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Author Topic: 2 ESDRAS - FOURTH BOOK OF ESDRAS  (Read 1462 times)

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patrick jane

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Re: 2 ESDRAS - FOURTH BOOK OF ESDRAS
« Reply #13 on: May 24, 2020, 05:29:27 am »
2 Esdras 13 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)


The Man from the Sea


13 After seven days I dreamed a dream in the night. 2 And lo, a wind arose from the sea and stirred up[a] all its waves. 3 As I kept looking the wind made something like the figure of a man come up out of the heart of the sea. And I saw that this man flew[c] with the clouds of heaven; and wherever he turned his face to look, everything under his gaze trembled, 4 and whenever his voice issued from his mouth, all who heard his voice melted as wax melts[d] when it feels the fire.

5 After this I looked and saw that an innumerable multitude of people were gathered together from the four winds of heaven to make war against the man who came up out of the sea. 6 And I looked and saw that he carved out for himself a great mountain, and flew up on to it. 7 And I tried to see the region or place from which the mountain was carved, but I could not.

8 After this I looked and saw that all who had gathered together against him, to wage war with him, were filled with fear, and yet they dared to fight. 9 When he saw the onrush of the approaching multitude, he neither lifted his hand nor held a spear or any weapon of war; 10 but I saw only how he sent forth from his mouth something like a stream of fire, and from his lips a flaming breath, and from his tongue he shot forth a storm of sparks.[e] 11 All these were mingled together, the stream of fire and the flaming breath and the great storm, and fell on the onrushing multitude that was prepared to fight, and burned up all of them, so that suddenly nothing was seen of the innumerable multitude but only the dust of ashes and the smell of smoke. When I saw it, I was amazed.

12 After this I saw the same man come down from the mountain and call to himself another multitude that was peaceable. 13 Then many people[f] came to him, some of whom were joyful and some sorrowful; some of them were bound, and some were bringing others as offerings.

The Interpretation of the Vision
Then I woke up in great terror, and prayed to the Most High, and said, 14 “From the beginning you have shown your servant these wonders, and have deemed me worthy to have my prayer heard by you; 15 now show me the interpretation of this dream also. 16 For as I consider it in my mind, alas for those who will be left in those days! And still more, alas for those who are not left! 17 For those who are not left will be sad 18 because they understand the things that are reserved for the last days, but cannot attain them. 19 But alas for those also who are left, and for that very reason! For they shall see great dangers and much distress, as these dreams show. 20 Yet it is better[g] to come into these things,[h] though incurring peril, than to pass from the world like a cloud, and not to see what will happen in the last days.”

He answered me and said, 21 “I will tell you the interpretation of the vision, and I will also explain to you the things that you have mentioned. 22 As for what you said about those who survive, and concerning those who do not survive, this is the interpretation: 23 The one who brings the peril at that time will protect those who fall into peril, who have works and faith toward the Almighty. 24 Understand therefore that those who are left are more blessed than those who have died.

25 “This is the interpretation of the vision: As for your seeing a man come up from the heart of the sea, 26 this is he whom the Most High has been keeping for many ages, who will himself deliver his creation; and he will direct those who are left. 27 And as for your seeing wind and fire and a storm coming out of his mouth, 28 and as for his not holding a spear or weapon of war, yet destroying the onrushing multitude that came to conquer him, this is the interpretation: 29 The days are coming when the Most High will deliver those who are on the earth. 30 And bewilderment of mind shall come over those who inhabit the earth. 31 They shall plan to make war against one another, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom. 32 When these things take place and the signs occur that I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed, whom you saw as a man coming up from the sea.[j]

33 “Then, when all the nations hear his voice, all the nations shall leave their own lands and the warfare that they have against one another; 34 and an innumerable multitude shall be gathered together, as you saw, wishing to come and conquer him. 35 But he shall stand on the top of Mount Zion. 36 And Zion shall come and be made manifest to all people, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain carved out without hands. 37 Then he, my Son, will reprove the assembled nations for their ungodliness (this was symbolized by the storm), 38 and will reproach them to their face with their evil thoughts and the torments with which they are to be tortured (which were symbolized by the flames), and will destroy them without effort by means of the law[k] (which was symbolized by the fire).

