2 Esdras 1–2

The second book of the prophet ^aEsdras, the son of ^bSaraias, the son of Azarias, the son of Helchias, the son of Sadamias, the son of Sadoc, the son of Achitob, ²the 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 Ozias, the son of Borith, the son of Abisei, the son of Phinees, the son of Eleazar, ³the son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi; which was captive in the land of ^cthe Medes, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of the Persians.

⁴And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ⁵Go thy way, and ^dshew my people their sinful deeds, and their children their wickedness which they have done against me; that they may tell their children’s children: ⁶because the sins of their fathers are increased in them: for they have forgotten me, and have offered unto strange gods. ⁷Am not I even he that ^ebrought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage? but they have provoked me unto wrath, and despised my counsels. ^8fPull thou off then the hair of thy head, and cast all evil upon them, for they have not been obedient unto my law, but ^git is a rebellious people. ^9hHow long shall I forbear them, into whom I have done so much ^tgood? ¹⁰Many kings have I destroyed for their sakes; ⁱPharaoh with his servants and all his power have I smitten down. ^11jAll the nations have I destroyed before them, and in the east I have scattered the people of ^ktwo provinces, even ^lof Tyrus and Sidon, and have slain all their enemies. ¹²Speak thou therefore unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord, ^13mI led you through the sea, and in the beginning gave you a large and safe passage; I gave you ⁿMoses for a leader, and ^oAaron for a priest. ^14pI gave you light in a pillar of fire, and great wonders have I done among you; ^qyet have you forgotten me, saith the Lord. ¹⁵Thus saith the ^rAlmighty Lord, The ^squails were as a token for you; I gave you tents for your safeguard: nevertheless you murmured there, ¹⁶and triumphed not in my name for the destruction of your enemies, but ever to this day do ye yet murmur. ¹⁷Where are the ^tbenefits that I have done for you? when you were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, did you not cry unto me, ¹⁸saying, ^uWhy hast thou brought us into this wilderness to kill us? ^vit had been better for us to have served the Egyptians, than to die in this wilderness. ¹⁹Then had I pity upon your mournings, and ^wgave you manna to eat; so ^xye did eat angels’ bread. ^20yWhen ye 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. ²¹I divided amongst you ^za fruitful land, I cast out the Canaanites, the Pherezites, and the Philistines, before you: ^awhat shall I yet do more for you? saith the Lord. ²²Thus saith the ^bAlmighty Lord, When you were in the wilderness, in the river of the Amorites, being athirst, and blaspheming my name, ²³I gave you not fire for your blasphemies, but ^ccast a tree in the water, and made the river sweet. ²⁴What shall I do unto thee, O Jacob? ^dthou, Juda, ^ewouldest not obey me: ^eI will turn me to other nations, and unto those will I give my name, that they may keep my statutes. ^25fSeeing ye have forsaken me, I will forsake you also; when ye desire me to be gracious unto you, I shall have no mercy upon you. ^26gWhensoever you shall call upon me, I will not hear you: for ye have defiled your hands with blood, and ^hyour feet are swift to commit manslaughter. ²⁷Ye have not as it were forsaken me, but your own selves, saith the Lord. ²⁸Thus saith the ^bAlmighty Lord, Have I not prayed you as a father his sons, as a mother her daughters, and a nurse her young babes, ²⁹that ye would be my people, and I should be your God; that ye would be my children, and I should be your father? ³⁰ⁱI gathered you together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings: but now, what shall I do unto you? I will cast you out from my face. ^31kWhen you offer unto me, I will turn my face from you: for your solemn feastdays, your new moons, and your circumcisions, have I forsaken. ^32lI sent unto you my servants the prophets, whom ye have taken and slain, and torn their bodies in pieces, whose blood I will require of your hands, saith the Lord. ³³Thus saith the ^bAlmighty Lord, ^mYour house is desolate, ⁿI will cast you out ^noas the wind doth stubble. ³⁴And ^pyour children shall not be fruitful; for they have despised my commandment, and done the thing that is evil before me. ³⁵Your houses will I give to ^qa people that shall come; which not having heard of me yet shall believe me; to whom I have shewed no signs, yet they shall do that I have commanded them. ³⁶They have seen no prophets, yet they shall call their sins to remembrance, and acknowledge them. ³⁷I take to witness the grace of ^qthe people to come, whose little ones rejoice in gladness: and ^rthough they have not seen me with bodily eyes. yet in spirit they believe the thing that I say.

