2 Esdras 5

1"Still, about the signs: the days are coming when the people who live on the earth will be seized with great amazement, and the way of truth will be hidden, and the land will be empty of faith.

1Nevertheless as coming the tokens, behold, the days shall come, that they which dwell upon earth shall be taken in a great number, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith.

Note"Tokens" in 1611 English means signs or portents, not keepsakes. The King James "shall be taken in a great number" reflects one reading of the Latin; other copies read that they will be seized with great amazement, and the plain wording follows that.

2Wrongdoing will grow greater than what you now see, or what you heard about long ago.

2But iniquity shall be increased above that which now thou seest, or that thou hast heard long ago.

3The land that you now see firmly rooted, you will see laid waste all at once.

3And the land, that thou seest now to have root, shalt thou see wasted suddenly.

Note"To have root" pictures a kingdom planted firmly in the ground. Some Latin copies read "to reign" here instead, and the two words are close in Latin, so the line may mean the land you now see ruling.

4But if the Most High grants you to live, you will see that after the third trumpet the sun will suddenly shine in the night, and the moon three times in the day.

4But if the most High grant thee to live, thou shalt see after the third trumpet that the sun shall suddenly shine again in the night, and the moon thrice in the day:

NoteIn writing of this kind a trumpet blast announces each stage of the end, so "the third trumpet" marks the third stage of the countdown. Some Latin copies read simply "after the third period."

5Blood will drip out of wood, and the stone will speak with a voice, and the peoples will be shaken.

5And blood shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give his voice, and the people shall be troubled:

NoteBlood running out of wood and a stone that speaks belong to a standard ancient list of prodigies, unnatural happenings collected and reported as warnings of coming disaster. "The stone shall give his voice" means its voice; in 1611 "his" still served as the possessive of "it."

6And the one whom the people living on the earth do not expect will rule, and the birds will all fly away together.

6And even he shall rule, whom they look not for that dwell upon the earth, and the fowls shall take their flight away together:

Note"Whom they look not for" means whom they do not expect. Birds leaving a region all at once was read in the ancient world as an omen of disaster.

7The Sodomitish sea will throw out fish, and make a noise in the night that many have never heard, but they will all hear its voice.

7And the Sodomitish sea shall cast out fish, and make a noise in the night, which many have not known: but they shall all hear the voice thereof.

NoteThe "Sodomitish sea" is the Dead Sea, called that because Sodom was thought to have stood on or beside it. Its water is far too salty for fish to live in, so a sea that throws out fish is a thing against nature.

8There will also be chaos in many places, fires will break out again and again, wild animals will move from their own regions, and women in their monthly time will give birth to monsters.

8There shall be a confusion also in many places, and the fire shall be oft sent out again, and the wild beasts shall change their places, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters:

Note"Menstruous women" are women in their monthly period. "Monsters" translates the Latin monstrum, which meant a birth so misshapen that it was read as an omen; the English word comes from that Latin and did not yet mean a beast.

9Salt water will be found in the fresh, and friends will all destroy one another. Then reason will hide itself, and understanding will pull back into its own private room,

9And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall destroy one another; then shall wit hide itself, and understanding withdraw itself into his secret chamber,

Note"Sweet" water is fresh water, the opposite of salt. "Wit" in 1611 means intelligence or good sense, not humor. "His secret chamber" means its own inner room.

10and many will look for it and will not find it. Then wrongdoing and lack of self-control will spread over the earth.

10And shall be sought of many, and yet not be found: then shall unrighteousness and incontinency be multiplied upon earth.

Note"Incontinency" means lack of self control of any kind, not only sexual looseness.

11One land will also ask another and say, 'Has the righteousness that makes a person righteous passed through you?' And it will answer, 'No.'

11One land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness that maketh a man righteous gone through thee? And it shall say, No.

12At that same time people will hope, but get nothing; they will work hard, but their ways will not go well.

12At the same time shall men hope, but nothing obtain: they shall labour, but their ways shall not prosper.

13I am allowed to show you signs like these. And if you will pray again, and weep as you do now, and fast seven days, you will hear things greater still."

13To shew thee such tokens I have leave; and if thou wilt pray again, and weep as now, and fast even days, thou shalt hear yet greater things.

Note"I have leave" means I am permitted. "Fast even days" stands for seven days: the Latin reads seven, and verse 20 has Ezra fast exactly seven.

