2 Esdras 14

On the third day I was sitting under an oak tree, and a voice came out of a bush in front of me and said, "Esdras, Esdras."

1And it came to pass upon the third day, I sat under an oak, and, behold, there came a voice out of a bush over against me, and said, Esdras, Esdras.

NoteEsdras is the Greek and Latin form of the Hebrew name Ezra. The book presents its speaker as the scribe Ezra, and sets him in Babylon a generation after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. "The third day" counts from the vision reported in the previous chapter.

2And I said, "Here I am, Lord." And I stood up on my feet.

2And I said, Here am I, Lord And I stood up upon my feet.

3Then he said to me, "In the bush I plainly showed myself to Moses and talked with him, when my people were slaves in Egypt.

3Then said he unto me, In the bush I did manifestly reveal myself unto Moses, and talked with him, when my people served in Egypt:

NoteThe reference is to Exodus 3, where God speaks to Moses out of a bush that burns without being consumed. In the King James phrase "when my people served in Egypt," "served" does not mean worship; it means they worked there as slaves.

4I sent him, and I led my people out of Egypt, and I brought him up to Mount Sinai, where I kept him with me for a long time.

4And I sent him and led my people out of Egypt, and brought him up to the mount of where I held him by me a long season,

NoteThe King James reads "the mount of" and then simply breaks off: a word has dropped out of the manuscripts the translators were working from. Other copies name the place, Mount Sinai.

5I told him many wonderful things, and showed him the secrets of the ages and the end, and I commanded him, saying,

5And told him many wondrous things, and shewed him the secrets of the times, and the end; and commanded him, saying,

6'These words you shall declare openly, and these you shall keep hidden.'

6These words shalt thou declare, and these shalt thou hide.

NoteA long standing Jewish tradition held that at Sinai Moses received both a law to be published to everyone and further revelation to be kept back for a few. This book draws on that tradition to account for its own existence as restricted writing.

7And now I say to you:

7And now I say unto thee,

8Store up in your heart the signs I have shown you, the dreams you have seen, and the explanations you have heard.

8That thou lay up in thy heart the signs that I have shewed, and the dreams that thou hast seen, and the interpretations which thou hast heard:

Note"Heart" in this idiom is the seat of thought and memory rather than of feeling; it is closer to what modern English calls the mind.

9For you will be taken away from all people, and from now on you will remain with my Son and with those who are like you, until the times have ended.

9For thou shalt be taken away from all, and from henceforth thou shalt remain with my Son, and with such as be like thee, until the times be ended.

Note"Taken away" here means removed from ordinary human life without dying in the usual way, as Enoch and Elijah were said to have been. "My Son" is this book's regular way of speaking of the messiah figure who appeared in its earlier visions.

10For the world has lost its youth, and the ages are beginning to grow old.

10For the world hath lost his youth, and the times begin to wax old.

Note"The world hath lost his youth": in 1611 English "his" was the ordinary possessive for "it" as well as for "he." The sense is that the world has lost its youth.

11For the world is divided into twelve parts, and ten parts of it are already gone, and half of a tenth part.

11For the world is divided into twelve parts, and the ten parts of it are gone already, and half of a tenth part:

NoteThe whole span of history is measured out as twelve parts, of which ten and a half have already run; history is therefore in its last stretch. The Latin copies disagree about exactly how much is left, and verse 12 in other versions reads that two parts remain after the middle of the tenth.

12What remains is what comes after the half of the tenth part.

12And there remaineth that which is after the half of the tenth part.

13Now then, put your house in order, correct your people, comfort those among them who are in trouble, and give up now the life that decays.

13Now therefore set thine house in order, and reprove thy people, comfort such of them as be in trouble, and now renounce corruption,

Note"Set thine house in order" is the standard phrase for a man told he is about to die and should settle his affairs; compare Isaiah 38:1. "Renounce corruption" does not mean giving up dishonesty: corruption here means decay, the perishable condition of mortal life.

14Let mortal thoughts go from you, throw off the burdens that belong to human beings, and put off now your weak nature.

14Let go from thee mortal thoughts, cast away the burdens of man, put off now the weak nature,

15Set aside the thoughts that weigh on you most heavily, and hurry to get away from these times.