³⁸And now, ^sbrother, behold what glory; and see ^qthe people ^tthat cometh from the east: ³⁹unto whom I will give for leaders, ^tAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Oseas, Amos, and Micheas, Joel, Abdias, and Jonas, ⁴⁰Nahum, and Abacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharie, and Malachie, which is called also an ^uangel of the Lord.

II.Thus saith the Lord, ^aI brought this people out of bondage, and ^bI gave them my commandments by my servants the prophets; whom they would not hear, but despised my counsels. ²The mother that bare them saith unto them, Go your way, ye children; for ^cI am a widow and forsaken. ³I brought you up with gladness; but with sorrow and heaviness have I lost you: for ye have sinned before the Lord your God, and done that thing that is evil before him. ⁴But what shall I now do unto you? ^cI am a widow and forsaken: go your way, O my children, and ask mercy of the Lord. ⁵As for me, O father, I call upon thee for a witness over the mother of these children, which would not keep my covenant, ⁶that thou bring them to confusion, and ^dtheir mother to a spoil, ^ethat there may be no offspring of them. ⁷Let them be scattered abroad among the heathen, let their names be put out of the earth: for they have despised my covenant. ⁸Woe be unto thee, Assur, ^fthou that hidest the unrighteous in thee! O thou wicked people, remember ^gwhat I did unto Sodom and Gomorrha; ^9gwhose land lieth in clods of pitch and heaps of ashes: even so also will I do unto them that hear me not, saith the ^hAlmighty Lord.

¹⁰Thus saith the Lord unto Esdras, Tell my people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I would have given unto ⁱIsrael. ¹¹ⁱTheir glory also will I take unto me, and give these the ^keverlasting tabernacles, which I had prepared for ⁱthem. ¹²They shall have the ^ltree of life for an ointment of sweet savour; ^mthey shall neither labour, nor be weary. ¹³Go, and ye shall receive: pray for few days unto you, ⁿthat they may be shortened: ^othe kingdom is already prepared for you: ^pwatch. ^14qTake heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in pieces, and created the good: for ^rI live, saith the Lord.

^15sMother, embrace thy children, and bring them up with gladness, make their feet as fast as a pillar: ^tfor I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. ¹⁶And ^uthose that be dead will I raise up again from their places, and ^ubring them out of the graves: for I have known my name in Israel. ¹⁷Fear not, thou ^smother of the children: ^tfor I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. ¹⁸For thy help I will send my servants Esay and Jeremie, after whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee ^wtwelve trees laden with divers fruits, ¹⁹and as many fountains ^xflowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains, whereupon there grow ^yroses and ^ylilies, whereby I will fill thy children with joy. ^20zDo right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor, defend the orphan, ^aclothe the naked, ²¹heal the broken and the weak, ^blaugh not a lame man to scorn, defend the maimed, and let the blind man come into the sight of my clearness. ²²Keep the old and young within thy walls. ^23cWheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and ^dI will give thee the first place in my resurrection. ²⁴Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness shall come. ²⁵Nourish thy children, O thou ^egood nurse; stablish their feet. ^26fAs for the servants whom I have given thee, there shall not one of them perish; for I will require them from among thy number. ²⁷Be not weary: for when the day of trouble and heaviness cometh, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but thou shalt be merry and have abundance. ²⁸The heathen shall envy thee, ^gbut they shall be able to do nothing against thee, saith the Lord. ^29hMy hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not see ⁱhell. ³⁰Be joyful, O thou ^emother, with thy children; for I will deliver thee, saith the Lord. ³¹Remember thy children that sleep, for ^kI shall bring them out of the sides of the earth, and shew mercy unto them: for I am merciful, saith the Lord ^lAlmighty. ³²Embrace thy children until I come and shew mercy unto them: for my wells run over, and my grace shall not fail.

³³I Esdras received a charge of the Lord upon the mount ^mOreb, that I should go unto Israel; but when I came unto them, they set me at nought, and despised the commandment of the Lord. ³⁴And therefore I say unto you, O ye heathen, that hear and understand, look for ⁿyour Shepherd, he shall give you everlasting ^orest; for he is nigh at hand, ^pthat shall come in the end of the world. ³⁵Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for ^qthe everlasting light shall shine upon you for evermore. ³⁶Flee ^xthe shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of ^qyour glory: I testify ^rmy Saviour openly. ³⁷O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto him ^sthat hath called you to the heavenly kingdom. ³⁸Arise up and stand, behold ^tthe number…