2 Ezra 1:2
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 Arna, the son of Uzzi, the son of Borith, the son of Abisei, the son of Phinees, the son of Eleazar,
2 Ezra 1:3
The son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi; who was captive in the land of the Medes, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians.
2 Ezra 1:4
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Ezra 1:5
"Go your way, and show My people their sinful deeds, and their children their wickedness which they have done against Me; so that they may tell their children’s children;
2 Ezra 1:6
Because the sins of their fathers have increased in them; for they have forgotten Me, and have offered to strange gods.
2 Ezra 1:7
Am I not even He who brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage? But they have provoked Me to wrath, and despised My counsels.
2 Ezra 1:8
Pull off then, the hair of your head, and cast all evil upon them, for they have not been obedient to My law, but it is a rebellious people.
2 Ezra 1:9
How long will I forbear them, into whom I have done so much good?
2 Ezra 1:10
I have destroyed many kings for their sake; I have struck down Pharaoh with his servants and all his power.
2 Ezra 1:11
I have destroyed all the nations before them, and in the east, I have scattered the people of two provinces, even of Tyre and Sidon, and have slain all their enemies.
2 Ezra 1:12
Speak therefore to them, saying, 'Thus the Lord says,
2 Ezra 1:13
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.
2 Ezra 1:14
I gave you light in a pillar of fire, and I have done great wonders among you; yet you have forgotten Me,' the Lord says.
2 Ezra 1:15
Thus the Almighty Lord says, 'The quails were as a token to you; I gave you tents for your safeguard; nevertheless, you murmured there,
2 Ezra 1:16
And did not triumph in My name for the destruction of your enemies, but ever to this day, you still murmur.
2 Ezra 1:17
Where are the benefits that I have done for you? When you were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, did you not cry to Me?
2 Ezra 1:18
Saying, 'Why have You 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.'
2 Ezra 1:19
Then I had pity upon your mourning, and gave you manna to eat; so you ate angels’ bread.
2 Ezra 1:20
When you 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.
2 Ezra 1:21
I divided a fruitful land among you, I cast out the Canaanites, the Pherezites, and the Philistines before you; what more will I yet do for you?' The Lord says.
2 Ezra 1:22
Thus the Almighty Lord says, 'When you were in the wilderness, in the river of the Amorites, being athirst, and blaspheming My name,
2 Ezra 1:23
I did not give you fire for your blasphemies, but cast a tree in the water, and made the river sweet.
2 Ezra 1:24
What will I do to you, O Jacob? You, Judah, would not obey Me; I will turn Myself to other nations, and I will give My name to those, so that they may keep My statutes.
2 Ezra 1:25
Seeing you have forsaken Me, I will forsake you also; when you desire Me to be gracious to you, I will have no mercy upon you.
2 Ezra 1:26
Whenever you will call upon Me, I will not hear you; for you have defiled your hands with blood, and your feet are swift to commit manslaughter.
2 Ezra 1:27
You have not, as it were, forsaken Me, but your own selves,' the Lord says.
2 Ezra 1:28
Thus the Almighty Lord says, 'Have I not asked you as a father [to] his sons, as a mother [to] her daughters, and a nurse [to] her young babes,
2 Ezra 1:29
That you would be My people, and I should be your God; that you would be My children, and I should be your Father?
2 Ezra 1:30
I gathered you together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings; *Matthew 23:37, *Luke 13:34 but now, what will I do to you? I will cast you out from My Face.
2 Ezra 1:31
When you offer to Me, I will turn My Face from you; for I have forsaken your solemn feast days, your new moons, and your circumcisions.
2 Ezra 1:32
I sent My servants to you, the prophets, whom you have taken and slain, *3:21, *4:155 and torn their bodies in pieces, whose blood I will require of your hands,' the Lord says.
2 Ezra 1:33
Thus the Almighty Lord says, 'Your house is desolate, *Matthew 23:38, *Luke 13:35 I will cast you out as the wind does stubble.
2 Ezra 1:34
And your children will not be fruitful; for they have despised My commandment, and done the thing that is evil before Me.
2 Ezra 1:35
I will give your houses to a people who will come; who, not having heard of Me yet, will believe Me; to whom I have shown no signs, *6:37, *7:203, *10:20, *13:7, *13:27, *20:133, *29:50 yet they will do what I have commanded them.
2 Ezra 1:36
They have seen no prophets, *28:46, *32:3, *34:44 yet they will call their sins to remembrance, and acknowledge them.
2 Ezra 1:37
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.
2 Ezra 1:38
And now, brother, behold what glory; and see the people who come from the east;
2 Ezra 1:39
To whom I will give for leaders, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Hosea, Amos, and Micah, Joel, Obadiah, and Jonah,
2 Ezra 1:40
Nahum, and Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, who is also called an angel of the Lord.'
2 Ezra 2:1
Thus the Lord says, '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 Ezra 2:2
The mother who bore them says to them, 'Go your way, you children; for I am a widow and forsaken.
2 Ezra 2:3
I brought you up with gladness; but I have lost you with sorrow and heaviness; for you have sinned before the Lord your God, and done that thing that is evil before Him.
2 Ezra 2:4
But what will I now do to you? I am a widow and forsaken; go your way, O my children, and ask mercy of the Lord.'
2 Ezra 2:5
As for Me, O father, I call upon you for a witness over the mother of these children, who would not keep My covenant,
2 Ezra 2:6
That you bring them to confusion, and their mother to a spoil, so that there may be no offspring from them.
2 Ezra 2:7
Let them be scattered abroad amongst the heathen, let their names be put out of the earth; for they have despised My covenant.
2 Ezra 2:8
Woe to you, Assur, you who hide the unrighteous in you! O you wicked people, remember what I did to Sodom and Gomorrah;
2 Ezra 2:9
Whose land lies in clods of pitch and heaps of ashes; even so will I also do to those who do not hear Me,' the Almighty Lord says.
2 Ezra 2:10
Thus the Lord says to Ezra, 'Tell My people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I would have given to Israel.
2 Ezra 2:11
I will also take their glory to Me, and give these the everlasting tabernacles, which I had prepared for them.
2 Ezra 2:12
They will have the Tree of Life for an ointment of sweet savor; they will neither labor, nor be weary.
2 Ezra 2:13
Go, and you will receive; pray for a few days to you, that they may be shortened; the kingdom is already prepared for you; watch.
2 Ezra 2:14
Take heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in pieces, and created the good; for I live,' the Lord says.
2 Ezra 2:15
'Mother, embrace your children, and bring them up with gladness, make their feet as fast as a pillar; for I have chosen you,' the Lord says.
2 Ezra 2:16
'And those who are dead, I will raise up again from their places, and bring them out of the graves; *John 5:28 - 29, *22:7 for I have known My name in Israel.
2 Ezra 2:17
Do not fear, you mother of the children; for I have chosen you,' the Lord says.
2 Ezra 2:18
'For your help, I will send My servants Esau and Jeremiah, *19:93, *21:26 after whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for you, twelve trees laden with various fruits,
2 Ezra 2:19
And as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains, whereupon roses and lilies grow, whereby I will fill your children with joy.
2 Ezra 2:20
Do right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked,
2 Ezra 2:21
Heal the broken and the weak, do not laugh a lame man to scorn, defend the maimed, and let the blind man come into the sight of My clearness.
2 Ezra 2:22
Keep the old and young within your walls.
2 Ezra 2:23
Wheresoever you find the dead, take them and bury them, and I will give you the first place in My Resurrection.
2 Ezra 2:24
Abide still, O My people, and take your rest, for your quietness still comes.
2 Ezra 2:25
Nourish your children, O you good nurse; establish their feet.
2 Ezra 2:26
As for the servants whom I have given you, not one of them will perish; for I will require them from among your number.
2 Ezra 2:27
Do not be weary; for when the Day of Trouble and Heaviness comes, others will weep and be sorrowful, but you will be merry and have abundance.
2 Ezra 2:28
The heathen will envy you, but they will be able to do nothing against you,' the Lord says.
2 Ezra 2:29
'My hands will cover you, so that your children will not see Hell.
2 Ezra 2:30
Be joyful, O you mother, with your children; for I will deliver you,' the Lord says.
2 Ezra 2:31
'Remember your children who sleep, for I will bring them out of the sides of the earth, and show mercy to them; for I am Merciful,' the Lord Almighty says.
2 Ezra 2:32
Embrace your children until I come and show mercy to them; for My wells run over, and My grace will not fail.'"
2 Ezra 2:33
I, Ezra, received a charge of the Lord upon the Mount Oreb, that I should go to Israel; but when I came to them, they set me at nothing, and despised the commandment of the Lord.
2 Ezra 2:34
And therefore I say to you, "O you heathen, who hear and understand, look for your Shepherd, he will give you everlasting rest; for he is near at hand, who will come in the end of the world.
2 Ezra 2:35
Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting light will shine upon you forevermore.
2 Ezra 2:36
Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your glory; I testify my Savior openly.
2 Ezra 2:37
O receive the gift that is given to you, and be glad, giving thanks to Him who has led you to the heavenly kingdom.
2 Ezra 2:38
Arise up and stand, behold the number of those who are sealed in the feast of the Lord;
2 Ezra 2:39
Who have departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of the Lord.
2 Ezra 2:40
Take your number, O Zion, and shut up those of yours who are clothed in white, who have fulfilled the law of the Lord.
2 Ezra 2:41
The number of your children, whom you longed for, is fulfilled; beseech the power of the Lord, that your people, who have been called from the beginning, may be made holy.
2 Ezra 2:42
I, Ezra, saw a great people upon the Mount Zion, whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs.
2 Ezra 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 marveled at greatly.
2 Ezra 2:44
So I asked the angel, and said, "Sir, what are these?"
2 Ezra 2:45
He answered and said to me, "These are those who 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 Ezra 2:46
Then I said to the angel, "What young person is it who crowns them, and gives them palms in their hands?"
2 Ezra 2:47
So he answered and said to me, "It is the son of God, *2:116, *10:68, *18:4, *19:88 whom they have confessed in the world." *9:30 Then I began greatly to commend those who stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord.
2 Ezra 2:48
Then the angel said to me, "Go your way, and tell my people what manner of things, and how great wonders of the Lord your God, you have seen."
2 Ezra 3:1
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 Ezra 3:2
For I saw the desolation of Zion, and the wealth of those who dwelt at Babylon.
2 Ezra 3:3
And my spirit was sore moved, so that I began to speak words full of fear to the Most High, and said,
2 Ezra 3:4
"O Lord, who bears rule, You spoke at the beginning, when You planted the earth, and that Yourself alone, and commanded the people,
2 Ezra 3:5
And gave a body to Adam without soul, which was the workmanship of Your hands, and breathed the breath of life into him, *15:29, *32:9, *38:72 and he was made living before You.
2 Ezra 3:6
And You led him into Paradise, *7:19 which Your right hand had planted, before the earth ever came forward.
2 Ezra 3:7
And to him You gave commandment to love Your way; which he transgressed, and immediately You appointed death in him and in his generations, *7:25 of whom nations came, [and] tribes, people, and kindreds, out of number.
2 Ezra 3:8
And every people walked after their own will, and did wonderful things before You, and despised Your commandments.
2 Ezra 3:9
And again, in process of time, You brought the flood upon those who dwelt in the world, and destroyed them.
2 Ezra 3:10
And it came to pass, in all of them, that as death was to Adam, so was the flood to these.
2 Ezra 3:11
Nevertheless, You left one of them, namely, Noah with his household, of whom all righteous men came.
2 Ezra 3:12
And it happened, that when those who dwelt upon the earth began to multiply, and had gotten many children, and were a great people, they began again to be more ungodly than the first.
2 Ezra 3:13
Now when they lived so wickedly before You, You chose a man from among them, whose name was Abraham.
2 Ezra 3:14
You loved him, and to him only You showed Your will;
2 Ezra 3:15
And made an everlasting covenant with him, promising him that You would never forsake his seed.
2 Ezra 3:16
And to him You gave Isaac, and to Isaac You also gave Jacob and Esau. As for Jacob, You chose him to You, and put by Esau; and so Jacob became a great multitude.
2 Ezra 3:17
And it came to pass, that when You led his seed out of Egypt, You brought them up to the Mount Sinai.
2 Ezra 3:18
And bowing the heavens, You set fast the earth, moved the whole world, and made the depths to tremble, and troubled the men of that age.
2 Ezra 3:19
And Your glory went through four gates, of fire, and of earthquake, and of wind, and of cold; that You might give the law to the seed of Jacob, and diligence to the generation of Israel.
2 Ezra 3:20
And yet You did not take a wicked heart away from them, that Your law might bring forth fruit in them.
