2 Esdras 8

He answered me: "The Most High has made this world for many, but the world that is coming for few.

1And he answered me, saying, The most High hath made this world for many, but the world to come for few.

Note"He" is the angel who has been speaking with Esdras through the earlier chapters of the book; the angel is named Uriel, and he answers on God's behalf. "The most High" is a title for God common in Jewish writing of this period. "The world to come" belongs to a standard pairing in that writing: this present age, and the age that begins after it ends.

2I will give you a comparison, Esdras. When you ask the earth, it will tell you that it gives a great deal of clay, which pots are made from, but only a little dust that gold comes from. The course of this present world is like that.

2I will tell thee a similitude, Esdras; As when thou askest the earth, it shall say unto thee, that it giveth much mould whereof earthen vessels are made, but little dust that gold cometh of: even so is the course of this present world.

NoteEsdras is the Greek and Latin form of the name Ezra; the book is written as the visions of Ezra the scribe, set in Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem. KJV "similitude" means a comparison or parable. The force of the earth image is quantity against value: clay is everywhere and cheap, gold is present only as scattered dust.

3Many have been created, but few will be saved."

3There be many created, but few shall be saved.

4I answered and said: "Swallow down understanding then, my soul, and eat up wisdom.

4So answered I and said, Swallow then down, O my soul, understanding, and devour wisdom.

NoteEsdras is addressing himself. "My soul" in this idiom means the self, the whole person, not a part of him separate from his body.

5For you have agreed to listen, and you are willing to speak as a prophet; and you have no more time than the span of your life.

5For thou hast agreed to give ear, and art willing to prophesy: for thou hast no longer space than only to live.

NoteKJV "thou hast agreed to give ear, and art willing to prophesy" follows the Latin copies available to the 1611 translators. Other manuscripts read the opposite: that he came into the world not by his own will and leaves it against his will. The rendering keeps the King James reading.

6O Lord, if you do not allow your servant to pray before you, and do not give us seed for our heart and tilling for our understanding, so that fruit may come from it, then how will anyone live who is corrupt and who holds the place of a man?

6O Lord, if thou suffer not thy servant, that we may pray before thee, and thou give us seed unto our heart, and culture to our understanding, that there may come fruit of it; how shall each man live that is corrupt, who beareth the place of a man?

NoteKJV "culture" keeps its older sense of cultivation, the working of soil; the farming image runs right through the verse in seed, tilling and fruit. "Beareth the place of a man" means occupies the position of a human being, that is, is human at all.

7For you alone exist, and we are all one work of your hands, just as you have said.

7For thou art alone, and we all one workmanship of thine hands, like as thou hast said.

8For when the body is being shaped now in the mother's womb, and you give it its parts, what you made is kept safe in fire and water, and for nine months your handiwork carries the creature that is made inside her.

8For when the body is fashioned now in the mother’s womb, and thou givest it members, thy creature is preserved in fire and water, and nine months doth thy workmanship endure thy creature which is created in her.

Note"Preserved in fire and water" is obscure and has been explained in several ways. Ancient writers described the unborn child as formed and held among the basic elements, and the phrase seems to say that what God makes is guarded even in conditions that would destroy anything else.

9But the one that keeps and the one that is kept will both be kept safe. When the time comes, the womb that was kept safe gives up what grew inside it.

9But that which keepeth and is kept shall both be preserved: and when the time cometh, the womb preserved delivereth up the things that grew in it.

NoteThe keeper is the womb and the kept is the child. The point is that God keeps both, so that when the term is up the womb is still able to give up what grew in it.

10For you have commanded that out of the parts of the body, that is, out of the breasts, milk be given, which is the fruit of the breasts,

10For thou hast commanded out of the parts of the body, that is to say, out of the breasts, milk to be given, which is the fruit of the breasts,

11so that the one who has been shaped may be fed for a time, until you hand it over to your mercy.

11That the thing which is fashioned may be nourished for a time, till thou disposest it to thy mercy.

NoteKJV "till thou disposest it to thy mercy" means until you place it in the keeping of your mercy, that is, hand it on to the next stage of your care.

12You brought it up with your righteousness, taught it in your law, and corrected it with your judgment.

12Thou broughtest it up with thy righteousness, and nurturedst it in thy law, and reformedst it with thy judgment.

13And you will put it to death as your creature, and make it alive as your work.

