Lord
upon the altar of the Lord their God, which is in Jerusalem.
16 And whatsoever thou and thy brethren will do with the
silver and gold, that do, according to the will of thy
God.
17 And the holy vessels of the Lord, which are given thee for
the use of the temple of thy God, which is in Jerusalem, thou shalt set before
thy God in Jerusalem.
18 And whatsoever thing else thou shalt remember for the use
of the temple of thy God, thou shalt give it out of the king's treasury.
19 And I king Artexerxes have also commanded the keepers of
the treasures in Syria and Phenice, that whatsoever Esdras the priest and the
reader of the law of the most high God shall send for, they should give it him
with speed,
20 To the sum of an hundred talents of silver, likewise also
of wheat even to an hundred cors, and an hundred pieces of wine, and other
things in abundance.
21 Let all things be performed after the law of God
diligently unto the most high God, that wrath come not upon the kingdom of the
king and his sons.
22 I command you also, that ye require no tax, nor any other
imposition, of any of the priests, or Levites, or holy singers, or porters, or
ministers of the temple, or of any that have doings in this temple, and that no
man have authority to impose any thing upon them.
23 And thou, Esdras, according to the wisdom of God ordain
judges and justices, that they may judge in all Syria and Phenice all those
that know the law of thy God; and those that know it not thou shalt teach.
24 And whosoever shall transgress the law of thy God, and of
the king, shall be punished diligently, whether it be by death, or other
punishment, by penalty of money, or by imprisonment.
25 Then said Esdras the scribe, Blessed
be the only Lord God of my fathers, who hath put these things into the heart of
the king, to glorify his house that is in Jerusalem:
26 And hath honoured me in the sight of the king, and his
counsellors, and all his friends and nobles.
27 Therefore was I encouraged by the help of the Lord my God,
and gathered together men of Israel to go up with me.
28 And these are the chief according to their families and
several dignities, that went up with me from Babylon
in the reign of king Artexerxes:
29 Of the sons of Phinees, Gerson: of the sons of Ithamar,
Gamael: of the sons of David, Lettus the son of Sechenias:
30 Of the sons of Pharez, Zacharias; and with him were
counted an hundred and fifty men:
31 Of the sons of Pahath Moab, Eliaonias, the son of Zaraias,
and with him two hundred men:
32 Of the sons of Zathoe, Sechenias the son of Jezelus, and
with him three hundred men: of the sons of Adin, Obeth the son of Jonathan, and
with him two hundred and fifty men:
33 Of the sons of Elam, Josias son of Gotholias, and with him
seventy men:
34 Of the sons of Saphatias, Zaraias son of Michael, and with
him threescore and ten men:
35 Of the sons of Joab, Abadias son of Jezelus, and with him
two hundred and twelve men:
36 Of the sons of Banid, Assalimoth son of Josaphias, and
with him an hundred and threescore men:
37 Of the sons of Babi, Zacharias son of Bebai, and with him twenty
and eight men:
38 Of the sons of Astath, Johannes son of Acatan, and with
him an hundred and ten men:
39 Of the sons of Adonikam the last, and these are the names
of them, Eliphalet, Jewel, and Samaias, and with them seventy men:
40 Of the sons of Bago, Uthi the son of Istalcurus, and with
him seventy men.
41 And these I gathered together to the river called Theras,
where we pitched our tents three days: and then I surveyed them.
42 But when I had found there none of the priests and
Levites,
43 Then sent I unto Eleazar, and Iduel, and Masman,
44 And Alnathan, and Mamaias, and Joribas, and Nathan,
Eunatan, Zacharias, and Mosollamon, principal men and learned.
45 And I bade them that they should go unto Saddeus the
captain, who was in the place of the treasury:
46 And commanded them that they should speak unto Daddeus,
and to his brethren, and to the treasurers in that place, to send us such men
as might execute the priests' office in the house of the Lord.
47 And by the mighty hand of our Lord they brought unto us
skilful men of the sons of Moli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, Asebebia,
and his sons, and his brethren, who were eighteen.
48 And Asebia, and Annus, and Osaias his brother, of the sons
of Channuneus, and their sons, were twenty men.
49 And of the servants of the temple whom David had ordained,
and the principal men for the service of the Levites to wit, the servants of
the temple two hundred and twenty, the catalogue of whose names were shewed.
50 And there I vowed a fast unto the young men before our
Lord, to desire of him a prosperous journey both for us and them that were with
us, for our children, and for the cattle:
51 For I was ashamed to ask the king footmen, and horsemen,
and conduct for safeguard against our adversaries.
52 For we had said unto the king, that the power of the Lord
our God should be with them that seek him, to support them in all ways.
53 And again we besought our Lord as touching these things,
and found him favourable unto us.
54 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests,
Esebrias, and Assanias, and ten men of their brethren with them:
55 And I weighed them the gold, and the silver, and the holy
vessels of the house of our Lord, which the king, and his council, and the
princes, and all Israel, had given.
56 And when I had weighed it, I delivered unto them six
hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels of an hundred talents,
and an hundred talents of gold,
57 And twenty golden vessels, and twelve vessels of brass,
even of fine brass, glittering like gold.
58 And I said unto them, Both ye are
holy unto the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the gold and the silver is a
vow unto the Lord, the Lord of our fathers.
59 Watch ye, and keep them till ye
deliver them to the chief of the priests and Levites, and to the principal men
of the families of Israel, in Jerusalem, into the chambers of the house of our
God.
60 So the priests and the Levites, who had received the silver
and the gold and the vessels, brought them unto Jerusalem, into the temple of
the Lord.
61 And from the river Theras we departed the twelfth day of
the first month, and came to Jerusalem by the mighty hand of our Lord, which
was with us: and from the beginning of our journey the Lord delivered us from
every enemy, and so we came to Jerusalem.
62 And when we had been there three days, the gold and silver
that was weighed was delivered in the house of our Lord on the fourth day unto
Marmoth the priest the son of Iri.
63 And with him was Eleazar the son of Phinees, and with them
were Josabad the son of Jesu and Moeth the son of Sabban, Levites: all was
delivered them by number and weight.
64 And all the weight of them was written up the same hour.
65 Moreover they that were come out of the captivity offered
sacrifice unto the Lord God of Israel, even twelve bullocks for all Israel,
fourscore and sixteen rams,
66 Threescore and twelve lambs, goats for a peace offering,
twelve; all of them a sacrifice to the Lord.
67 And they delivered the king's commandments unto the king's
stewards' and to the governors of Celosyria and Phenice; and they honoured the
people and the temple of God.
68 Now when these things were done, the rulers came unto me,
and said,
69 The nation of Israel, the princes, the priests and
Levites, have not put away from them the strange people of the land, nor the
pollutions of the Gentiles to wit, of the Canaanites, Hittites, Pheresites,
Jebusites, and the Moabites, Egyptians, and Edomites.
70 For both they and their sons have married with their
daughters, and the holy seed is mixed with the strange people of the land; and
from the beginning of this matter the rulers and the great men have been
partakers of this iniquity.
71 And as soon as I had heard these things, I rent my
clothes, and the holy garment, and pulled off the hair from off my head and
beard, and sat me down sad and very heavy.
72 So all they that were then moved at the word of the Lord
God of Israel assembled unto me, whilst I mourned for the iniquity: but I sat
still full of heaviness until the evening sacrifice.
73 Then rising up from the fast with my clothes and the holy
garment rent, and bowing my knees, and stretching forth my hands unto the Lord,
74 I said, O Lord, I am confounded and ashamed before thy
face;
75 For our sins are multiplied above our heads, and our
ignorances have reached up unto heaven.
76 For ever since the time of our fathers we have been and
are in great sin, even unto this day.
77 And for our sins and our fathers' we with our brethren and
our kings and our priests were given up unto the kings of the earth, to the
sword, and to captivity, and for a prey with shame, unto this day.
78 And now in some measure hath mercy been shewed unto us
from thee, O Lord, that there should be left us a root and a name in the place
of thy sanctuary;
79 And to discover unto us a light in the house of the Lord our
God, and to give us food in the time of our servitude.
80 Yea, when we were in bondage, we were not forsaken of our
Lord; but he made us gracious before the kings of Persia, so that they gave us
food;
81 Yea, and honoured the temple of our Lord, and raised up the
desolate Sion, that they have given us a sure abiding in Jewry and Jerusalem.
82 And now, O Lord, what shall we say, having these things? for we have transgressed thy commandments, which thou gavest
by the hand of thy servants the prophets, saying,
83 That the land, which ye enter into to possess as an heritage, is a land polluted with the pollutions of the
strangers of the land, and they have filled it with their uncleanness.
84 Therefore now shall ye not join your daughters unto their
sons, neither shall ye take their daughters unto your sons.
85 Moreover ye shall never seek to have peace with them, that
ye may be strong, and eat the good things of the land, and that ye may leave
the inheritance of the land unto your children for evermore.
86 And all that is befallen is done
unto us for our wicked works and great sins; for thou, O Lord, didst make our
sins light,
87 And didst give unto us such a root: but we have turned back
again to transgress thy law, and to mingle ourselves with the uncleanness of
the nations of the land.
88 Mightest not thou be angry with us to destroy us, till thou
hadst left us neither root, seed, nor name?
89 O Lord of Israel, thou art true: for we are left a root this
day.
90 Behold, now are we before thee in our iniquities, for we
cannot stand any longer by reason of these things before thee.
91 And as Esdras in his prayer made his confession, weeping,
and lying flat upon the ground before the temple, there gathered unto him from
Jerusalem a very great multitude of men and women and children: for there was
great weeping among the multitude.