39 “And as for your seeing him gather to himself another multitude that was peaceable, 40 these are the nine[l] tribes that were taken away from their own land into exile in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser, king of the Assyrians, made captives; he took them across the river, and they were taken into another land. 41 But they formed this plan for themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the nations and go to a more distant region, where no human beings had ever lived, 42 so that there at least they might keep their statutes that they had not kept in their own land. 43 And they went in by the narrow passages of the Euphrates river. 44 For at that time the Most High performed signs for them, and stopped the channels of the river until they had crossed over. 45 Through that region there was a long way to go, a journey of a year and a half; and that country is called Arzareth.[m]

46 “Then they lived there until the last times; and now, when they are about to come again, 47 the Most High will stop[n] the channels of the river again, so that they may be able to cross over. Therefore you saw the multitude gathered together in peace. 48 But those who are left of your people, who are found within my holy borders, shall be saved.
  • 49 Therefore when he destroys the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he will defend the people who remain. 50 And then he will show them very many wonders.”


51 I said, “O sovereign Lord, explain this to me: Why did I see the man coming up from the heart of the sea?”

52 He said to me, “Just as no one can explore or know what is in the depths of the sea, so no one on earth can see my Son or those who are with him, except in the time of his day.[p] 53 This is the interpretation of the dream that you saw. And you alone have been enlightened about this, 54 because you have forsaken your own ways and have applied yourself to mine, and have searched out my law; 55 for you have devoted your life to wisdom, and called understanding your mother. 56 Therefore I have shown you these things; for there is a reward laid up with the Most High. For it will be that after three more days I will tell you other things, and explain weighty and wondrous matters to you.”

57 Then I got up and walked in the field, giving great glory and praise to the Most High for the wonders that he does[q] from time to time, 58 and because he governs the times and whatever things come to pass in their seasons. And I stayed there three days.

Footnotes:
2 Esdras 13:2 Other ancient authorities read I saw a wind arise from the sea and stir up
2 Esdras 13:3 Syr: Lat lacks the wind . . . I saw
2 Esdras 13:3 Syr Ethiop Arab Arm: Lat grew strong
2 Esdras 13:4 Syr: Lat burned as the earth rests
2 Esdras 13:10 Meaning of Lat uncertain
2 Esdras 13:13 Lat Syr Arab 2 literally the faces of many people
2 Esdras 13:20 Ethiop Compare Arab 2: Lat easier
2 Esdras 13:20 Syr: Lat this
2 Esdras 13:22 Syr Arab 1: Lat lacks and . . . not survive
2 Esdras 13:32 Syr and most Lat Mss lack from the sea
2 Esdras 13:38 Syr: Lat effort and the law
2 Esdras 13:40 Other Lat Mss ten; Syr Ethiop Arab 1 Arm nine and a half
2 Esdras 13:45 That is Another Land
2 Esdras 13:47 Syr: Lat stops
2 Esdras 13:48 Syr: Lat lacks shall be saved
2 Esdras 13:52 Syr: Ethiop except when his time and his day have come. Lat lacks his
2 Esdras 13:57 Lat did

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Re: 2 ESDRAS - FOURTH BOOK OF ESDRAS
« Reply #14 on: May 24, 2020, 05:30:37 am »
2 Esdras 14 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)


The Lord Commissions Ezra


14 On the third day, while I was sitting under an oak, suddenly a voice came out of a bush opposite me and said, “Ezra, Ezra!” 2 And I answered, “Here I am, Lord,” and I rose to my feet. 3 Then he said to me, “I revealed myself in a bush and spoke to Moses when my people were in bondage in Egypt; 4 and I sent him and led[a] my people out of Egypt; and I led him up on Mount Sinai, where I kept him with me many days. 5 I told him many wondrous things, and showed him the secrets of the times and declared to him the end of the times. Then I commanded him, saying, 6 ‘These words you shall publish openly, and these you shall keep secret.’ 7 And now I say to you: 8 Lay up in your heart the signs that I have shown you, the dreams that you have seen, and the interpretations that you have heard; 9 for you shall be taken up from among humankind, and henceforth you shall live with my Son and with those who are like you, until the times are ended. 10 The age has lost its youth, and the times begin to grow old. 11 For the age is divided into twelve parts, and nine[c] of its parts have already passed, 12 as well as half of the tenth part; so two of its parts remain, besides half of the tenth part.[d] 13 Now therefore, set your house in order, and reprove your people; comfort the lowly among them, and instruct those that are wise.[e] And now renounce the life that is corruptible, 14 and put away from you mortal thoughts; cast away from you the burdens of humankind, and divest yourself now of your weak nature; 15 lay to one side the thoughts that are most grievous to you, and hurry to escape from these times. 16 For evils worse than those that you have now seen happen shall take place hereafter. 17 For the weaker the world becomes through old age, the more shall evils be increased upon its inhabitants. 18 Truth shall go farther away, and falsehood shall come near. For the eagle[f] that you saw in the vision is already hurrying to come.”

