Apocrypha. II. ESDRAS. Apocrypha. 39 Unto whom I will give for leaders, A- || again from their places, and bring them out braham, Isaac, and Jacob, Oseas, Amos, and of the graves: for I have known my name Micheas, Joel, Abdias, and Jonas, in Israel. my commandments by my servants the prophets; whom they would not hear, but de- || spised 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 Gomorrah; 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. 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, Esay 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 shall 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 1 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 16 And those that be dead will I raise up for evermore. Apocrypha. СНАР. ІІ. 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 called 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 an 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. Apocrypha. 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 leddest 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 44 So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what ungodly than the first. 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. IN CHAP. III. 1 Esdras is troubled, 13 and acknowledgeth the sins of the people; 28 yet complaineth of the heathen. N 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 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 leddest 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. Apocrypha. II. ESDRAS. 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 evil doers 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? Apocrypha. 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 out-goings 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 where-through 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 32 Or is there any other people that know-world being now outwardly corrupted, to eth thee beside Israel? or what generation understand the corruption that is evident in hath so believed thy covenants as Jacob? my sight? 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 theirs also that dwell in 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 hath so kept thy commandments? 36 Thou shalt find that Israel by name hath kept thy precepts; but not the heathen. CHAP. IV. 1 The angel declareth the ignorance of Esdras in God's judgments, 13 and adviseth him not to meddle with things above his reach. A whose name was Uriel, gave me an an ND the angel that was sent unto me, swer, 2 And said, Thy heart hath gone too far in this world, and, thinkest thou to comprehend the way of The Most High? s 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, 1 will shew thee also the way that thou desirest to see, and I shall shew thee from whence the wicked heart cometh. 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 Apocrypha. CHAP. V. earth and he that dwelleth upon 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 ; Apocrypha. 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. CHAP. V. 1 The signs of the times to come. 23 He asketb why God, choosing but one people, did cast them of: Exens, 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 EVERTHELESS as concerning the to Apocrypha. IL ESDRAS. Ароскурва. hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith. || 21 And after seven days so it was, that 2 But iniquity shall be increased above the thoughts of my heart were very grievous that which now thou seest, or that thou hast unto me again, 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 the 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 water 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 seven 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 crucl 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. 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 drops 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 |