92 Then Jechonias the son of Jeelus, one of the sons of Israel,
called out, and said, O Esdras, we have sinned against the Lord God, we have
married strange women of the nations of the land, and now is all Israel aloft.
93 Let us make an oath to the Lord, that we will put away all
our wives, which we have taken of the heathen, with their children,
94 Like as thou hast decreed, and as many as do obey the law of
the Lord.
95 Arise and put in execution: for to thee doth this matter
appertain, and we will be with thee: do valiantly.
96 So Esdras arose, and took an oath of the chief of the
priests and Levites of all Israel to do after these things; and so they sware.
1 Then Esdras rising from the court of the temple went to the
chamber of Joanan the son of Eliasib,
2 And remained there, and did eat no meat nor drink water,
mourning for the great iniquities of the multitude.
3 And there was a proclamation in all Jewry and Jerusalem to
all them that were of the captivity, that they should be gathered together at
Jerusalem:
4 And that whosoever met not there within two or three days
according as the elders that bare rule appointed, their cattle should be seized
to the use of the temple, and himself cast out from them that were of the
captivity.
5 And in three days were all they of the tribe of Judah and
Benjamin gathered together at Jerusalem the twentieth day of the ninth month.
6 And all the multitude sat trembling in the broad court of
the temple because of the present foul weather.
7 So Esdras arose up, and said unto them, Ye
have transgressed the law in marrying strange wives, thereby to increase the
sins of Israel.
8 And now by confessing give glory unto the Lord God of our
fathers,
9 And do his will, and separate yourselves from the heathen
of the land, and from the strange women.
10 Then cried the whole multitude, and said with a loud
voice, Like as thou hast spoken, so will we do.
11 But forasmuch as the people are many, and it is foul
weather, so that we cannot stand without, and this is not a work of a day or
two, seeing our sin in these things is spread far:
12 Therefore let the rulers of the multitude stay, and let
all them of our habitations that have strange wives come at the time appointed,
13 And with them the rulers and judges of every place, till
we turn away the wrath of the Lord from us for this matter.
14 Then Jonathan the son of Azael and Ezechias the son of
Theocanus accordingly took this matter upon them: and Mosollam and Levis and
Sabbatheus helped them.
15 And they that were of the captivity did according to all
these things.
16 And Esdras the priest chose unto him the principal men of
their families, all by name: and in the first day of the tenth month they sat
together to examine the matter.
17 So their cause that held strange wives was brought to an
end in the first day of the first month.
18 And of the priests that were come together, and had
strange wives, there were found:
19 Of the sons of Jesus the son of Josedec, and his brethren;
Matthelas and Eleazar, and Joribus and Joadanus.
20 And they gave their hands to put away their wives and to
offer rams to make reconcilement for their errors.
21 And of the sons of Emmer; Ananias, and Zabdeus, and Eanes,
and Sameius, and Hiereel, and Azarias.
22 And of the sons of Phaisur; Elionas, Massias Israel, and
Nathanael, and Ocidelus and Talsas.
23 And of the Levites; Jozabad, and Semis, and Colius, who
was called Calitas, and Patheus, and Judas, and Jonas.
24 Of the holy singers; Eleazurus, Bacchurus.
25 Of the porters; Sallumus, and Tolbanes.
26 Of them of Israel, of the sons of Phoros; Hiermas, and
Eddias, and Melchias, and Maelus, and Eleazar, and Asibias, and Baanias.
27 Of the sons of Ela; Matthanias, Zacharias, and Hierielus,
and Hieremoth, and Aedias.
28 And of the sons of Zamoth; Eliadas, Elisimus, Othonias,
Jarimoth, and Sabatus, and Sardeus.
29 Of the sons of Babai; Johannes, and Ananias and Josabad,
and Amatheis.
30 Of the sons of Mani; Olamus, Mamuchus, Jedeus, Jasubus,
Jasael, and Hieremoth.
31 And of the sons of Addi; Naathus, and Moosias, Lacunus,
and Naidus, and Mathanias, and Sesthel, Balnuus, and Manasseas.
32 And of the sons of Annas; Elionas and Aseas, and Melchias,
and Sabbeus, and Simon Chosameus.
33 And of the sons of Asom; Altaneus, and Matthias, and
Baanaia, Eliphalet, and Manasses, and Semei.
34 And of the sons of Maani; Jeremias, Momdis, Omaerus, Juel,
Mabdai, and Pelias, and Anos, Carabasion, and Enasibus, and Mamnitanaimus,
Eliasis, Bannus, Eliali, Samis, Selemias, Nathanias: and of the sons of Ozora;
Sesis, Esril, Azaelus, Samatus, Zambis, Josephus.
35 And of the sons of Ethma; Mazitias, Zabadaias, Edes, Juel,
Banaias.
36 All these had taken strange wives, and they put them away
with their children.
37 And the priests and Levites, and they that were of Israel,
dwelt in Jerusalem, and in the country, in the first day of the seventh month:
so the children of Israel were in their habitations.
38 And the whole multitude came together with one accord into
the broad place of the holy porch toward the east:
39 And they spake unto Esdras the priest and reader, that he
would bring the law of Moses, that was given of the
Lord God of Israel.
40 So Esdras the chief priest brought the law unto the whole
multitude from man to woman, and to all the priests, to hear law in the first
day of the seventh month.
41 And he read in the broad court before the holy porch from
morning unto midday, before both men and women; and the multitude gave heed
unto the law.
42 And Esdras the priest and reader of the law stood up upon
a pulpit of wood, which was made for that purpose.
43 And there stood up by him Mattathias, Sammus, Ananias,
Azarias, Urias, Ezecias, Balasamus, upon the right hand:
44 And upon his left hand stood Phaldaius, Misael, Melchias,
Lothasubus, and Nabarias.
45 Then took Esdras the book of the law before the multitude:
for he sat honourably in the first place in the sight of them all.
46 And when he opened the law, they stood all straight up. So
Esdras blessed the Lord God most High, the God of hosts, Almighty.
47 And all the people answered, Amen; and lifting up their
hands they fell to the ground, and worshipped the Lord.
48 Also Jesus, Anus, Sarabias, Adinus, Jacubus, Sabateas,
Auteas, Maianeas, and Calitas, Asrias, and Joazabdus, and Ananias, Biatas, the
Levites, taught the law of the Lord, making them withal to understand it.
49 Then spake Attharates unto Esdras the chief priest. and reader, and to the Levites that taught the multitude,
even to all, saying,
50 This day is holy unto the Lord; (for they all wept when
they heard the law:)
51 Go then, and eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send
part to them that have nothing;
52 For this day is holy unto the Lord: and be not sorrowful;
for the Lord will bring you to honour.
53 So the Levites published all things to the people, saying,
This day is holy to the Lord; be not sorrowful.
54 Then went they their way, every
one to eat and drink, and make merry, and to give part to them that had
nothing, and to make great cheer;
55 Because they understood the words wherein they were
instructed, and for the which they had been assembled.
Apocrypha:
2 Esdras Chapter 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,
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,
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.
4 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
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:
6 Because the sins of their fathers are increased in
them: for they have forgotten me, and have offered unto strange gods.
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.
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.
9 How long shall I forbear them, into whom I have done
so much good?
10 Many kings have I destroyed for
their sakes; Pharaoh with his servants and all his power have I smitten down.
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.
12 Speak thou therefore unto them,
saying, Thus saith the Lord,
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.
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.
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,
16 And triumphed not in my name for
the destruction of your enemies, but ever to this day do ye yet murmur.
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,
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.
19 Then had I pity upon your
mournings, and gave you manna to eat; so ye did eat angels' bread.
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.
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.
22 Thus saith the Almighty Lord, When ye were in the wilderness, in the river of the
Amorites, being athirst, and blaspheming my name,
23 I gave you not fire for your
blasphemies, but cast a tree in the water, and made the river sweet.
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.
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.
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.
27 Ye have not as it were forsaken
me, but your own selves, saith the Lord.
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,
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?
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.
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.
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.
33 Thus saith the Almighty Lord, Your
house is desolate, I will cast you out as the wind
doth stubble.
34 And your children shall not be
fruitful; for they have despised my commandment, and done the thing that is an
evil before me.
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.
36 They have seen no prophets, yet
they shall call their sins to remembrance, and acknowledge them.
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.
38 And now, brother, behold what
glory; and see the people that come from the east:
39 Unto whom I will give for
leaders, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Oseas, Amos, and Micheas, Joel, Abdias, and
Jonas,
40 Nahum, and Abacuc, Sophonias,
Aggeus, Zachary, and Malachy, which is called also an angel of the Lord.
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 The mother that bare them saith unto them, Go your way, ye
children; for I am a widow and forsaken.
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.
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.
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,
6 That thou bring them to confusion, and their mother to a
spoil, that there may be no offspring of them.
7 Let them be scattered abroad among the heathen, let their
names be put out of the earth: for they have despised my covenant.
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;
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.
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.
11 Their glory also will I take unto me, and give these the
everlasting tabernacles, which I had prepared for them.
12 They shall have the tree of life for an ointment of sweet
savour; they shall neither labour, nor be weary.
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.
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.
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.
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.
17 Fear not, thou mother of the children: for I have chosen
thee, saith the Lord.
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,
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.
20 Do right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to
the poor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,
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.
22 Keep the old and young within thy walls.
23 Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury
them, and I will give thee the first place in my resurrection.
24 Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy
quietness still come.
25 Nourish thy children, O thou good nurse; stablish their
feet.
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.
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.
28 The heathen shall envy thee, but they shall be able to do
nothing against thee, saith the Lord.
29 My hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not
see hell.
30 Be joyful, O thou mother, with thy children; for I will
deliver thee, saith the Lord.