15And set aside the thoughts that are most heavy unto thee, and haste thee to flee from these times.

16For evils greater than the ones you have seen happen will be done after this.

16For yet greater evils than those which thou hast seen happen shall be done hereafter.

17For however much weaker the world grows with age, that much more will evils increase on those who live in it.

17For look how much the world shall be weaker through age, so much the more shall evils increase upon them that dwell therein.

18For the time has fled far away, and falsehood is close at hand. For now the vision you saw is hurrying to come."

18For the time is fled far away, and leasing is hard at hand: for now hasteth the vision to come, which thou hast seen.

Note"Leasing" is an old English word for lying or falsehood, with no connection to the modern sense of renting. In the first half of the verse other copies read that truth has withdrawn far away, which is the contrast the second half expects. The vision hurrying to come is the eagle seen in chapters 11 and 12.

19Then I answered in your presence and said,

19Then answered I before thee, and said,

NoteThe sentence shifts abruptly into addressing God directly. Words appear to have dropped out; other copies read "Let me speak in your presence, O Lord."

20"Look, Lord, I will go, as you have commanded me, and I will correct the people who are here now. But those who will be born later, who will warn them? The world is set in darkness, and those who live in it have no light.

20Behold, Lord, I will go, as thou hast commanded me, and reprove the people which are present: but they that shall be born afterward, who shall admonish them? thus the world is set in darkness, and they that dwell therein are without light.

21For your law has been burned, so no one knows the things that are done by you, or the work that will begin.

21For thy law is burnt, therefore no man knoweth the things that are done of thee, or the work that shall begin.

NoteWhen the Babylonians burned the temple in 587 BC, the scrolls of the law were held to have burned with it. The tradition behind this chapter is that the scriptures were lost then and dictated afresh through Ezra.

22But if I have found favor with you, send the Holy Spirit into me, and I will write everything that has been done in the world since the beginning, the things that were written in your law, so that people may find your path, and that those who will live in the last days may live."

22But if I have found grace before thee, send the Holy Ghost into me, and I shall write all that hath been done in the world since the beginning, which were written in thy law, that men may find thy path, and that they which will live in the latter days may live.

Note"Holy Ghost" is the King James phrase for the Holy Spirit. In 1611 "ghost" simply meant spirit and carried none of its later associations with hauntings.

23And he answered me, saying, "Go your way, gather the people together, and tell them not to look for you for forty days.

23And he answered me, saying, Go thy way, gather the people together, and say unto them, that they seek thee not for forty days.

NoteThe forty days match the forty days Moses spent with God on the mountain in Exodus 24 and 34.

24But see that you prepare many boxwood writing tablets for yourself, and take with you Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ecanus, and Asiel, these five, who are ready to write quickly.

24But look thou prepare thee many box trees, and take with thee Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ecanus, and Asiel, these five which are ready to write swiftly;

NoteThe King James "box trees" is a misreading of the Latin, which means tablets of boxwood: thin wooden boards coated with wax and written on with a stylus, the ordinary notebook of the ancient world. The five named men are professional scribes, and "ready to write swiftly" means trained in a fast shorthand.

25Then come here, and I will light a lamp of understanding in your heart, which will not be put out until the things are finished that you will begin to write.

25And come hither, and I shall light a candle of understanding in thine heart, which shall not be put out, till the things be performed which thou shalt begin to write.

Note"Candle" in the King James almost always means an oil lamp, a small clay dish of oil with a wick, not a wax candle.

26And when you are done, some things you shall publish openly, and some things you shall show in secret to the wise. Tomorrow at this hour you shall begin to write."

26And when thou hast done, some things shalt thou publish, and some things shalt thou shew secretly to the wise: to morrow this hour shalt thou begin to write.

NoteCirculating one set of books openly while restricting another to a trained few was a recognized practice. Writings of this kind commonly present themselves as reserved for the wise.

27Then I went out, as he commanded, and gathered all the people together, and said,

27Then went I forth, as he commanded, and gathered all the people together, and said,

28"Hear these words, Israel.

28Hear these words, O Israel.

29Our fathers at the beginning were foreigners in Egypt, and they were rescued from there,

29Our fathers at the beginning were strangers in Egypt, from whence they were delivered:

30and they received the law of life, which they did not keep, and which you also have broken after them.