14Then I woke up, and extreme terror ran through my whole body, and my mind was so troubled that it fainted.

14Then I awaked, and an extreme fearfulness went through all my body, and my mind was troubled, so that it fainted.

Note"Fearfulness" here means terror, the physical sensation of being afraid, not a timid disposition.

15So the angel who had come to talk with me took hold of me, comforted me, and set me on my feet.

15So the angel that was come to talk with me held me, comforted me, and set me up upon my feet.

16On the second night it happened that Salathiel, the leader of the people, came to me and said, "Where have you been? Why does your face look so heavy?

16And in the second night it came to pass, that Salathiel the captain of the people came unto me, saying, Where hast thou been? and why is thy countenance so heavy?

Note"Captain of the people" means their civil leader, not a military rank. Most Latin copies name this man Phaltiel; Salathiel is the name the book attaches to Ezra himself in its opening verse. "Countenance" is the face, and "heavy" means downcast.

17Do you not know that Israel has been put into your care in the land where they are held captive?

17Knowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the land of their captivity?

NoteThe captivity is the exile in Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem, which is where the book places Ezra. Salathiel is saying that the exiled community is Ezra's responsibility.

18Get up, then, and eat some bread, and do not abandon us, like a shepherd who leaves his flock in the power of cruel wolves."

18Up then, and eat bread, and forsake us not, as the shepherd that leaveth his flock in the hands of cruel wolves.

Note"Eat bread" means take a meal; bread stands for food in general. Ezra has been fasting.

19Then I said to him, "Go away from me, and do not come near me." He heard what I said, and left me.

19Then said I unto him, Go thy ways from me, and come not nigh me. And he heard what I said, and went from me.

NoteOther copies of the Latin have Ezra say "come not nigh me for seven days, and then thou shalt come to me," which fits the seven day fast he begins in the next verse.

20So I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, just as Uriel the angel had told me to do.

20And so I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, like as Uriel the angel commanded me.

NoteUriel is the angel sent to answer Ezra's questions, named at the start of chapter 4. The name is Hebrew for "God is my light."

21And after seven days it happened that the thoughts of my heart weighed on me painfully again,

21And after seven days so it was, that the thoughts of my heart were very grievous unto me again,

22and my soul got back the spirit of understanding, and I began to speak with the Most High again.

22And my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began to talk with the most High again,

23I said, "O Lord who rules over all, out of every wood on the earth and all the trees in them, you have chosen one single vine for yourself.

23And said, O Lord that bearest rule, of every wood of the earth, and of all the trees thereof, thou hast chosen thee one only vine:

Note"Wood" here means a forest, not the material. This begins a chain of single chosen things that runs to verse 27.

24Out of all the lands of the whole world you have chosen one country for yourself, and out of all its flowers one lily.

24And of all lands of the whole world thou hast chosen thee one pit: and of all the flowers thereof one lily:

Note"Pit" translates the Latin fovea, a dug hollow in the ground. The list calls for one chosen piece of land, and the word is usually taken that way; some read it as a hollow or valley.

25Out of all the deep places of the sea you have filled one river for yourself, and out of all the cities that have been built you have set apart Zion as your own.

25And of all the depths of the sea thou hast filled thee one river: and of all builded cities thou hast hallowed Sion unto thyself:

Note"Sion" is Zion, the hill in Jerusalem on which the temple stood, used as a name for the city itself. "Hallowed" means set apart as holy.

26Out of all the birds that have been created you have named one dove for yourself, and out of all the livestock that have been made you have provided one sheep for yourself.

26And of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee one dove: and of all the cattle that are made thou hast provided thee one sheep:

27And out of all the crowds of peoples you have gotten one people for yourself, and to this people, whom you loved, you gave a law that everyone approves.

27And among all the multitudes of people thou hast gotten thee one people: and unto this people, whom thou lovedst, thou gavest a law that is approved of all.

Note"A law that is approved of all" means approved by all; in 1611 "of" often does the work of "by."

28And now, O Lord, why have you handed this one people over to many? On the one root you have prepared others, and why have you scattered your only people among many?

28And now, O Lord, why hast thou given this one people over unto many? and upon the one root hast thou prepared others, and why hast thou scattered thy only one people among many?

NoteThe Latin of this line is uncertain. "Upon the one root hast thou prepared others" is also read as "you have dishonored the one root above all others."

29And those who spoke against your promises, and did not believe your covenants, have trampled them down.

