2 Esdras
2:1 Thus saith the Lord, I brought this people out of bondage, and I gave
them my commandments by menservants the prophets; whom they would not
hear, but despised my counsels.
2:2 The mother that bare them saith unto them, Go your way, ye children; for
I am a widow and forsaken.
2:3 I brought you up with gladness; but with sorrow and heaviness have I
lost you: for ye have sinned before the Lord your God, and done that
thing that is evil before him.
2:4 But what shall I now do unto you? I am a widow and forsaken: go your
way, O my children, and ask mercy of the Lord.
2:5 As for me, O father, I call upon thee for a witness over the mother of
these children, which would not keep my covenant,
2:6 That thou bring them to confusion, and their mother to a spoil, that
there may be no offspring of them.
2:7 Let them be scattered abroad among the heathen, let their names be put
out of the earth: for they have despised my covenant.
2:8 Woe be unto thee, Assur, thou that hidest the unrighteous in thee! O
thou wicked people, remember what I did unto Sodom and Gomorrha;
2:9 Whose land lieth in clods of pitch and heaps of ashes: even so also will
I do unto them that hear me not, saith the Almighty Lord.
2:10 Thus saith the Lord unto Esdras, Tell my people that I will give them
the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I would have given unto Israel.
2:11 Their glory also will I take unto me, and give these the everlasting
tabernacles, which I had prepared for them.
2:12 They shall have the tree of life for an ointment of sweet savour; they
shall neither labour, nor be weary.
2:13 Go, and ye shall receive: pray for few days unto you, that they may be
shortened: the kingdom is already prepared for you: watch.
2:14 Take heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in pieces,
and created the good: for I live, saith the Lord.
2:15 Mother, embrace thy children, and bring them up with gladness, make
their feet as fast as a pillar: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.
2:16 And those that be dead will I raise up again from their places, and
bring them out of the graves: for I have known my name in Israel.
2:17 Fear not, thou mother of the children: for I have chosen thee, saith the
Lord.
2:18 For thy help will I send my servants Esau and Jeremy, after whose
counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees laden with
divers fruits,
2:19 And as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty
mountains, whereupon there grow roses and lilies, whereby I will fill
thy children with joy.
2:20 Do right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor,
defend the orphan, clothe the naked,
2:21 Heal the broken and the weak, laugh not a lame man to scorn, defend the
maimed, and let the blind man come into the sight of my clearness.
2:22 Keep the old and young within thy walls.
2:23 Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and I will
give thee the first place in my resurrection.
2:24 Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness still
come.
2:25 Nourish thy children, O thou good nurse; stablish their feet.
2:26 As for the servants whom I have given thee, there shall not one of them
perish; for I will require them from among thy number.
2:27 Be not weary: for when the day of trouble and heaviness cometh, others
shall weep and be sorrowful, but thou shalt be merry and have abundance.
2:28 The heathen shall envy thee, but they shall be able to do nothing
against thee, saith the Lord.
2:29 My hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not see hell.
2:30 Be joyful, O thou mother, with thy children; for I will deliver thee,
saith the Lord.
2:31 Remember thy children that sleep, for I shall bring them out of the
sides of the earth, and shew mercy unto them: for I am merciful, saith
the Lord Almighty.
2:32 Embrace thy children until I come and shew mercy unto them: for my wells
run over, and my grace shall not fail.
2:33 I Esdras received a charge of the Lord upon the mount Oreb, that I
should go unto Israel; but when I came unto them, they set me at nought,
and despised the commandment of the Lord.
2:34 And therefore I say unto you, O ye heathen, that hear and understand,
look for your Shepherd, he shall give you everlasting rest; for he is
nigh at hand, that shall come in the end of the world.
2:35 Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting light shall
shine upon you for evermore.
2:36 Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your glory: I
testify my Saviour openly.
2:37 O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto
him that hath led you to the heavenly kingdom.
2:38 Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed in the
feast of the Lord;
2:39 Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received
glorious garments of the Lord.
2:40 Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are clothed in
white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord.
2:41 The number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled:
beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which have been called
from the beginning, may be hallowed.
2:42 I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not
number, and they all praised the Lord with songs.
2:43 And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature, taller
than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns, and
was more exalted; which I marvelled at greatly.
2:44 So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these?
2:45 He answered and said unto me, These be they that have put off the mortal
clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God:
now are they crowned, and receive palms.
2:46 Then said I unto the angel, What young person is it that crowneth them,
and giveth them palms in their hands?
2:47 So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they have
confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to commend them that stood
so stiffly for the name of the Lord.
2:48 Then the angel said unto me, Go thy way, and tell my people what manner
of things, and how great wonders of the Lord thy God, thou hast seen.