2 Ezra 3:21
For the first Adam, bearing a wicked heart, transgressed, and was overcome; and so are all those who are born of him.
2 Ezra 3:22
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 still abode.
2 Ezra 3:23
So the times passed away, and the years were brought to an end; then You raised up a servant, called David;
2 Ezra 3:24
Whom You commanded to build a city to Your name, and to offer incense and oblations to You therein.
2 Ezra 3:25
When this was done for many years, then those who inhabited the city forsook You,
2 Ezra 3:26
And in all things, did even as Adam and all his generations had done; for they also had a wicked heart;
2 Ezra 3:27
And so You gave Your city over into the hands of Your enemies.
2 Ezra 3:28
Are their deeds then any better who inhabit Babylon, that they should therefore have the dominion over Zion?
2 Ezra 3:29
For when I came there, and had seen impieties without number, then my soul saw many evildoers in this thirtieth year, so that my heart failed me.
2 Ezra 3:30
For I have seen how You suffer them sinning, and have spared wicked doers; and have destroyed Your people, and have preserved Your enemies, and have not signified it.
2 Ezra 3:31
I do not remember how this way may be left; are those then of Babylon better than those of Zion?
2 Ezra 3:32
Or is there any other people who knows You beside Israel? Or what generation has so believed Your covenants as Jacob?
2 Ezra 3:33
And yet their reward does not appear, and their labor has no fruit; for I have gone here and there through the heathen, and I see that they flow in wealth, and do not think upon Your commandments.
2 Ezra 3:34
Weigh therefore our wickedness now in the balance, and theirs also who dwell in the world; and Your name will so be found no where but in Israel.
2 Ezra 3:35
Or when was it that those who dwell upon the earth have not sinned in Your sight? Or what people have so kept Your commandments?
2 Ezra 3:36
You will find that Israel by name has kept Your precepts; but not the heathen."
2 Ezra 4:1
And the angel that was sent to me, whose name was Uriel, gave me an answer,
2 Ezra 4:2
And said, "Your heart has gone too far in this world, and you think to comprehend the way of the Most High?"
2 Ezra 4:3
Then I said, "Indeed, my lord." And he answered me, and said, "I am sent to show you three ways, and to set forth three similitudes before you;
2 Ezra 4:4
Whereof if you can declare me one, I will also show you the way that you desire to see, and I will show you from where the wicked heart comes."
2 Ezra 4:5
And I said, "Tell on, my lord." Then he said to me, "Go your way, weigh the weight of the fire for me, or measure the blast of the wind for me, or call again for me the day that has past."
2 Ezra 4:6
Then I answered and said, "What man is able to do that, that you should ask such things of me?"
2 Ezra 4:7
And he said to me, "If I should ask you 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;
2 Ezra 4:8
Peradventure you would say to me, 'I never went down into the deep, nor as yet into Hell, neither did I ever climb up into heaven.'
2 Ezra 4:9
Nevertheless now I have asked you but only of the fire and wind, and of the day wherethrough you have passed, and of things from which you cannot be separated, and yet you can give me no answer of them."
2 Ezra 4:10
He said moreover to me, "Your own things, and such that are grown up with you, can you not know?
2 Ezra 4:11
How then should your vessel be able to comprehend the way of the Highest? And the world now being outwardly corrupted to understand the corruption that is evident in my sight?"
2 Ezra 4:12
Then I said to him, "It were better that we were not at all, than that we should still live in wickedness, and to suffer, and not to know therefore."
2 Ezra 4:13
He answered me, and said, "I went into a forest into a plain, and the trees took counsel,
2 Ezra 4:14
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.'
2 Ezra 4:15
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 we may also make us another country there.'
2 Ezra 4:16
The thought of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and consumed it.
2 Ezra 4:17
The thought of the floods of the sea came likewise to nothing, for the sand stood up and stopped them.
2 Ezra 4:18
If you were judge now between these two, whom would you begin to justify? Or whom would you condemn?"
2 Ezra 4:19
I answered and said, "Verily it is a foolish thought that they both have devised, for the ground is given to the wood, and the sea also has his place to bear his floods."
2 Ezra 4:20
Then he answered me, and said, "You have given a right judgment, but why do you not judge yourself also?
2 Ezra 4:21
For as the ground is given to the wood, and the sea to his floods; even so those who dwell upon the earth may understand nothing but that which is upon the earth; and He who dwells above the heavens may only understand the things that are above the height of the heavens.
2 Ezra 4:22
Then I answered and said, "I beseech You, O Lord, let me have understanding;
2 Ezra 4:23
For it was not my mind to be curious of the high things, but of such that pass by us daily, namely, why Israel is given up as a reproach to the heathen, and for what cause the people whom You have loved are given over to ungodly nations, and why the law of our forefathers is brought to nothing, and the written covenants come to none effect,
2 Ezra 4:24
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.
2 Ezra 4:25
What will He then do to His name whereby we are called? Of these things I have asked."
2 Ezra 4:26
Then he answered me, and said, "The more you search, the more you will marvel; for the world hastes fast to pass away,
2 Ezra 4:27
And cannot comprehend the things that are promised to the righteous in time to come; for this world is full of unrighteousness and infirmities.
2 Ezra 4:28
But as concerning the things whereof you ask me, I will tell you; for the evil is sown, but the destruction thereof has not yet come.
2 Ezra 4:29
If therefore that which is sown is not turned upside down, and if the place where the evil is sown does not pass away, then it that is sown cannot come with good.
2 Ezra 4:30
For the grain of evil seed has been sown in the heart of Adam from the beginning, and how much ungodliness has it brought up to this time? And how much will it yet bring forth until the time of threshing comes?
2 Ezra 4:31
Ponder now by yourself, how great fruit of wickedness the grain of evil seed has brought forth.
2 Ezra 4:32
And when the ears will be cut down, which are without number, how great a floor will they fill?"
2 Ezra 4:33
Then I answered and said, "How, and when will these things come to pass? Why are our years few and evil?"
2 Ezra 4:34
And he answered me, saying, "Do not hasten above the Highest; for your haste is in vain to be above Him, for you have much exceeded.
2 Ezra 4:35
Did the souls of the righteous not also ask questions of these things in their chambers, saying, 'How long will I hope on this fashion? When does the fruit of the floor of our reward come?'
2 Ezra 4:36
And to these things, Uriel the archangel gave them answer, and said, 'Even when the number of seeds is filled in you; for He has weighed the world in the balance.
2 Ezra 4:37
By measure, He has measured the times; and by number, He has numbered the times; and He does not move or stir them, until the said measure is fulfilled.'"
2 Ezra 4:38
Then I answered and said, "O Lord who bears rule, even we all are full of impiety.
2 Ezra 4:39
And for our sake, it is peradventure that the floors of the righteous are not filled, because of the sins of those who dwell upon the earth."
2 Ezra 4:40
So he answered me, and said, "Go your way to a woman with child, and ask of her when she has fulfilled her nine months, if her womb may keep the birth any longer within her."
2 Ezra 4:41
Then I said, "No, lord, that she cannot." And he said to me, "In the grave, the chambers of souls are like the womb of a woman;
2 Ezra 4:42
For as a woman who travails makes haste to escape the necessity of the travail; even so do these places haste to deliver those things that are committed to them.
2 Ezra 4:43
From the beginning, look, what you desire to see, it will be shown to you."
2 Ezra 4:44
Then I answered and said, "If I have found favor in your sight, and if it is possible, and if I am meet therefore,
2 Ezra 4:45
Show me then whether there are more to come than has past, or more past than is to come.
2 Ezra 4:46
What is past I know, but what is to come I do not know."
2 Ezra 4:47
And he said to me, "Stand up upon the right side, and I will expound the similitude to you."
2 Ezra 4:48
So I stood, and saw, and, behold, a hot burning oven passed by before me; and it happened that when the flame had gone by, I looked, and, behold, the smoke remained still.
2 Ezra 4:49
After this there passed by before me a watery cloud, and sent down much rain with a storm; and when the stormy rain had past, the drops remained still.
2 Ezra 4:50
Then he said to me, "Consider with yourself; 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 more exceeded."
2 Ezra 4:51
Then I prayed, and said, "May I live, do you think, until that time? Or what will happen in those days?"
2 Ezra 4:52
He answered me, and said, "As for the tokens whereof you ask me, I may tell you of them in part; but as touching your life, I am not sent to show you; for I do not know it.
2 Ezra 5:1
Nevertheless as coming the tokens, behold, the days will come, that those who dwell upon earth will be taken in a great number, and the way of truth will be hidden, and the land will be barren of faith.
2 Ezra 5:2
But iniquity will be increased above that which now you see, or that you have heard long ago. *Matthew 24:12
2 Ezra 5:3
And the land, that you see now to have root, you will see suddenly wasted.
2 Ezra 5:4
But if the Most High grants you to live, you will see after the third trumpet, that the sun will suddenly shine again in the night, and the moon three times in the day;
2 Ezra 5:5
And blood will drop out of wood, and the stone will give his voice, and the people will be troubled;
2 Ezra 5:6
And even he will rule, whom they do not look for, who dwell upon the earth, and the fowls will take their flight away together;
2 Ezra 5:7
And the Sodomitish sea will cast out fish, and make a noise in the night, which many have not known; but they will all hear the voice thereof.
2 Ezra 5:8
There will also be a confusion in many places, and the fire will be often sent out again, and the wild beasts will change their places, and menstruous women will bring forth monsters;
2 Ezra 5:9
And salt waters will be found in the sweet, and all friends will destroy one another; then wit will hide itself, and understanding will withdraw itself into his secret chamber,
2 Ezra 5:10
And will be sought of many, and yet not be found; then unrighteousness and incontinency will be multiplied upon earth.
2 Ezra 5:11
One land will also ask another, and say, 'Has righteousness, which makes a man righteous, gone through you?' And it will say, 'No.'
2 Ezra 5:12
At the same time, men will hope, but nothing obtains; they will labor, but their ways will not prosper.
2 Ezra 5:13
To show you such tokens, I have leave; and if you will pray again, and weep as now, and fast seven days, you will hear yet greater things."
2 Ezra 5:14
Then I awakened, and an extreme fearfulness went through all my body, and my mind was troubled, so that it fainted.
2 Ezra 5:15
So the angel that had come to talk with me held me, comforted me, and set me up upon my feet.
2 Ezra 5:16
And in the second night it came to pass, that Salathiel, the captain of the people, came to me, saying, "Where have you been? And why is your countenance so heavy?"
2 Ezra 5:17
Do you not know that Israel is committed to you in the land of their captivity?
2 Ezra 5:18
Up then, and eat bread, and do not forsake us, as the shepherd who leaves his flock in the hands of cruel wolves."
2 Ezra 5:19
Then I said to him, "Go your ways from me, and do not come near me." And he heard what I said, and went from me.
2 Ezra 5:20
And so I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, as Uriel the angel commanded me.
2 Ezra 5:21
And after seven days, so it was, that the thoughts of my heart were very grievous to me again,
2 Ezra 5:22
And my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began to talk with the Most High again,
2 Ezra 5:23
And said, "O Lord who bears rule, of every wood of the earth, and of all the trees thereof, You have chosen only one vine;
2 Ezra 5:24
And of all lands of the whole world, You have chosen one pit; and of all the flowers thereof, one lily;
2 Ezra 5:25
And of all the depths of the sea, You have filled one river; and of all built cities, You have made Zion holy to Yourself;
2 Ezra 5:26
And of all the fowls that are created, You have named one dove; and of all the cattle that are made, You have provided one sheep;
2 Ezra 5:27
And among all the multitudes of people, You have gotten one people; and to this people, whom You loved, You gave a law that is approved of all.
2 Ezra 5:28
And now, O Lord, why have You given this one people over to many? And upon the one root, You have prepared others, and why have You scattered Your only people among many?
2 Ezra 5:29
And those who denied Your promises, and did not believe Your covenants, have trodden them down.
2 Ezra 5:30
If You did so much as hate Your people, yet should You punish them with Your own hands?"
2 Ezra 5:31
Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the night before was sent to me,
2 Ezra 5:32
And said to me, "Hear me, and I will instruct you; listen to the thing that I say, and I will tell you more."
2 Ezra 5:33
And I said, "Speak on, my lord." Then he said to me, "You are sore troubled in mind for Israel’s sake; do you love those people better than Him who made them?"
2 Ezra 5:34
And I said, "No, lord; but I have spoken of very grief; for my reins pain me every hour, while I labor to comprehend the way of the Most High, and to seek out part of His judgment."
2 Ezra 5:35
And he said to me, "You cannot." And I said, "Why, lord? Whereto was I born then? Or why was my mother’s womb then not my grave, that I might not have seen the travail of Jacob, and the wearisome toil of the stock of Israel?"
