2 Esdras
5:1 Nevertheless as coming the tokens, behold, the days shall come, that
they which dwell upon earth shall be taken in a great number, and the
way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith.
5:2 But iniquity shall be increased above that which now thou seest, or that
thou hast heard long ago.
5:3 And the land, that thou seest now to have root, shalt thou see wasted
suddenly.
5:4 But if the most High grant thee to live, thou shalt see after the third
trumpet that the sun shall suddenly shine again in the night, and the
moon thrice in the day:
5:5 And blood shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give his voice,
and the people shall be troubled:
5:6 And even he shall rule, whom they look not for that dwell upon the
earth, and the fowls shall take their flight away together:
5:7 And the Sodomitish sea shall cast out fish, and make a noise in the
night, which many have not known: but they shall all hear the voice
thereof.
5:8 There shall be a confusion also in many places, and the fire shall be
oft sent out again, and the wild beasts shall change their places, and
menstruous women shall bring forth monsters:
5:9 And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall
destroy one another; then shall wit hide itself, and understanding
withdraw itself into his secret chamber,
5:10 And shall be sought of many, and yet not be found: then shall
unrighteousness and incontinency be multiplied upon earth.
5:11 One land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness that maketh a
man righteous gone through thee? And it shall say, No.
5:12 At the same time shall men hope, but nothing obtain: they shall labour,
but their ways shall not prosper.
5:13 To shew thee such tokens I have leave; and if thou wilt pray again, and
weep as now, and fast even days, thou shalt hear yet greater things.
5:14 Then I awaked, and an extreme fearfulness went through all my body, and
my mind was troubled, so that it fainted.
5:15 So the angel that was come to talk with me held me, comforted me, and
set me up upon my feet.
5:16 And in the second night it came to pass, that Salathiel the captain of
the people came unto me, saying, Where hast thou been? and why is thy
countenance so heavy?
5:17 Knowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the land of their
captivity?
5:18 Up then, and eat bread, and forsake us not, as the shepherd that leaveth
his flock in the hands of cruel wolves.
5:19 Then said I unto him, Go thy ways from me, and come not nigh me. And he
heard what I said, and went from me.
5:20 And so I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, like as Uriel the
angel commanded me.
5:21 And after seven days so it was, that the thoughts of my heart were very
grievous unto me again,
5:22 And my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began to talk
with the most High again,
5:23 And said, O Lord that bearest rule, of every wood of the earth, and of
all the trees thereof, thou hast chosen thee one only vine:
5:24 And of all lands of the whole world thou hast chosen thee one pit: and
of all the flowers thereof one lily:
5:25 And of all the depths of the sea thou hast filled thee one river: and of
all builded cities thou hast hallowed Sion unto thyself:
5:26 And of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee one dove: and
of all the cattle that are made thou hast provided thee one sheep:
5:27 And among all the multitudes of people thou hast gotten thee one people:
and unto this people, whom thou lovedst, thou gavest a law that is
approved of all.
5:28 And now, O Lord, why hast thou given this one people over unto many? and
upon the one root hast thou prepared others, and why hast thou scattered
thy only one people among many?
5:29 And they which did gainsay thy promises, and believed not thy covenants,
have trodden them down.
5:30 If thou didst so much hate thy people, yet shouldest thou punish them
with thine own hands.
5:31 Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the night
afore was sent unto me,
5:32 And said unto me, Hear me, and I will instruct thee; hearken to the
thing that I say, and I shall tell thee more.
5:33 And I said, Speak on, my Lord. Then said he unto me, Thou art sore
troubled in mind for Israel's sake: lovest thou that people better than
he that made them?
5:34 And I said, No, Lord: but of very grief have I spoken: for my reins pain
me every hour, while I labour to comprehend the way of the most High,
and to seek out part of his judgment.
5:35 And he said unto me, Thou canst not. And I said, Wherefore, Lord?
whereunto was I born then? or why was not my mother's womb then my
grave, that I might not have seen the travail of Jacob, and the
wearisome toil of the stock of Israel?
5:36 And he said unto me, Number me the things that are not yet come, gather
me together the dross that are scattered abroad, make me the flowers
green again that are withered,
5:37 Open me the places that are closed, and bring me forth the winds that in
them are shut up, shew me the image of a voice: and then I will declare
to thee the thing that thou labourest to know.
5:38 And I said, O Lord that bearest rule, who may know these things, but he
that hath not his dwelling with men?
5:39 As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things whereof
thou askest me?
5:40 Then said he unto me, Like as thou canst do none of these things that I
have spoken of, even so canst thou not find out my judgment, or in the
end the love that I have promised unto my people.
5:41 And I said, Behold, O Lord, yet art thou nigh unto them that be reserved
till the end: and what shall they do that have been before me, or we
that be now, or they that shall come after us?
5:42 And he said unto me, I will liken my judgment unto a ring: like as there
is no slackness of the last, even so there is no swiftness of the first.
5:43 So I answered and said, Couldest thou not make those that have been
made, and be now, and that are for to come, at once; that thou mightest
shew thy judgment the sooner?
5:44 Then answered he me, and said, The creature may not haste above the
maker; neither may the world hold them at once that shall be created
therein.
5:45 And I said, As thou hast said unto thy servant, that thou, which givest
life to all, hast given life at once to the creature that thou hast
created, and the creature bare it: even so it might now also bear them
that now be present at once.
5:46 And he said unto me, Ask the womb of a woman, and say unto her, If thou
bringest forth children, why dost thou it not together, but one after
another? pray her therefore to bring forth ten children at once.
5:47 And I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time.
5:48 Then said he unto me, Even so have I given the womb of the earth to
those that be sown in it in their times.
5:49 For like as a young child may not bring forth the things that belong to
the aged, even so have I disposed the world which I created.
5:50 And I asked, and said, Seeing thou hast now given me the way, I will
proceed to speak before thee: for our mother, of whom thou hast told me
that she is young, draweth now nigh unto age.
5:51 He answered me, and said, Ask a woman that beareth children, and she
shall tell thee.
5:52 Say unto her, Wherefore are unto they whom thou hast now brought forth
like those that were before, but less of stature?
5:53 And she shall answer thee, They that be born in the the strength of
youth are of one fashion, and they that are born in the time of age,
when the womb faileth, are otherwise.
5:54 Consider thou therefore also, how that ye are less of stature than those
that were before you.
5:55 And so are they that come after you less than ye, as the creatures which
now begin to be old, and have passed over the strength of youth.
5:56 Then said I, Lord, I beseech thee, if I have found favour in thy sight,
shew thy servant by whom thou visitest thy creature.
