2 Esdras 16

How terrible for you, Babylon and Asia! How terrible for you, Egypt and Syria!

1Woe be unto thee, Babylon, and Asia! woe be unto thee, Egypt and Syria!

Note"Asia" here is the Roman province of Asia, the western end of what is now Turkey, not the continent. By the time this chapter was written, "Babylon" was a familiar code name for Rome, the ruling empire; the actual city had long been a ruin. Egypt and Syria were likewise Roman provinces. The list names the great centers of imperial wealth.

2Put on rough sackcloth and clothes made of goats' hair. Cry out for your children and grieve, because your destruction is close at hand.

2Gird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail your children, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand.

NoteSackcloth was coarse cloth woven from goat hair, the ordinary material of grain sacks. Wearing it against the skin was the standard, instantly recognizable public sign of grief or dread across the ancient Near East.

3A sword has been sent against you, and who can turn it back?

3A sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back?

4A fire has been sent among you, and who can put it out?

4A fire is sent among you, and who may quench it?

5Disasters have been sent to you, and who is there who can drive them away?

5Plagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive them away?

6Can anyone drive away a hungry lion in the forest? Can anyone put out a fire in dry stalks once it has started to burn?

6May any man drive away an hungry lion in the wood? or may any one quench the fire in stubble, when it hath begun to burn?

NoteStubble is the stalks left standing in a field after the grain has been cut. Farmers burned it off, and such a fire runs across a field faster than anyone can beat it out.

7Can anyone turn back an arrow that is shot by a strong archer?

7May one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong archer?

8The mighty Lord sends the disasters, and who is there who can drive them away?

8The mighty Lord sendeth the plagues and who is he that can drive them away?

9A fire will go out from his anger, and who is there who can put it out?

9A fire shall go forth from his wrath, and who is he that may quench it?

10He will throw down lightning, and who will not be afraid? He will thunder, and who will not be terrified?

10He shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? he shall thunder, and who shall not be afraid?

11The Lord will threaten, and who will not be completely crushed to powder in his presence?

11The Lord shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly beaten to powder at his presence?

12The earth shakes, and so do its foundations. The sea rises up with waves from the deep, and its waves are stirred up, and so are its fish, before the Lord and before the glory of his power.

12The earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea ariseth up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are troubled, and the fishes thereof also, before the Lord, and before the glory of his power:

Note"The deep" is the vast body of water thought to lie beneath and around the earth, the source of the sea and of springs.

13For the right hand that bends the bow is strong. The arrows he shoots are sharp, and they will not miss when they begin to be shot into the far ends of the world.

13For strong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, his arrows that he shooteth are sharp, and shall not miss, when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world.

14Look, the disasters have been sent out, and they will not turn back again until they come upon the earth.

14Behold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again, until they come upon the earth.

15The fire has been lit, and it will not be put out until it burns up the foundation of the earth.

15The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it consume the foundation of the earth.

16Just as an arrow shot by a mighty archer does not come back, so the disasters that will be sent upon the earth will not turn back again.

16Like 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.

17How terrible for me! How terrible for me! Who will rescue me in those days?

17Woe is me! woe is me! who will deliver me in those days?

NoteThe speaking voice changes here without warning. Verses 1 to 16 address the doomed nations; here someone cries out in the first person. The text does not say who, whether the prophet or a representative of those who must live through the disasters.

18This is the beginning of sorrows and of loud mourning. This is the beginning of famine and of many deaths. This is the beginning of wars, and the powers will stand in fear. This is the beginning of evils! What will I do when these evils come?

18The 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?

Note"Sorrows" in this set phrase translates a word meaning birth pangs, the labor pains that announce something is already underway and cannot be stopped. The same image is spelled out at verse 38. "The powers" may mean earthly rulers and armies or the powers of the sky, sun, moon and stars; the wording allows both.

19Look: famine and plague, hardship and anguish are sent as whips to correct people.

19Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish, are sent as scourges for amendment.

Note"Amendment" in 1611 English means correction or reform of a person. A scourge was a whip used in formal punishment.

20But in spite of all these things they will not turn away from their wickedness, and they will not always keep the whippings in mind.

20But for all these things they shall not turn from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.

21Look, food will be so cheap on earth that people will think they are doing well, and even then evils will grow on the earth: sword, famine, and great confusion.

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.

