2 Esdras 9:26–10:59

²⁶So I went my way into the field which is called Ardath, like as he commanded me; and there I sat amongst the flowers, and did eat of the herbs of the field, and the meat of the same satisfied me. ²⁷After seven days I sat upon the grass, and my heart was vexed within me, ^ylike as before: ²⁸and I ^zopened my mouth, and began to talk before the most High, and said,

²⁹O Lord, thou that shewest thyself unto us, ^athou wast shewed unto our fathers in the wilderness, in a place where no man treadeth, in a barren place, when they came out of Egypt. ³⁰And thou spakest, saying, Hear me, O Israel; and mark my words, thou seed of Jacob. ³¹For behold, I sow my law in you, and it shall bring fruit in you, and ye shall be honoured in it for ever. ³²But our fathers, which received the law, kept it not, and observed not thy ordinances: and ^bthough the fruit of thy law did not perish, neither could it, for it was thine; ³³yet they that received it perished, because they kept not the thing that was sown in them. ³⁴And lo, it is a custom, when the ground hath received seed, or the sea a ship, or any vessel meat or drink, that, that being perished wherein it was sown or cast into, ³⁵that thing also which was sown, or cast therein, or received, doth perish, and remaineth not with us: but with us it hath not happened so. ³⁶For we ^cthat have received the law perish by sin, and our heart also which received it. ³⁷Notwithstanding ^bthe law perisheth not, but remaineth in his force.

³⁸And when I spake these things in my heart, I looked back with mine eyes, and upon the right side I saw ^da woman, and behold, she mourned and wept with a loud voice, and was much grieved in heart, and ^eher clothes were rent, and she had ^fashes upon her head. ^39gThen let I my thoughts go that I was in, and turned me unto her, ⁴⁰and said unto her, Wherefore weepest thou? why art thou so grieved in thy mind? ⁴¹And she said unto me, ^hSir, let me alone, that I may bewail myself, and add unto my sorrow, for I ⁱam sore vexed in my mind, and brought very low. ⁴²And I said unto her, What aileth thee? tell me. ⁴³She said unto me, I thy servant have been barren, and had no child, though I had a husband thirty years, ⁴⁴and those thirty years I did nothing else day and night, and every hour, but ^jmake my prayer to the Highest. ⁴⁵After thirty years God heard me thine handmaid, looked upon my misery, considered my trouble, and gave me a son: and I was very glad of him, so was my husband also, and all my neighbours: and we gave great honour unto the Almighty. ⁴⁶And I nourished him with great travail. ⁴⁷So when he grew up, and came to the time that he should have a wife, ^kI made a feast.

X.And it so came to pass, that when my son was entered into his wedding chamber, he fell down, and died. ²Then we all overthrew the lights, and ^aall my neighbours rose up to comfort me: so I took my rest unto the second day at night. ³And it came to pass, when they had all left off to comfort me, to the end I might be quiet; then rose I up by night, and fled, and came hither into this field, as thou seest. ⁴And I do now purpose not to return into the city, but here to stay, and neither to eat nor drink, but continually to mourn and to fast until I die.

^5bThen left I the meditations wherein I was, and spake to her in anger, saying, ⁶Thou foolish woman above all other, seest thou not our mourning, and what happeneth unto us? ⁷How that Sion our mother is full of all heaviness, and ^cmuch humbled, mourning very sore? ⁸And now, seeing we all mourn and are sad, for we are all in heaviness, art thou grieved for one son? ⁹For ask the earth, and she shall tell thee, that it is she which ought to mourn for the fall of so many that grow upon her. ¹⁰For out of her came all at the first, and out of her shall all others come, and behold, they walk almost all into destruction, and a multitude of them is utterly rooted out. ¹¹Who then should make more mourning than she, that hath lost so great a multitude; and not thou, which art sorry but for one? ¹²But if thou sayest unto 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; ¹³but the earth not so: for the multitude present in it according to the course of the earth is gone, as it came: ¹⁴then say I unto thee, Like as thou hast brought forth with labour; even so the earth also hath given her fruit, namely, man, ever sithence the beginning unto him that made her. ¹⁵Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage that which hath befallen thee. ¹⁶For ^dif thou shalt acknowledge the determination of God to be just, thou shalt both receive thy son in time, and shalt be commended amongst women. ¹⁷Go thy way then into the city to thine husband. ¹⁸And she said unto me, That will I not do: ^eI will not go into the city, but here will I die. ¹⁹So I proceeded to speak further unto her, and said,

