New Revised Standard Version of the Apocrypha

New Revised Standard Version of the Apocrypha: 2 Esdras 9-14


	2 Esdras 9
1.	He answered me and said, "Measure carefully in your mind, and when you see that some of the predicted signs have occurred,
2.	then you will know that it is the very time when the Most High is about to visit the world that he has made.
3.	So when there shall appear in the world earthquakes, tumult of peoples, intrigues of nations, wavering of leaders, confusion of princes,
4.	then you will know that it was of these that the Most High spoke from the days that were of old, from the beginning.
5.	For just as with everything that has occurred in the world, the beginning is evident, and the end manifest;
6.	so also are the times of the Most High: the beginnings are manifest in wonders and mighty works, and the end in penalties and in signs.
7.	It shall be that all who will be saved and will be able to escape on account of their works, or on account of the faith by which they have believed,
8.	will survive the dangers that have been predicted, and will see my salvation in my land and within my borders, which I have sanctified for myself from the beginning.
9.	Then those who have now abused my ways shall be amazed, and those who have rejected them with contempt shall live in torments.
10.	For as many as did not acknowledge me in their lifetime, though they received my benefits,
11.	and as many as scorned my law while they still had freedom, and did not understand but despised it while an opportunity of repentance was still open to them,
12.	these must in torment acknowledge it after death.
13.	Therefore, do not continue to be curious about how the ungodly will be punished; but inquire how the righteous will be saved, those to whom the age belongs and for whose sake the age was made."
14.	I answered and said,
15.	"I said before, and I say now, and will say it again: there are more who perish than those who will be saved,
16.	as a wave is greater than a drop of water."
17.	He answered me and said, "As is the field, so is the seed; and as are the flowers, so are the colors; and as is the work, so is the product; and as is the farmer, so is the threshing floor.
18.	For there was a time in this age when I was preparing for those who now exist, before the world was made for them to live in, and no one opposed me then, for no one existed;
19.	but now those who have been created in this world, which is supplied both with an unfailing table and an inexhaustible pasture, have become corrupt in their ways.
20.	So I considered my world, and saw that it was lost. I saw that my earth was in peril because of the devices of those who had come into it.
21.	And I saw and spared some with great difficulty, and saved for myself one grape out of a cluster, and one plant out of a great forest.
22.	So let the multitude perish that has been born in vain, but let my grape and my plant be saved, because with much labor I have perfected them.
23.	"Now, if you will let seven days more pass-- do not, however, fast during them,
24.	but go into a field of flowers where no house has been built, and eat only of the flowers of the field, and taste no meat and drink no wine, but eat only flowers,
25.	and pray to the Most High continually. Then I will come and talk with you."
26.	So I went, as he directed me, into the field that is called Ardat; there I sat among the flowers and ate of the plants of the field, and the nourishment they afforded satisfied me.
27.	After seven days, while I lay on the grass, my heart was troubled again as it was before.
28.	Then my mouth was opened, and I began to speak before the Most High, and said,
29.	"O Lord, you showed yourself among us, to our ancestors in the wilderness when they came out from Egypt and when they came into the untrodden and unfruitful wilderness;
30.	and you said, 'Hear me, O Israel, and give heed to my words, O descendants of Jacob.
31.	For I sow my law in you, and it shall bring forth fruit in you, and you shall be glorified through it forever.'
32.	But though our ancestors received the law, they did not keep it and did not observe the statutes; yet the fruit of the law did not perish-- for it could not, because it was yours.
33.	Yet those who received it perished, because they did not keep what had been sown in them.
34.	Now this is the general rule that, when the ground has received seed, or the sea a ship, or any dish food or drink, and when it comes about that what was sown or what was launched or what was put in is destroyed,
35.	they are destroyed, but the things that held them remain; yet with us it has not been so.
36.	For we who have received the law and sinned will perish, as well as our hearts that received it;
37.	the law, however, does not perish but survives in its glory."
38.	When I said these things in my heart, I looked around, and on my right I saw a woman; she was mourning and weeping with a loud voice, and was deeply grieved at heart; her clothes were torn, and there were ashes on her head.
39.	Then I dismissed the thoughts with which I had been engaged, and turned to her
40.	and said to her, "Why are you weeping, and why are you grieved at heart?"
41.	She said to me, "Let me alone, my lord, so that I may weep for myself and continue to mourn, for I am greatly embittered in spirit and deeply distressed."