Note"Good cheap" is 1611 English for low in price, and to be "in good case" is to be well off or in good shape. The point is that a season of cheap food will convince people the crisis has passed.

22For many of those who live on the earth will die of famine, and the sword will destroy the others, the ones who escape the hunger.

22For many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of famine; and the other, that escape the hunger, shall the sword destroy.

23The dead will be thrown out like dung, and there will be no one to comfort them, because the earth will be left in ruins and the cities will be torn down.

23And the 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.

NoteLeaving corpses unburied and heaped up like manure was the deepest dishonor the ancient world could imagine. Burying the dead was a family's most basic obligation, and no survivors are left to perform it.

24There will be no one left to work the ground and to plant it.

24There shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow it

25The trees will produce fruit, and who will gather it?

25The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them?

26The grapes will ripen, and who will crush them? For every place will be empty of people,

26The grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all places shall be desolate of men:

NoteGrapes were crushed by treading them barefoot in a stone vat, normally a crowded, noisy job at harvest time. The absence of treaders means the population itself is gone.

27so that one person will long to see another and to hear his voice.

27So that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear his voice.

28For out of a city ten will be left, and two from the field, and they will hide themselves in the thick woods and in the cracks of the rocks.

28For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks.

NoteThe numbers are the point: out of a whole city, ten survivors; out of the open farmland, two. "Clefts of the rocks" are the fissures and caves of the limestone hills, the standard hiding places in an invasion.

29It will be like an orchard of olive trees, where three or four olives are left on every tree,

29As in an orchard of Olives upon every tree there are left three or four olives;

NoteAt harvest, olive trees were beaten with poles and vines picked over by hand, and whatever the pickers missed was left behind, by custom for the poor to glean. What remained on a stripped tree or vine was a scattering of three or four, which is the measure of survival being described.

30or like a vineyard that has been harvested, where a few clusters are left by those who search carefully through the vineyard.

30Or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some clusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard:

31In the same way, in those days three or four will be left by those who search their houses with the sword.

31Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by them that search their houses with the sword.

Note"Search their houses with the sword" describes soldiers going through a town house by house, killing as they go.

32The earth will be left in ruins, its fields will grow old, and its roads and all its paths will grow full of thorns, because no one will travel through them.

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.

Note"Wax old" is 1611 English for grow old. A field growing old means one nobody works any longer, so it reverts to scrub and briers. Some manuscripts read that no sheep pass along the paths rather than that no person travels through.

33The young women will mourn, having no bridegrooms. The women will mourn, having no husbands. Their daughters will mourn, having no one to help them.

33The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no helpers.

Note"Virgins" in the King James means unmarried young women of marriageable age; it is a description of social status, not a comment on character. A woman with no husband, son or male relative had no legal standing and no income, which is why the daughters are said to have no helpers.

34Their bridegrooms will be killed in the wars, and their husbands will die of famine.

34In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and their husbands shall perish of famine.

35Now hear these things and understand them, you servants of the Lord.

35Hear now these things and understand them, ye servants of the Lord.

36Look, here is the word of the Lord: receive it. Do not believe the gods the Lord spoke about.

36Behold, the word of the Lord, receive it: believe not the gods of whom the Lord spake.

NoteThe King James reads "believe not the gods of whom the Lord spake", but the underlying Latin is usually taken to mean do not disbelieve the things the Lord speaks about. The line is textually uncertain, and the two readings say nearly opposite things.

37Look, the disasters are coming near, and they are not slow.

37Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack.

38When a woman who is nine months pregnant gives birth to her son, within two or three hours of the birth great pains grip her womb, and when the child comes out, those pains do not hold back for a moment.

38As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth her son, with two or three hours of her birth great pains compass her womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment:

Note"With two or three hours of her birth" means within two or three hours of it. "Slack" here means delay or hold off.

39In the same way the disasters will not hold back from coming upon the earth. The world will mourn, and sorrows will come upon it from every side.

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.

40My people, hear my word. Get ready for your battle, and in those evil times be like strangers on the earth.

40O my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle, and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth.

Note"Pilgrims" in 1611 English does not mean religious travelers. It means resident foreigners, people living in a country not their own with no rights of citizenship and no permanent claim on anything around them.

41Let the one who sells be like someone who is running away, and the one who buys like someone who will lose what he bought.