13And thou shalt mortify it as thy creature, and quicken it as thy work.

NoteKJV "mortify" means put to death, and "quicken" means make alive. Both were ordinary words in 1611 that have since narrowed or dropped out of use.

14So if you destroy the one who was shaped with such great labor, it is an easy thing to be ordered by your command that the thing which was made should be kept alive.

14If therefore thou shalt destroy him which with so great labour was fashioned, it is an easy thing to be ordained by thy commandment, that the thing which was made might be preserved.

NoteThe Latin ends the verse with a question: if you destroy the one it cost you so much labor to make, what was the point of making him? The 1611 translators worked from a difficult reading and produced a different sense, which the rendering follows.

15Now then, Lord, I will speak. About people in general, you know best; but about your people, for whose sake I am sorry,

15Now therefore, Lord, I will speak; touching man in general, thou knowest best; but touching thy people, for whose sake I am sorry;

16and about your inheritance, for whose sake I mourn, and about Israel, for whom I am heavy with grief, and about Jacob, for whose sake I am troubled

16And for thine inheritance, for whose cause I mourn; and for Israel, for whom I am heavy; and for Jacob, for whose sake I am troubled;

Note"Thine inheritance" is a standard term for Israel: the nation is spoken of as the property or portion God has kept for himself. "Jacob" is the ancestor whose other name was Israel, and his name stands here for his descendants as a people.

17for these I will begin to pray before you, for myself and for them, because I see the falls of us who live in the land.

17Therefore will I begin to pray before thee for myself and for them: for I see the falls of us that dwell in the land.

NoteKJV "the falls" means failures or lapses, moral stumbles rather than physical falls. "The land" is the land of Israel.

18But I have heard about the swiftness of the judge who is to come.

18But I have heard the swiftness of the judge which is to come.

19So hear my voice, understand my words, and I will speak before you." This is the beginning of the words of Esdras, before he was taken up. And I said:

19Therefore hear my voice, and understand my words, and I shall speak before thee. This is the beginning of the words of Esdras, before he was taken up: and I said,

NoteThe sentence beginning "This is the beginning of the words of Esdras" is a copyist's or editor's heading that has been absorbed into the text, not part of the speech. "Taken up" means carried away from the earth without dying, as Enoch and Elijah were said to have been; the book describes this happening to Esdras at its close. The prayer that follows, verses 20 to 36, circulated separately in the Middle Ages under the title Confession of Ezra and was used as a prayer in its own right.

20"O Lord, you who live in what never ends, who look down from above on the things in the heavens and in the air;

20O Lord, thou that dwellest in everlastingness which beholdest from above things in the heaven and in the air;

21whose throne cannot be measured, whose glory cannot be grasped, before whom the armies of angels stand trembling,

21Whose throne is inestimable; whose glory may not be comprehended; before whom the hosts of angels stand with trembling,

22whose service is carried out in wind and fire, whose word is true and whose sayings are steady, whose command is strong and whose ruling is to be feared,

22Whose service is conversant in wind and fire; whose word is true, and sayings constant; whose commandment is strong, and ordinance fearful;

NoteKJV "conversant in wind and fire" draws on Psalm 104:4, read in this period as saying that God makes his angels winds and his servants flames of fire. The angels take the form of wind and fire to carry out his errands.

23whose look dries up the deep waters, and whose anger makes the mountains melt away, and the truth bears witness to this

23Whose look drieth up the depths, and indignation maketh the mountains to melt away; which the truth witnesseth:

Note"The depths" are the seas and the deep waters thought to lie under the earth; the picture is of the ocean drying up under a single look.

24hear the prayer of your servant, and listen to the request of your creature.

24O hear the prayer of thy servant, and give ear to the petition of thy creature.

25For as long as I live I will speak, and as long as I have understanding I will answer.

25For while I live I will speak, and so long as I have understanding I will answer.

26Do not look at the sins of your people, but at those who serve you in truth.

26O look not upon the sins of thy people; but on them which serve thee in truth.

27Do not pay attention to the wicked schemes of the nations, but to the longing of those who keep your covenant laws while they suffer.

27Regard not the wicked inventions of the heathen, but the desire of those that keep thy testimonies in afflictions.

NoteKJV "heathen" translates a word meaning simply the nations, the peoples other than Israel. It does not carry the later English sense of savage or irreligious. KJV "testimonies" means the commandments considered as the stated terms of the covenant, the things God has testified to.