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.
32 Embrace thy children until I come and shew mercy unto
them: for my wells run over, and my grace shall not fail.
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.
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.
35 Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting
light shall shine upon you for evermore.
36 Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of
your glory: I testify my Saviour openly.
37 O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving
thanks unto him that hath led you to the heavenly kingdom.
38 Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be
sealed in the feast of the Lord;
39 Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have
received glorious garments of the Lord.
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.
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.
42 I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could
not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs.
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.
44 So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these?
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.
46 Then said I unto the angel, What
young person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands?
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.
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.
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:
2 For I saw the desolation of Sion, and the wealth of them
that dwelt at Babylon.
3 And my spirit was sore moved, so that I began to speak
words full of fear to the most High, and said,
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,
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.
6 And thou leadest him into paradise, which thy right hand
had planted, before ever the earth came forward.
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.
8 And every people walked after their own will, and did
wonderful things before thee, and despised thy commandments.
9 And again in process of time thou broughtest the flood upon
those that dwelt in the world, and destroyedst them.
10 And it came to pass in every of them, that as death was to
Adam, so was the flood to these.
11 Nevertheless one of them thou leftest, namely, Noah with
his household, of whom came all righteous men.
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.
13 Now when they lived so wickedly before thee, thou didst
choose thee a man from among them, whose name was Abraham.
14 Him thou lovedst, and unto him only thou shewedst thy
will:
15 And madest an everlasting covenant with him, promising him
that thou wouldest never forsake his seed.
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.
17 And it came to pass, that when thou leadest his seed out
of Egypt, thou broughtest them up to the mount Sinai.
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.
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.
20 And yet tookest thou not away from them a wicked heart,
that thy law might bring forth fruit in them.
21 For the first Adam bearing a wicked heart transgressed,
and was overcome; and so be all they that are born of him.
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.
23 So the times passed away, and the years were brought to an
end: then didst thou raise thee up a servant, called David:
24 Whom thou commandedst to build a city unto thy name, and
to offer incense and oblations unto thee therein.
25 When this was done many years, then they that inhabited
the city forsook thee,
26 And in all things did even as Adam and all his generations
had done: for they also had a wicked heart:
27 And so thou gavest thy city over into the hands of thine
enemies.
28 Are their deeds then any better that inhabit Babylon, that
they should therefore have the dominion over Sion?
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.
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.
31 I do not remember how this way may be left: Are they then
of Babylon better than they of Sion?
32 Or is there any other people that knoweth thee beside
Israel? or what generation hath so believed thy covenants
as Jacob?
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.
34 Weigh 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.
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?
36 Thou shalt find that Israel by name hath kept thy
precepts; but not the heathen.
1 And the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel,
gave me an answer,
2 And said, Thy heart hath gone to far in this world, and
thinkest thou to comprehend the way of the most High?
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 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.
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.
6 Then answered I and said, What man
is able to do that, that thou shouldest ask such things of me?
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:
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.
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.
10 He said moreover unto me, Thine own things, and such as
are grown up with thee, canst thou not know;
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?
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.
13 He answered me, and said, I went into a forest into a
plain, and the trees took counsel,
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.
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.
16 The thought of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and
consumed it.
17 The thought of the floods of the sea came likewise to
nought, for the sand stood up and stopped them.
18 If thou wert judge now betwixt these two, whom wouldest
thou begin to justify? or whom wouldest thou condemn?
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.
20 Then answered he me, and said, Thou hast given a right
judgment, but why judgest thou not thyself also?
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.
22 Then answered I and said, I beseech thee, O Lord, let me
have understanding:
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,
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.
25 What will he then do unto his name whereby we are called? of these things have I asked.
26 Then answered he me, and said, The
more thou searchest, the more thou shalt marvel; for the world hasteth fast to
pass away,
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.
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.
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.
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?
31 Ponder now by thyself, how great fruit of wickedness the
grain of evil seed hath brought forth.
32 And when the ears shall be cut down, which are without
number, how great a floor shall they fill?
33 Then I answered and said, How,
and when shall these things come to pass? wherefore
are our years few and evil?
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.
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?
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.
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.
38 Then answered I and said, O Lord that bearest rule, even
we all are full of impiety.
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.
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.
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:
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.
43 From the beginning, look, what thou desirest to see, it
shall be shewed thee.
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,
45 Shew me then whether there be more to come than is past,
or more past than is to come.
46 What is past I know, but what is for to come I know not.
47 And he said unto me, Stand up upon the right side, and I
shall expound the similitude unto thee.
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.
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.
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.
51 Then I prayed, and said, May I live, thinkest thou, until
that time? or what shall happen in those days?
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.
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.
2 But iniquity shall be increased above that which now thou
seest, or that thou hast heard long ago.
3 And the land, that thou seest now
to have root, shalt thou see wasted suddenly.
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 And blood shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give
his voice, and the people shall be troubled:
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:
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.
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:
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,
10 And shall be sought of many, and yet not be found: then
shall unrighteousness and incontinency be multiplied upon earth.
11 One land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness that maketh a man righteous gone through thee?
And it shall say, No.
12 At the same time shall men hope, but nothing obtain: they
shall labour, but their ways shall not prosper.
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.
14 Then I awaked, and an extreme fearfulness went through all
my body, and my mind was troubled, so that it fainted.
15 So the angel that was come to talk with me held me,
comforted me, and set me up upon my feet.
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?
17 Knowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the
land of their captivity?
18 Up then, and eat bread, and forsake us not, as the
shepherd that leaveth his flock in the hands of cruel wolves.
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.
20 And so I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, like as
Uriel the angel commanded me.
21 And after seven days so it was, that the thoughts of my
heart were very grievous unto me again,
22 And my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I
began to talk with the most High again,
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:
24 And of all lands of the whole world thou hast chosen thee
one pit: and of all the flowers thereof one lily:
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:
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:
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.
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?
29 And they which did gainsay thy promises, and believed not
thy covenants, have trodden them down.
30 If thou didst so much hate thy people, yet shouldest thou
punish them with thine own hands.
31 Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to
me the night afore was sent unto me,
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.
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?
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.
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?
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,
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.
38 And I said, O Lord that bearest rule, who may know these
things, but he that hath not his dwelling with men?
39 As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these
things whereof thou askest me?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
47 And I said, She cannot: but must
do it by distance of time.
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.
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.
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.
51 He answered me, and said, Ask a
woman that beareth children, and she shall tell thee.
52 Say unto her, Wherefore are unto
they whom thou hast now brought forth like those that were before, but less of
stature?
53 And 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.
54 Consider thou therefore also, how that ye are less of
stature than those that were before you.
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.
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.
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,
2 Before it thundered and lightened, or ever the foundations
of paradise were laid,
3 Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable
powers were established, before the innumerable multitude of angels were
gathered together,
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,
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 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.
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?
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.
9 For Esau is the end of the world, and Jacob is the
beginning of it that followeth.
10 The hand of man is betwixt the heel and the hand: other
question, Esdras, ask thou not.
11 I answered then and said, O Lord that bearest rule, if I
have found favour in thy sight,
12 I beseech thee, shew thy servant the end of thy tokens,
whereof thou shewedst me part the last night.
13 So he answered and said unto me, Stand up upon thy feet,
and hear a mighty sounding voice.
14 And it shall be as it were a great motion; but the place
where thou standest shall not be moved.
15 And therefore when it speaketh be not afraid: for the word
is of the end, and the foundation of the earth is understood.
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.
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.
18 And it said, Behold, the days come, that I will begin to
draw nigh, and to visit them that dwell upon the earth,
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;
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:
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.
22 And suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, the full
storehouses shall suddenly be found empty:
23 And tha trumpet shall give a sound, which when every man
heareth, they shall be suddenly afraid.
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.
25 Whosoever remaineth from all these that I have told thee
shall escape, and see my salvation, and the end of your world.
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.
27 For evil shall be put out, and deceit shall be quenched.
28 As for faith, it shall flourish, corruption shall be
overcome, and the truth, which hath been so long without fruit, shall be
declared.
29 And when he talked with me, behold, I looked by little and
little upon him before whom I stood.
30 And these words said he unto me; I am come to shew thee
the time of the night to come.
31 If thou wilt pray yet more, and fast seven days again, I
shall tell thee greater things by day than I have heard.
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.
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
34 And hasten not with the times that are past, to think vain
things, that thou mayest not hasten from the latter times.
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.
36 And in the eighth night was my heart vexed within me
again, and I began to speak before the most High.
37 For my spirit was greatly set on fire, and my soul was in
distress.
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.
39 And then was the spirit, and darkness and silence were on
every side; the sound of man's voice was not yet formed.
40 Then commandedst thou a fair light to come forth of thy
treasures, that thy work might appear.
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.
42 Upon the third day thou didst command that the waters
should be gathered in the seventh part of the earth: six parts hast thou dried
up, and kept them, to the intent that of these some being planted of God and
tilled might serve thee.
43 For as soon as thy word went forth the work was made.
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.
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:
46 And gavest them a charge to do service unto man, that was
to be made.
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.
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.
49 Then didst thou ordain two living creatures, the one thou
calledst Enoch, and the other Leviathan;
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.
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:
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.
53 Upon the sixth day thou gavest commandment unto the earth,
that before thee it should bring forth beasts, cattle, and creeping things:
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.
55 All this have I spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou
madest the world for our sakes
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.
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.
58 But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy firstborn, thy
only begotten, and thy fervent lover, are given into their hands.
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?
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:
2 And he said unto me, Up, Esdras, and hear the words that I
am come to tell thee.
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.
4 But put the case the entrance were narrow, and like a
river;
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?