42.	I said to her, "What has happened to you? Tell me."
43.	And she said to me, "Your servant was barren and had no child, though I lived with my husband for thirty years.
44.	Every hour and every day during those thirty years I prayed to the Most High, night and day.
45.	And after thirty years God heard your servant, and looked upon my low estate, and considered my distress, and gave me a son. I rejoiced greatly over him, I and my husband and all my neighbors; and we gave great glory to the Mighty One.
46.	And I brought him up with much care.
47.	So when he grew up and I came to take a wife for him, I set a day for the marriage feast.
	2 Esdras 10
1.	"But it happened that when my son entered his wedding chamber, he fell down and died.
2.	So all of us put out our lamps, and all my neighbors attempted to console me; I remained quiet until the evening of the second day.
3.	But when all of them had stopped consoling me, encouraging me to be quiet, I got up in the night and fled, and I came to this field, as you see.
4.	And now I intend not to return to the town, but to stay here; I will neither eat nor drink, but will mourn and fast continually until I die."
5.	Then I broke off the reflections with which I was still engaged, and answered her in anger and said,
6.	"You most foolish of women, do you not see our mourning, and what has happened to us?
7.	For Zion, the mother of us all, is in deep grief and great distress.
8.	It is most appropriate to mourn now, because we are all mourning, and to be sorrowful, because we are all sorrowing; you are sorrowing for one son, but we, the whole world, for our mother.
9.	Now ask the earth, and she will tell you that it is she who ought to mourn over so many who have come into being upon her.
10.	From the beginning all have been born of her, and others will come; and, lo, almost all go to perdition, and a multitude of them will come to doom.
11.	Who then ought to mourn the more, she who lost so great a multitude, or you who are grieving for one alone?
12.	But if you say to me, 'My lamentation is not like the earth's, for I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I brought forth in pain and bore in sorrow;
13.	but it is with the earth according to the way of the earth-- the multitude that is now in it goes as it came';
14.	then I say to you, 'Just as you brought forth in sorrow, so the earth also has from the beginning given her fruit, that is, humankind, to him who made her.'
15.	Now, therefore, keep your sorrow to yourself, and bear bravely the troubles that have come upon you.
16.	For if you acknowledge the decree of God to be just, you will receive your son back in due time, and will be praised among women.
17.	Therefore go into the town to your husband."
18.	She said to me, "I will not do so; I will not go into the city, but I will die here."
19.	So I spoke again to her, and said,
20.	"Do not do that, but let yourself be persuaded-- for how many are the adversities of Zion?-- and be consoled because of the sorrow of Jerusalem.
21.	For you see how our sanctuary has been laid waste, our altar thrown down, our temple destroyed;
22.	our harp has been laid low, our song has been silenced, and our rejoicing has been ended; the light of our lampstand has been put out, the ark of our covenant has been plundered, our holy things have been polluted, and the name by which we are called has been almost profaned; our children have suffered abuse, our priests have been burned to death, our Levites have gone into exile, our virgins have been defiled, and our wives have been ravished; our righteous men have been carried off, our little ones have been cast out, our young men have been enslaved and our strong men made powerless.
23.	And, worst of all, the seal of Zion has been deprived of its glory, and given over into the hands of those that hate us.
24.	Therefore shake off your great sadness and lay aside your many sorrows, so that the Mighty One may be merciful to you again, and the Most High may give you rest, a respite from your troubles."
25.	While I was talking to her, her face suddenly began to shine exceedingly; her countenance flashed like lightning, so that I was too frightened to approach her, and my heart was terrified. While I was wondering what this meant,
26.	she suddenly uttered a loud and fearful cry, so that the earth shook at the sound.
27.	When I looked up, the woman was no longer visible to me, but a city was being built, and a place of huge foundations showed itself. I was afraid, and cried with a loud voice and said,
28.	"Where is the angel Uriel, who came to me at first? For it was he who brought me into this overpowering bewilderment; my end has become corruption, and my prayer a reproach."
29.	While I was speaking these words, the angel who had come to me at first came to me, and when he saw me
30.	lying there like a corpse, deprived of my understanding, he grasped my right hand and strengthened me and set me on my feet, and said to me,
31.	"What is the matter with you? And why are you troubled? And why are your understanding and the thoughts of your mind troubled?"
