2 Esdras 16

^aWoe be unto thee, Babylon, and Asia! woe be unto thee, ^bEgypt, and Syria! ^2cGird up yourselves with cloths of sack and ^dhair, bewail your children, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand. ³A sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back? ^4ea fire is sent among you, and who may quench it? ^5fplagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive them away? ⁶May any man drive away a hungry lion in the wood? or may any one quench ^gthe fire in stubble, when it hath begun to burn? ^7hMay one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong archer? ^8fThe mighty Lord sendeth the plagues, and who is he that can drive them away? ^9eA fire shall go forth from his wrath, and who is he that may quench it? ¹⁰ⁱHe shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? ⁱhe shall thunder, and who shall not be afraid? ¹¹The Lord shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly beaten to powder at his presence? ^12jThe earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea ariseth up with waves from the deep, and ^kthe waves of it are troubled, and the fishes thereof also, ^lbefore the Lord, and before the glory of his power: ¹³for ^mstrong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, ⁱhis arrows that he shooteth are ⁿsharp, and shall not miss, when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world. ¹⁴Behold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again, until they come upon the earth. ^15eoThe fire is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it consume the foundation of the earth. ^16hLike as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer returneth not backward: even so the plagues that shall be sent upon earth shall not return again. ¹⁷Woe is me! woe is me! who will deliver me in those days?

^18pThe beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the beginning of famine and great death; the beginning of wars, and the powers shall stand in fear; the beginning of evils: what shall I do when these evils shall come? ¹⁹Behold, famine and plague, ^qtribulation and anguish, are sent as scourges for amendment. ²⁰But for all these things they shall not turn from their wickedness, nor be alway mindful of the scourges. ²¹Behold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that they shall think themselves to be in good case, and even then shall evils grow upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion. ²²For many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of famine; and the other, that escape the hunger, shall the sword destroy. ²³And ^rthe dead shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be no man to comfort them: for the earth shall be wasted, and the cities shall be cast down. ²⁴There shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow it. ²⁵The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them? ²⁶The grapes shall ripen, and who shall ^stread them? for all places shall be desolate of men: ²⁷so that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear his voice. ²⁸For of a city there shall be ^tten left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and ^uin the clefts of the rocks. ^29xAs in an orchard of olives upon every tree there are left three or four olives; ^30xor, when as a vineyard is gathered, there are left some clusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard: ³¹even so in those days there shall be ^ythree or four left by them that search their houses with the sword. ³²And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof shall wax old, and her ways and all her paths shall grow full of thorns, because no man shall travel therethrough. ^33zThe virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no helpers. ³⁴In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and their husbands shall perish of famine.

³⁵Hear now these things, and understand them, ^aye servants of the Lord. ³⁶Behold the word of the Lord, receive it: believe not the gods of whom the Lord spake. ³⁷Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack. ^38bAs when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth her son, within two or three hours of her birth great pains compass her womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment: ³⁹even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it on every side. ⁴⁰O my people, hear my word: make you ready to the battle, and in those evils be even as ^cpilgrims upon the earth. ^41dHe that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he that buyeth, as one that will lose: ⁴²he that ^eoccupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein: ⁴³he that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes: ⁴⁴they that marry, as they that shall get no children; and they that marry not, as the widowers. ⁴⁵And therefore they that labour, labour in vain: ⁴⁶for strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for in captivity and famine shall they get children. ⁴⁷And they that ^eoccupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons: ⁴⁸the more ^fwill I be angry with them for their sin, saith the Lord. ⁴⁹Like as a whore ^genvieth a ^hright honest and virtuous woman: ⁵⁰so shall righteousness ^ghate iniquity, ⁱwhen she decketh herself, and shall accuse her to her face, when he cometh that shall defend him that diligently searcheth out every sin upon earth.

⁵¹And therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works thereof. ⁵²For ^jyet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of the earth, and righteousness shall reign among you. ^53kLet not the sinner say that he hath not sinned: for God ^lshall burn coals of fire upon his head, ^kwhich saith before the Lord God and his glory, I have not sinned. ⁵⁴Behold, the Lord knoweth all the works of men, their ^zimaginations, their thoughts, and their ^mhearts: ⁵⁵which spake but the word, ⁿLet the earth be made; and it was made: Let the heaven be made; and it was created. ⁵⁶In his word were the stars made, and ^ohe knoweth the number of them. ⁵⁷He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; ^phe hath measured the sea, and what it containeth. ^58qHe hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his word ^rhath he hanged the earth ^supon the waters. ^59tHe spreadeth out the heavens like a vault; ^uupon the waters hath he founded it. ^60xIn the desert hath he 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. ^61yHe made man, and put his heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding. ⁶²Yea, and the spirit of Almighty God, which made all things, and searcheth out all hidden things in the secrets of the earth, ⁶³surely he knoweth your ^zinventions, and what you think in your hearts, even them that sin, and would hide their sin. ⁶⁴Therefore hath the Lord exactly searched out all your works, and he will put you all to shame. ⁶⁵And ^awhen your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed before men, and your own sins shall be your accusers in that day. ⁶⁶What will ye do? or how will ye hide your sins before God and ^bhis angels? ⁶⁷Behold, ^cGod himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from your sins, and forget your iniquities, to meddle no more with them for ever: so shall God lead you forth, and ^ddeliver you from all trouble.

⁶⁸For, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they shall take away certain of you, and feed you, being ^eidle, with ^fthings offered unto idols. ⁶⁹And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision and in reproach, and trodden under foot. ⁷⁰For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities, a great insurrection upon those that fear the Lord. ⁷¹They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those that fear the Lord. ⁷²For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of ^gtheir houses. ⁷³Then shall they be known, who are ^hmy chosen; and ⁱthey shall be tried as the gold in the fire. ⁷⁴Hear, O ye my beloved, saith the Lord: behold, the days of trouble are at hand, but ^dI will deliver you from the same. ⁷⁵Be ye not afraid, neither doubt; for ^kGod is your guide, ⁷⁶and the guide of them who keep my commandments and precepts, saith the Lord God: ^llet not your sins weigh you down, and let not your iniquities lift up themselves. ⁷⁷Woe be unto them that are bound with their sins, and covered with their iniquities, ^mlike as a field is covered over with bushes, and the path thereof covered with thorns, that no man may travel through! ⁷⁸It is left undressed, and is cast into the fire to be consumed therewith.