6 There is also another thing; A
city is builded, and set upon a broad field, and is full of all good things:
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:
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.
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?
10 And I said, It is so, Lord. Then
said he unto me, Even so also is Israel's portion.
11 Because for their sakes I made the world: and when Adam
transgressed my statutes, then was decreed that now is done.
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.
13 For the entrances of the elder world were wide and sure,
and brought immortal fruit.
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.
15 Now therefore why disquietest thou thyself, seeing thou
art but a corruptible man? and why art thou moved,
whereas thou art but mortal?
16 Why hast thou not considered in thy mind this thing that
is to come, rather than that which is present?
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.
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.
19 And he said unto me. There is no judge above God, and none
that hath understanding above the Highest.
20 For there be many that perish in this life, because they
despise the law of God that is set before them.
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.
22 Nevertheless they were not obedient unto him; but spake
against him, and imagined vain things;
23 And deceived themselves by their wicked deeds; and said of
the most High, that he is not; and knew not his ways:
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.
25 And therefore, Esdras, for the empty are empty things, and
for the full are the full things.
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.
27 And whosoever is delivered from the foresaid evils shall
see my wonders.
28 For my son Jesus shall be revealed with those that be with
him, and they that remain shall rejoice within four hundred years.
29 After these years shall my son Christ die, and all men
that have life.
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.
31 And after seven days the world, that yet awaketh not,
shall be raised up, and that shall die that is corrupt
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.
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:
34 But judgment only shall remain, truth shall stand, and
faith shall wax strong:
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.
36 Then said I, Abraham prayed first for the Sodomites, and
Moses for the fathers that sinned in the wilderness:
37 And Jesus after him for Israel in the time of Achan:
38 And Samuel and David for the destruction: and Solomon for
them that should come to the sanctuary:
39 And Helias for those that received rain; and for the dead,
that he might live:
40 And Ezechias for the people in the time of Sennacherib:
and many for many.
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?
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.
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,
44 Intemperance is at an end, infidelity is cut off,
righteousness is grown, and truth is sprung up.
45 Then shall no man be able to save him that is destroyed,
nor to oppress him that hath gotten the victory.
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.
47 For what profit is it for men now in this present time to
live in heaviness, and after death to look for punishment?
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.
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?
50 And that there is promised us an everlasting hope, whereas
ourselves being most wicked are made vain?
51 And that there are laid up for us dwellings of health and
safety, whereas we have lived wickedly?
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?
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?
54 (For we have walked in unpleasant places.)
55 And that the faces of them which have used abstinence
shall shine above the stars, whereas our faces shall be blacker than darkness?
56 For while we lived and committed iniquity, we considered
not that we should begin to suffer for it after death.
57 Then answered he me, and said, This
is the condition of the battle, which man that is born upon the earth shall
fight;
58 That, 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.
59 For this is the life whereof Moses spake unto the people
while he lived, saying, Choose thee life, that thou mayest live.
60 Nevertheless they believed not him, nor yet the prophets after
him, no nor me which have spoken unto them,
61 That there should not be such heaviness in their
destruction, as shall be joy over them that are persuaded to salvation.
62 I 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,
63 And upon those also that turn to his law;
64 And that he is patient, and long suffereth those that have
sinned, as his creatures;
65 And that he is bountiful, for he is ready to give where it
needeth;
66 And 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.
67 For if he shall not multiply his mercies, the world would
not continue with them that inherit therein.
68 And 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.
69 And being judge, if he should not forgive them that are
cured with his word, and put out the multitude of contentions,
70 There should be very few left peradventure in an innumerable
multitude.
1 And he answered me, saying, The
most High hath made this world for many, but the world to come for few.
2 I 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.
3 There be many created, but few shall be saved.
4 So answered I and said, Swallow then down, O my soul,
understanding, and devour wisdom.
5 For thou hast agreed to give ear, and art willing to
prophesy: for thou hast no longer space than only to live.
6 O 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?
7 For thou art alone, and we all one workmanship of thine
hands, like as thou hast said.
8 For 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.
9 But 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.
10 For 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,
11 That the thing which is fashioned may be nourished for a
time, till thou disposest it to thy mercy.
12 Thou broughtest it up with thy righteousness, and
nurturedst it in thy law, and reformedst it with thy judgment.
13 And thou shalt mortify it as thy creature, and quicken it
as thy work.
14 If 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.
15 Now therefore, Lord, I will speak; touching man in
general, thou knowest best; but touching thy people, for whose sake I am sorry;
16 And 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;
17 Therefore will I begin to pray before thee for myself and
for them: for I see the falls of us that dwell in the land.
18 But I have heard the swiftness of the judge which is to
come.
19 Therefore 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,
20 O Lord, thou that dwellest in everlastingness which
beholdest from above things in the heaven and in the air;
21 Whose throne is inestimable; whose glory may not be
comprehended; before whom the hosts of angels stand with trembling,
22 Whose service is conversant in wind and fire; whose word
is true, and sayings constant; whose commandment is strong, and ordinance
fearful;
23 Whose look drieth up the depths, and indignation maketh the
mountains to melt away; which the truth witnesseth:
24 O hear the prayer of thy servant, and give ear to the
petition of thy creature.
25 For while I live I will speak, and so long as I have
understanding I will answer.
26 O look not upon the sins of thy people; but on them which
serve thee in truth.
27 Regard not the wicked inventions of the heathen, but the
desire of those that keep thy testimonies in afflictions.
28 Think not upon those that have walked feignedly before
thee: but remember them, which according to thy will have known thy fear.
29 Let it not be thy will to destroy them which have lived
like beasts; but to look upon them that have clearly taught thy law.
30 Take thou no indignation at them which are deemed worse
than beasts; but love them that always put their trust in thy righteousness and
glory.
31 For we and our fathers do languish of such diseases: but
because of us sinners thou shalt be called merciful.
32 For if thou hast a desire to have mercy upon us, thou
shalt be called merciful, to us namely, that have no works of righteousness.
33 For the just, which have many good works laid up with
thee, shall out of their own deeds receive reward.
34 For what is man, that thou shouldest take displeasure at
him? or what is a corruptible generation, that thou
shouldest be so bitter toward it?
35 For 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.
36 For 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.
37 Then answered he me, and said, Some
things hast thou spoken aright, and according unto thy words it shall be.
38 For indeed I will not think on the disposition of them
which have sinned before death, before judgment, before destruction:
39 But 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.
40 Like as I have spoken now, so shall it come to pass.
41 For 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.
42 I answered then and said, If I
have found grace, let me speak.
43 Like 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:
44 Even 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.
45 Be not wroth with us but spare thy people, and have mercy
upon thine own inheritance: for thou art merciful unto thy creature.
46 Then answered he me, and said, Things present are for the
present, and things to cometh for such as be to come.
47 For 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.
48 In this also thou art marvellous before the most High:
49 In that thou hast humbled thyself, as it becometh thee,
and hast not judged thyself worthy to be much glorified among the righteous.
50 For 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.
51 But understand thou for thyself, and seek out the glory
for such as be like thee.
52 For 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.
53 The 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:
54 Sorrows are passed, and in the end is shewed the treasure
of immortality.
55 And therefore ask thou no more questions concerning the
multitude of them that perish.
56 For when they had taken liberty, they despised the most High, thought scorn of his law, and forsook his ways.
57 Moreover they have trodden down his righteous,
58 And said in their heart, that there is no God; yea, and
that knowing they must die.
59 For 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:
60 But they which be created have defiled the name of him
that made them, and were unthankful unto him which prepared life for them.
61 And therefore is my judgment now at hand.
62 These things have I not shewed unto all men, but unto
thee, and a few like thee. Then answered I and said,
63 Behold, 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.
1 He 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,
2 Then shalt thou understand, that it is the very same time,
wherein the Highest will begin to visit the world which he made.
3 Therefore when there shall be seen earthquakes and uproars
of the people in the world:
4 Then shalt thou well understand, that the most High spake of those things from the days that were
before thee, even from the beginning.
5 For like as all that is made in the world hath a beginning
and an end, and the end is manifest:
6 Even so the times also of the Highest have plain beginnings
in wonder and powerful works, and endings in effects and signs.
7 And every one that shall be saved, and shall be able to
escape by his works, and by faith, whereby ye have believed,
8 Shall 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 Then shall they be in pitiful case, which now have abused
my ways: and they that have cast them away despitefully shall dwell in
torments.
10 For such as in their life have received benefits, and have
not known me;
11 And 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;
12 The same must know it after death by pain.
13 And 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.
14 Then answered I and said,
15 I 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:
16 Like as a wave is greater than a drop.
17 And 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.
18 And 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.
19 For 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.
20 So I considered the world, and, behold, there was peril
because of the devices that were come into it.
21 And I saw, and spared it greatly, and have kept me a grape
of the cluster, and a plant of a great people.
22 Let 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.
23 Nevertheless, if thou wilt cease yet seven days more, (but
thou shalt not fast in them,
24 But 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;)
25 And pray unto the Highest continually, then will I come
and talk with thee.
26 So 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.
27 After seven days I sat upon the grass, and my heart was
vexed within me, like as before:
28 And I opened my mouth, and began to talk before the most
High, and said,
29 O 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.
30 And thou spakest saying, Hear me, O Israel; and mark my
words, thou seed of Jacob.
31 For, behold, I sow my law in you, and it shall bring fruit
in you, and ye shall be honoured in it for ever.
32 But 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;
33 Yet they that received it perished, because they kept not
the thing that was sown in them.
34 And, 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,
35 That 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.
36 For we that have received the law perish by sin, and our
heart also which received it
37 Notwithstanding the law perisheth not, but remaineth in
his force.