2 Ezra 5:36
And he said to me, "Number the things that have not yet come for me, gather the dross together for me that is scattered abroad, make the flowers green for me again that are withered,
2 Ezra 5:37
Open the places for me that are closed, and bring forth the winds for me that are shut up in them, show me the image of a voice; and then I will declare to you the thing that you labor to know."
2 Ezra 5:38
And I said, "O Lord who bears rule, who may know these things, but He who does not have His dwelling with men?
2 Ezra 5:39
As for me, I am unwise; how then may I speak of these things whereof you ask me?"
2 Ezra 5:40
Then He said to me, "As you can do none of these things that I have spoken of, even so can you not find out My judgment, or in the end, the love that I have promised to My people."
2 Ezra 5:41
And I said, "Behold, O Lord, yet are You near to those who are reserved until the end; and what will they do, who have been before me, or we who are now, or those who will come after us?"
2 Ezra 5:42
And He said to me, "I will liken My judgment to a ring; as there is no slackness of the last, even so there is no swiftness of the first."
2 Ezra 5:43
So I answered and said, "Could You not make those who have been made, and are now, and that are to come, at once; that You might show Your judgment sooner?"
2 Ezra 5:44
Then He answered me, and said, "The creature may not haste above the Maker; neither may the world hold those at once who will be created therein."
2 Ezra 5:45
And I said, "As You have said to Your servant, *19:93, *21:26 that You, who gives life to all, have given life at once to the creature that You have created, and the creature bore it; even so, it might now also bear those who are now present at once."
2 Ezra 5:46
And He said to me, "Ask the womb of a woman, and say to her, 'If you bring forth children, why do you not do it together, but one after another? Pray her therefore to bring forth ten children at once."
2 Ezra 5:47
And I said, "She cannot; but must do it by distance of time."
2 Ezra 5:48
Then He said to me, "Even so I have given the womb of the earth to those who are sown in it in their times.
2 Ezra 5:49
For as a young child may not bring forth the things that belong to the aged, even so I have disposed the world which I created."
2 Ezra 5:50
And I asked, and said, "Seeing You have now given me the way, I will proceed to speak before You; for our mother, of whom You have told me that she is young, now draws near to age."
2 Ezra 5:51
He answered me, and said, "Ask a woman who bears children, and she will tell you.
2 Ezra 5:52
Say to her, 'Why are they to whom you have now brought forth like those who were before, but less of stature?'
2 Ezra 5:53
And she will answer you, 'Those who are born in the strength of youth are of one fashion, and those who are born in the time of age, when the womb fails, are otherwise.'
2 Ezra 5:54
Consider therefore also, how you are of less stature than those who were before you.
2 Ezra 5:55
And so are those who come after you, less than you, as the creatures which now begin to be old, and have passed over the strength of youth."
2 Ezra 5:56
Then I said, "Lord, I beseech You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show Your servant by whom You visit, Your creature."
2 Ezra 6:1
And He said to me, "In the beginning, when the earth was made, before the borders of the world stood, or ever the winds blew,
2 Ezra 6:2
Before it thundered and lightened, or ever the foundations of Paradise were laid,
2 Ezra 6:3
Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable powers were established, before the innumerable multitude of angels were gathered together,
2 Ezra 6:4
Or ever the heights of the air were lifted up, before the measures of the firmament were named, or ever the chimneys in Zion were hot,
2 Ezra 6:5
And before the present years were sought out, or ever the inventions of those who now sin were turned, before they were sealed who have gathered faith for a treasure;
2 Ezra 6:6
Then did I consider these things, and they all were made through Me alone, and through none other; by Me also they will be ended, and by none other."
2 Ezra 6:7
Then I answered and said, "What will be the parting asunder of the times? Or when will be the end of the first, and the beginning of it that follows?"
2 Ezra 6:8
And He said to me, "From Abraham to Isaac, when Jacob and Esau were born of him, Jacob’s hand first held the heel of Esau.
2 Ezra 6:9
For Esau is the end of the world, and Jacob is the beginning of it that follows.
2 Ezra 6:10
The hand of man is between the heel and the hand; another question, Ezra, you do not ask."
2 Ezra 6:11
I then answered and said, "O Lord who bears rule, if I have found favor in Your sight,
2 Ezra 6:12
I beseech You, show Your servant the end of Your tokens, whereof You showed me part the last night."
2 Ezra 6:13
So He answered and said to me, "Stand up upon your feet, and hear a mighty sounding voice.
2 Ezra 6:14
And it will be as it were a great motion; but the place where you stand will not be moved.
2 Ezra 6:15
And therefore when it speaks, do not be afraid; for the word is of the end, and the foundation of the earth is understood.
2 Ezra 6:16
And why? Because the speech of these things trembles and is moved; for it knows that the end of these things must be changed."
2 Ezra 6:17
And it happened, that when I had heard it, I stood up upon my feet, and listened, and, behold, there was a voice that spoke, and the sound of it was like the sound of many waters.
2 Ezra 6:18
And it said, "Behold, the days come, that I will begin to draw near, and to visit those who dwell upon the earth,
2 Ezra 6:19
And will begin to make inquisition of them, what they are who have unjustly hurt with their unrighteousness, and when the affliction of Zion will be fulfilled;
2 Ezra 6:20
And when the world, that will begin to vanish away, will be finished, then I will show these tokens; the Books will be opened before the firmament, *81:10 and they will see all together;
2 Ezra 6:21
And the children of a year old will speak with their voices, the women with child will bring forth untimely children of three or four months old, *Matthew 24:19, *Mark 13:17, *22:2 and they will live, and be raised up.
2 Ezra 6:22
And suddenly, the sown places will appear unsown, the full storehouses will suddenly be found empty;
2 Ezra 6:23
And that Trumpet will give a sound, which, when every man hears, they will suddenly be afraid. *Book of Enoch 1:5, *27:87
2 Ezra 6:24
At that time, friends will fight one against another like enemies, *43:67 and the earth will stand in fear with those who dwell therein, the springs of the fountains will stand still, and in three hours, they will not run.
2 Ezra 6:25
Whosoever remains from all these that I have told you will escape, and see My salvation, and the end of your world.
2 Ezra 6:26
And the men who are received will see it, who have not tasted death from their birth; and the heart of the inhabitants will be changed, and turned into another meaning.
2 Ezra 6:27
For evil will be put out, and deceit will be quenched.
2 Ezra 6:28
As for faith, it will flourish, corruption will be overcome, and the Truth, which has been so long without fruit, will be declared."
2 Ezra 6:29
And when he talked with me, behold, I looked little by little upon him before whom I stood.
2 Ezra 6:30
And he said these words to me; "I have come to show you the time of the night to come.
2 Ezra 6:31
If you will pray yet more, and fast seven days again, I will tell you greater things by day than I have heard.
2 Ezra 6:32
For your voice is heard before the Most High; for the Mighty has seen your righteous dealing, He has seen also your chastity, which you have had ever since your youth.
2 Ezra 6:33
And therefore He has sent me to show you all these things, and to say to you, 'Be of good comfort and do not fear,
2 Ezra 6:34
And do not hasten with the times that are past, to think vain things, that you may not hasten from the latter times.'"
2 Ezra 6:35
And it came to pass after this, that I wept again, and fasted seven days in like manner, that I might fulfill the three weeks which he told me.
2 Ezra 6:36
And in the eighth night, my heart was vexed within me again, and I began to speak before the Most High.
2 Ezra 6:37
For my spirit was greatly set on fire, and my soul was in distress.
2 Ezra 6:38
And I said, "O Lord, You spoke from the beginning of the creation, even the first day, and said thus; 'Let heaven and earth be made;' and Your word was a perfect work.
2 Ezra 6:39
And then was the spirit, and darkness and silence were on every side; the sound of man’s voice was not yet formed.
2 Ezra 6:40
Then You commanded a fair light to come forth of Your treasures, that Your work might appear.
2 Ezra 6:41
Upon the second day, You made the spirit of the firmament, and commanded it to part asunder, and to make a division between the waters, that the one part might go up, and the other remain beneath. *25:53, *27:61, *55:19 - 20
2 Ezra 6:42
Upon the third day, You commanded that the waters should be gathered in the seventh part of the earth; six parts You have dried up, and kept them, to the intent that of these, some being planted of God and tilled, might serve You.
2 Ezra 6:43
For as soon as Your word went forth, the work was made.
2 Ezra 6:44
For immediately there was great and innumerable fruit, and many and various pleasures for the taste, and flowers of unchangeable color, and odors of wonderful smell; and this was done the third day.
2 Ezra 6:45
Upon the fourth day, You commanded that the sun should shine, and the moon give her light, and the stars should be in order;
2 Ezra 6:46
And gave them a charge to do service to man, that was to be made.
2 Ezra 6:47
Upon the fifth day, You said to the seventh part, where the waters were gathered, that it should bring forth living creatures, fowls and fishes; and so it came to pass.
2 Ezra 6:48
For the dumb water and without life brought forth living things at the commandment of God, *21:30, *24:45 that all people might praise Your wondrous works.
2 Ezra 6:49
Then You ordained two living creatures, the one You called Enoch, and the other Leviathan;
2 Ezra 6:50
And separated the one from the other; for the seventh part, namely, where the water was gathered together, might not hold them both.
2 Ezra 6:51
To Enoch, You gave one part, which was dried up the third day, that he should dwell in the same part, wherein are a thousand hills;
2 Ezra 6:52
But to Leviathan, You gave the seventh part, namely, the moist; and have kept him to be devoured of whom You will, and when.
2 Ezra 6:53
Upon the sixth day, You gave commandment to the earth, that before You, it should bring forth beasts, cattle, and creeping things;
2 Ezra 6:54
And after these, Adam also, whom You made lord of all Your creatures; of him come us all, and the people also whom You have chosen.
2 Ezra 6:55
All this I have spoken before You, O Lord, because You made the world for our sake.
2 Ezra 6:56
As for the other people, who also come of Adam, You have said that they are nothing, but are like spittle; and have likened the abundance of them to a drop that falls from a vessel.
2 Ezra 6:57
And now, O Lord, behold, these heathen, who have ever been reputed as nothing, have begun to be lords over us, and to devour us.
2 Ezra 6:58
But we, Your people, whom You have called Your firstborn, Your only begotten, *5:18 and Your fervent lover, are given into their hands.
2 Ezra 6:59
If the world is now made for our sake, why do we not possess an inheritance with the world? How long will this endure?"
2 Ezra 7:1
And when I had made an end of speaking these words, the angel was sent to me which had been sent to me the nights before;
2 Ezra 7:2
And he said to me, "Up, Ezra, and hear the words that I have come to tell you."
2 Ezra 7:3
And I said, "Speak on, my God." Then he said to me, "The sea is set in a wide place, that it might be deep and great.
2 Ezra 7:4
But put the case, the entrance were narrow, and like a river;
2 Ezra 7:5
Who then could go into the sea to look upon it, and to rule it? If he did not go through the narrow, how could he come into the broad?
2 Ezra 7:6
There is also another thing; A city is built, and set upon a broad field, and is full of all good things;
2 Ezra 7:7
The entrance thereof is narrow, and is set in a dangerous place to fall, as if there were a fire on the right hand, and on the left, a deep water;
2 Ezra 7:8
And only one path between them both, even between the fire and the water, so small that one man could but go there at once.
2 Ezra 7:9
If this city now were given to a man for an inheritance, if he will never pass the danger set before it, how will he receive this inheritance?"
2 Ezra 7:10
And I said, "It is so, Lord." Then he said to me, "Even so is also Israel’s portion.
2 Ezra 7:11
Because for their sake I made the world; and when Adam transgressed My statutes, then was decreed that [which] is now done.
2 Ezra 7:12
Then the entrances of this world were made narrow, full of sorrow and travail; they are but few and evil, full of perils,; and very painful.
2 Ezra 7:13
For the entrances of the elder world were wide and sure, and brought immortal fruit.
2 Ezra 7:14
If then those who live do not labor to enter these strait and vain things, they can never receive those that are laid up for them.
2 Ezra 7:15
Now therefore why do you disquiet yourself, seeing you are but a corruptible man? And why are you moved, whereas you are but mortal?
2 Ezra 7:16
Why have you not considered in your mind this thing that is to come, rather than that which is present?"
2 Ezra 7:17
Then I answered and said, "O Lord who bears rule, You have ordained in Your law, that the righteous should inherit these things, but that the ungodly should perish.
2 Ezra 7:18
Nevertheless, the righteous will suffer strait things, and hope for wide; for those who have done wickedly have suffered the strait things, and will not yet see the wide."
2 Ezra 7:19
And he said to me, "There is no judge above God, and none who have understanding above the Highest.