Ezra’s Concern to Restore the Scriptures
19 Then I answered and said, “Let me speak[g] in your presence, Lord. 20 For I will go, as you have commanded me, and I will reprove the people who are now living; but who will warn those who will be born hereafter? For the world lies in darkness, and its inhabitants are without light. 21 For your law has been burned, and so no one knows the things which have been done or will be done by you. 22 If then I have found favor with you, send the holy spirit into me, and I will write everything that has happened in the world from the beginning, the things that were written in your law, so that people may be able to find the path, and that those who want to live in the last days may do so.”

23 He answered me and said, “Go and gather the people, and tell them not to seek you for forty days. 24 But prepare for yourself many writing tablets, and take with you Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ethanus, and Asiel—these five, who are trained to write rapidly; 25 and you shall come here, and I will light in your heart the lamp of understanding, which shall not be put out until what you are about to write is finished. 26 And when you have finished, some things you shall make public, and some you shall deliver in secret to the wise; tomorrow at this hour you shall begin to write.”

Ezra’s Last Words to the People
27 Then I went as he commanded me, and I gathered all the people together, and said, 28 “Hear these words, O Israel. 29 At first our ancestors lived as aliens in Egypt, and they were liberated from there 30 and received the law of life, which they did not keep, which you also have transgressed after them. 31 Then land was given to you for a possession in the land of Zion; but you and your ancestors committed iniquity and did not keep the ways that the Most High commanded you. 32 And since he is a righteous judge, in due time he took from you what he had given. 33 And now you are here, and your people[h] are farther in the interior. 34 If you, then, will rule over your minds and discipline your hearts, you shall be kept alive, and after death you shall obtain mercy. 35 For after death the judgment will come, when we shall live again; and then the names of the righteous shall become manifest, and the deeds of the ungodly shall be disclosed. 36 But let no one come to me now, and let no one seek me for forty days.”

The Restoration of the Scriptures
37 So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we proceeded to the field, and remained there. 38 And on the next day a voice called me, saying, “Ezra, open your mouth and drink what I give you to drink.” 39 So I opened my mouth, and a full cup was offered to me; it was full of something like water, but its color was like fire. 40 I took it and drank; and when I had drunk it, my heart poured forth understanding, and wisdom increased in my breast, for my spirit retained its memory, 41 and my mouth was opened and was no longer closed. 42 Moreover, the Most High gave understanding to the five men, and by turns they wrote what was dictated, using characters that they did not know.[j] They sat forty days; they wrote during the daytime, and ate their bread at night. 43 But as for me, I spoke in the daytime and was not silent at night. 44 So during the forty days, ninety-four[k] books were written. 45 And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, “Make public the twenty-four[l] books that you wrote first, and let the worthy and the unworthy read them; 46 but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people. 47 For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge.” 48 And I did so.[m]

Footnotes:
2 Esdras 14:4 Syr Arab 1 Arab 2 he led
2 Esdras 14:5 Syr Ethiop Arab Arm: Lat lacks declared to him
2 Esdras 14:11 Cn: Lat Ethiop ten
2 Esdras 14:12 Syr lacks verses 11, 12: Ethiop For the world is divided into ten parts, and has come to the tenth, and half of the tenth remains. Now . . .
2 Esdras 14:13 Lat lacks and . . . wise
2 Esdras 14:18 Syr Ethiop Arab Arm: Meaning of Lat uncertain
2 Esdras 14:19 Most Lat Mss lack Let me speak
2 Esdras 14:33 Lat brothers
2 Esdras 14:33 Syr Ethiop Arm: Lat are among you
2 Esdras 14:42 Syr Compare Ethiop Arab 2 Arm: Meaning of Lat uncertain
2 Esdras 14:44 Syr Ethiop Arab 1 Arm: Meaning of Lat uncertain
2 Esdras 14:45 Syr Arab 1: Lat lacks twenty-four
2 Esdras 14:48 Syr adds in the seventh year of the sixth week, five thousand years and three months and twelve days after creation. At that time Ezra was caught up, and taken to the place of those who are like him, after he had written all these things. And he was called the scribe of the knowledge of the Most High for ever and ever. Ethiop Arab 1 Arm have a similar ending