32.	I said, "It was because you abandoned me. I did as you directed, and went out into the field, and lo, what I have seen I saw, and can still see, I am unable to explain."
33.	He said to me, "Stand up like a man, and I will instruct you."
34.	I said, "Speak, my lord; only do not forsake me, so that I may not die before my time.
35.	For I have seen what I did not know, and I hear what I do not understand
36.	-- or is my mind deceived, and my soul dreaming?
37.	Now therefore I beg you to give your servant an explanation of this bewildering vision."
38.	He answered me and said, "Listen to me, and I will teach you, and tell you about the things that you fear; for the Most High has revealed many secrets to you.
39.	He has seen your righteous conduct, and that you have sorrowed continually for your people and mourned greatly over Zion.
40.	This therefore is the meaning of the vision.
41.	The woman who appeared to you a little while ago, whom you saw mourning and whom you began to console
42.	(you do not now see the form of a woman, but there appeared to you a city being built)
43.	and who told you about the misfortune of her son-- this is the interpretation:
44.	The woman whom you saw is Zion, which you now behold as a city being built.
45.	And as for her telling you that she was barren for thirty years, the reason is that there were three thousand years in the world before any offering was offered in it.
46.	And after three thousand years Solomon built the city, and offered offerings; then it was that the barren woman bore a son.
47.	And as for her telling you that she brought him up with much care, that was the period of residence in Jerusalem.
48.	And as for her saying to you, 'My son died as he entered his wedding chamber,' and that misfortune had overtaken her, this was the destruction that befell Jerusalem.
49.	So you saw her likeness, how she mourned for her son, and you began to console her for what had happened.
50.	For now the Most High, seeing that you are sincerely grieved and profoundly distressed for her, has shown you the brilliance of her glory, and the loveliness of her beauty.
51.	Therefore I told you to remain in the field where no house had been built,
52.	for I knew that the Most High would reveal these things to you.
53.	Therefore I told you to go into the field where there was no foundation of any building,

54.	because no work of human construction could endure in a place where the city of the Most High was to be revealed.
55.	"Therefore do not be afraid, and do not let your heart be terrified; but go in and see the splendor or the vastness of the building, as far as it is possible for your eyes to see it,
56.	and afterward you will hear as much as your ears can hear.
57.	For you are more blessed than many, and you have been called to be with the Most High as few have been.
58.	But tomorrow night you shall remain here,
59.	and the Most High will show you in those dream visions what the Most High will do to those who inhabit the earth in the last days." So I slept that night and the following one, as he had told me.
	2 Esdras 11
1.	On the second night I had a dream: I saw rising from the sea an eagle that had twelve feathered wings and three heads.
2.	I saw it spread its wings over the whole earth, and all the winds of heaven blew upon it, and the clouds were gathered around it.
3.	I saw that out of its wings there grew opposing wings; but they became little, puny wings.
4.	But its heads were at rest; the middle head was larger than the other heads, but it too was at rest with them.
5.	Then I saw that the eagle flew with its wings, and it reigned over the earth and over those who inhabit it.
6.	And I saw how all things under heaven were subjected to it, and no one spoke against it-- not a single creature that was on the earth.
7.	Then I saw the eagle rise upon its talons, and it uttered a cry to its wings, saying,
8.	"Do not all watch at the same time; let each sleep in its own place, and watch in its turn;
9.	but let the heads be reserved for the last."
10.	I looked again and saw that the voice did not come from its heads, but from the middle of its body.
11.	I counted its rival wings, and there were eight of them.
12.	As I watched, one wing on the right side rose up, and it reigned over all the earth.
13.	And after a time its reign came to an end, and it disappeared, so that even its place was no longer visible. Then the next wing rose up and reigned, and it continued to reign a long time.
14.	While it was reigning its end came also, so that it disappeared like the first.
15.	And a voice sounded, saying to it,
16.	"Listen to me, you who have ruled the earth all this time; I announce this to you before you disappear.
17.	After you no one shall rule as long as you have ruled, not even half as long."
18.	Then the third wing raised itself up, and held the rule as the earlier ones had done, and it also disappeared.
19.	And so it went with all the wings; they wielded power one after another and then were never seen again.
20.	I kept looking, and in due time the wings that followed also rose up on the right side, in order to rule. There were some of them that ruled, yet disappeared suddenly;
21.	and others of them rose up, but did not hold the rule.