38 And 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.
39 Then let I my thoughts go that I was in, and turned me
unto her,
40 And said unto her, Wherefore
weepest thou? why art thou so grieved in thy mind?
41 And 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.
42 And I said unto her, What aileth
thee? tell me.
43 She said unto me, I thy servant have been barren, and had
no child, though I had an husband thirty years,
44 And those thirty years I did nothing else day and night,
and every hour, but make my, prayer to the Highest.
45 After 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.
46 And I nourished him with great travail.
47 So when he grew up, and came to the time that he should
have a wife, I made a feast.
1 And it so came to pass, that when my son was entered into
his wedding chamber, he fell down, and died.
2 Then 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.
3 And 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.
4 And 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.
5 Then left I the meditations wherein I was, and spake to her
in anger, saying,
6 Thou foolish woman above all other, seest thou not our
mourning, and what happeneth unto us?
7 How that Sion our mother is full of all heaviness, and much
humbled, mourning very sore?
8 And now, seeing we all mourn and are sad, for we are all in
heaviness, art thou grieved for one son?
9 For 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 For 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.
11 Who then should make more mourning than she, that hath
lost so great a multitude; and not thou, which art sorry but for one?
12 But 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;
13 But the earth not so: for the multitude present in it
according to the course of the earth is gone, as it came:
14 Then 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.
15 Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a
good courage that which hath befallen thee.
16 For 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.
17 Go thy way then into the city to thine husband.
18 And she said unto me, That will I
not do: I will not go into the city, but here will I die.
19 So I proceeded to speak further unto her, and said,
20 Do not so, but be counselled. by
me: for how many are the adversities of Sion? be
comforted in regard of the sorrow of Jerusalem.
21 For thou seest that our sanctuary is laid waste, our altar
broken down, our temple destroyed;
22 Our 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;
23 And, 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.
24 And 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.
25 And 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.
26 And, behold, suddenly she made a great cry very fearful:
so that the earth shook at the noise of the woman.
27 And 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,
28 Where 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.
29 And as I was speaking these words behold, he came unto me,
and looked upon me.
30 And, 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,
31 What aileth thee? and why art
thou so disquieted? and why is thine understanding
troubled, and the thoughts of thine heart?
32 And 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.
33 And he said unto me, Stand up manfully, and I will advise
thee.
34 Then said I, Speak on, my lord, in me; only forsake me
not, lest I die frustrate of my hope.
35 For I have seen that I knew not, and hear that I do not
know.
36 Or is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream?
37 Now therefore I beseech thee that thou wilt shew thy servant
of this vision.
38 He 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.
39 He hath seen that thy way is right: for that thou
sorrowest continually for thy people, and makest great lamentation for Sion.
40 This therefore is the meaning of the vision which thou
lately sawest:
41 Thou sawest a woman mourning, and thou begannest to
comfort her:
42 But now seest thou the likeness of the woman no more, but
there appeared unto thee a city builded.
43 And whereas she told thee of the death of her son, this is
the solution:
44 This woman, whom thou sawest is Sion: and whereas she said
unto thee, even she whom thou seest as a city builded,
45 Whereas, 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.
46 But after thirty years Solomon builded the city and
offered offerings: and then bare the barren a son.
47 And whereas she told thee that she nourished him with
labour: that was the dwelling in Jerusalem.
48 But 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.
49 And, 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.
50 For 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:
51 And therefore I bade thee remain in the field where no
house was builded:
52 For I knew that the Highest would shew this unto thee.
53 Therefore I commanded thee to go into the field, where no
foundation of any building was.
54 For in the place wherein the Highest beginneth to shew his
city, there can no man's building be able to stand.
55 And 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:
56 And then shalt thou hear as much as thine ears may
comprehend.
57 For thou art blessed above many other, and art called with
the Highest; and so are but few.
58 But to morrow at night thou shalt remain here;
59 And 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.
1 Then saw I a dream, and, behold, there came up from the sea
an eagle, which had twelve feathered wings, and three heads.
2 And 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.
3 And I beheld, and out of her feathers there grew other
contrary feathers; and they became little feathers and small.
4 But her heads were at rest: the head in the midst was
greater than the other, yet rested it with the residue.
5 Moreover I beheld, and, lo, the eagle flew with her
feathers, and reigned upon earth, and over them that dwelt therein.
6 And I saw that all things under heaven were subject unto
her, and no man spake against her, no, not one creature upon earth.
7 And I beheld, and, lo, the eagle rose upon her talons, and
spake to her feathers, saying,
8 Watch not all at once: sleep every one in his own place, and
watch by course:
9 But let the heads be preserved for the last.
10 And I beheld, and, lo, the voice went not out of her
heads, but from the midst of her body.
11 And I numbered her contrary feathers, and, behold, there
were eight of them.
12 And I looked, and, behold, on the right side there arose
one feather, and reigned over all the earth;
13 And 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;
14 And it happened, that when it reigned, the end of it came
also, like as the first, so that it appeared no more.
15 Then came there a voice unto it, and said,
16 Hear thou that hast borne rule over the earth so long:
this I say unto thee, before thou beginnest to appear no more,
17 There shall none after thee attain unto thy time, neither
unto the half thereof.
18 Then arose the third, and reigned as the other before, and
appeared no more also.
19 So went it with all the residue one after another, as that
every one reigned, and then appeared no more.
20 Then 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:
21 For some of them were set up, but ruled not.
22 After this I looked, and, behold, the twelve feathers
appeared no more, nor the two little feathers:
23 And there was no more upon the eagle's body, but three
heads that rested, and six little wings.
24 Then 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.
25 And I beheld, and, lo, the feathers that were under the
wing thought to set up themselves and to have the rule.
26 And I beheld, and, lo, there was one set up, but shortly
it appeared no more.
27 And the second was sooner away than the first.
28 And I beheld, and, lo, the two that remained thought also
in themselves to reign:
29 And 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.
30 And then I saw that the two other heads were joined with
it.
31 And, 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.
32 But 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.
33 And after this I beheld, and, lo, the head that was in the
midst suddenly appeared no more, like as the wings.
34 But there remained the two heads, which also in like sort
ruled upon the earth, and over those that dwelt therein.
35 And I beheld, and, lo, the head upon the right side
devoured it that was upon the left side.
36 Then I head a voice, which said unto me, Look before thee,
and consider the thing that thou seest.
37 And 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,
38 Hear thou, I will talk with thee, and the Highest shall
say unto thee,
39 Art 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?
40 And 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.
41 For the earth hast thou not judged with truth.
42 For 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.
43 Therefore is thy wrongful dealing come up unto the
Highest, and thy pride unto the Mighty.
44 The Highest also hath looked upon the proud times, and,
behold, they are ended, and his abominations are fulfilled.
45 And 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:
46 That 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.
1 And it came to pass, whiles the lion spake these words unto
the eagle, I saw,
2 And, 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.
3 And 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,
4 Lo, this hast thou done unto me, in that thou searchest out
the ways of the Highest.
5 Lo, 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.
6 Therefore will I now beseech the Highest, that he will
comfort me unto the end.
7 And 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;
8 Comfort me then, and shew me thy servant the interpretation
and plain difference of this fearful vision, that thou mayest perfectly comfort
my soul.
9 For thou hast judged me worthy to shew me the last times.
10 And he said unto me, This is the
interpretation of the vision:
11 The eagle, whom thou sawest come up from the sea, is the
kingdom which was seen in the vision of thy brother Daniel.
12 But it was not expounded unto him, therefore now I declare
it unto thee.
13 Behold, 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.
14 In the same shall twelve kings reign, one after another:
15 Whereof the second shall begin to reign, and shall have
more time than any of the twelve.
16 And this do the twelve wings signify, which thou sawest.
17 As 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:
18 That 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.
19 And whereas thou sawest the eight small under feathers
sticking to her wings, this is the interpretation:
20 That in him there shall arise eight kings, whose times
shall be but small, and their years swift.
21 And 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.
22 And whereas thou sawest three heads resting, this is the
interpretation:
23 In 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,
24 And of those that dwell therein, with much oppression,
above all those that were before them: therefore are they called the heads of
the eagle.
25 For these are they that shall accomplish his wickedness,
and that shall finish his last end.
26 And 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.
27 For the two that remain shall be slain with the sword.
28 For the sword of the one shall devour the other: but at
the last shall he fall through the sword himself.
29 And whereas thou sawest two feathers under the wings
passing over the head that is on the right side;
30 It 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.
31 And 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;
32 This 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.
33 For he shall set them before him alive in judgment, and
shall rebuke them, and correct them.
34 For 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.
35 This is the dream that thou sawest, and these are the
interpretations.
36 Thou only hast been meet to know this secret of the
Highest.
37 Therefore write all these things that thou hast seen in a
book, and hide them:
38 And teach them to the wise of the people, whose hearts
thou knowest may comprehend and keep these secrets.
39 But wait thou here thyself yet seven days more, that it
may be shewed thee, whatsoever it pleaseth the Highest to declare unto thee.
And with that he went his way.
40 And it came to pass, when all the people saw that the
seven days were past, and I not come again into the city, they gathered them
all together, from the least unto the greatest, and came unto me, and said,
41 What have we offended thee? and
what evil have we done against thee, that thou forsakest us, and sittest here
in this place?
42 For of all the prophets thou only art left us, as a
cluster of the vintage, and as a candle in a dark place, and as a haven or ship
preserved from the tempest.
43 Are not the evils which are come to us sufficient?
44 If thou shalt forsake us, how much better had it been for
us, if we also had been burned in the midst of Sion?