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Re: 2 ESDRAS - FOURTH BOOK OF ESDRAS
« Reply #15 on: May 24, 2020, 05:31:42 am »
2 Esdras 15 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)


Vengeance on the Wicked


15 [a] Speak in the ears of my people the words of the prophecy that I will put in your mouth, says the Lord, 2 and cause them to be written on paper; for they are trustworthy and true. 3 Do not fear the plots against you, and do not be troubled by the unbelief of those who oppose you. 4 For all unbelievers shall die in their unbelief.

5 Beware, says the Lord, I am bringing evils upon the world, the sword and famine, death and destruction, 6 because iniquity has spread throughout every land, and their harmful doings have reached their limit. 7 Therefore, says the Lord, 8 I will be silent no longer concerning their ungodly acts that they impiously commit, neither will I tolerate their wicked practices. Innocent and righteous blood cries out to me, and the souls of the righteous cry out continually. 9 I will surely avenge them, says the Lord, and will receive to myself all the innocent blood from among them. 10 See, my people are being led like a flock to the slaughter; I will not allow them to live any longer in the land of Egypt, 11 but I will bring them out with a mighty hand and with an uplifted arm, and will strike Egypt with plagues, as before, and will destroy all its land.

12 Let Egypt mourn, and its foundations, because of the plague of chastisement and castigation that the Lord will bring upon it. 13 Let the farmers that till the ground mourn, because their seed shall fail to grow[c] and their trees shall be ruined by blight and hail and by a terrible tempest. 14 Alas for the world and for those who live in it! 15 For the sword and misery draw near them, and nation shall rise up to fight against nation, with swords in their hands. 16 For there shall be unrest among people; growing strong against one another, they shall in their might have no respect for their king or the chief of their leaders. 17 For a person will desire to go into a city, and shall not be able to do so. 18 Because of their pride the cities shall be in confusion, the houses shall be destroyed, and people shall be afraid. 19 People shall have no pity for their neighbors, but shall make an assault upon[d] their houses with the sword, and plunder their goods, because of hunger for bread and because of great tribulation.

20 See how I am calling together all the kings of the earth to turn to me, says God, from the rising sun and from the south, from the east and from Lebanon; to turn and repay what they have given them. 21 Just as they have done to my elect until this day, so I will do, and will repay into their bosom. Thus says the Lord God: 22 My right hand will not spare the sinners, and my sword will not cease from those who shed innocent blood on earth. 23 And a fire went forth from his wrath, and consumed the foundations of the earth and the sinners, like burnt straw. 24 Alas for those who sin and do not observe my commandments, says the Lord;[e] 25 I will not spare them. Depart, you faithless children! Do not pollute my sanctuary. 26 For God[f] knows all who sin against him; therefore he will hand them over to death and slaughter. 27 Already calamities have come upon the whole earth, and you shall remain in them; God[g] will not deliver you, because you have sinned against him.

A Terrifying Vision of Warfare
28 What a terrifying sight, appearing from the east! 29 The nations of the dragons of Arabia shall come out with many chariots, and from the day that they set out, their hissing shall spread over the earth, so that all who hear them will fear and tremble. 30 Also the Carmonians, raging in wrath, shall go forth like wild boars[h] from the forest, and with great power they shall come and engage them in battle, and with their tusks they shall devastate a portion of the land of the Assyrians with their teeth. 31 And then the dragons, remembering their origin, shall become still stronger; and if they combine in great power and turn to pursue them, 32 then these shall be disorganized and silenced by their power, and shall turn and flee.[j] 33 And from the land of the Assyrians an enemy in ambush shall attack them and destroy one of them, and fear and trembling shall come upon their army, and indecision upon their kings.