22.	And after this I looked and saw that the twelve wings and the two little wings had disappeared,
23.	and nothing remained on the eagle's body except the three heads that were at rest and six little wings.
24.	As I kept looking I saw that two little wings separated from the six and remained under the head that was on the right side; but four remained in their place.
25.	Then I saw that these little wings planned to set themselves up and hold the rule.
26.	As I kept looking, one was set up, but suddenly disappeared;
27.	a second also, and this disappeared more quickly than the first.
28.	While I continued to look the two that remained were planning between themselves to reign together;
29.	and while they were planning, one of the heads that were at rest (the one that was in the middle) suddenly awoke; it was greater than the other two heads.
30.	And I saw how it allied the two heads with itself,
31.	and how the head turned with those that were with it and devoured the two little wings that were planning to reign.
32.	Moreover this head gained control of the whole earth, and with much oppression dominated its inhabitants; it had greater power over the world than all the wings that had gone before.
33.	After this I looked again and saw the head in the middle suddenly disappear, just as the wings had done.
34.	But the two heads remained, which also in like manner ruled over the earth and its inhabitants.
35.	And while I looked, I saw the head on the right side devour the one on the left.
36.	Then I heard a voice saying to me, "Look in front of you and consider what you see."
37.	When I looked, I saw what seemed to be a lion roused from the forest, roaring; and I heard how it uttered a human voice to the eagle, and spoke, saying,
38.	"Listen and I will speak to you. The Most High says to you,
39.	'Are you not the one that remains of the four beasts that I had made to reign in my world, so that the end of my times might come through them?
40.	You, the fourth that has come, have conquered all the beasts that have gone before; and you have held sway over the world with great terror, and over all the earth with grievous oppression; and for so long you have lived on the earth with deceit.
41.	You have judged the earth, but not with truth,
42.	for you have oppressed the meek and injured the peaceable; you have hated those who tell the truth, and have loved liars; you have destroyed the homes of those who brought forth fruit, and have laid low the walls of those who did you no harm.
43.	Your insolence has come up before the Most High, and your pride to the Mighty One.
44.	The Most High has looked at his times; now they have ended, and his ages have reached completion.
45.	Therefore you, eagle, will surely disappear, you and your terrifying wings, your most evil little wings, your malicious heads, your most evil talons, and your whole worthless body,
46.	so that the whole earth, freed from your violence, may be refreshed and relieved, and may hope for the judgment and mercy of him who made it.'"
	2 Esdras 12
1.	While the lion was saying these words to the eagle, I looked
2.	and saw that the remaining head had disappeared. The two wings that had gone over to it rose up and set themselves up to reign, and their reign was brief and full of tumult.
3.	When I looked again, they were already vanishing. The whole body of the eagle was burned, and the earth was exceedingly terrified. Then I woke up in great perplexity of mind and great fear, and I said to my spirit,
4.	"You have brought this upon me, because you search out the ways of the Most High.
5.	I am still weary in mind and very weak in my spirit, and not even a little strength is left in me, because of the great fear with which I have been terrified tonight.
6.	Therefore I will now entreat the Most High that he may strengthen me to the end."
7.	Then I said, "O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, and if I have been accounted righteous before you beyond many others, and if my prayer has indeed come up before your face,
8.	strengthen me and show me, your servant, the interpretation and meaning of this terrifying vision so that you may fully comfort my soul.
9.	For you have judged me worthy to be shown the end of the times and the last events of the times."
10.	He said to me, "This is the interpretation of this vision that you have seen:
11.	The eagle that you saw coming up from the sea is the fourth kingdom that appeared in a vision to your brother Daniel.
12.	But it was not explained to him as I now explain to you or have explained it.
13.	The days are coming when a kingdom shall rise on earth, and it shall be more terrifying than all the kingdoms that have been before it.
14.	And twelve kings shall reign in it, one after another.
15.	But the second that is to reign shall hold sway for a longer time than any other one of the twelve.
16.	This is the interpretation of the twelve wings that you saw.
17.	"As for your hearing a voice that spoke, coming not from the eagle's heads but from the midst of its body, this is the interpretation:
18.	In the midst of the time of that kingdom great struggles shall arise, and it shall be in danger of falling; nevertheless it shall not fall then, but shall regain its former power.
19.	As for your seeing eight little wings clinging to its wings, this is the interpretation:
20.	Eight kings shall arise in it, whose times shall be short and their years swift;
21.	two of them shall perish when the middle of its time draws near; and four shall be kept for the time when its end approaches, but two shall be kept until the end.
