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. 2 The mother that bare them saith unto them, Go your way, ye children; for cI am a widow and forsaken. 3 I 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. 4 But 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. 5 As for me, O father, I call upon thee for a witness over the mother of these children, which would not keep my covenant, 6 that thou bring them to confusion, and dtheir mother to a spoil, ethat there may be no offspring of them. 7 Let them be scattered abroad among the heathen, let their names be put out of the earth: for they have despised my * covenant. 8 Woe be unto thee, Assur, fthou that hidest the unrighteous in thee! O thou wicked people, remember gwhat I did unto Sodom and Gomorrha; 9 gwhose 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.

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

15 sMother, 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. 16 And 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. 17 Fear not, thou smother of the children: tfor I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. 18 For 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, 19 and 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. 20 zDo right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor, defend the orphan, aclothe the naked, 21 heal 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. 22 Keep the old and young within thy walls. 23 cWheresoever thou findest the dead, * take them and bury them, and dI will give thee the first place in my resurrection. 24 Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness shall come. 25 Nourish thy children, O thou egood nurse; stablish their feet. 26 fAs for the servants whom I have given thee, there shall not one of them perish; for I will require them from among thy number. 27 Be 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. 28 The heathen shall envy thee, gbut they shall be able to do nothing against thee, saith the Lord. 29 hMy hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not see ihell. 30 Be joyful, O thou emother, with thy children; for I will deliver thee, saith the Lord. 31 Remember 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. 32 Embrace thy children until I come and * shew mercy unto them: for my wells run over, and my grace shall not fail.

33 I 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. 34 And 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. 35 Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for qthe everlasting light shall shine upon you for evermore. 36 Flee xthe shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of qyour glory: I testify rmy Saviour openly. 37 O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto him sthat hath called you to the heavenly kingdom. 38 Arise up and stand, behold tthe number of those that be usealed * in wthe feast of the Lord; 39 which are departed from xthe shadow of the world, and yhave received glorious garments of the Lord. 40 Take thy number, O Sion, and * shut up those of thine ythat are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord. 41 zThe number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled: beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, awhich have been called from the beginning, may be hallowed.

42 I Esdras saw bupon the mount Sion ca great people, whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs. 43 And in the midst of them there was a hyoung man of a high stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads dhe set crowns, and was more exalted; which I marvelled at greatly. 44 So I asked ethe angel, and said, * fSir, what are these? 45 He answered and said unto me, These be they gthat have put off the mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God: now dare they crowned, and creceive palms. 46 Then said I unto ethe angel, What hyoung person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands? 47 So he answered and said unto me, dIt is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to commend them that stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord. 48 Then ethe angel said unto me, Go thy way, and itell my people what manner of things, and how great wonders of the Lord thy God thou hast seen.