2 Ezra 7:20
For there are many who perish in this life, because they despise the law of God that is set before them.
2 Ezra 7:21
For God has given strait commandment to such who came, what they should do to live, even as they came, and what they should observe to avoid punishment.
2 Ezra 7:22
Nevertheless, they were not obedient to Him; but spoke against Him, and imagined vain things;
2 Ezra 7:23
And deceived themselves by their wicked deeds; and said of the Most High, that He is not; and did not know His ways;
2 Ezra 7:24
But they have despised His law, and denied His covenants; they have not been faithful in His statutes, and have not performed His works.
2 Ezra 7:25
And therefore, Ezra, for the empty are empty things, and for the full are the full things.
2 Ezra 7:26
Behold, the time will come, that these tokens which I have told you will come to pass, and the bride will appear, and she, coming forth, will be seen, that now is withdrawn from the earth.
2 Ezra 7:27
And whoever is delivered from the foresaid evils will see My wonders.
2 Ezra 7:28
For My son Jesus will be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain will rejoice within four hundred years.
2 Ezra 7:29
After these years will My son Christ die, and all men who have life.
2 Ezra 7:30
And the world will be turned into the old silence for seven days, as in the former judgments; so that no man will remain.
2 Ezra 7:31
And after seven days, the world, that yet does not awake, will be raised up, and that will die that is corrupt.
2 Ezra 7:32
And the earth will restore those who are asleep in her, and so will the dust those who dwell in silence, and the secret places will deliver those souls that were committed to them.
2 Ezra 7:33
And the Most High will appear upon the seat of Judgment, and misery will pass away, and the long suffering will have an end;
2 Ezra 7:34
But only judgment will remain, truth will stand, and faith will wax strong;
2 Ezra 7:35
And the work will follow, and the reward will be shown, and the good deeds will be of force, and wicked deeds will bear no rule."
2 Ezra 7:36
Then I said, "Abraham prayed first for the Sodomites, and Moses for the fathers who sinned in the wilderness;
2 Ezra 7:37
And Jesus after him for Israel in the time of Achan;
2 Ezra 7:38
And Samuel and David for the destruction; and Solomon for those who should come to the sanctuary;
2 Ezra 7:39
And Elijah for those who received rain; and for the dead, that he might live;
2 Ezra 7:40
And Hezekiah for the people in the time of Sennacherib; and many for many.
2 Ezra 7:41
Even so now, seeing corruption is grown up, and wickedness increased, and the righteous have prayed for the ungodly; why will it not also be so now?"
2 Ezra 7:42
He answered me, and said, "This present life is not the end where much glory abides; therefore they have prayed for the weak.
2 Ezra 7:43
But the Day of Doom will be the end of this time, and the beginning of the immortality to come, wherein corruption has past,
2 Ezra 7:44
Intemperance is at an end, infidelity is cut off, righteousness is grown, and truth is sprung up.
2 Ezra 7:45
Then no man will be able to save him who is destroyed, *44:40 - 41 nor to oppress him who has gotten the victory."
2 Ezra 7:46
I answered then and said, "This is my first and last saying, that it had been better to not have given the earth to Adam; or else, when it was given to him, to have restrained him from sinning.
2 Ezra 7:47
For what profit is it for men now in this present time to live in heaviness, and after death, to look for punishment?
2 Ezra 7:48
O you Adam, what have you done? For though it was you who sinned, you have not fallen alone, but all of us who come of you.
2 Ezra 7:49
For what profit is it to us, if an immortal time is promised to us, whereas we have done the works that bring death?
2 Ezra 7:50
And that an everlasting hope is promised to us, whereas ourselves, being most wicked, are made vain?
2 Ezra 7:51
And that there are laid up for us, dwellings of health and safety, whereas we have lived wickedly?
2 Ezra 7:52
And that the glory of the Most High is kept to defend those who have led a wary life, whereas we have walked in the most wicked ways of all?
2 Ezra 7:53
And that there should be shown a Paradise, whose fruit endures forever, *13:35, *37:41 - 43, *43:72 - 73 wherein is security *44:55 and medicine, since we will not enter into it?
2 Ezra 7:54
(For we have walked in unpleasant places.)
2 Ezra 7:55
And that the faces of those who have used abstinence will shine above the stars, *3:107, *75:22, *80:38 whereas our faces will be blacker than darkness? *3:106, *10:27, *39:60, *80:40 - 41
2 Ezra 7:56
For while we lived and committed iniquity, we did not consider that we should begin to suffer for it after death."
2 Ezra 7:57
Then he answered me, and said, "This is the condition of the battle, which man who is born upon the earth will fight;
2 Ezra 7:58
That, if he is overcome, he will suffer as you have said; but if he gets the victory, he will receive the thing that I say.
2 Ezra 7:59
For this is the life whereof Moses spoke to the people while he lived, saying, 'Choose life, that you may live.' *Deuteronomy 30:19
2 Ezra 7:60
Nevertheless, they did not believe him, nor yet the prophets after him, no, nor Me who has spoken to them,
2 Ezra 7:61
That there should not be such heaviness in their destruction, as will be joy over those who are persuaded to salvation."
2 Ezra 7:62
I answered then, and said, "I know, Lord, that the Most High is called Merciful, in that He has mercy upon those who have not yet come into the world,
2 Ezra 7:63
And upon those also who turn to His law;
2 Ezra 7:64
And that He is patient, and suffers long, those who have sinned, as His creatures;
2 Ezra 7:65
And that He is bountiful, for He is ready to give where it needs; *62:4
2 Ezra 7:66
And that He is of great mercy, for He multiplies more and more mercies to those who are present, and who are past, and also to those who are to come.
2 Ezra 7:67
For if He will not multiply His mercies, the world would not continue with those who inherit therein. *18:58
2 Ezra 7:68
And He pardons; for if He did not do so of His goodness, that those who have committed iniquities might be eased of them, the ten thousandth part of men should not remain living.
2 Ezra 7:69
And being judge, if He should not forgive those who are cured with His word, and put out the multitude of contentions,
2 Ezra 7:70
There should be very few left peradventure in an innumerable multitude."
2 Ezra 8:1
And he answered me, saying, "The Most High has made this world for many, but the world to come, for few.
2 Ezra 8:2
I will tell you a similitude, Ezra: As when you ask the earth, it will say to you, that it gives much mould whereof earthen vessels are made, but little dust that gold comes of; even so is the course of this present world.
2 Ezra 8:3
There are many created, but few will be saved."
2 Ezra 8:4
So I answered and said, "Then swallow down understanding, O my soul, and devour wisdom.
2 Ezra 8:5
For you have agreed to give ear, and are willing to prophesy; for you no longer have space than only to live.
2 Ezra 8:6
O Lord, if You do not suffer Your servant, that we may pray before You, and You give us seed to our heart, and culture to our understanding, that fruit may come of it; how will each man live who is corrupt, who bears the place of a man?
2 Ezra 8:7
For You are alone, and we all [are] one workmanship of Your hands, as You have said.
2 Ezra 8:8
For when the body is now fashioned in the mother’s womb, and You give it members, Your creature is preserved in fire and water, and Your workmanship endures Your creature for nine months, which is created in her.
2 Ezra 8:9
But that which keeps and is kept will both be preserved; and when the time comes, the womb preserved delivers up the things that grew in it.
2 Ezra 8:10
For You have 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,
2 Ezra 8:11
That the thing which is fashioned may be nourished for a time, until You dispose it to Your mercy.
2 Ezra 8:12
You brought it up with Your righteousness, and nurtured it in Your law, and reformed it with Your judgment.
2 Ezra 8:13
And You will mortify it as Your creature, and quicken it as Your work.
2 Ezra 8:14
If therefore You will destroy him who, with so great labor, was fashioned, it is an easy thing to be ordained by Your commandment, that the thing which was made might be preserved.
2 Ezra 8:15
Now therefore, Lord, I will speak; touching man in general, You know best; but touching Your people, for whose sake I am sorry;
2 Ezra 8:16
And for Your inheritance, for whose cause I mourn; and for Israel, for whom I am heavy; and for Jacob, for whose sake I am troubled;
2 Ezra 8:17
Therefore I will begin to pray before You for myself and for them; for I see the falls of us who dwell in the land.
2 Ezra 8:18
But I have heard the swiftness of the judge which is to come.
2 Ezra 8:19
Therefore hear my voice, and understand my words, and I will speak before You." This is the beginning of the words of Ezra, before he was taken up; and I said,
2 Ezra 8:20
"O Lord, You who dwell in everlastingness, who beholds from above things in the heaven and in the air;
2 Ezra 8:21
Whose Throne is inestimable; whose glory may not be comprehended; before whom the hosts of angels stand with trembling,
2 Ezra 8:22
Whose service is conversant in wind and fire; whose word is true, and sayings constant; whose commandment is strong, and ordinance fearful;
2 Ezra 8:23
Whose look dries up the depths, and indignation makes the mountains to melt away; which the truth witnesses;
2 Ezra 8:24
O hear the prayer of Your servant, and give ear to the petition of Your creature.
2 Ezra 8:25
For while I live, I will speak, and so long as I have understanding, I will answer.
2 Ezra 8:26
O do not look upon the sins of Your people; but on those who serve You in truth.
2 Ezra 8:27
Do not regard the wicked inventions of the heathen, but the desire of those who keep Your testimonies in afflictions.
2 Ezra 8:28
Do not think upon those who have walked feignedly before You; but remember them, which, according to Your will, have known Your fear.
2 Ezra 8:29
Let it not be Your will to destroy those who have lived like beasts; but to look upon those who have clearly taught Your law.
2 Ezra 8:30
Take no indignation at those who are deemed worse than beasts; but love those who always put their trust in Your righteousness and glory.
2 Ezra 8:31
For we and our fathers languish of such diseases; but because of us sinners, You will be called Merciful.
2 Ezra 8:32
For if You have a desire to have mercy upon us, You will be called Merciful, to us namely, who have no works of righteousness.
2 Ezra 8:33
For the just, who have many good works laid up with You, will, out of their own deeds, receive reward.
2 Ezra 8:34
For what is man, that You should take displeasure at him? Or what is a corruptible generation, that You should be so bitter toward it?
2 Ezra 8:35
For in truth, there is no man among those who are born, but he has dealt wickedly; and among the faithful there are none who have not done amiss.
2 Ezra 8:36
For in this, O Lord, Your righteousness and Your goodness will be declared, if You are merciful to those who do not have the confidence of good works."
2 Ezra 8:37
Then He answered me, and said, "Some things you have spoken aright, and according to your words it will be.
2 Ezra 8:38
For indeed I will not think on the disposition of those who have sinned before death, before judgment, before destruction;
2 Ezra 8:39
But I will rejoice over the disposition of the righteous, and I will also remember their pilgrimage, and the salvation, and the reward, that they will have.
2 Ezra 8:40
As I have spoken now, so will it come to pass.
2 Ezra 8:41
For as the husbandman sows much seed upon the ground, and plants many trees, and yet the thing that is sown good in his season does not come up, neither does all that is planted take root; even so is it of those who are sown in the world; they will not all be saved."
2 Ezra 8:42
I answered then and said, "If I have found grace, let me speak.
2 Ezra 8:43
As the husbandman’s seed perishes, if it does not come up, and does not receive Your rain in due season; or if too much rain comes, and corrupts it;
2 Ezra 8:44
Even so a man also perishes, who is formed with Your hands, and is called Your own image, because You are like him, for whose sake You have made all things, and likened him to the husbandman’s seed.
2 Ezra 8:45
Do not be wroth with us, but spare Your people, and have mercy upon Your own inheritance; for You are merciful to Your creature."
2 Ezra 8:46
Then He answered me, and said, "Things present are for the present, and things to come, for such as are to come.
2 Ezra 8:47
For you come far short that you should be able to love My creature more than I; but I have often times drawn near you, and to it, but never to the unrighteous.
2 Ezra 8:48
In this also you are marvelous before the Most High;
2 Ezra 8:49
In that you have humbled yourself, as it becomes to you, and have not judged yourself worthy to be much glorified among the righteous.
2 Ezra 8:50
For many great miseries will be done to those who, in the latter time, will dwell in the world, because they have walked in great pride.
2 Ezra 8:51
But understand for yourself, and seek out the glory for such who are like you.
2 Ezra 8:52
For to you, Paradise is opened, the Tree of Life is planted, the time to come is prepared, plenteousness is made ready, a city is built, and rest is allowed, indeed, perfect goodness and wisdom.
2 Ezra 8:53
The root of evil is sealed up from you, weakness and the moth are hidden from you, and corruption has fled into Hell to be forgotten;
2 Ezra 8:54
Sorrows have passed, and in the end, the treasure of immortality is shown.