Judgment on Babylon
34 See the clouds from the east, and from the north to the south! Their appearance is exceedingly threatening, full of wrath and storm. 35 They shall clash against one another and shall pour out a heavy tempest on the earth, and their own tempest;[k] and there shall be blood from the sword as high as a horse’s belly 36 and a man’s thigh and a camel’s hock. 37 And there shall be fear and great trembling on the earth; those who see that wrath shall be horror-stricken, and they shall be seized with trembling. 38 After that, heavy storm clouds shall be stirred up from the south, and from the north, and another part from the west. 39 But the winds from the east shall prevail over the cloud that was[l] raised in wrath, and shall dispel it; and the tempest[m] that was to cause destruction by the east wind shall be driven violently toward the south and west. 40 Great and mighty clouds, full of wrath and tempest, shall rise and destroy all the earth and its inhabitants, and shall pour out upon every high and lofty place[n] a terrible tempest, 41 fire and hail and flying swords and floods of water, so that all the fields and all the streams shall be filled with the abundance of those waters. 42 They shall destroy cities and walls, mountains and hills, trees of the forests, and grass of the meadows, and their grain. 43 They shall go on steadily to Babylon and blot it out. 44 They shall come to it and surround it; they shall pour out on it the tempest
  • and all its fury;[p] then the dust and smoke shall reach the sky, and all who are around it shall mourn for it. 45 And those who survive shall serve those who have destroyed it.


Judgment on Asia
46 And you, Asia, who share in the splendor of Babylon and the glory of her person— 47 woe to you, miserable wretch! For you have made yourself like her; you have decked out your daughters for **** to please and glory in your lovers, who have always lusted after you. 48 You have imitated that hateful one in all her deeds and devices.[q] Therefore God[r] says, 49 I will send evils upon you: widowhood, poverty, famine, sword, and pestilence, bringing ruin to your houses, bringing destruction and death. 50 And the glory of your strength shall wither like a flower when the heat shall rise that is sent upon you. 51 You shall be weakened like a wretched woman who is beaten and wounded, so that you cannot receive your mighty lovers. 52 Would I have dealt with you so violently, says the Lord, 53 if you had not killed my chosen people continually, exulting and clapping your hands and talking about their death when you were drunk?

54 Beautify your face! 55 The reward of a prostitute is in your lap; therefore you shall receive your recompense. 56 As you will do to my chosen people, says the Lord, so God will do to you, and will hand you over to adversities. 57 Your children shall die of hunger, and you shall fall by the sword; your cities shall be wiped out, and all your people who are in the open country shall fall by the sword. 58 Those who are in the mountains and highlands shall perish of hunger, and they shall eat their own flesh in hunger for bread and drink their own blood in thirst for water. 59 Unhappy above all others, you shall come and suffer fresh miseries. 60 As they pass by they shall crush the hateful[t] city, and shall destroy a part of your land and abolish a portion of your glory, when they return from devastated Babylon. 61 You shall be broken down by them like stubble, and they shall be like fire to you. 62 They shall devour you and your cities, your land and your mountains; they shall burn with fire all your forests and your fruitful trees. 63 They shall carry your children away captive, plunder your wealth, and mar the glory of your countenance.

Footnotes:
2 Esdras 15:1 Chapters 15 and 16 (except 15.57–59, which has been found in Greek) are extant only in Lat
2 Esdras 15:4 Other ancient authorities add and all who believe shall be saved by their faith
2 Esdras 15:13 Lat lacks to grow
2 Esdras 15:19 Cn: Lat shall empty
2 Esdras 15:24 Other ancient authorities read God
2 Esdras 15:26 Other ancient authorities read the Lord
2 Esdras 15:27 Other ancient authorities read the Lord
2 Esdras 15:30 Other ancient authorities lack like wild boars
2 Esdras 15:31 Cn: Lat dragon
2 Esdras 15:32 Other ancient authorities read turn their face to the north
2 Esdras 15:35 Meaning of Lat uncertain
2 Esdras 15:39 Literally that he
2 Esdras 15:39 Meaning of Lat uncertain
2 Esdras 15:40 Or eminent person
2 Esdras 15:44 Meaning of Lat uncertain
2 Esdras 15:44 Other ancient authorities add until they destroy it to its foundations
2 Esdras 15:48 Other ancient authorities read devices, and you have followed after that one about to gratify her magnates and leaders so that you may be made proud and be pleased by her fornications
2 Esdras 15:48 Other ancient authorities read the Lord
2 Esdras 15:58 Gk: Lat omits and highlands
2 Esdras 15:60 Another reading is idle or unprofitable
2 Esdras 15:61 Other ancient authorities read like dry straw

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Re: 2 ESDRAS - FOURTH BOOK OF ESDRAS
« Reply #16 on: May 24, 2020, 05:32:55 am »
2 Esdras 16 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)