29And they which did gainsay thy promises, and believed not thy covenants, have trodden them down.

Note"Gainsay" means to contradict or speak against. What was "trodden down" is ambiguous: it may be the promises and covenants themselves, or the people who believed them.

30If you hated your people that much, you should still punish them with your own hands."

30If thou didst so much hate thy people, yet shouldest thou punish them with thine own hands.

31Now when I had said these words, the angel who had come to me the night before was sent to me again,

31Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the night afore was sent unto me,

32and he said to me, "Listen to me, and I will teach you; pay attention to what I say, and I will tell you more."

32And said unto me, Hear me, and I will instruct thee; hearken to the thing that I say, and I shall tell thee more.

33And I said, "Speak on, my Lord." Then he said to me, "You are deeply troubled in your mind for Israel's sake. Do you love that people more than the one who made them does?"

33And I said, Speak on, my Lord. Then said he unto me, Thou art sore troubled in mind for Israel’s sake: lovest thou that people better than he that made them?

Note"Sore troubled" means severely distressed; "sore" is an old intensifier meaning badly or deeply.

34And I said, "No, Lord. But I have spoken out of sheer grief, for my inward parts hurt me every hour while I struggle to understand the way of the Most High and to search out some part of his judgment."

34And I said, No, Lord: but of very grief have I spoken: for my reins pain me every hour, while I labour to comprehend the way of the most High, and to seek out part of his judgment.

Note"Reins" are the kidneys. Older English, following Hebrew usage, treated them as the seat of a person's deepest feeling and conscience, so "my reins pain me" means the grief is felt in his core.

35And he said to me, "You cannot." And I said, "Why, Lord? What was I born for, then? Why was my mother's womb not my grave, so that I would not have seen the hardship of Jacob and the wearing labor of the line of Israel?"

35And he said unto me, Thou canst not. And I said, Wherefore, Lord? whereunto was I born then? or why was not my mother’s womb then my grave, that I might not have seen the travail of Jacob, and the wearisome toil of the stock of Israel?

Note"Jacob" and "the stock of Israel" both stand for the nation: Jacob was renamed Israel in Genesis, and his descendants were called by both names. "Stock" means a family line or stem, as of a tree. "Travail" means hard suffering and labor.

36And he said to me, "Count up for me the things that have not yet come. Gather for me the drops that are scattered everywhere. Make the withered flowers green again for me.

36And he said unto me, Number me the things that are not yet come, gather me together the dross that are scattered abroad, make me the flowers green again that are withered,

Note"Dross" is the waste skimmed off molten metal, but the Latin word here means drops, as of scattered rain. The angel is listing tasks no human being can do.

37Open for me the places that are shut, and bring out for me the winds that are shut up inside them. Show me a picture of a voice. Then I will explain to you the thing you are working so hard to know."

37Open me the places that are closed, and bring me forth the winds that in them are shut up, shew me the image of a voice: and then I will declare to thee the thing that thou labourest to know.

NoteAncient descriptions of the world pictured the winds as kept shut in storerooms and let out when needed; those are "the places that are closed." "Shew me the image of a voice" asks for a picture of a sound, another impossible task.

38And I said, "O Lord who rules over all, who can know these things except the one who does not live among human beings?

38And I said, O Lord that bearest rule, who may know these things, but he that hath not his dwelling with men?

Note"He that hath not his dwelling with men" means one who does not live among human beings, that is, God and those in heaven.

39As for me, I have no wisdom. So how can I speak about these things you are asking me about?"

39As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things whereof thou askest me?

40Then he said to me, "Just as you can do none of the things I have spoken of, so you cannot find out my judgment, or, in the end, the love that I have promised to my people."

40Then said he unto me, Like as thou canst do none of these things that I have spoken of, even so canst thou not find out my judgment, or in the end the love that I have promised unto my people.

41And I said, "But look, O Lord, you are near to those who are kept until the end. What about those who lived before me, or we who are alive now, or those who will come after us? What are they to do?"

41And I said, Behold, O Lord, yet art thou nigh unto them that be reserved till the end: and what shall they do that have been before me, or we that be now, or they that shall come after us?

Note"Reserved till the end" means kept back, left alive, until the last days. Ezra's question is about the generations who die before that point.

42And he said to me, "I will compare my judgment to a ring: just as there is no slowness in the last, so there is no quickness in the first."