²⁰Do not so, but be counselled by me: for how many are the adversities of Sion? be comforted in regard of the sorrow of Jerusalem. ²¹For thou seest that ^four sanctuary is laid waste, ^four altar broken down, ^gour temple destroyed; ²²our psaltery is laid on the ground, our song is put to silence, our rejoicing is at an end, ^hthe light of our candlestick is put out, ⁱthe ark of our covenant is spoiled, ^kour 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 are gone into captivity, ^lour virgins are defiled, and ^lour wives ravished; our righteous men carried away, our little ones destroyed, our young men are brought in bondage, and our strong men are become weak; ²³and, which is the greatest of all, ^mthe seal of Sion hath now lost her honour; for ⁿshe is delivered into ^othe hands of them that hate us. ²⁴And therefore shake off thy great heaviness, and put away the multitude of sorrows, that the Mighty may be merciful unto thee again, and the Highest shall give thee rest and ease from thy labour.

²⁵And it came to pass, while I was talking with her, behold, her face upon a sudden shined exceedingly, and her countenance glistered, so that I was afraid of her, and mused what it might be. ²⁶And behold, suddenly she made a great cry very fearful: so that the earth shook at the noise of the woman. ²⁷And I looked, and behold, the woman appeared unto me no more, but there was ^pa city builded, and a large place shewed itself from the foundations: then was I afraid, and cried with a loud voice, and said, ²⁸Where is ^qUriel the angel, who came unto me at the first? for he hath caused me to fall into many trances, and mine end is turned into corruption, and my prayer to rebuke. ²⁹And as I was speaking these words, behold, he came unto me, and looked upon me. ³⁰And lo, I lay as one that had been dead, and mine understanding was taken from me: and he took me by the right hand, and ^scomforted me, and ^sset me upon my feet, and said unto me, ³¹What aileth thee? and why art thou so disquieted? and why is thine understanding troubled, and the thoughts of thine heart? ³²And I said, Because thou hast forsaken me, and yet I ^tdid according to thy words, and I ^uwent into the field, and lo, I have seen, and yet see, that I am not able to express. ³³And he said unto me, Stand up manfully, and I will advise thee. ³⁴Then said I, Speak on, my lord, in me; only forsake me not, lest I die frustrate of my hope. ³⁵For I have seen that I knew not, and hear that I do not know. ³⁶Or is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream? ³⁷Now therefore I beseech thee that thou wilt shew thy servant of this vision. ³⁸He answered me then, and said,

Hear me, and I shall inform thee, and tell thee wherefore thou art afraid: for the Highest will reveal many secret things unto thee. ³⁹He hath seen that thy way is right: for that thou sorrowest continually for thy people, and makest great lamentation for Sion. ⁴⁰This therefore is the meaning of the vision which thou lately sawest: ^41vthou sawest a woman mourning, and thou beganst to comfort her: ⁴²but now seest thou the likeness of the woman no more, but ^wthere appeared unto thee a city builded. ⁴³And whereas she told thee of the death of her son, this is the solution: ⁴⁴this woman, whom thou sawest, is Sion: and whereas she said unto thee, (even she whom thou seest as a city builded,) ⁴⁵whereas, I say, she said unto thee, ^xthat she hath been thirty years barren: those are the thirty years wherein there was no offering made in her. ⁴⁶But after thirty years Solomon builded the city, and ^yoffered offerings: and then bare the barren a son. ⁴⁷And whereas she told thee that she nourished him with labour: that was the dwelling in Jerusalem. ⁴⁸But whereas she said unto thee, That my son coming into his marriage chamber ^zhappened to have a fall, and died: this was the destruction that came to Jerusalem. ⁴⁹And behold, ^vthou sawest her likeness, and because she mourned for her son, thou beganst to comfort her: and of these things which have chanced, these are to be opened unto thee. ⁵⁰For now the most High seeth that thou art grieved unfeignedly, and sufferest from thy whole heart for her, so hath he shewed thee the brightness of her glory, and the comeliness of her beauty: ⁵¹and therefore ^aI bade thee remain in the field where no house was builded: ⁵²for I knew that the Highest ^bwould shew this unto thee. ⁵³Therefore ^aI commanded thee to go into the field, where no foundation of any building was. ⁵⁴For in the place wherein the Highest ^bbeginneth to shew his city, there can no man’s building be able to stand. ⁵⁵And therefore fear not, let not thy heart be affrighted, but go thy way in, and ^csee the beauty and greatness of the building, as much as thine eyes be able to see: ⁵⁶and then shalt thou hear as much as thine ears may comprehend. ⁵⁷For thou art blessed above many other, and art called with the Highest; and…