Further Denunciations


16 Woe to you, Babylon and Asia! Woe to you, Egypt and Syria! 2 Bind on sackcloth and cloth of goats’ hair,[a] and wail for your children, and lament for them; for your destruction is at hand. 3 The sword has been sent upon you, and who is there to turn it back? 4 A fire has been sent upon you, and who is there to quench it? 5 Calamities have been sent upon you, and who is there to drive them away? 6 Can one drive off a hungry lion in the forest, or quench a fire in the stubble once it has started to burn? 7 Can one turn back an arrow shot by a strong archer? 8 The Lord God sends calamities, and who will drive them away? 9 Fire will go forth from his wrath, and who is there to quench it? 10 He will flash lightning, and who will not be afraid? He will thunder, and who will not be terrified? 11 The Lord will threaten, and who will not be utterly shattered at his presence? 12 The earth and its foundations quake, the sea is churned up from the depths, and its waves and the fish with them shall be troubled at the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. 13 For his right hand that bends the bow is strong, and his arrows that he shoots are sharp and when they are shot to the ends of the world will not miss once. 14 Calamities are sent forth and shall not return until they come over the earth. 15 The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out until it consumes the foundations of the earth. 16 Just as an arrow shot by a mighty archer does not return, so the calamities that are sent upon the earth shall not return. 17 Alas for me! Alas for me! Who will deliver me in those days?

The Horror of the Last Days
18 The beginning of sorrows, when there shall be much lamentation; the beginning of famine, when many shall perish; the beginning of wars, when the powers shall be terrified; the beginning of calamities, when all shall tremble. What shall they do, when the calamities come? 19 Famine and plague, tribulation and anguish are sent as scourges for the correction of humankind. 20 Yet for all this they will not turn from their iniquities, or ever be mindful of the scourges. 21 Indeed, provisions will be so cheap upon earth that people will imagine that peace is assured for them, and then calamities shall spring up on the earth—the sword, famine, and great confusion. 22 For many of those who live on the earth shall perish by famine; and those who survive the famine shall die by the sword. 23 And the dead shall be thrown out like dung, and there shall be no one to console them; for the earth shall be left desolate, and its cities shall be demolished. 24 No one shall be left to cultivate the earth or to sow it. 25 The trees shall bear fruit, but who will gather it? 26 The grapes shall ripen, but who will tread them? For in all places there shall be great solitude; 27 a person will long to see another human being, or even to hear a human voice. 28 For ten shall be left out of a city; and two, out of the field, those who have hidden themselves in thick groves and clefts in the rocks. 29 Just as in an olive orchard three or four olives may be left on every tree, 30 or just as, when a vineyard is gathered, some clusters may be left[c] by those who search carefully through the vineyard, 31 so in those days three or four shall be left by those who search their houses with the sword. 32 The earth shall be left desolate, and its fields shall be plowed up,[d] and its roads and all its paths shall bring forth thorns, because no sheep will go along them. 33 Virgins shall mourn because they have no bridegrooms; women shall mourn because they have no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, because they have no help. 34 Their bridegrooms shall be killed in war, and their husbands shall perish of famine.

God’s People Must Prepare for the End
35 Listen now to these things, and understand them, you who are servants of the Lord. 36 This is the word of the Lord; receive it and do not disbelieve what the Lord says.[e] 37 The calamities draw near, and are not delayed. 38 Just as a pregnant woman, in the ninth month when the time of her delivery draws near, has great pains around her womb for two or three hours beforehand, but when the child comes forth from the womb, there will not be a moment’s delay, 39 so the calamities will not delay in coming upon the earth, and the world will groan, and pains will seize it on every side.

40 Hear my words, O my people; prepare for battle, and in the midst of the calamities be like strangers on the earth. 41 Let the one who sells be like one who will flee; let the one who buys be like one who will lose; 42 let the one who does business be like one who will not make a profit; and let the one who builds a house be like one who will not live in it; 43 let the one who sows be like one who will not reap; so also the one who prunes the vines, like one who will not gather the grapes; 44 those who marry, like those who will have no children; and those who do not marry, like those who are widowed. 45 Because of this, those who labor, labor in vain; 46 for strangers shall gather their fruits, and plunder their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captive; for in captivity and famine they will produce their children.[f] 47 Those who conduct business, do so only to have it plundered; the more they adorn their cities, their houses and possessions, and their persons, 48 the more angry I will be with them for their sins, says the Lord. 49 Just as a respectable and virtuous woman abhors a prostitute, 50 so righteousness shall abhor iniquity, when she decks herself out, and shall accuse her to her face when he comes who will defend the one who searches out every sin on earth.