28Do not think about those who have lived falsely in front of you, but remember those who, in keeping with your will, have known the fear of you.

28Think not upon those that have walked feignedly before thee: but remember them, which according to thy will have known thy fear.

29Do not let it be your will to destroy those who have lived like animals, but to look at those who have taught your law clearly.

29Let it not be thy will to destroy them which have lived like beasts; but to look upon them that have clearly taught thy law.

30Do not be angry at those who are judged worse than animals, but love those who have always put their trust in your righteousness and glory.

30Take thou no indignation at them which are deemed worse than beasts; but love them that always put their trust in thy righteousness and glory.

31For we and our ancestors waste away with such sicknesses; but because of us sinners you will be called merciful.

31For we and our fathers do languish of such diseases: but because of us sinners thou shalt be called merciful.

NoteThe prayer treats wrongdoing as an inherited illness running through the generations, and the rendering keeps that medical image.

32For if you want to show mercy to us, you will be called merciful, to us, that is, who have no works of righteousness.

32For if thou hast a desire to have mercy upon us, thou shalt be called merciful, to us namely, that have no works of righteousness.

33For the just, who have many good works stored up with you, will receive their reward out of their own deeds.

33For the just, which have many good works laid up with thee, shall out of their own deeds receive reward.

NoteKJV "laid up with thee" pictures good deeds as money deposited in a treasury and held safe until it is paid back out to the depositor.

34For what is a human being, that you should be displeased with him? Or what is a race that decays, that you should be so bitter toward it?

34For what is man, that thou shouldest take displeasure at him? or what is a corruptible generation, that thou shouldest be so bitter toward it?

35For truly there is no one among those who are born who has not acted wickedly, and among the faithful there is no one who has not done wrong.

35For in truth them is no man among them that be born, but he hath dealt wickedly; and among the faithful there is none which hath not done amiss.

36For in this, O Lord, your righteousness and your goodness will be shown: if you are merciful to those who have no good works to rely on."

36For in this, O Lord, thy righteousness and thy goodness shall be declared, if thou be merciful unto them which have not the confidence of good works.

37Then he answered me and said: "Some things you have spoken rightly, and it will happen according to your words.

37Then answered he me, and said, Some things hast thou spoken aright, and according unto thy words it shall be.

38For indeed I will not think about the forming of those who have sinned, or about their death, or their judgment, or their destruction;

38For indeed I will not think on the disposition of them which have sinned before death, before judgment, before destruction:

NoteKJV "disposition" here means the arranging or shaping of something at its making, not a person's temperament. The same word carries into the next verse.

39but I will be glad over the forming of the righteous, and I will also remember their journey as strangers, and the rescue and the reward that they will have.

39But I will rejoice over the disposition of the righteous, and I will remember also their pilgrimage, and the salvation, and the reward, that they shall have.

NoteKJV "pilgrimage" means the whole span of a life lived as a stranger away from home, the sense it usually has in older English. It does not mean a journey to a shrine.

40Just as I have spoken now, so it will happen.

40Like as I have spoken now, so shall it come to pass.

41For the farmer sows much seed on the ground and plants many trees, and yet what is sown does not all come up in its season, and not everything planted takes root. It is the same with those who are sown in the world; they will not all be saved."

41For as the husbandman soweth much seed upon the ground, and planteth many trees, and yet the thing that is sown good in his season cometh not up, neither doth all that is planted take root: even so is it of them that are sown in the world; they shall not all be saved.

NoteKJV "husbandman" means a farmer, a man who works the soil; "husbandry" was farming.

42Then I answered and said: "If I have found favor, let me speak.

42I answered then and said, If I have found grace, let me speak.

43The farmer's seed dies if it does not come up and does not get your rain at the right time, or if too much rain comes and ruins it.

43Like as the husbandman’s seed perisheth, if it come not up, and receive not thy rain in due season; or if there come too much rain, and corrupt it:

44In the same way a human being dies too, who is formed with your hands and is called your own image, because you are like him; and for his sake you made all things, and you have made him like the farmer's seed.

44Even so perisheth man also, which is formed with thy hands, and is called thine own image, because thou art like unto him, for whose sake thou hast made all things, and likened him unto the husbandman’s seed.

Note"Called thine own image" points back to Genesis 1, where humankind is made in God's image. The Latin says that the man is made like God; KJV "because thou art like unto him" reverses the direction, and the rendering follows KJV.