22.	"As for your seeing three heads at rest, this is the interpretation:
23.	In its last days the Most High will raise up three kings, and they shall renew many things in it, and shall rule the earth
24.	and its inhabitants more oppressively than all who were before them. Therefore they are called the heads of the eagle,
25.	because it is they who shall sum up his wickedness and perform his last actions.
26.	As for your seeing that the large head disappeared, one of the kings shall die in his bed, but in agonies.
27.	But as for the two who remained, the sword shall devour them.
28.	For the sword of one shall devour him who was with him; but he also shall fall by the sword in the last days.
29.	As for your seeing two little wings passing over to the head which was on the right side,
30.	this is the interpretation: It is these whom the Most High has kept for the eagle's end; this was the reign which was brief and full of tumult, as you have seen.
31.	"And as for the lion whom you saw rousing up out of the forest and roaring and speaking to the eagle and reproving him for his unrighteousness, and as for all his words that you have heard,
32.	this is the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the offspring of David, and will come and speak with them. He will denounce them for their ungodliness and for their wickedness, and will display before them their contemptuous dealings.
33.	For first he will bring them alive before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will destroy them.
34.	But in mercy he will set free the remnant of my people, those who have been saved throughout my borders, and he will make them joyful until the end comes, the day of judgment, of which I spoke to you at the beginning.
35.	This is the dream that you saw, and this is its interpretation.
36.	And you alone were worthy to learn this secret of the Most High.
37.	Therefore write all these things that you have seen in a book, put it in a hidden place;
38.	and you shall teach them to the wise among your people, whose hearts you know are able to comprehend and keep these secrets.
39.	But as for you, wait here seven days more, so that you may be shown whatever it pleases the Most High to show you." Then he left me.
40.	When all the people heard that the seven days were past and I had not returned to the city, they all gathered together, from the least to the greatest, and came to me and spoke to me, saying,
41.	"How have we offended you, and what harm have we done you, that you have forsaken us and sit in this place?
42.	For of all the prophets you alone are left to us, like a cluster of grapes from the vintage, and like a lamp in a dark place, and like a haven for a ship saved from a storm.
43.	Are not the disasters that have befallen us enough?
44.	Therefore if you forsake us, how much better it would have been for us if we also had been consumed in the burning of Zion.
45.	For we are no better than those who died there." And they wept with a loud voice. Then I answered them and said,
46.	"Take courage, O Israel; and do not be sorrowful, O house of Jacob;
47.	for the Most High has you in remembrance, and the Mighty One has not forgotten you in your struggle.
48.	As for me, I have neither forsaken you nor withdrawn from you; but I have come to this place to pray on account of the desolation of Zion, and to seek mercy on account of the humiliation of our sanctuary.

49.	Now go to your homes, every one of you, and after these days I will come to you."
50.	So the people went into the city, as I told them to do.
51.	But I sat in the field seven days, as the angel had commanded me; and I ate only of the flowers of the field, and my food was of plants during those days.
	2 Esdras 13
1.	After seven days I dreamed a dream in the night.
2.	And lo, a wind arose from the sea and stirred up all its waves.
3.	As I kept looking the wind made something like the figure of a man come up out of the heart of the sea. And I saw that this man flew with the clouds of heaven; and wherever he turned his face to look, everything under his gaze trembled,
4.	and whenever his voice issued from his mouth, all who heard his voice melted as wax melts when it feels the fire.
5.	After this I looked and saw that an innumerable multitude of people were gathered together from the four winds of heaven to make war against the man who came up out of the sea.
6.	And I looked and saw that he carved out for himself a great mountain, and flew up on to it.
7.	And I tried to see the region or place from which the mountain was carved, but I could not.
8.	After this I looked and saw that all who had gathered together against him, to wage war with him, were filled with fear, and yet they dared to fight.
9.	When he saw the onrush of the approaching multitude, he neither lifted his hand nor held a spear or any weapon of war;
10.	but I saw only how he sent forth from his mouth something like a stream of fire, and from his lips a flaming breath, and from his tongue he shot forth a storm of sparks.
11.	All these were mingled together, the stream of fire and the flaming breath and the great storm, and fell on the onrushing multitude that was prepared to fight, and burned up all of them, so that suddenly nothing was seen of the innumerable multitude but only the dust of ashes and the smell of smoke. When I saw it, I was amazed.