30And received the law of life, which they kept not, which ye also have transgressed after them.

31Then the land, the land of Zion, was divided among you by lot. But your fathers, and you yourselves, have done wrong, and have not kept the ways that the Most High commanded you.

31Then was the land, even the land of Sion, parted among you by lot: but your fathers, and ye yourselves, have done unrighteousness, and have not kept the ways which the Highest commanded you.

Note"Sion" is the King James spelling of Zion, first a hill in Jerusalem and then a name for the city and for the land as a whole. Dividing land "by lot" means assigning it by drawing marked stones or sticks, the method used to allot territory to the tribes in Joshua.

32And because he is a righteous judge, in due time he took from you what he had given you.

32And forasmuch as he is a righteous judge, he took from you in time the thing that he had given you.

NoteWhat he had given and then took back is the land itself, lost when Babylon conquered Judah and deported its people.

33And now you are here, and your brothers and sisters are among you.

33And now are ye here, and your brethren among you.

34So if you will rule over your own understanding and train your hearts, you will be kept alive, and after death you will receive mercy.

34Therefore if so be that ye will subdue your own understanding, and reform your hearts, ye shall be kept alive and after death ye shall obtain mercy.

35For after death the judgment will come, when we will live again. Then the names of the righteous will be made known, and the deeds of the ungodly will be announced.

35For after death shall the judgment come, when we shall live again: and then shall the names of the righteous be manifest, and the works of the ungodly shall be declared.

36So let no one come to me now, or look for me during these forty days."

36Let no man therefore come unto me now, nor seek after me these forty days.

37So I took the five men, as he had commanded me, and we went out into the field and stayed there.

37So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we went into the field, and remained there.

38And the next day a voice called me, saying, "Esdras, open your mouth, and drink what I give you to drink."

38And the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, Esdras, open thy mouth, and drink that I give thee to drink.

39Then I opened my mouth, and he handed me a full cup, which was full of something like water, but its color was like fire.

39Then opened I my mouth, and, behold, he reached me a full cup, which was full as it were with water, but the colour of it was like fire.

40And I took it and drank. When I had drunk it, my heart poured out understanding, and wisdom grew in my chest, for my spirit strengthened my memory.

40And I took it, and drank: and when I had drunk of it, my heart uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my breast, for my spirit strengthened my memory:

41And my mouth was opened, and it was shut no more.

41And my mouth was opened, and shut no more.

42The Most High gave understanding to the five men, and they wrote down the wonderful visions of the night that were told to them, which they did not know. They sat for forty days, and they wrote in the daytime, and at night they ate bread.

42The Highest gave understanding unto the five men, and they wrote the wonderful visions of the night that were told, which they knew not: and they sat forty days, and they wrote in the day, and at night they ate bread.

NoteThe King James has the scribes writing visions "which they knew not." The Latin says instead that they wrote in characters they did not know, that is, in an unfamiliar alphabet: they take down sounds they cannot themselves read.

43As for me, I spoke in the daytime, and I did not keep silent at night.

43As for me. I spake in the day, and I held not my tongue by night.

44In forty days they wrote two hundred and four books.

44In forty days they wrote two hundred and four books.

NoteMost copies read ninety four books, a figure the following verses divide into twenty four to be published and seventy to be held back. Twenty four is the traditional Jewish count of the books of the Hebrew Bible. The King James follows a copy that reads two hundred and four.

45And when the forty days were completed, the Most High spoke, saying, "Publish openly the first books you have written, so that the worthy and the unworthy may read them.

45And it came to pass, when the forty days were filled, that the Highest spake, saying, The first that thou hast written publish openly, that the worthy and unworthy may read it:

NoteThe books to be published openly are the twenty four of the Hebrew scriptures, counted as Jewish tradition counts them, with the twelve minor prophets as a single book and Samuel, Kings, Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah each as one.

46But keep back the last seventy, so that you may hand them over only to those among the people who are wise.

46But keep the seventy last, that thou mayest deliver them only to such as be wise among the people:

NoteThe seventy withheld books stand for apocalyptic writings, this one among them, presented as reserved for a few rather than read in public.

47For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge."

47For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge.

48And I did so.

48And I did so.