And I answered and said: “O Mighty, [Eternal One],17 hallowed by Thy power! Be favourable to my petition, [for for this h ast Th ou b rough t me up here—and shew me].18 As Thou hast brought me up to Thy height, so make [this] 17 known to me, Thy beloved one, as much as I ask—whether what I saw shall happen to them for long?”19

The writer obviously has in min d t h e op erat ions of the Romans under Titus, which ended in the d es t r u ct i o n of the Temple by fire in A.D. 70. For the burning an d pillaging of the Temple cf. Joseph us, War, vi. 4, 5 f.; cf. also 4 Ezra x. 21 f. Of those wh o were not killed in the Roman war, some were reserv ed for the victor’s triumph, some for the arena, an d the rest were sold as slaves; cf. Josephus, War, vi. 9, 2 f. 4 Omitted by S. A, from now onward. K, angered. 7 Lit. so much. A omits. Israel’s captivity and sufferings are due to lapse into idolatry. 10 So A K; but S omits. A omits but. Something has fallen out of the text here. So A K; S, this. [The sent ence O E t ernal Mighty One... his (?) righteousness is rendered according to the text of A K; the text of S here is not in order.] 14 So K; A, him; S omits. So S; A K, the type (set) by. The “kings” and “righ teous -dealin g rulers” referred to are, presumably, such as David, Hezekiah, and Jo si ah, un der whose rule the claims of righteousness were recognised and the sovereignty of God, to some extent, realised. Lit. “for them” (=? “ for themselves”)—from the righteous rulers s pr i n g sons who are faithless to their heritage (such as Manasseh). The sentence is obscure, and the meaning uncertain. S omits. Omitted accidentally in S (by homoioteleuton, “brought up... brought up”). Cf. 4 Ezra iv. 33 ff.

And He showed me a multitude of His people, an d said to me: “On their account through four issues,1 as thou sawest, I shall be provoked by them, and in these2 my retribution for their deeds shall be (accomplished). But in the fourth outgoing3 of a hundred years4 and one hour of the age—the same is a hundred years5—it shall be in misfortune among the heathen [but one hour in mercy and contumely, as among the heathen].”6