12.	After this I saw the same man come down from the mountain and call to himself another multitude that was peaceable.
13.	Then many people came to him, some of whom were joyful and some sorrowful; some of them were bound, and some were bringing others as offerings. Then I woke up in great terror, and prayed to the Most High, and said,
14.	"From the beginning you have shown your servant these wonders, and have deemed me worthy to have my prayer heard by you;
15.	now show me the interpretation of this dream also.
16.	For as I consider it in my mind, alas for those who will be left in those days! And still more, alas for those who are not left!
17.	For those who are not left will be sad
18.	because they understand the things that are reserved for the last days, but cannot attain them.
19.	But alas for those also who are left, and for that very reason! For they shall see great dangers and much distress, as these dreams show.
20.	Yet it is better to come into these things, though incurring peril, than to pass from the world like a cloud, and not to see what will happen in the last days." He answered me and said,
21.	"I will tell you the interpretation of the vision, and I will also explain to you the things that you have mentioned.
22.	As for what you said about those who survive, and concerning those who do not survive, this is the interpretation:
23.	The one who brings the peril at that time will protect those who fall into peril, who have works and faith toward the Almighty.
24.	Understand therefore that those who are left are more blessed than those who have died.
25.	"This is the interpretation of the vision: As for your seeing a man come up from the heart of the sea,
26.	this is he whom the Most High has been keeping for many ages, who will himself deliver his creation; and he will direct those who are left.
27.	And as for your seeing wind and fire and a storm coming out of his mouth,
28.	and as for his not holding a spear or weapon of war, yet destroying the onrushing multitude that came to conquer him, this is the interpretation:
29.	The days are coming when the Most High will deliver those who are on the earth.
30.	And bewilderment of mind shall come over those who inhabit the earth.
31.	They shall plan to make war against one another, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom.
32.	When these things take place and the signs occur that I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed, whom you saw as a man coming up from the sea.
33.	"Then, when all the nations hear his voice, all the nations shall leave their own lands and the warfare that they have against one another;
34.	and an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as you saw, wishing to come and conquer him.
35.	But he shall stand on the top of Mount Zion.
36.	And Zion shall come and be made manifest to all people, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain carved out without hands.
37.	Then he, my Son, will reprove the assembled nations for their ungodliness (this was symbolized by the storm),
38.	and will reproach them to their face with their evil thoughts and the torments with which they are to be tortured (which were symbolized by the flames), and will destroy them without effort by means of the law (which was symbolized by the fire).
39.	"And as for your seeing him gather to himself another multitude that was peaceable,
40.	these are the nine tribes that were taken away from their own land into exile in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser, king of the Assyrians, made captives; he took them across the river, and they were taken into another land.
41.	But they formed this plan for themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the nations and go to a more distant region, where no human beings had ever lived,
42.	so that there at least they might keep their statutes that they had not kept in their own land.
43.	And they went in by the narrow passages of the Euphrates river.
44.	For at that time the Most High performed signs for them, and stopped the channels of the river until they had crossed over.
45.	Through that region there was a long way to go, a journey of a year and a half; and that country is called Arzareth.
46.	"Then they lived there until the last times; and now, when they are about to come again,
47.	the Most High will stop the channels of the river again, so that they may be able to cross over. Therefore you saw the multitude gathered together in peace.
48.	But those who are left of your people, who are found within my holy borders, shall be saved.
49.	Therefore when he destroys the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he will defend the people who remain.
50.	And then he will show them very many wonders."
51.	I said, "O sovereign Lord, explain this to me: Why did I see the man coming up from the heart of the sea?"
52.	He said to me, "Just as no one can explore or know what is in the depths of the sea, so no one on earth can see my Son or those who are with him, except in the time of his day.
53.	This is the interpretation of the dream that you saw. And you alone have been enlightened about this,
54.	because you have forsaken your own ways and have applied yourself to mine, and have searched out my law;
55.	for you have devoted your life to wisdom, and called understanding your mother.
56.	Therefore I have shown you these things; for there is a reward laid up with the Most High. For it will be that after three more days I will tell you other things, and explain weighty and wondrous matters to you."
57.	Then I got up and walked in the field, giving great glory and praise to the Most High for the wonders that he does from time to time,
58.	and because he governs the times and whatever things come to pass in their seasons. And I stayed there three days.