45 For we are not better than they that died there. And they
wept with a loud voice. Then answered I them, and said,
46 Be of good comfort, O Israel; and be not heavy, thou house
of Jacob:
47 For the Highest hath you in remembrance, and the Mighty
hath not forgotten you in temptation.
48 As for me, I have not forsaken you, neither am I departed
from you: but am come into this place, to pray for the desolation of Sion, and
that I might seek mercy for the low estate of your sanctuary.
49 And now go your way home every man, and after these days
will I come unto you.
50 So the people went their way into the city, like as I
commanded them:
51 But I remained still in the field seven days, as the angel
commanded me; and did eat only in those days of the flowers of the field, and
had my meat of the herbs
1 And it came to pass after seven days, I dreamed a dream by
night:
2 And, lo, there arose a wind from the sea, that it moved all
the waves thereof.
3 And I beheld, and, lo, that man waxed strong with the
thousands of heaven: and when he turned his countenance to look, all the things
trembled that were seen under him.
4 And whensoever the voice went out of his mouth, all they
burned that heard his voice, like as the earth faileth when it feeleth the
fire.
5 And after this I beheld, and, lo, there was gathered together
a multitude of men, out of number, from the four winds of the heaven, to subdue
the man that came out of the sea
6 But I beheld, and, lo, he had graved himself a great
mountain, and flew up upon it.
7 But I would have seen the region or place whereout the hill
was graven, and I could not.
8 And after this I beheld, and, lo, all they which were
gathered together to subdue him were sore afraid, and yet durst fight.
9 And, lo, as he saw the violence of the multitude that came,
he neither lifted up his hand, nor held sword, nor any instrument of war:
10 But only I saw that he sent out of his mouth as it had
been a blast of fire, and out of his lips a flaming breath, and out of his
tongue he cast out sparks and tempests.
11 And they were all mixed together; the blast of fire, the
flaming breath, and the great tempest; and fell with violence upon the
multitude which was prepared to fight, and burned them up every one, so that
upon a sudden of an innumerable multitude nothing was to be perceived, but only
dust and smell of smoke: when I saw this I was afraid.
12 Afterward saw I the same man come down from the mountain,
and call unto him another peaceable Multitude.
13 And there came much people unto him, whereof some were
glad, some were sorry, and some of them were bound, and other some brought of
them that were offered: then was I sick through great fear, and I awaked, and
said,
14 Thou hast shewed thy servant these wonders from the
beginning, and hast counted me worthy that thou shouldest receive my prayer:
15 Shew me now yet the interpretation of this dream.
16 For as I conceive in mine understanding, woe unto them
that shall be left in those days and much more woe unto them that are not left
behind!
17 For they that were not left were in heaviness.
18 Now understand I the things that are laid up in the latter
days, which shall happen unto them, and to those that are left behind.
19 Therefore are they come into great perils and many
necessities, like as these dreams declare.
20 Yet is it easier for him that is in danger to come into
these things, than to pass away as a cloud out of the world, and not to see the
things that happen in the last days. And he answered unto me, and said,
21 The interpretation of the vision shall I
shew thee, and I will open unto thee the thing that thou hast required.
22 Whereas thou hast spoken of them that are left behind,
this is the interpretation:
23 He that shall endure the peril in that time hath kept
himself: they that be fallen into danger are such as have works, and faith
toward the Almighty.
24 Know this therefore, that they which be left behind are
more blessed than they that be dead.
25 This is the meaning of the vision: Whereas thou sawest a
man coming up from the midst of the sea:
26 The same is he whom God the Highest hath kept a great
season, which by his own self shall deliver his creature: and he shall order
them that are left behind.
27 And whereas thou sawest, that out of his mouth there came
as a blast of wind, and fire, and storm;
28 And that he held neither sword, nor any instrument of war,
but that the rushing in of him destroyed the whole multitude that came to
subdue him; this is the interpretation:
29 Behold, the days come, when the most High will begin to
deliver them that are upon the earth.
30 And he shall come to the astonishment of them that dwell
on the earth.
31 And one shall undertake to fight against another, one city
against another, one place against another, one people against another, and one
realm against another.
32 And the time shall be when these things shall come to
pass, and the signs shall happen which I shewed thee before, and then shall my
Son be declared, whom thou sawest as a man ascending.
33 And when all the people hear his voice, every man shall in
their own land leave the battle they have one against another.
34 And an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together,
as thou sawest them, willing to come, and to overcome him by fighting.
35 But he shall stand upon the top of the mount Sion.
36 And Sion shall come, and shall be shewed to all men, being
prepared and builded, like as thou sawest the hill graven without hands.
37 And this my Son shall rebuke the wicked inventions of
those nations, which for their wicked life are fallen into the tempest;
38 And shall lay before them their evil thoughts, and the
torments wherewith they shall begin to be tormented, which are like unto a
flame: and he shall destroy them without labour by the law which is like unto
me.
39 And whereas thou sawest that he gathered another peaceable
multitude unto him;
40 Those are the ten tribes, which were carried away
prisoners out of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar
the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, and
so came they into another land.
41 But they took this counsel among themselves, that they
would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country,
where never mankind dwelt,
42 That they might there keep their statutes, which they
never kept in their own land.
43 And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow places of
the river.
44 For the most High then shewed signs for them, and held
still the flood, till they were passed over.
45 For through that country there was a great way to go,
namely, of a year and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth.
46 Then dwelt they there until the latter time; and now when
they shall begin to come,
47 The Highest shall stay the springs of the stream again,
that they may go through: therefore sawest thou the multitude with peace.
48 But those that be left behind of thy people are they that
are found within my borders.
49 Now when he destroyeth the multitude of the nations that
are gathered together, he shall defend his people that remain.
50 And then shall he shew them great wonders.
51 Then said I, O Lord that bearest rule, shew me this:
Wherefore have I seen the man coming up from the midst of the sea?
52 And he said unto me, Like as thou
canst neither seek out nor know the things that are in the deep of the sea:
even so can no man upon earth see my Son, or those that be with him, but in the
day time.
53 This is the interpretation of the dream which thou sawest,
and whereby thou only art here lightened.
54 For thou hast forsaken thine own way, and applied thy
diligence unto my law, and sought it.
55 Thy life hast thou ordered in wisdom, and hast called
understanding thy mother.
56 And therefore have I shewed thee the treasures of the
Highest: after other three days I will speak other things unto thee, and
declare unto thee mighty and wondrous things.
57 Then went I forth into the field,
giving praise and thanks greatly unto the most High because of his wonders
which he did in time;
58 And because he governeth the same, and such things as fall
in their seasons: and there I sat three days.
1 And it came to pass upon the third day, I sat under an oak,
and, behold, there came a voice out of a bush over against me, and said,
Esdras, Esdras.
2 And I said, Here am I, Lord And I
stood up upon my feet.
3 Then said he unto me, In the bush
I did manifestly reveal myself unto Moses, and talked with him, when my people
served in Egypt:
4 And I sent him and led my people out of Egypt, and brought
him up to the mount of where I held him by me a long season,
5 And told him many wondrous things, and shewed him the
secrets of the times, and the end; and commanded him, saying,
6 These words shalt thou declare, and these shalt thou hide.
7 And now I say unto thee,
8 That thou lay up in thy heart the signs that I have shewed,
and the dreams that thou hast seen, and the interpretations which thou hast
heard:
9 For thou shalt be taken away from all, and from henceforth
thou shalt remain with my Son, and with such as be like thee, until the times
be ended.
10 For the world hath lost his youth, and the times begin to
wax old.
11 For the world is divided into twelve parts, and the ten
parts of it are gone already, and half of a tenth part:
12 And there remaineth that which is after the half of the
tenth part.
13 Now therefore set thine house in order, and reprove thy
people, comfort such of them as be in trouble, and now renounce corruption,
14 Let go from thee mortal thoughts, cast away the burdens of
man, put off now the weak nature,
15 And set aside the thoughts that are most heavy unto thee,
and haste thee to flee from these times.
16 For yet greater evils than those which thou hast seen
happen shall be done hereafter.
17 For look how much the world shall be weaker through age,
so much the more shall evils increase upon them that dwell therein.
18 For the time is fled far away, and leasing is hard at
hand: for now hasteth the vision to come, which thou hast seen.
19 Then answered I before thee, and said,
20 Behold, Lord, I will go, as thou hast commanded me, and
reprove the people which are present: but they that shall be born afterward,
who shall admonish them? thus the world is set in
darkness, and they that dwell therein are without light.
21 For thy law is burnt, therefore no man knoweth the things
that are done of thee, or the work that shall begin.
22 But if I have found grace before thee, send the Holy Ghost
into me, and I shall write all that hath been done in the world since the
beginning, which were written in thy law, that men may find thy path, and that
they which will live in the latter days may live.
23 And he answered me, saying, Go thy way, gather the people
together, and say unto them, that they seek thee not for forty days.
24 But look thou prepare thee many box trees, and take with
thee Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ecanus, and Asiel, these five which are ready to
write swiftly;
25 And come hither, and I shall light a candle of
understanding in thine heart, which shall not be put out, till the things be
performed which thou shalt begin to write.
26 And when thou hast done, some things shalt thou publish,
and some things shalt thou shew secretly to the wise: to morrow this hour shalt
thou begin to write.
27 Then went I forth, as he commanded, and gathered all the
people together, and said,
28 Hear these words, O Israel.
29 Our fathers at the beginning were strangers in Egypt, from
whence they were delivered:
30 And received the law of life, which they kept not, which
ye also have transgressed after them.
31 Then was the land, even the land of Sion, parted among you
by lot: but your fathers, and ye yourselves, have done unrighteousness, and
have not kept the ways which the Highest commanded you.
32 And forasmuch as he is a righteous judge, he took from you
in time the thing that he had given you.