2 Ezra 8:55
And therefore ask no more questions concerning the multitude of those who perish.
2 Ezra 8:56
For when they had taken liberty, they despised the Most High, thought scorn of His law, and forsook His ways.
2 Ezra 8:57
Moreover, they have trodden down His righteous,
2 Ezra 8:58
And said in their heart, that there is no God; indeed, and that knowing, they must die.
2 Ezra 8:59
For as the things aforesaid will receive you, so thirst and pain are prepared for them; for it was not His will that men should come to nothing;
2 Ezra 8:60
But those who are created have defiled the name of Him who made them, and were unthankful to Him who prepared life for them.
2 Ezra 8:61
And therefore is My judgment now at hand.
2 Ezra 8:62
I have not shown these things to all men, but to you, and a few like you." Then I answered and said,
2 Ezra 8:63
"Behold, O Lord, now You have shown me the multitude of the wonders, which You will begin to do in the last times; but at what time, You have not shown me."
2 Ezra 9:1
He answered me then, and said, "Measure the time diligently in itself; and when you see part of the signs past, which I have told you before,
2 Ezra 9:2
Then you will understand, that it is the very same time, wherein the Highest will begin to visit the world which He made.
2 Ezra 9:3
Therefore when there will be seen earthquakes *Matthew 24:7, *Mark 13:8 and uproars of the people in the world;
2 Ezra 9:4
Then you will well understand, that the Most High spoke of those things from the days that were before you, even from the beginning.
2 Ezra 9:5
For as all that is made in the world has a beginning and an end, and the end is manifest;
2 Ezra 9:6
Even so, the times also of the Highest have plain beginnings in wonder and powerful works, and endings in effects and signs.
2 Ezra 9:7
And everyone who will be saved, and will be able to escape by his works, and by faith, whereby you have believed,
2 Ezra 9:8
Will be preserved from the said perils, and will see My salvation in My land, and within My borders; for I have sanctified them for Me from the beginning.
2 Ezra 9:9
Then they will be in pitiful case, who have now abused My ways; and those who have despitefully cast them away will dwell in torments.
2 Ezra 9:10
For such who, in their life, have received benefits, and have not known Me;
2 Ezra 9:11
And those who have loathed My law, while they had yet liberty, and, when as yet, place of repentance was open to them, did not understand, but despised it;
2 Ezra 9:12
The same must know it after death by pain.
2 Ezra 9:13
And therefore do not be curious how the ungodly will be punished, and when; but enquire how the righteous will be saved, whose the world is, and for whom the world is created."
2 Ezra 9:14
Then I answered and said,
2 Ezra 9:15
"I have said before, and now do speak, and will speak it also hereafter, that there are many more of those who perish, than of those who will be saved;
2 Ezra 9:16
As a wave is greater than a drop."
2 Ezra 9:17
And He answered me, saying, "As the field is, so also is the seed; as the flowers are, such are the colors also; such as the workman is, such also is the work; and as the husbandman is himself, so is his husbandry also; for it was the time of the world.
2 Ezra 9:18
And now when I prepared the world, which was not yet made, even for them to dwell in, who now live, no man spoke against Me.
2 Ezra 9:19
For then, everyone obeyed; but now the manners of those who are created in this world that is made are corrupted by a perpetual seed, and rid themselves by a law that is unsearchable.
2 Ezra 9:20
So I considered the world, and, behold, there was peril because of the devices that had come into it.
2 Ezra 9:21
And I saw, and spared it greatly, and have kept Myself a grape of the cluster, and a plant of a great people.
2 Ezra 9:22
Let the multitude perish then, which was born in vain; and let My grape be kept, and My plant; for with great labor I have made it perfect.
2 Ezra 9:23
Nevertheless, if you will cease yet seven days more, (but you will not fast in them,
2 Ezra 9:24
But go into a field of flowers, where no house is built, and only eat the flowers of the field; taste no flesh, drink no wine, but eat flowers only;)
2 Ezra 9:25
And pray to the Highest continually, then I will come and talk with you."
2 Ezra 9:26
So I went my way into the field which is called Ardath, as He commanded me; and there I sat among the flowers, and ate of the herbs of the field, and the meat of the same satisfied me.
2 Ezra 9:27
After seven days, I sat upon the grass, and my heart was vexed within me, as before;
2 Ezra 9:28
And I opened my mouth, and began to talk before the Most High, and said,
2 Ezra 9:29
"O Lord, You who show Yourself to us, You were shown to our fathers in the wilderness, in a place where no man treads, in a barren place, when they came out of Egypt.
2 Ezra 9:30
And You spoke saying, 'Hear Me, O Israel; and mark My words, you seed of Jacob.
2 Ezra 9:31
For, behold, I sow My law in you, and it will bring fruit in you, and you will be honored in it forever.'
2 Ezra 9:32
But our fathers, who received the law, did not keep it, and did not observe Your ordinances; and though the fruit of Your law did not perish, neither could it, for it was Yours;
2 Ezra 9:33
Yet those who received it perished, because they did not keep the thing that was sown in them.
2 Ezra 9:34
And, look, it is a custom, when the ground has received seed, or the sea a ship, or any vessel, meat or drink, that being perished wherein it was sown or cast into,
2 Ezra 9:35
That thing also which was sown, or cast therein, or received, perishes, and does not remain with us; but it has not happened so with us.
2 Ezra 9:36
For we who have received the law perish by sin, and our heart also that received it.
2 Ezra 9:37
Notwithstanding, the law does not perish, but remains in his force."
2 Ezra 9:38
And when I spoke these things in my heart, I looked back with my 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.
2 Ezra 9:39
Then I let my thoughts go that I was in, and turned myself to her,
2 Ezra 9:40
And said to her, "Why do you weep? Why are you so grieved in your mind?"
2 Ezra 9:41
And she said to me, "Sir, let me alone, that I may bewail myself, and add to my sorrow, for I am sore vexed in my mind, and brought very low."
2 Ezra 9:42
And I said to her, "What ails you? Tell me."
2 Ezra 9:43
She said to me, "I, your servant, have been barren, and had no child, though I had a husband thirty years,
2 Ezra 9:44
And those thirty years, I did nothing else day and night, and every hour, but make my prayer to the Highest.
2 Ezra 9:45
After thirty years, God heard me, your handmaid, looked upon my misery, considered my trouble, and gave me a son; and I was very glad of him, so also was my husband, and all my neighbors; and we gave great honor to the Almighty.
2 Ezra 9:46
And I nourished him with great travail.
2 Ezra 9:47
So when he grew up, and came to the time that he should have a wife, I made a feast.
2 Ezra 10:1
And it so came to pass, that when my son had entered into his wedding chamber, he fell down, and died.
2 Ezra 10:2
Then we all overthrew the lights, and all my neighbors rose up to comfort me; so I took my rest to the second day at night.
2 Ezra 10:3
And it came to pass, when they had all left off to comfort me, to the end [that] I might be quiet; then I rose up by night and fled, and came here into this field, as you see.
2 Ezra 10:4
And I now purpose to not return into the city, but to stay here, and neither to eat or drink, but to continually mourn and fast until I die."
2 Ezra 10:5
Then I left the meditations wherein I was, and spoke to her in anger, saying,
2 Ezra 10:6
"You foolish woman above all others, do you not see our mourning, and what happens to us?
2 Ezra 10:7
How Zion our mother is full of all heaviness, and much humbled, mourning very sore?
2 Ezra 10:8
And now, seeing we all mourn and are sad, for we are all in heaviness, are you grieved for one son?
2 Ezra 10:9
For ask the earth, and she will tell you, that it is she who should mourn for the fall of so many who grow upon her.
2 Ezra 10:10
For all came out of her at the first, and all others will come out of her, and, behold, they almost all walk into destruction, and a multitude of them is utterly rooted out.
2 Ezra 10:11
Who then should make more mourning than her, who has lost so great a multitude; and not you, who are sorry but for one?
2 Ezra 10:12
But if you say to 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;
2 Ezra 10:13
But the earth not so; for the multitude present in it, according to the course of the earth, is gone, as it came;'
2 Ezra 10:14
Then I say to you, 'As you have brought forth with labor; even so the earth has also given her fruit, namely, man, ever since the beginning to Him who made her.'
2 Ezra 10:15
Now therefore keep your sorrow to yourself, and bear with a good courage that which has befallen you.
2 Ezra 10:16
For if you will acknowledge the determination of God to be just, you will both receive your son in time, and will be commended among women.
2 Ezra 10:17
Go your way then into the city to your husband."
2 Ezra 10:18
And she said to me, "I will not do that; I will not go into the city, but I will die here."
2 Ezra 10:19
So I proceeded to speak further to her, and said,
2 Ezra 10:20
"Do not do so, but be counseled by me; for how many are the adversities of Zion? Be comforted in regard of the sorrow of Jerusalem.
2 Ezra 10:21
For you see that our sanctuary is laid waste, our altar broken down, our temple destroyed;
2 Ezra 10:22
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 have 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 have become weak;
2 Ezra 10:23
And, which is the greatest of all, the seal of Zion has now lost her honor; for she is delivered into the hands of those who hate us.
2 Ezra 10:24
And therefore shake off your great heaviness, and put away the multitude of sorrows, that the Mighty may be merciful to you again, and the Highest will give you rest and ease from your labor."
2 Ezra 10:25
And it came to pass while I was talking with her, behold, her face suddenly shined exceedingly, and her countenance glistered, so that I was afraid of her, and mused what it might be.
2 Ezra 10:26
And, behold, she suddenly made a great cry, very fearful; so that the earth shook at the noise of the woman.
2 Ezra 10:27
And I looked, and, behold, the woman appeared to me no more, but there was a city built, and a large place showed itself from the foundations; then I was afraid, and cried with a loud voice, and said,
2 Ezra 10:28
"Where is Uriel the angel, who came to me at the first? For he has caused me to fall into many trances, and my end has turned into corruption, and my prayer to rebuke."
2 Ezra 10:29
And as I was speaking these words, behold, he came to me, and looked upon me.
2 Ezra 10:30
And, look, I lay as one who had been dead, and my understanding was taken from me; and he took me by the right hand, and comforted me, and set me upon my feet, and said to me,
2 Ezra 10:31
"What ails you? And why are you so disquieted? And why is your understanding troubled, and the thoughts of your heart?"
2 Ezra 10:32
And I said, "Because you have forsaken me, and yet I did according to your words, and I went into the field, and, look, I have seen, and yet see, that I am not able to express."
2 Ezra 10:33
And he said to me, "Stand up manfully, and I will advise you."
2 Ezra 10:34
Then I said, "Speak on, my Lord, in me; only do not forsake me, unless I die frustrated of my hope.
2 Ezra 10:35
For I have seen that [which] I did not know, and heard that [which] I do not know.
2 Ezra 10:36
Or is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream?
2 Ezra 10:37
Now therefore I beseech You that you will show Your servant of this vision."
2 Ezra 10:38
He answered me then, and said, "Hear me, and I will inform you, and tell you why you are afraid; for the Highest will reveal many secret things to you.
2 Ezra 10:39
He has seen that your way is right; for you sorrow continually for your people, and make great lamentation for Zion.
2 Ezra 10:40
This therefore is the meaning of the vision which you saw lately;
2 Ezra 10:41
You saw a woman mourning, and you began to comfort her;
2 Ezra 10:42
But now see you the likeness of the woman no more, but there appeared to you a city built.
2 Ezra 10:43
And whereas she told you of the death of her son, this is the solution;
2 Ezra 10:44
This woman, whom you saw is Zion; and whereas she said to you, even she whom you see as a city built,
2 Ezra 10:45
Whereas, I say, she said to you, that she has been barren thirty years; those are the thirty years wherein there was no offering made in her.
2 Ezra 10:46
But after thirty years, Solomon built the city and offered offerings; and then the barren bore a son.
2 Ezra 10:47
And whereas she told you that she nourished him with labor; that was the dwelling in Jerusalem.
2 Ezra 10:48
But whereas she said to you, 'That my son, coming into his marriage chamber, happened to have a fail, and died;' this was the destruction that came to Jerusalem.
2 Ezra 10:49
And, behold, you saw her likeness, and because she mourned for her son, you began to comfort her; and of these things that have chanced, these are to be opened to you.
2 Ezra 10:50
For now the Most High sees that you are unfeignedly grieved, and suffer from your whole heart for her, so He has shown you the brightness of her glory, and the comeliness of her beauty;
2 Ezra 10:51
And therefore I bade you to remain in the field where no house was built;
2 Ezra 10:52
For I knew that the Highest would show this to you.
2 Ezra 10:53
Therefore I commanded you to go into the field, where no foundation of any building was.