	2 Esdras 14
1.	On the third day, while I was sitting under an oak, suddenly a voice came out of a bush opposite me and said, "Ezra, Ezra!"
2.	And I answered, "Here I am, Lord," and I rose to my feet.
3.	Then he said to me, "I revealed myself in a bush and spoke to Moses when my people were in bondage in Egypt;
4.	and I sent him and led my people out of Egypt; and I led him up on Mount Sinai, where I kept him with me many days.
5.	I told him many wondrous things, and showed him the secrets of the times and declared to him the end of the times. Then I commanded him, saying,
6.	'These words you shall publish openly, and these you shall keep secret.'
7.	And now I say to you:
8.	Lay up in your heart the signs that I have shown you, the dreams that you have seen, and the interpretations that you have heard;
9.	for you shall be taken up from among humankind, and henceforth you shall live with my Son and with those who are like you, until the times are ended.
10.	The age has lost its youth, and the times begin to grow old.
11.	For the age is divided into twelve parts, and nine of its parts have already passed,
12.	as well as half of the tenth part; so two of its parts remain, besides half of the tenth part.
13.	Now therefore, set your house in order, and reprove your people; comfort the lowly among them, and instruct those that are wise. And now renounce the life that is corruptible,
14.	and put away from you mortal thoughts; cast away from you the burdens of humankind, and divest yourself now of your weak nature;
15.	lay to one side the thoughts that are most grievous to you, and hurry to escape from these times.
16.	For evils worse than those that you have now seen happen shall take place hereafter.
17.	For the weaker the world becomes through old age, the more shall evils be increased upon its inhabitants.
18.	Truth shall go farther away, and falsehood shall come near. For the eagle that you saw in the vision is already hurrying to come."
19.	Then I answered and said, "Let me speak in your presence, Lord.
20.	For I will go, as you have commanded me, and I will reprove the people who are now living; but who will warn those who will be born hereafter? For the world lies in darkness, and its inhabitants are without light.
21.	For your law has been burned, and so no one knows the things which have been done or will be done by you.
22.	If then I have found favor with you, send the holy spirit into me, and I will write everything that has happened in the world from the beginning, the things that were written in your law, so that people may be able to find the path, and that those who want to live in the last days may do so."
23.	He answered me and said, "Go and gather the people, and tell them not to seek you for forty days.
24.	But prepare for yourself many writing tablets, and take with you Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ethanus, and Asiel-- these five, who are trained to write rapidly;
25.	and you shall come here, and I will light in your heart the lamp of understanding, which shall not be put out until what you are about to write is finished.
26.	And when you have finished, some things you shall make public, and some you shall deliver in secret to the wise; tomorrow at this hour you shall begin to write."
27.	Then I went as he commanded me, and I gathered all the people together, and said,
28.	"Hear these words, O Israel.
29.	At first our ancestors lived as aliens in Egypt, and they were liberated from there
30.	and received the law of life, which they did not keep, which you also have transgressed after them.
31.	Then land was given to you for a possession in the land of Zion; but you and your ancestors committed iniquity and did not keep the ways that the Most High commanded you.
32.	And since he is a righteous judge, in due time he took from you what he had given.
33.	And now you are here, and your people are farther in the interior.
34.	If you, then, will rule over your minds and discipline your hearts, you shall be kept alive, and after death you shall obtain mercy.
35.	For after death the judgment will come, when we shall live again; and then the names of the righteous shall become manifest, and the deeds of the ungodly shall be disclosed.
36.	But let no one come to me now, and let no one seek me for forty days."
37.	So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we proceeded to the field, and remained there.
38.	And on the next day a voice called me, saying, "Ezra, open your mouth and drink what I give you to drink."
39.	So I opened my mouth, and a full cup was offered to me; it was full of something like water, but its color was like fire.

40.	I took it and drank; and when I had drunk it, my heart poured forth understanding, and wisdom increased in my breast, for my spirit retained its memory,
41.	and my mouth was opened and was no longer closed.
42.	Moreover, the Most High gave understanding to the five men, and by turns they wrote what was dictated, using characters that they did not know. They sat forty days; they wrote during the daytime, and ate their bread at night.
43.	But as for me, I spoke in the daytime and was not silent at night.
44.	So during the forty days, ninety-four books were written.
45.	And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, "Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first, and let the worthy and the unworthy read them;
46.	but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people.
47.	For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge."
48.	And I did so.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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