33 And now are ye here, and your brethren among you.
34 Therefore if so be that ye will subdue your own
understanding, and reform your hearts, ye shall be kept alive and after death
ye shall obtain mercy.
35 For after death shall the judgment come, when we shall
live again: and then shall the names of the righteous be manifest, and the
works of the ungodly shall be declared.
36 Let no man therefore come unto me now, nor seek after me
these forty days.
37 So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we went
into the field, and remained there.
38 And the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying,
Esdras, open thy mouth, and drink that I give thee to drink.
39 Then opened I my mouth, and,
behold, he reached me a full cup, which was full as it were with water, but the
colour of it was like fire.
40 And I took it, and drank: and when I had drunk of it, my
heart uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my breast, for my spirit
strengthened my memory:
41 And my mouth was opened, and shut no more.
42 The Highest gave understanding unto the five men, and they
wrote the wonderful visions of the night that were told, which they knew not:
and they sat forty days, and they wrote in the day, and at night they ate
bread.
43 As for me. I spake in the day, and I held not my tongue by
night.
44 In forty days they wrote two hundred and four books.
45 And it came to pass, when the forty days were filled, that
the Highest spake, saying, The first that thou hast
written publish openly, that the worthy and unworthy may read it:
46 But keep the seventy last, that thou mayest deliver them
only to such as be wise among the people:
47 For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain
of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge.
48 And I did so.
1 Behold, speak thou in the ears of my people the words of
prophecy, which I will put in thy mouth, saith the Lord:
2 And cause them to be written in paper: for they are
faithful and true.
3 Fear not the imaginations against thee, let not the
incredulity of them trouble thee, that speak against
thee.
4 For all the unfaithful shall die in their unfaithfulness.
5 Behold, saith the Lord, I will bring plagues upon the
world; the sword, famine, death, and destruction.
6 For wickedness hath exceedingly polluted the whole earth,
and their hurtful works are fulfilled.
7 Therefore saith the Lord,
8 I will hold my tongue no more as touching their wickedness,
which they profanely commit, neither will I suffer them in those things, in
which they wickedly exercise themselves: behold, the innocent and righteous
blood crieth unto me, and the souls of the just complain continually.
9 And therefore, saith the Lord, I will surely avenge them,
and receive unto me all the innocent blood from among them.
10 Behold, my people is led as a flock to the slaughter: I
will not suffer them now to dwell in the land of Egypt:
11 But I will bring them with a mighty hand and a stretched
out arm, and smite Egypt with plagues, as before, and will destroy all the land
thereof.
12 Egypt shall mourn, and the foundation of it shall be
smitten with the plague and punishment that God shall bring upon it.
13 They that till the ground shall mourn: for their seeds
shall fail through the blasting and hail, and with a fearful constellation.
14 Woe to the world and them that dwell therein!
15 For the sword and their destruction draweth nigh, and one
people shall stand up and fight against another, and swords in their hands.
16 For there shall be sedition among men, and invading one
another; they shall not regard their kings nor princes, and the course of their
actions shall stand in their power.
17 A man shall desire to go into a city, and shall not be
able.
18 For because of their pride the cities shall be troubled,
the houses shall be destroyed, and men shall be afraid.
19 A man shall have no pity upon his neighbour, but shall
destroy their houses with the sword, and spoil their goods, because of the lack
of bread, and for great tribulation.
20 Behold, saith God, I will call together all the kings of
the earth to reverence me, which are from the rising of the sun, from the
south, from the east, and Libanus; to turn themselves one against another, and
repay the things that they have done to them.
21 Like as they do yet this day unto my chosen, so will I do
also, and recompense in their bosom. Thus saith the Lord God;
22 My right hand shall not spare the sinners, and my sword
shall not cease over them that shed innocent blood upon the earth.
23 The fire is gone forth from his wrath, and hath consumed
the foundations of the earth, and the sinners, like the straw that is kindled.
24 Woe to them that sin, and keep not my commandments! saith the Lord.
25 I will not spare them: go your way, ye children, from the
power, defile not my sanctuary.
26 For the Lord knoweth all them that sin against him, and
therefore delivereth he them unto death and destruction.
27 For now are the plagues come upon the whole earth and ye
shall remain in them: for God shall not deliver you, because ye have sinned
against him.
28 Behold an horrible vision, and
the appearance thereof from the east:
29 Where the nations of the dragons of Arabia shall come out
with many chariots, and the multitude of them shall be carried as the wind upon
earth, that all they which hear them may fear and
tremble.
30 Also the Carmanians raging in wrath shall go forth as the
wild boars of the wood, and with great power shall they come, and join battle
with them, and shall waste a portion of the land of the Assyrians.
31 And then shall the dragons have the upper hand,
remembering their nature; and if they shall turn themselves, conspiring
together in great power to persecute them,
32 Then these shall be troubled bled, and keep silence
through their power, and shall flee.
33 And from the land of the Assyrians shall the enemy besiege
them, and consume some of them, and in their host shall be fear and dread, and
strife among their kings.
34 Behold clouds from the east and from the north unto the
south, and they are very horrible to look upon, full of wrath and storm.
35 They shall smite one upon another, and they shall smite
down a great multitude of stars upon the earth, even their own star; and blood
shall be from the sword unto the belly,
36 And dung of men unto the camel's hough.
37 And there shall be great fearfulness and trembling upon
earth: and they that see the wrath shall be afraid, and trembling shall come
upon them.
38 And then shall there come great storms from the south, and
from the north, and another part from the west.
39 And strong winds shall arise from the east, and shall open
it; and the cloud which he raised up in wrath, and the star stirred to cause
fear toward the east and west wind, shall be destroyed.
40 The great and mighty clouds shall be puffed up full of
wrath, and the star, that they may make all the earth afraid, and them that
dwell therein; and they shall pour out over every high and eminent place an horrible star,
41 Fire, and hail, and flying swords, and many waters, that
all fields may be full, and all rivers, with the abundance of great waters.
42 And they shall break down the cities and walls, mountains
and hills, trees of the wood, and grass of the meadows, and their corn.
43 And they shall go stedfastly unto Babylon, and make her
afraid.
44 They shall come to her, and besiege her, the star and all
wrath shall they pour out upon her: then shall the dust and smoke go up unto
the heaven, and all they that be about her shall bewail her.
45 And they that remain under her shall do service unto them
that have put her in fear.
46 And thou, Asia, that art partaker of the hope of Babylon,
and art the glory of her person:
47 Woe be unto thee, thou wretch, because thou hast made
thyself like unto her; and hast decked thy daughters in whoredom, that they
might please and glory in thy lovers, which have always desired to commit
whoredom with thee.
48 Thou hast followed her that is hated in all her works and
inventions: therefore saith God,
49 I will send plagues upon thee; widowhood, poverty, famine,
sword, and pestilence, to waste thy houses with destruction and death.
50 And the glory of thy Power shall be dried up as a flower,
the heat shall arise that is sent over thee.
51 Thou shalt be weakened as a poor woman with stripes, and
as one chastised with wounds, so that the mighty and lovers shall not be able
to receive thee.
52 Would I with jealousy have so proceeded against thee,
saith the Lord,
53 If thou hadst not always slain my chosen, exalting the
stroke of thine hands, and saying over their dead, when thou wast drunken,
54 Set forth the beauty of thy countenance?
55 The reward of thy whoredom shall be in thy bosom,
therefore shalt thou receive recompence.
56 Like as thou hast done unto my chosen, saith the Lord,
even so shall God do unto thee, and shall deliver thee into mischief
57 Thy children shall die of hunger, and thou shalt fall
through the sword: thy cities shall be broken down, and all thine shall perish
with the sword in the field.
58 They that be in the mountains shall die of hunger, and eat
their own flesh, and drink their own blood, for very hunger of bread, and
thirst of water.
59 Thou as unhappy shalt come through the sea, and receive
plagues again.
60 And in the passage they shall rush on the idle city, and
shall destroy some portion of thy land, and consume part of thy glory, and
shall return to Babylon that was destroyed.
61 And thou shalt be cast down by them as stubble, and they
shall be unto thee as fire;
62 And shall consume thee, and thy cities, thy land, and thy
mountains; all thy woods and thy fruitful trees shall they burn up with fire.
63 Thy children shall they carry away captive, and, look,
what thou hast, they shall spoil it, and mar the beauty of thy face.
1 Woe be unto thee, Babylon, and Asia! woe
be unto thee, Egypt and Syria!
2 Gird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail
your children, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand.
3 A sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back?
4 A fire is sent among you, and who may quench it?
5 Plagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive
them away?
6 May any man drive away an hungry
lion in the wood? or may any one quench the fire in
stubble, when it hath begun to burn?
7 May one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong
archer?
8 The mighty Lord sendeth the plagues and who is he that can
drive them away?
9 A fire shall go forth from his wrath, and who is he that
may quench it?
10 He shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? he shall thunder, and who shall not be afraid?
11 The Lord shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly
beaten to powder at his presence?
12 The earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea
ariseth up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are troubled, and the
fishes thereof also, before the Lord, and before the glory of his power:
13 For strong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, his
arrows that he shooteth are sharp, and shall not miss, when they begin to be
shot into the ends of the world.
14 Behold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again,
until they come upon the earth.
15 The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it
consume the foundation of the earth.
16 Like as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer
returneth not backward: even so the plagues that shall be sent upon earth shall
not return again.
17 Woe is me! woe is me! who will deliver me in those days?
18 The beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the
beginning of famine and great death; the beginning of wars, and the powers
shall stand in fear; the beginning of evils! what
shall I do when these evils shall come?