41He that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he that buyeth, as one that will lose:

NoteVerses 41 to 44 run a single formula: act as though the thing you are doing had already been taken from you. The same construction appears in Paul's letter, 1 Corinthians 7:29 to 31. It is a rhetorical form, not a list of separate rules.

42Let the one who trades be like someone who gains no profit from it, and the one who builds like someone who will not live in what he builds.

42He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein:

Note"Occupy" in 1611 English meant to trade in or do business with. "He that occupieth merchandise" is simply a merchant. The same use appears at verse 47.

43Let the one who sows be like someone who will not harvest, and in the same way the one who plants the vineyard like someone who will not gather the grapes.

43He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes:

44Let those who marry be like those who will have no children, and those who do not marry like those who have lost a wife.

44They that marry, as they that shall get no children; and they that marry not, as the widowers.

Note"Widowers" translates a word for the bereaved generally, husbands or wives who have lost a spouse. The unmarried are told to live as people who have already suffered that loss.

45And so those who work, work for nothing,

45And therefore they that labour labour in vain:

Note"They that labour labour in vain" is not a printing error. The first "labour" belongs to the phrase "those who work"; the second is the verb.

46because foreigners will harvest their crops, plunder their goods, tear down their houses, and carry off their children as prisoners. For they will have their children in captivity and famine.

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.

Note"Strangers" means foreigners, and here specifically invading armies. "In captivity and famine shall they get children" means their children will be conceived and born while they are prisoners and starving.

47As for those who carry on their trade by robbery: the more they decorate their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own bodies,

47And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons:

Note"Deck" in 1611 English means to adorn or decorate, so decking "their own persons" is dressing themselves in fine clothes and jewelry. Verses 47 and 48 form one sentence: the more they do this, the angrier the Lord becomes.

48the more angry I will be with them for their sin, says the Lord.

48The more will I be angry with them for their sin, saith the Lord.

49Just as a prostitute is jealous of a truly honest and virtuous woman,

49Like as a whore envieth a right honest and virtuous woman:

Note"Envieth" in 1611 English can mean to hate or feel hostility toward, not only to covet. The comparison also runs the other way in other versions of the text, with the virtuous woman hating the prostitute; the manuscripts differ on which way round it goes.

50so righteousness will hate wickedness when wickedness dresses herself up, and righteousness will accuse her to her face, when he comes who will defend the one who carefully searches out every sin on earth.

50So shall righteousness hate iniquity, when 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.

Note"Decketh herself" means dresses up and adorns herself. The second half of this verse is badly damaged in the manuscripts, and no reading of it is certain.

51So do not be like her, or like the things she does.

51And therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works thereof.

52For in a little while wickedness will be taken away from the earth, and righteousness will rule among you.

52For yet a little, and iniquity shall be taken away out of the earth, and righteousness shall reign among you.

53Do not let the sinner say he has not sinned. For God will burn coals of fire on the head of the one who says in front of the Lord God and his glory, "I have not sinned."

53Let not the sinner say that he hath not sinned: for God shall burn coals of fire upon his head, which saith before the Lord God and his glory, I have not sinned.

NoteTo "burn coals of fire upon his head" is a fixed idiom from the Hebrew scriptures, found at Proverbs 25:22 and Psalm 140:10, for bringing burning shame or punishment down on someone.

54Look, the Lord knows everything people do, and their imaginings, their thoughts, and their hearts.

54Behold, the Lord knoweth all the works of men, their imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts:

55He only spoke the word, "Let the earth be made," and it was made. "Let the sky be made," and it was created.

55Which spake but the word, Let the earth be made; and it was made: Let the heaven be made; and it was created.

Note"Heaven" in older English means the sky, the visible arch overhead, not a place of the blessed. The wording deliberately echoes the opening of Genesis.

56By his word the stars were made, and he knows how many there are.

56In his word were the stars made, and he knoweth the number of them.

57He searches the deep and the treasures in it. He has measured the sea and what it holds.

57He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath measured the sea, and what it containeth.

Note"Treasures" in 1611 English usually means treasuries or storehouses, the places where things are kept, rather than the valuables themselves.

58He has shut the sea in the middle of the waters, and by his word he has hung the earth on the waters.

58He hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his word hath he hanged the earth upon the waters.