2 Ezra 10:54
For in the place wherein the Highest begins to show His city, no man’s building is able to stand.
2 Ezra 10:55
And therefore do not fear, do not let your heart be affrighted, but go your way in, and see the beauty and greatness of the building, as much as your eyes are able to see;
2 Ezra 10:56
And then you will hear as much as your ears may comprehend.
2 Ezra 10:57
For you are blessed above many others, and are called with the Highest; and so are but few.
2 Ezra 10:58
But tomorrow at night, you will remain here;
2 Ezra 10:59
And so the Highest will show you visions of the high things, which the Most High will do to those who dwell upon the earth in the Last Days." So I slept that night and another, as he commanded me.
2 Ezra 11:1
Then I saw a dream, and, behold, an eagle came up from the sea, which had twelve feathered wings, and three heads.
2 Ezra 11:2
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.
2 Ezra 11:3
And I beheld, and out of her feathers grew other contrary feathers; and they became little feathers and small.
2 Ezra 11:4
But her heads were at rest; the head in the midst was greater than the other, yet rested it with the residue.
2 Ezra 11:5
Moreover I beheld, and, look, the eagle flew with her feathers, and reigned upon earth, and over those who dwelt therein.
2 Ezra 11:6
And I saw that all things under heaven were subject to her, and no man spoke against her, no, not one creature upon earth.
2 Ezra 11:7
And I beheld, and, look, the eagle rose upon her talons, and spoke to her feathers, saying,
2 Ezra 11:8
"Do not watch all at once; sleep, everyone in his own place, and watch by course;
2 Ezra 11:9
But let the heads be preserved for the last."
2 Ezra 11:10
And I beheld, and, look, the voice did not go out of her heads, but from the midst of her body.
2 Ezra 11:11
And I numbered her contrary feathers, and, behold, there were eight of them.
2 Ezra 11:12
And I looked, and, behold, on the right side, one feather arose, and reigned over all the earth;
2 Ezra 11:13
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;
2 Ezra 11:14
And it happened, that when it reigned, the end of it also came, as the first, so that it appeared no more.
2 Ezra 11:15
Then a voice came there to it, and said,
2 Ezra 11:16
"Hear, you who have borne rule over the earth so long; I say this to you, before you begin to appear no more,
2 Ezra 11:17
None after you will attain to your time, neither to the half thereof.
2 Ezra 11:18
Then the third arose, and reigned as the other before, and appeared no more also.
2 Ezra 11:19
So it went with all the residue, one after another, as that every one reigned, and then no more appeared.
2 Ezra 11:20
Then I beheld, and, look, 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;
2 Ezra 11:21
For some of them were set up, but did not rule.
2 Ezra 11:22
After this I looked, and, behold, the twelve feathers appeared no more, nor the two little feathers;
2 Ezra 11:23
And there was no more upon the eagle’s body, but three heads that rested, and six little wings.
2 Ezra 11:24
Then I also saw 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.
2 Ezra 11:25
And I beheld, and, look, the feathers that were under the wing thought to set themselves up and to have the rule.
2 Ezra 11:26
And I beheld, and, look, one was set up, but it shortly appeared no more.
2 Ezra 11:27
And the second was sooner away than the first.
2 Ezra 11:28
And I beheld, and, look, the two that remained also thought in themselves to reign;
2 Ezra 11:29
And when they so thought, behold, one of the heads that were at rest awakened, namely, it that was in the midst; for that was greater than the two other heads.
2 Ezra 11:30
And then I saw that the two other heads were joined with it.
2 Ezra 11:31
And, behold, the head was turned with those that were with it, and ate up the two feathers under the wing that would have reigned.
2 Ezra 11:32
But this head put the whole earth in fear, and bore rule in it over all those who dwelt upon the earth with much oppression; and it had the governance of the world more than all the wings that had been.
2 Ezra 11:33
And after this I beheld, and, look, the head that was in the midst suddenly appeared no more, as the wings.
2 Ezra 11:34
But the two heads remained, which also, in like sort, ruled upon the earth, and over those who dwelt therein.
2 Ezra 11:35
And I beheld, and, look, the head upon the right side devoured it which was upon the left side.
2 Ezra 11:36
Then I heard a voice, which said to me, "Look before you, and consider the thing that you see."
2 Ezra 11:37
And I beheld, and look, as it were a roaring lion chased out of the wood; and I saw that he sent out a man’s voice to the eagle, and said,
2 Ezra 11:38
"Hear, I will talk with you, and the Highest will say to you,
2 Ezra 11:39
'Are you not it that remains of the four beasts, whom I made to reign in My world, that the end of their times might come through them?'
2 Ezra 11:40
And the fourth came, and overcame all the beasts that had past, and had power over the world with great fearfulness, and over the whole compass of the earth with much wicked oppression; and he dwelt so long a time upon the earth with deceit.
2 Ezra 11:41
For the earth, you have not judged with truth.
2 Ezra 11:42
For you have afflicted the meek, you have hurt the peaceable, you have loved liars, and destroyed the dwellings of those who brought forth fruit, and have cast down the walls of such who did you no harm.
2 Ezra 11:43
Therefore your wrongful dealing has come up to the Highest, and your pride to the Mighty.
2 Ezra 11:44
The Highest has also looked upon the proud times, and, behold, they have ended, and His abominations are fulfilled.
2 Ezra 11:45
And therefore appear no more, you eagle, nor your horrible wings, nor your wicked feathers, nor your malicious heads, nor your hurtful claws, nor all your vain body;
2 Ezra 11:46
That all the earth may be refreshed, and may return, being delivered from your violence, and that she may hope for the judgment and mercy of Him who made her."
2 Ezra 12:1
And it came to pass, while the lion spoke these words to the eagle, I saw,
2 Ezra 12:2
And, behold, the head that remained and the four wings appeared no more, and the two went to it and set themselves up to reign, and their kingdom was small, and full of uproar.
2 Ezra 12:3
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 I awakened out of the trouble and trance of my mind, and from great fear, and said to my spirit,
2 Ezra 12:4
"Look, you have done this to me, in that you search out the ways of the Highest.
2 Ezra 12:5
Look, yet I am weary in my mind, and very weak in my spirit; and there is little strength in me, for the great fear wherewith I was afflicted this night.
2 Ezra 12:6
Therefore, I will now beseech the Highest, that He will comfort me to the end."
2 Ezra 12:7
And I said, "Lord who bears rule, if I have found grace before Your sight, and if I am justified with You before many others, and if my prayer indeed has come up before Your Face;
2 Ezra 12:8
Comfort me then, and show me, Your servant, the interpretation and plain difference of this fearful vision, that You may perfectly comfort my soul.
2 Ezra 12:9
For You have judged me worthy to show me the last times."
2 Ezra 12:10
And He said to me, "This is the interpretation of the vision;
2 Ezra 12:11
The eagle, whom you saw come up from the sea, is the kingdom which was seen in the vision of your brother Daniel.
2 Ezra 12:12
But it was not expounded to him, therefore I now declare it to you.
2 Ezra 12:13
Behold, the days will come, that there will rise up a kingdom upon earth, and it will be feared above all the kingdoms that were before it.
2 Ezra 12:14
In the same, twelve kings will reign, one after another;
2 Ezra 12:15
Whereof the second will begin to reign, and will have more time than any of the twelve.
2 Ezra 12:16
And the twelve wings signify this, which you saw.
2 Ezra 12:17
As for the voice which you heard speak, and that you saw not go out from the heads but from the midst of the body thereof, this is the interpretation;
2 Ezra 12:18
That after the time of that kingdom, there will arise great strivings, and it will stand in peril of failing; nevertheless, it will not then fall, but will be restored again to his beginning.
2 Ezra 12:19
And whereas you saw the eight small under feathers sticking to her wings, this is the interpretation;
2 Ezra 12:20
That in him, there will arise eight kings, whose times will be but small, and their years swift.
2 Ezra 12:21
And two of them will perish, the middle time approaching; four will be kept until their end begins to approach; but two will be kept to the end.
2 Ezra 12:22
And whereas you saw three heads resting, this is the interpretation;
2 Ezra 12:23
In his last days, the Most High will raise up three kingdoms, and renew many things therein, and they will have the dominion of the earth,
2 Ezra 12:24
And of those who dwell therein, with much oppression, above all those who were before them; therefore they are called the heads of the eagle.
2 Ezra 12:25
For these are those who will accomplish his wickedness, and that will finish his last end.
2 Ezra 12:26
And whereas you saw that the great head appeared no more, it signifies that one of them will die upon his bed, and yet with pain.
2 Ezra 12:27
For the two that remain will be slain with the sword.
2 Ezra 12:28
For the sword of the one will devour the other; but at the last, he will fall through the sword himself.
2 Ezra 12:29
And whereas you saw two feathers under the wings passing over the head that is on the right side;
2 Ezra 12:30
It signifies that these are those whom the Highest has kept to their end; this is the small kingdom and full of trouble, as you saw.
2 Ezra 12:31
And the lion, whom you saw rising up out of the wood, and roaring, and speaking to the eagle, and rebuking her for her unrighteousness with all the words which you have heard;
2 Ezra 12:32
This is the Anointed, which the Highest has kept for them and for their wickedness to the end; he will reprove them, and will upbraid them with their cruelty.
2 Ezra 12:33
For he will set them before him alive in judgment, and will rebuke them, and correct them.
2 Ezra 12:34
For the rest of My people, he will deliver with mercy, those who have been pressed upon My borders, and he will make them joyful until the coming of the Day of Judgment, whereof I have spoken to you from the beginning.
2 Ezra 12:35
This is the dream that you saw, and these are the interpretations.
2 Ezra 12:36
Only you have been suitable to know this secret of the Highest.
2 Ezra 12:37
Therefore write all these things that you have seen in a Book, and hide them; *2:159, *2:174, *3:71, *3:187, *5:15, *6:91
2 Ezra 12:38
And teach them to the wise of the people, whose hearts you know may comprehend and keep these secrets.
2 Ezra 12:39
But wait here yourself yet seven days more, that it may be shown you, whatever it pleases the Highest to declare to you." And with that he went his way.
2 Ezra 12:40
And it came to pass, when all the people saw that the seven days had past, and I did not come again into the city, they gathered them all together, from the least to the greatest, and came to me, and said,
2 Ezra 12:41
"What have we offended you? And what evil have we done against you, that you forsake us, and sit here in this place?
2 Ezra 12:42
For of all the prophets, only you are left to 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.
2 Ezra 12:43
Are the evils which have come to us not sufficient?
2 Ezra 12:44
If you will forsake us, how much better had it been for us, if we had also been burned in the midst of Zion?
2 Ezra 12:45
For we are not better than those who died there." And they wept with a loud voice. Then I answered them, and said,
2 Ezra 12:46
"Be of good comfort, O Israel; and do not be heavy, you house of Jacob;
2 Ezra 12:47
For the Highest has you in remembrance, and the Mighty has not forgotten you in temptation.
2 Ezra 12:48
As for me, I have not forsaken you, neither have I departed from you; but have come into this place, to pray for the desolation of Zion, and that I might seek mercy for the low estate of your sanctuary.
2 Ezra 12:49
And now go your way home, every man, and after these days, I will come to you."
2 Ezra 12:50
So the people went their way into the city, as I commanded them;
2 Ezra 12:51
But I remained still in the field seven days, as the angel commanded me; and only ate of the flowers of the field in those days, and had my meat of the herbs.
2 Ezra 13:1
And it came to pass after seven days, I dreamed a dream by night;
2 Ezra 13:2
And, look, there arose a wind from the sea, that it moved all the waves thereof.
2 Ezra 13:3
And I beheld, and, look, 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.
2 Ezra 13:4
And whenever the voice went out of his mouth, all burned who heard his voice, as the earth fails when it feels the fire.
2 Ezra 13:5
And after this I beheld, and, look, a multitude of men was gathered together, out of number, from the four winds of the heaven, to subdue the man who came out of the sea.
2 Ezra 13:6
But I beheld, and, look, he had graved himself a great mountain, and flew up upon it.
2 Ezra 13:7
But I would have seen the region or place where the hill was graven, and I could not.
2 Ezra 13:8
And after this I beheld, and, look, all those who were gathered together to subdue him were sore afraid, and yet fought.
2 Ezra 13:9
And, look, as he saw the violence of the multitude that came, he neither lifted up his hand, nor held sword, nor any instrument of war;
2 Ezra 13:10
But I only 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.
2 Ezra 13:11
And they were all mixed together; the blast of fire, the flaming breath, and the great tempest; and fell with violence upon the multitude that was prepared to fight, and burned them up, every one, so that suddenly, of an innumerable multitude, nothing was to be perceived, but only dust and smell of smoke; when I saw this, I was afraid.