The Power and Wisdom of God
51 Therefore do not be like her or her works. 52 For in a very short time iniquity will be removed from the earth, and righteousness will reign over us. 53 Sinners must not say that they have not sinned;[g] for God[h] will burn coals of fire on the head of everyone who says, “I have not sinned before God and his glory.” 54 The Lord certainly knows everything that people do; he knows their imaginations and their thoughts and their hearts. 55 He said, “Let the earth be made,” and it was made, and “Let the heaven be made,” and it was made. 56 At his word the stars were fixed in their places, and he knows the number of the stars. 57 He searches the abyss and its treasures; he has measured the sea and its contents; 58 he has confined the sea in the midst of the waters;[j] and by his word he has suspended the earth over the water. 59 He has spread out the heaven like a dome and made it secure upon the waters; 60 he has put springs of water in the desert, and pools on the tops of the mountains, so as to send rivers from the heights to water the earth. 61 He formed human beings and put a heart in the midst of each body, and gave each person breath and life and understanding 62 and the spirit[k] of Almighty God,[l] who surely made all things and searches out hidden things in hidden places. 63 He knows your imaginations and what you think in your hearts! Woe to those who sin and want to hide their sins! 64 The Lord will strictly examine all their works, and will make a public spectacle of all of you. 65 You shall be put to shame when your sins come out before others, and your own iniquities shall stand as your accusers on that day. 66 What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins before the Lord and his glory? 67 Indeed, God[m] is the judge; fear him! Cease from your sins, and forget your iniquities, never to commit them again; so God[n] will lead you forth and deliver you from all tribulation.

Impending Persecution of God’s People
68 The burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you; they shall drag some of you away and force you to eat what was sacrificed to idols. 69 And those who consent to eat shall be held in derision and contempt, and shall be trampled under foot. 70 For in many places
  • and in neighboring cities there shall be a great uprising against those who fear the Lord. 71 They shall[p] be like maniacs, sparing no one, but plundering and destroying those who continue to fear the Lord.[q] 72 For they shall destroy and plunder their goods, and drive them out of house and home. 73 Then the tested quality of my elect shall be manifest, like gold that is tested by fire.


Promise of Divine Deliverance
74 Listen, my elect ones, says the Lord; the days of tribulation are at hand, but I will deliver you from them. 75 Do not fear or doubt, for God[r] is your guide. 76 You who keep my commandments and precepts, says the Lord God, must not let your sins weigh you down, or your iniquities prevail over you. 77 Woe to those who are choked by their sins and overwhelmed by their iniquities! They are like a field choked with underbrush and its path overwhelmed with thorns, so that no one can pass through. 78 It is shut off and given up to be consumed by fire.

Footnotes:
2 Esdras 16:2 Other ancient authorities lack cloth of goats’ hair
2 Esdras 16:6 Other ancient authorities read fire when dry straw has been set on fire
2 Esdras 16:30 Other ancient authorities read a cluster may remain exposed
2 Esdras 16:32 Other ancient authorities read be for briers
2 Esdras 16:36 Cn: Lat do not believe the gods of whom the Lord speaks
2 Esdras 16:46 Other ancient authorities read therefore those who are married may know that they will produce children for captivity and famine
2 Esdras 16:53 Other ancient authorities add or the unjust done injustice
2 Esdras 16:53 Lat for he
2 Esdras 16:54 Other ancient authorities read Lord God
2 Esdras 16:58 Other ancient authorities read confined the world between the waters and the waters
2 Esdras 16:62 Or breath
2 Esdras 16:62 Other ancient authorities read of the Lord Almighty
2 Esdras 16:67 Other ancient authorities read the Lord
2 Esdras 16:67 Other ancient authorities read the Lord
2 Esdras 16:70 Meaning of Lat uncertain
2 Esdras 16:71 Other ancient authorities read For people, because of their misfortunes, shall
2 Esdras 16:71 Other ancient authorities read fear God
2 Esdras 16:75 Other ancient authorities read the Lord
2 Esdras 16:77 Other ancient authorities read seed

patrick jane

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Re: 2 ESDRAS - FOURTH BOOK OF ESDRAS
« Reply #17 on: August 22, 2020, 10:52:31 pm »
good to read

 

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