NoteThis is the older picture of the world found in Genesis 1: the earth set like a platform over a great ocean beneath, with further water held back above the sky. To hang the earth upon the waters is to fix it in place over that lower ocean.

59He spreads out the sky like an arched dome. He has set it on the waters.

59He spreadeth out the heavens like a vault; upon the waters hath he founded it.

60In the desert he has made springs of water, and pools on the tops of the mountains, so that the streams might pour down from the high rocks to water the earth.

60In 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.

61He made man, and put his heart inside his body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding.

61He made man, and put his heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding.

NoteIn ancient usage the heart is the organ of thinking, remembering and deciding, the place where a person reasons and makes choices, not chiefly the seat of feeling.

62It was also the Spirit of Almighty God, who made all things and who searches out all the hidden things in the secret places of the earth.

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 knows what you invent and what you think in your hearts, including those who sin and want to hide their sin.

63Surely he knoweth your inventions, and what ye think in your hearts, even them that sin, and would hide their sin.

Note"Inventions" in 1611 English means the things a person devises or contrives, schemes and plans, not machines or discoveries.

64So the Lord has searched out everything you do, exactly, and he will put you all to shame.

64Therefore hath the Lord exactly searched out all your works, and he will put you all to shame.

Note"Exactly" here carries its older force of completely and precisely, leaving nothing out.

65When your sins are brought out, you will be ashamed in front of people, and your own sins will be your accusers on that day.

65And when your sins are brought forth, ye shall be ashamed before men, and your own sins shall be your accusers in that day.

66What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins from God and his angels?

66What will ye do? or how will ye hide your sins before God and his angels?

67Look, God himself is the judge. Fear him. Stop your sins and forget the wrong you have done, and never have anything to do with it again. Then God will lead you out and rescue you from all trouble.

67Behold, God 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 deliver you from all trouble.

68For look, the burning anger of a great crowd has been lit against you, and they will take some of you away, and feed you, while you are kept idle, with food that has been offered to idols.

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 idle, with things offered unto idols.

NoteMeat from animals killed in pagan temples was sold in markets and served at meals in the ordinary way. For Jews and for Christians, eating it counted as taking part in the worship that produced it, so being fed it under compulsion meant being forced to abandon one's own religion. "Being idle" points to captives held without work, kept and fed rather than employed.

69And those who agree with them will be laughed at and insulted, and trampled under foot.

69And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision and in reproach, and trodden under foot.

70For in every place, and in the cities nearby, there will be a great uprising against those who fear the Lord.

70For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities, a great insurrection upon those that fear the Lord.

Note"Next" in 1611 English means nearest. The cities in question are the neighboring ones.

71They will be like mad men, sparing no one, but going on plundering and destroying those who fear the Lord.

71They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those that fear the Lord.

72For they will ruin and carry off their goods, and throw them out of their houses.

72For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of their houses.

73Then it will be known who my chosen ones are, and they will be tested like gold in the fire.

73Then shall they be known, who are my chosen; and they shall be tried as the gold in the fire.

NoteGold was purified by melting it so the impurities rose and could be skimmed away, and the same process showed how pure the metal actually was. The image is of testing and refining in one action.

74Hear this, my beloved ones, says the Lord: look, the days of trouble are close at hand, but I will rescue you from them.

74Hear, O ye my beloved, saith the Lord: behold, the days of trouble are at hand, but I will deliver you from the same.

75Do not be afraid and do not doubt, for God is your guide,

75Be ye not afraid neither doubt; for God is your guide,

76and the guide of those who keep my commands and my rules, says the Lord God. Do not let your sins weigh you down, and do not let the wrong you have done rise up.

76And the guide of them who keep my commandments and precepts, saith the Lord God: let not your sins weigh you down, and let not your iniquities lift up themselves.

77How terrible for those who are tied up in their sins and covered over with their wrongdoing, the way a field is covered over with bushes and its path is covered with thorns, so that no one can travel through it!

77Woe be unto them that are bound with their sins, and covered with their iniquities like as a field is covered over with bushes, and the path thereof covered with thorns, that no man may travel through!

78It is left untended, and it is thrown into the fire to be burned up with the thorns.

78It is left undressed, and is cast into the fire to be consumed therewith.

NoteTo "dress" a field or a vine is to work it: prune, weed and clear it. An undressed field is one nobody tends. Farmers burned off the thorn and scrub that took over such ground, which is the picture in this last line.