2 Ezra 13:12
Afterward, I saw the same man come down from the mountain, and call another peaceable multitude to him.
2 Ezra 13:13
And many people came to him, whereof some were glad, some were sorry, and some of them were bound, and some others brought of those who were offered; then I was sick through great fear, and I awakened, and said,
2 Ezra 13:14
"You have shown Your servant these wonders from the beginning, and have counted me worthy that You should receive my prayer;
2 Ezra 13:15
Now show me yet the interpretation of this dream.
2 Ezra 13:16
For as I conceive in my understanding, woe to those who will be left in those days and much more woe to those who are not left behind!
2 Ezra 13:17
For those who were not left were in heaviness.
2 Ezra 13:18
Now I understand the things that are laid up in the Latter Days, which will happen to them, and to those who are left behind.
2 Ezra 13:19
Therefore they have come into great perils and many necessities, as these dreams declare.
2 Ezra 13:20
Yet it is easier for him who is in danger to come into these things, than to pass away as a cloud out of the world, and to not see the things that happen in the Last Days." And he answered to me, and said,
2 Ezra 13:21
"I will show you the interpretation of the vision, and I will open the thing that you have required to you.
2 Ezra 13:22
Whereas you have spoken of those who are left behind, this is the interpretation;
2 Ezra 13:23
He who will endure the peril in that time has kept himself; those who are fallen into danger are such who have works, and faith toward the Almighty.
2 Ezra 13:24
Know this therefore, that those who are left behind are more blessed than those who are dead.
2 Ezra 13:25
This is the meaning of the vision; whereas you saw a man coming up from the midst of the sea;
2 Ezra 13:26
The same is he whom God the Highest has kept a great season, which, by his own self, will deliver his creature; and he will order those who are left behind.
2 Ezra 13:27
And whereas you saw, that out of his mouth, there came as a blast of wind, and fire, and storm;
2 Ezra 13:28
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;
2 Ezra 13:29
Behold, the days come, when the Most High will begin to deliver those who are upon the earth.
2 Ezra 13:30
And He will come to the astonishment of those who dwell on the earth.
2 Ezra 13:31
And one will undertake to fight against another, one city against another, one place against another, one people against another, and one realm against another. *Matthew 24:6 - 7
2 Ezra 13:32
And the time will be when these things will come to pass, and the signs will happen which I showed you before, and then My son will be declared, whom you saw as a man ascending.
2 Ezra 13:33
And when all the people hear his voice, every man will, in their own land, leave the battle they have against one another.
2 Ezra 13:34
And an innumerable multitude will be gathered together, as you saw them, willing to come, and to overcome him by fighting.
2 Ezra 13:35
But he will stand upon the top of the Mount Zion.
2 Ezra 13:36
And Zion will come, and will be shown to all men, being prepared and built, as you saw the hill graven without hands.
2 Ezra 13:37
And this, My son, will rebuke the wicked inventions of those nations, which, for their wicked life, have fallen into the tempest;
2 Ezra 13:38
And will lay their evil thoughts before them, and the torments wherewith, they will begin to be tormented, which are like a flame; and he will destroy them without labor by the law which is like Me.
2 Ezra 13:39
And whereas you saw that he gathered another peaceable multitude to him;
2 Ezra 13:40
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 they came into another land.
2 Ezra 13:41
But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where mankind never dwelt,
2 Ezra 13:42
That they might there keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land.
2 Ezra 13:43
And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow places of the river.
2 Ezra 13:44
For the Most High then showed signs for them, and held the flood still, until they had passed over.
2 Ezra 13:45
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.
2 Ezra 13:46
Then they dwelt there until the latter time; and now when they will begin to come,
2 Ezra 13:47
The Highest will stay the springs of the stream again, that they may go through; therefore you saw the multitude with peace.
2 Ezra 13:48
But those who are left behind of your people are those who are found within My borders.
2 Ezra 13:49
Now when he destroys the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he will defend his people who remain.
2 Ezra 13:50
And then will he show them great wonders."
2 Ezra 13:51
Then I said, "O Lord who bears rule, show me this: Why have I seen the man coming up from the midst of the sea?"
2 Ezra 13:52
And he said to me, "As you can neither seek out or know the things that are in the deep of the sea; even so can no man upon earth see My son, or those who are with him, but in the day time.
2 Ezra 13:53
This is the interpretation of the dream which you saw, and whereby only you are lightened here.
2 Ezra 13:54
For you have forsaken your own way, and applied your diligence to My law, and sought it.
2 Ezra 13:55
You have ordered your life in wisdom, and have called understanding your mother.
2 Ezra 13:56
And therefore I have shown you the treasures of the Highest; after three other days, I will speak other things to you, and declare to you mighty and wondrous things."
2 Ezra 13:57
Then I went forth into the field, giving praise and thanks greatly to the Most High because of His wonders which He did in time;
2 Ezra 13:58
And because He governs the same, and such things that fall in their seasons; and there I sat for three days.
2 Ezra 14:1
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, "Ezra, Ezra."
2 Ezra 14:2
And I said, "Here I am, Lord." And I stood up upon my feet.
2 Ezra 14:3
Then he said to me, "In the bush I manifestly revealed Myself to Moses, and talked with him, when My people served in Egypt;
2 Ezra 14:4
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,
2 Ezra 14:5
And told him many wondrous things, and showed him the secrets of the times, and the end; and commanded him, saying,
2 Ezra 14:6
'These words will you declare, and these will you hide.' *2:159, *2:174, *3:71, *3:187, *5:15, *6:91
2 Ezra 14:7
And now I say to you,
2 Ezra 14:8
'That you lay up in your heart, the signs that I have shown, and the dreams that you have seen, and the interpretations which you have heard;
2 Ezra 14:9
For you will be taken away from all, and from now on, you will remain with My son, and with such who are like you, until the times have ended.'
2 Ezra 14:10
For the world has lost his youth, and the times begin to wax old.
2 Ezra 14:11
For the world is divided into twelve parts, and the ten parts of it are already gone, and half of a tenth part;
2 Ezra 14:12
And there remains that which is after the half of the tenth part.
2 Ezra 14:13
Now therefore, set your house in order, and reprove your people, comfort such of them who are in trouble, and now renounce corruption,
2 Ezra 14:14
Let mortal thoughts go from you, cast away the burdens of man, now put off the weak nature,
2 Ezra 14:15
And set aside the thoughts that are most heavy to you, and hasten to flee from these times.
2 Ezra 14:16
For yet greater evils than those which you have seen happen, will be done hereafter.
2 Ezra 14:17
For look how much the world will be weaker through age, so much more will evils increase upon those who dwell therein.
2 Ezra 14:18
For the time has fled far away, and leasing is hard at hand; for now hastes the vision to come, which you have seen."
2 Ezra 14:19
Then I answered before You, and said,
2 Ezra 14:20
"Behold, Lord, I will go, as You have commanded me, and reprove the people who are present; but those who will be born afterward, who will admonish them? Thus the world is set in darkness, and those who dwell therein are without light.
2 Ezra 14:21
For Your law is burnt, therefore no man knows the things that are done of You, or the work that will begin.
2 Ezra 14:22
But if I have found grace before You, send the Holy Spirit into me, and I will write all that has been done in the world since the beginning, which were written in Your law, that men may find Your path, and that those who will live in the latter days may live."
2 Ezra 14:23
And he answered me, saying, "Go your way, gather the people together, and say to them, that they do not seek you for forty days.
2 Ezra 14:24
But look, prepare many box trees, and take Sarea with you, [and] Dabria, Selemia, Ecanus, and Asiel, these five who are ready to write swiftly;
2 Ezra 14:25
And come here, and I will light a candle of understanding in your heart, which will not be put out, until the things are performed which you will begin to write.
2 Ezra 14:26
And when you have done, some things you will publish, and some things you will show secretly to the wise; *2:159, *2:174, *3:71, *3:187, *5:15, *6:91 tomorrow, you will begin to write this hour."
2 Ezra 14:27
Then went I forth, as he commanded, and gathered all the people together, and said,
2 Ezra 14:28
"Hear these words, O Israel.
2 Ezra 14:29
Our fathers at the beginning were strangers in Egypt, from where they were delivered;
2 Ezra 14:30
And received the law of life, which they did not keep, which you have also transgressed after them.
2 Ezra 14:31
Then the land, even the land of Zion, was parted among you by lot; but your fathers, and you yourselves, have done unrighteousness, and have not kept the ways which the Highest commanded you.
2 Ezra 14:32
And forasmuch as He is a righteous judge, He took from you in time, the thing that He had given you.
2 Ezra 14:33
And now you are here, and your brethren among you.
2 Ezra 14:34
Therefore if [it] so is that you will subdue your own understanding, and reform your hearts, you will be kept alive, and after death, you will obtain mercy.
2 Ezra 14:35
For after death, the Judgment will come, when we will live again; and then the names of the righteous will be manifest, and the works of the ungodly will be declared.
2 Ezra 14:36
Let no man therefore come to me now, nor seek after me these forty days."
2 Ezra 14:37
So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we went into the field, and remained there.
2 Ezra 14:38
And the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, "Ezra, open your mouth, and drink what I give you to drink."
2 Ezra 14:39
Then opened I my mouth, and, behold, he reached me a full cup, which was full as it were with water, but the color of it was like fire.
2 Ezra 14:40
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;
2 Ezra 14:41
And my mouth was opened, and no longer shut.
2 Ezra 14:42
The Highest gave understanding to the five men, and they wrote the wonderful visions of the night that were told, which they did not know; and they sat forty days, and they wrote in the day, and at night they ate bread.
2 Ezra 14:43
As for me. I spoke in the day, and I did not hold my tongue by night.
2 Ezra 14:44
In forty days, they wrote two hundred and four Books.
2 Ezra 14:45
And it came to pass, when the forty days were filled, that the Highest spoke, saying, "The first that you have written, publish openly, that the worthy and unworthy may read it;
2 Ezra 14:46
But keep the seventy last, that you may deliver them only to such who are wise among the people;
2 Ezra 14:47
For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge."
2 Ezra 15:1
"Behold, speak in the ears of My people the words of prophecy, which I will put in your mouth, the Lord says;
2 Ezra 15:2
And cause them to be written in paper; for they are faithful and true.
2 Ezra 15:3
Do not fear the imaginations against you, do not let the incredulity of them trouble you, who speak against you.
2 Ezra 15:4
For all the unfaithful will die in their unfaithfulness.
2 Ezra 15:5
Behold, the Lord says, I will bring plagues upon the world; the sword, famine, death, and destruction.
2 Ezra 15:6
For wickedness has exceedingly polluted the whole earth, and their hurtful works are fulfilled.
2 Ezra 15:7
Therefore the Lord says,
2 Ezra 15:8
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 cries to Me, and the souls of the just complain continually.
2 Ezra 15:9
And therefore, the Lord says, I will surely avenge them, and receive to Me all the innocent blood from among them.
2 Ezra 15:10
Behold, My people are led as a flock to the slaughter; I will not suffer them now to dwell in the land of Egypt;
2 Ezra 15:11
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.
2 Ezra 15:12
Egypt will mourn, and the foundation of it will be struck with the plague and punishment that God will bring upon it.
2 Ezra 15:13
Those who till the ground will mourn; for their seeds will fail through the blasting and hail, and with a fearful constellation.
2 Ezra 15:14
Woe to the world and those who dwell therein!
2 Ezra 15:15
For the sword and their destruction draws near, and one people will stand up and fight against another, and swords in their hands.
2 Ezra 15:16
For there will be sedition among men, and invading one another; they will not regard their kings or princes, and the course of their actions will stand in their power.
2 Ezra 15:17
A man will desire to go into a city, and will not be able.
2 Ezra 15:18
For because of their pride, the cities will be troubled, the houses will be destroyed, and men will be afraid.
2 Ezra 15:19
A man will have no pity upon his neighbor, but will destroy their houses with the sword, and spoil their goods, because of the lack of bread, and for great tribulation.
2 Ezra 15:20
Behold, God says, 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 against one another, and repay the things that they have done to them.
2 Ezra 15:21
As they do yet this day to My chosen, so will I do also, and recompense in their bosom. Thus the Lord says God;
2 Ezra 15:22
My right hand will not spare the sinners, and My sword will not cease over those who shed innocent blood upon the earth.
2 Ezra 15:23
The fire has gone forth from His wrath, and has consumed the foundations of the earth, and the sinners, like the straw that is kindled.
2 Ezra 15:24
Woe to those who sin, and do not keep My commandments! The Lord says.
2 Ezra 15:25
I will not spare them; go your way, you children, from the power, do not defile My sanctuary.