42And he said unto me, I will liken my judgment unto a ring: like as there is no slackness of the last, even so there is no swiftness of the first.

NoteThe comparison is to a circle: on a ring no point is first and none is last, so no generation counts as early or late. The Latin word can also mean a crown or a wreath, which is likewise a circle.

43So I answered and said, "Could you not have made all at once those who have been, and those who are now, and those who are still to come, so that you might show your judgment sooner?"

43So I answered and said, Couldest thou not make those that have been made, and be now, and that are for to come, at once; that thou mightest shew thy judgment the sooner?

44Then he answered me and said, "The created thing cannot go faster than its maker, and the world cannot hold all at once those who are to be created in it."

44Then answered he me, and said, The creature may not haste above the maker; neither may the world hold them at once that shall be created therein.

Note"The creature" means anything created, not an animal, and it keeps that broad sense through the rest of the chapter. "May not haste above" means cannot go faster than; in 1611 "may not" commonly means "cannot."

45And I said, "You have told your servant that you, who give life to all, have given life all at once to the creation you made, and that creation carried it. In the same way it could carry all who are here now, all at once."

45And I said, As thou hast said unto thy servant, that thou, which givest life to all, hast given life at once to the creature that thou hast created, and the creature bare it: even so it might now also bear them that now be present at once.

NoteThis verse is tangled in the Latin and the copies differ. The thrust of Ezra's argument is that if creation could carry all living things at once when it began, it could carry every generation at once now.

46And he said to me, "Ask the womb of a woman, and say to her, 'If you bear children, why do you not do it all together, but one after another?' So ask her to bring out ten children at once."

46And he said unto me, Ask the womb of a woman, and say unto her, If thou bringest forth children, why dost thou it not together, but one after another? pray her therefore to bring forth ten children at once.

47And I said, "She cannot; she has to do it with time in between."

47And I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time.

48Then he said to me, "In the same way I have given the womb of the earth to those who are planted in it, each in their own time.

48Then said he unto me, Even so have I given the womb of the earth to those that be sown in it in their times.

49For just as a young child cannot produce the things that belong to old age, so I have arranged the world that I created."

49For like as a young child may not bring forth the things that belong to the aged, even so have I disposed the world which I created.

Note"May not bring forth" means cannot produce. Some copies read that a young child cannot bear children, and neither can a woman grown old, which matches the picture of the earth's womb.

50And I asked and said, "Since you have now shown me the way, I will go on speaking in front of you. Our mother, of whom you told me that she is young, is now coming close to old age."

50And I asked, and said, Seeing thou hast now given me the way, I will proceed to speak before thee: for our mother, of whom thou hast told me that she is young, draweth now nigh unto age.

Note"Our mother" is the earth, spoken of through this whole passage as a woman who bears children and grows old.

51He answered me and said, "Ask a woman who bears children, and she will tell you.

51He answered me, and said, Ask a woman that beareth children, and she shall tell thee.

52Say to her, 'Why are the children you bear now not like those who were born before, but smaller in size?'

52Say unto her, Wherefore are unto they whom thou hast now brought forth like those that were before, but less of stature?

NoteThe King James line "Wherefore are unto they whom thou hast now brought forth" is garbled in the printing. The question being put to the woman is why the children she bears now are smaller than the ones born earlier.

53And she will answer you, 'Those born in the strength of youth are one way, and those born in the time of old age, when the womb is failing, are another way.'

53And she shall answer thee, They that be born in the strength of youth are of one fashion, and they that are born in the time of age, when the womb faileth, are otherwise.

Note"Of one fashion" means of one kind or sort.

54So think about this yourself: you are smaller in size than those who came before you.

54Consider thou therefore also, how that ye are less of stature than those that were before you.

NoteThe idea that each generation is physically smaller than the one before it, because the world itself is aging, was common in ancient writing, and it is the point the comparison turns on.

55And those who come after you are smaller than you, since they come from a creation that is now beginning to grow old, and has gone past the strength of youth."

55And so are they that come after you less than ye, as the creatures which now begin to be old, and have passed over the strength of youth.

56Then I said, "Lord, I beg you, if I have found favor in your sight, show your servant through whom you visit your creation."

56Then said I, Lord, I beseech thee, if I have found favour in thy sight, shew thy servant by whom thou visitest thy creature.

NoteTo "visit" in older English means to come to someone, whether to help or to judge. Ezra is asking through whom God comes to the world he made.