19 Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish, are
sent as scourges for amendment.
20 But for all these things they shall not turn from their
wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.
21 Behold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that
they shall think themselves to be in good case, and even then shall evils grow
upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.
22 For many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of
famine; and the other, that escape the hunger, shall the sword destroy.
23 And the dead shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be
no man to comfort them: for the earth shall be wasted, and the cities shall be
cast down.
24 There shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow
it
25 The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them?
26 The grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all places shall be desolate of men:
27 So that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear
his voice.
28 For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the
field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of
the rocks.
29 As in an orchard of Olives upon every tree there are left
three or four olives;
30 Or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some
clusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard:
31 Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by
them that search their houses with the sword.
32 And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof
shall wax old, and her ways and all her paths shall grow full of thorns,
because no man shall travel therethrough.
33 The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women
shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no
helpers.
34 In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and
their husbands shall perish of famine.
35 Hear now these things and understand them, ye servants of
the Lord.
36 Behold, the word of the Lord, receive it: believe not the
gods of whom the Lord spake.
37 Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack.
38 As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth
forth her son, with two or three hours of her birth great pains compass her
womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment:
39 Even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the
earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it on every side.
40 O my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle,
and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth.
41 He that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he
that buyeth, as one that will lose:
42 He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit
by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein:
43 He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that
planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes:
44 They that marry, as they that shall get no children; and
they that marry not, as the widowers.
45 And therefore they that labour labour in vain:
46 For strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their
goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for in
captivity and famine shall they get children.
47 And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the
more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own
persons:
48 The more will I be angry with them for their sin, saith
the Lord.
49 Like as a whore envieth a right honest and virtuous woman:
50 So shall righteousness hate iniquity, when she decketh
herself, and shall accuse her to her face, when he
cometh that shall defend him that diligently searcheth out every sin upon
earth.
51 And therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works
thereof.
52 For yet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of
the earth, and righteousness shall reign among you.
53 Let not the sinner say that he hath not sinned: for God
shall burn coals of fire upon his head, which saith before the Lord God and his
glory, I have not sinned.
54 Behold, the Lord knoweth all the works of men, their
imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts:
55 Which spake but the word, Let the earth be made; and it
was made: Let the heaven be made; and it was created.
56 In his word were the stars made, and he knoweth the number
of them.
57 He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath
measured the sea, and what it containeth.
58 He hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with
his word hath he hanged the earth upon the waters.
59 He spreadeth out the heavens like a vault; upon the waters
hath he founded it.
60 In the desert hath he made springs of water, and pools
upon the tops of the mountains, that the floods might pour down from the high
rocks to water the earth.
61 He made man, and put his heart in the midst of the body,
and gave him breath, life, and understanding.
62 Yea and the Spirit of Almighty God, which made all things,
and searcheth out all hidden things in the secrets of the earth,
63 Surely he knoweth your inventions, and what ye think in
your hearts, even them that sin, and would hide their sin.
64 Therefore hath the Lord exactly searched out all your
works, and he will put you all to shame.
65 And when your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed before
men, and your own sins shall be your accusers in that day.
66 What will ye do? or how will ye
hide your sins before God and his angels?
67 Behold, God himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from
your sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with them for ever: so
shall God lead you forth, and deliver you from all trouble.
68 For, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is
kindled over you, and they shall take away certain of you, and feed you, being
idle, with things offered unto idols.
69 And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision
and in reproach, and trodden under foot.
70 For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities,
a great insurrection upon those that fear the Lord.
71 They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling
and destroying those that fear the Lord.
72 For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast
them out of their houses.
73 Then shall they be known, who are my chosen; and they shall
be tried as the gold in the fire.
74 Hear, O ye my beloved, saith the Lord: behold, the days of
trouble are at hand, but I will deliver you from the same.
75 Be ye not afraid neither doubt; for God is your guide,
76 And the guide of them who keep my commandments and precepts,
saith the Lord God: let not your sins weigh you down, and let not your
iniquities lift up themselves.
77 Woe be unto them that are bound with their sins, and covered
with their iniquities like as a field is covered over with bushes, and the path
thereof covered with thorns, that no man may travel through!
78 It is left undressed, and is cast into the fire to be
consumed therewith.
1 Woe be unto thee, Babylon, and Asia! woe
be unto thee, Egypt and Syria!
2 Gird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail
your children, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand.
3 A sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back?
4 A fire is sent among you, and who may quench it?
5 Plagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive
them away?
6 May any man drive away an hungry
lion in the wood? or may any one quench the fire in
stubble, when it hath begun to burn?
7 May one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong
archer?
8 The mighty Lord sendeth the plagues and who is he that can
drive them away?
9 A fire shall go forth from his wrath, and who is he that
may quench it?
10 He shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? he shall thunder, and who shall not be afraid?
11 The Lord shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly
beaten to powder at his presence?
12 The earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea
ariseth up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are troubled, and the
fishes thereof also, before the Lord, and before the glory of his power:
13 For strong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, his
arrows that he shooteth are sharp, and shall not miss, when they begin to be
shot into the ends of the world.
14 Behold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again,
until they come upon the earth.
15 The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it
consume the foundation of the earth.
16 Like as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer
returneth not backward: even so the plagues that shall be sent upon earth shall
not return again.
17 Woe is me! woe is me! who will deliver me in those days?
18 The beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the
beginning of famine and great death; the beginning of wars, and the powers
shall stand in fear; the beginning of evils! what
shall I do when these evils shall come?
19 Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish, are
sent as scourges for amendment.
20 But for all these things they shall not turn from their
wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.
21 Behold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that
they shall think themselves to be in good case, and even then shall evils grow
upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.
22 For many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of
famine; and the other, that escape the hunger, shall the sword destroy.
23 And the dead shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be
no man to comfort them: for the earth shall be wasted, and the cities shall be
cast down.
24 There shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow
it
25 The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them?
26 The grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all places shall be desolate of men:
27 So that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear
his voice.
28 For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the
field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of
the rocks.
29 As in an orchard of Olives upon every tree there are left
three or four olives;
30 Or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some
clusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard:
31 Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by
them that search their houses with the sword.
32 And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof
shall wax old, and her ways and all her paths shall grow full of thorns,
because no man shall travel therethrough.
33 The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women
shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no helpers.
34 In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and
their husbands shall perish of famine.
35 Hear now these things and understand them, ye servants of
the Lord.
36 Behold, the word of the Lord, receive it: believe not the
gods of whom the Lord spake.
37 Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack.
38 As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth
forth her son, with two or three hours of her birth great pains compass her
womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment:
39 Even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the
earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it on every side.
40 O my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle,
and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth.
41 He that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he
that buyeth, as one that will lose:
42 He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit
by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein:
43 He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that
planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes:
44 They that marry, as they that shall get no children; and
they that marry not, as the widowers.
45 And therefore they that labour labour in vain:
46 For strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their
goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for in
captivity and famine shall they get children.
47 And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the
more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own
persons:
48 The more will I be angry with them for their sin, saith
the Lord.
49 Like as a whore envieth a right honest and virtuous woman:
50 So shall righteousness hate iniquity, when she decketh
herself, and shall accuse her to her face, when he
cometh that shall defend him that diligently searcheth out every sin upon
earth.
51 And therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works
thereof.
52 For yet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of
the earth, and righteousness shall reign among you.
53 Let not the sinner say that he hath not sinned: for God
shall burn coals of fire upon his head, which saith before the Lord God and his
glory, I have not sinned.
54 Behold, the Lord knoweth all the works of men, their
imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts:
55 Which spake but the word, Let the earth be made; and it
was made: Let the heaven be made; and it was created.
56 In his word were the stars made, and he knoweth the number
of them.
57 He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath
measured the sea, and what it containeth.
58 He hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with
his word hath he hanged the earth upon the waters.
59 He spreadeth out the heavens like a vault; upon the waters
hath he founded it.
60 In the desert hath he made springs of water, and pools
upon the tops of the mountains, that the floods might pour down from the high
rocks to water the earth.
61 He made man, and put his heart in the midst of the body,
and gave him breath, life, and understanding.
62 Yea and the Spirit of Almighty God, which made all things,
and searcheth out all hidden things in the secrets of the earth,
63 Surely he knoweth your inventions, and what ye think in
your hearts, even them that sin, and would hide their sin.
64 Therefore hath the Lord exactly searched out all your
works, and he will put you all to shame.
65 And when your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed
before men, and your own sins shall be your accusers in that day.
66 What will ye do? or how will ye
hide your sins before God and his angels?
67 Behold, God himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from
your sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with them for ever: so
shall God lead you forth, and deliver you from all trouble.
68 For, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is
kindled over you, and they shall take away certain of you, and feed you, being
idle, with things offered unto idols.
69 And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision
and in reproach, and trodden under foot.
70 For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities,
a great insurrection upon those that fear the Lord.
71 They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still
spoiling and destroying those that fear the Lord.
72 For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast
them out of their houses.
73 Then shall they be known, who are my chosen; and they
shall be tried as the gold in the fire.
74 Hear, O ye my beloved, saith the Lord: behold, the days of
trouble are at hand, but I will deliver you from the same.
75 Be ye not afraid neither doubt; for God is your guide,
76 And the guide of them who keep my commandments and
precepts, saith the Lord God: let not your sins weigh you down, and let not
your iniquities lift up themselves.
77 Woe be unto them that are bound with their sins, and
covered with their iniquities like as a field is covered over with bushes, and
the path thereof covered with thorns, that no man may travel through!
78 It is left undressed, and is cast into the fire to be
consumed therewith.