2 Ezra 15:26
For the Lord knows all those who sin against Him, and therefore He delivers them to death and destruction.
2 Ezra 15:27
For now the plagues have come upon the whole earth and you will remain in them; for God will not deliver you, because you have sinned against Him.
2 Ezra 15:28
Behold a horrible vision, and the appearance thereof from the east;
2 Ezra 15:29
Where the nations of the dragons of Arabia will come out with many chariots, and the multitude of them will be carried as the wind upon earth, that all those who hear them may fear and tremble.
2 Ezra 15:30
Also, the Carmanians, raging in wrath, will go forth as the wild boars of the wood, and they will come with great power, and join battle with them, and will waste a portion of the land of the Assyrians.
2 Ezra 15:31
And then the dragons will have the upper hand, remembering their nature; and if they will turn themselves, conspiring together in great power to persecute them,
2 Ezra 15:32
Then these will be troubled, and keep silence through their power, and will flee.
2 Ezra 15:33
And from the land of the Assyrians, the enemy will besiege them, and consume some of them, and in their host will be fear and dread, and strife among their kings.
2 Ezra 15:34
Behold clouds from the east and from the north to the south, and they are very horrible to look upon, full of wrath and storm.
2 Ezra 15:35
They will strike upon one another, and they will strike down a great multitude of stars upon the earth, even their own star; and blood will be from the sword to the belly,
2 Ezra 15:36
And dung of men to the camel’s hough.
2 Ezra 15:37
And there will be great fearfulness and trembling upon earth; and those who see the wrath will be afraid, and trembling will come upon them.
2 Ezra 15:38
And then there will come great storms from the south, and from the north, and another part from the west.
2 Ezra 15:39
And strong winds will arise from the east, and will open it; and the cloud which He raised up in wrath, and the star stirred to cause fear toward the east and west wind, will be destroyed.
2 Ezra 15:40
The great and mighty clouds will be puffed up full of wrath, and the star, that they may make all the earth afraid, and those who dwell therein; and they will pour out a horrible star over every high and eminent place,
2 Ezra 15:41
Fire, and hail, and flying swords, and many waters, that all fields may be full, and all rivers, with the abundance of great waters.
2 Ezra 15:42
And they will break down the cities and walls, mountains and hills, trees of the wood, and grass of the meadows, and their corn.
2 Ezra 15:43
And they will go stedfastly to Babylon, and make her afraid.
2 Ezra 15:44
They will come to her, and besiege her, they will pour out the star and all wrath upon her; then the dust and smoke will go up to the heaven, and all those who are about her will bewail her.
2 Ezra 15:45
And those who remain under her will do service to those who have put her in fear.
2 Ezra 15:46
And you, Asia, that are partaker of the hope of Babylon, and are the glory of her person;
2 Ezra 15:47
Woe to you, you wretch, because you have made yourself like her; and have decked your daughters in whoredom, that they might please and glory in your lovers, who have always desired to commit whoredom with you.
2 Ezra 15:48
You have followed her who is hated in all her works and inventions; therefore God says,
2 Ezra 15:49
I will send plagues upon you; widowhood, poverty, famine, sword, and pestilence, to waste your houses with destruction and death.
2 Ezra 15:50
And the glory of your power will be dried up as a flower, the heat will arise that is sent over you.
2 Ezra 15:51
You will be weakened as a poor woman with stripes, and as one chastised with wounds, so that the mighty and lovers will not be able to receive you.
2 Ezra 15:52
Would I with jealousy have so proceeded against you, the Lord says,
2 Ezra 15:53
If you had not always slain My chosen, exalting the stroke of your hands, and saying over their dead, when you were drunken,
2 Ezra 15:54
Set forth the beauty of your countenance?
2 Ezra 15:55
The reward of your whoredom will be in your bosom, therefore you will receive recompence.
2 Ezra 15:56
As you have done to My chosen, the Lord says, even so will God do to you, and will deliver you into mischief
2 Ezra 15:57
Your children will die of hunger, and you will fall through the sword; your cities will be broken down, and all yours will perish with the sword in the field.
2 Ezra 15:58
Those who are in the mountains will die of hunger, and eat their own flesh, and drink their own blood, for very hunger of bread, and thirst of water.
2 Ezra 15:59
You, as unhappy, will come through the sea, and receive plagues again.
2 Ezra 15:60
And in the passage, they will rush on the idle city, and will destroy some portion of your land, and consume part of your glory, and will return to Babylon that was destroyed.
2 Ezra 15:61
And you will be cast down by them as stubble, and they will be to you as fire;
2 Ezra 15:62
And will consume you, and your cities, your land, and your mountains; they will burn up all your woods and your fruitful trees with fire.
2 Ezra 15:63
They will carry away your children captive, and, look, what you have, they will spoil it, and mar the beauty of your face.
2 Ezra 16:1
Woe to you, Babylon, and Asia! Woe to you, Egypt and Syria!
2 Ezra 16:2
Gird yourselves up with cloths of sack and hair, bewail your children, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand.
2 Ezra 16:3
A sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back?
2 Ezra 16:4
A fire is sent among you, and who may quench it?
2 Ezra 16:5
Plagues are sent to you, and what is he who may drive them away?
2 Ezra 16:6
May any man drive away a hungry lion in the wood? Or may anyone quench the fire in stubble, when it has begun to burn?
2 Ezra 16:7
May one turn the arrow again that is shot of a strong archer?
2 Ezra 16:8
The mighty Lord sends the plagues, and who is he who can drive them away?
2 Ezra 16:9
A fire will go forth from His wrath, and who is he who may quench it?
2 Ezra 16:10
He will cast lightnings, and who will not fear? He will thunder, and who will not be afraid?
2 Ezra 16:11
The Lord will threaten, and who will not be utterly beaten to powder at His presence?
2 Ezra 16:12
The earth quakes, and the foundations thereof; the sea arises up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are troubled, and also the fish thereof, before the Lord, and before the glory of His power;
2 Ezra 16:13
For His right hand is strong that bends the bow, His arrows that He shoots are sharp, and will not miss, when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world.
2 Ezra 16:14
Behold, the plagues are sent, and will not return again, until they come upon the earth.
2 Ezra 16:15
The fire is kindled, and will not be put out, until it consumes the foundation of the earth.
2 Ezra 16:16
As an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer does not return backward; even so the plagues that will be sent upon earth will not return again.
2 Ezra 16:17
Woe is me! Woe is me! Who will deliver me in those days?
2 Ezra 16:18
The beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the beginning of famine and great death; the beginning of wars, and the powers will stand in fear; the beginning of evils! What will I do when these evils will come?
2 Ezra 16:19
Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish, are sent as scourges for amendment.
2 Ezra 16:20
But for all these things, they will not turn from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.
2 Ezra 16:21
Behold, victuals will be so good [and] cheap upon earth, that they will think themselves to be in a good case, and even then will evils grow upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.
2 Ezra 16:22
For many of those who dwell upon earth will perish of famine; and the others, who escape the hunger, the sword will destroy.
2 Ezra 16:23
And the dead will be cast out as dung, and there will be no man to comfort them; for the earth will be wasted, and the cities will be cast down.
2 Ezra 16:24
There will be no man left to till the earth, and to sow it.
2 Ezra 16:25
The trees will give fruit, and who will gather them?
2 Ezra 16:26
The grapes will ripen, and who will tread them? For all places will be desolate of men;
2 Ezra 16:27
So that one man will desire to see another, and to hear his voice.
2 Ezra 16:28
For of a city, there will be ten left, and two of the field, which will hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks.
2 Ezra 16:29
As in an orchard of olives upon every tree, there are left, three or four olives;
2 Ezra 16:30
Or as when a vineyard is gathered, some clusters are left of those who diligently seek through the vineyard;
2 Ezra 16:31
Even so in those days, there will be three or four left by those who search their houses with the sword.
2 Ezra 16:32
And the earth will be laid waste, and the fields thereof will wax old, and her ways and all her paths will grow full of thorns, because no man will travel through there.
2 Ezra 16:33
The virgins will mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women will mourn, having no husbands; their daughters will mourn, having no helpers.
2 Ezra 16:34
In the wars, their bridegrooms will be destroyed, and their husbands will perish of famine.
2 Ezra 16:35
Hear these things now and understand them, you servants of the Lord.
2 Ezra 16:36
Behold, the word of the Lord, receive it; do not believe the gods of whom the Lord spoke.
2 Ezra 16:37
Behold, the plagues draw near, and are not slack.
2 Ezra 16:38
As when a woman with child in the ninth month brings forth her son, with two or three hours of her birth, great pains encompass her womb, which pains, when the child comes forth, do not slack for a moment;
2 Ezra 16:39
Even so, the plagues will not be slack to come upon the earth, and the world will mourn, and sorrows will come upon it on every side.
2 Ezra 16:40
O My people, hear My word; make ready to your battle, and in those evils, be even as pilgrims upon the earth.
2 Ezra 16:41
He who sells, let him be as he who flees away; and he who buys, as one who will lose;
2 Ezra 16:42
He who occupies merchandise, as he who has no profit by it; and he who builds, as he who will not dwell therein;
2 Ezra 16:43
He who sows, as if he should not reap; so also he who plants the vineyard, as he who will not gather the grapes;
2 Ezra 16:44
Those who marry, as those who will get no children; and those who do not marry, as the widowers.
2 Ezra 16:45
And therefore those who labor, labor in vain;
2 Ezra 16:46
For strangers will reap their fruits, and spoil their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for they will get children in captivity and famine.
2 Ezra 16:47
And those who occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons;
2 Ezra 16:48
The more will I be angry with them for their sin, the Lord says.
2 Ezra 16:49
As a whore envies a right, honest, and virtuous woman;
2 Ezra 16:50
So will righteousness hate iniquity, when she decks herself, and will accuse her to her face, when he comes who will defend him who diligently searches out every sin upon earth.
2 Ezra 16:51
And therefore do not be like thereto, nor to the works thereof.
2 Ezra 16:52
For yet a little, and iniquity will be taken away out of the earth, and righteousness will reign among you.
2 Ezra 16:53
Do not let the sinner say that he has not sinned; for God will burn coals of fire upon his head, which says before the Lord God and His glory, 'I have not sinned.'
2 Ezra 16:54
Behold, the Lord knows all the works of men, their imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts;
2 Ezra 16:55
Who spoke but the word, 'Let the earth be made;' and it was made; 'Let the heaven be made;' and it was created.
2 Ezra 16:56
In His word were the stars made, *2:117, *16:40, *36:82, *40:68 and He knows the number of them.
2 Ezra 16:57
He searches the deep, and the treasures thereof; He has measured the sea, and what it contains.
2 Ezra 16:58
He has shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with His word, He has hanged the earth upon the waters.
2 Ezra 16:59
He spreads out the heavens like a vault; upon the waters, He has founded it.
2 Ezra 16:60
In the desert, He has 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.
2 Ezra 16:61
He made man, and put his heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding.
2 Ezra 16:62
Yea and the Spirit of Almighty God, which made all things, and searches out all hidden things in the secrets of the earth,
2 Ezra 16:63
Surely He knows your inventions, and what you think in your hearts, even those who sin, and would hide their sin.
2 Ezra 16:64
Therefore the Lord has exactly searched out all your works, and He will put you all to shame.
2 Ezra 16:65
And when your sins are brought forth, you will be ashamed before men, and your own sins will be your accusers in that Day. *24:24, *36:65, *41:20
2 Ezra 16:66
What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins before God and His angels?
2 Ezra 16:67
Behold, God Himself is the Judge, fear Him; leave off from your sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with them forever; so will God lead you forth, and deliver you from all trouble.
2 Ezra 16:68
For, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they will take away some of you, and feed you, being idle, with things offered to idols.
2 Ezra 16:69
And those who consent to them will be had in derision and in reproach, and trodden under foot.
2 Ezra 16:70
For there will be in every place, and in the next cities, a great insurrection upon those who fear God.
2 Ezra 16:71
They will be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those who fear God.
2 Ezra 16:72
For they will waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of their houses.
2 Ezra 16:73
Then they will be known, who are My chosen; and they will be tried as the gold in the fire. *Shepherd of Hermas 24:4
2 Ezra 16:74
Hear, O you My beloved, the Lord says; behold, the days of trouble are at hand, but I will deliver you from the same.
2 Ezra 16:75
Do not be afraid, neither doubt; for God is your guide,
2 Ezra 16:76
And the guide of those who keep My commandments and precepts, the Lord God says; do not let your sins weigh you down, and do not let your iniquities lift themselves up.
2 Ezra 16:77
Woe to those who are bound with their sins, and covered with their iniquities as a field is covered over with bushes, and the path thereof covered with thorns, that no man may travel through!