45Do not be angry with us, but spare your people and have mercy on your own inheritance, for you are merciful to what you have made."

45Be not wroth with us but spare thy people, and have mercy upon thine own inheritance: for thou art merciful unto thy creature.

46Then he answered me and said: "Things that are here now are for those who are here now, and things to come are for those who are to come.

46Then answered he me, and said, Things present are for the present, and things to cometh for such as be to come.

47For you fall far short of being able to love what I made more than I love it. But I have many times come near to you, and to it, but never to the unrighteous.

47For thou comest far short that thou shouldest be able to love my creature more than I: but I have ofttimes drawn nigh unto thee, and unto it, but never to the unrighteous.

NoteThe Latin of this line reads roughly: you have often counted yourself among the unrighteous, which you must never do. KJV "I have ofttimes drawn nigh unto thee" takes the words instead as God describing his own approach to Esdras, and the rendering follows KJV.

48In this too you are remarkable before the Most High:

48In this also thou art marvellous before the most High:

49in that you have humbled yourself, as fits you, and have not judged yourself worthy of great glory among the righteous.

49In that thou hast humbled thyself, as it becometh thee, and hast not judged thyself worthy to be much glorified among the righteous.

50For many great miseries will be done to those who live in the world in the later time, because they have walked in great pride.

50For many great miseries shall be done to them that in the latter time shall dwell in the world, because they have walked in great pride.

51But understand for yourself, and search out the glory that belongs to those like you.

51But understand thou for thyself, and seek out the glory for such as be like thee.

52For paradise is opened to you, the tree of life is planted, the time to come is prepared, plenty is made ready, a city is built, and rest is granted, yes, and goodness and wisdom made complete.

52For unto you is paradise opened, the tree of life is planted, the time to come is prepared, plenteousness is made ready, a city is builded, and rest is allowed, yea, perfect goodness and wisdom.

Note"Paradise" came into Greek from a Persian word for a walled park or garden, and is used both for the garden of Eden and for the restored garden expected at the end of the age. The tree of life stands in the middle of the garden in Genesis 2 and 3. KJV "a city is builded" refers to the heavenly Jerusalem, pictured as already built and waiting.

53The root of evil is sealed away from you, weakness and the moth are hidden from you, and decay has fled into hell to be forgotten.

53The root of evil is sealed up from you, weakness and the moth is hid from you, and corruption is fled into hell to be forgotten:

NoteKJV "the moth" stands for slow, silent ruin, the insect that eats stored cloth. KJV "hell" here translates the Latin word for the underworld, the place where the dead are held, rather than a place of fire and punishment.

54Sorrows have passed, and at the end the treasure of never dying is shown.

54Sorrows are passed, and in the end is shewed the treasure of immortality.

55So ask no more questions about the great number of those who perish.

55And therefore ask thou no more questions concerning the multitude of them that perish.

56For when they had received freedom, they looked down on the Most High, treated his law with scorn, and abandoned his ways.

56For when they had taken liberty, they despised the most High, thought scorn of his law, and forsook his ways.

NoteKJV "taken liberty" means received freedom: they were given the freedom to choose, and this is what they did with it.

57What is more, they have trampled down his righteous ones,

57Moreover they have trodden down his righteous,

58and have said in their heart that there is no God, and they said it knowing that they must die.

58And said in their heart, that there is no God; yea, and that knowing they must die.

59For just as the things spoken of above will receive you, so thirst and pain are prepared for them. It was not his will that people should come to nothing;

59For as the things aforesaid shalt receive you, so thirst and pain are prepared for them: for it was not his will that men should come to nought:

60but those who were created have defiled the name of the one who made them, and were ungrateful to the one who prepared life for them.

60But they which be created have defiled the name of him that made them, and were unthankful unto him which prepared life for them.

61And so my judgment is now close at hand.

61And therefore is my judgment now at hand.

62I have not shown these things to everyone, but to you and to a few like you." Then I answered and said:

62These things have I not shewed unto all men, but unto thee, and a few like thee. Then answered I and said,

63"Look, O Lord, you have now shown me the great number of wonders that you will begin to do in the last times; but you have not shown me at what time."

63Behold, O Lord, now hast thou shewed me the multitude of the wonders, which thou wilt begin to do in the last times: but at what time, thou hast not shewed me.