[1] In the thirtieth year after the destruction of our city, I Salathiel,
who am also called Ezra, was in Babylon. I was troubled as I lay on my
bed, and my thoughts welled up in my heart,
[2] because I saw the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those
who lived in Babylon.
[3] My spirit was greatly agitated, and I began to speak anxious
words to the Most High, and said,
[4] "O sovereign Lord, didst thou not speak at the beginning
when thou didst form the earth -- and that without help -- and didst command
the dust
[5] and it gave thee Adam, a lifeless body? Yet he was the workmanship
of thy hands, and thou didst breathe into him the breath of life, and he
was made alive in thy presence.
[6] And thou didst lead him into the garden which thy right
hand had planted before the earth appeared.
[7] And thou didst lay upon him one commandment of thine; but
he transgressed it, and immediately thou didst appoint death for him and
for his descendants. From him there sprang nations and tribes, peoples
and clans without number.
[8] And every nation walked after its own will and did ungodly
things before thee and scorned thee, and thou didst not hinder them.
[9] But again, in its time thou didst bring the flood upon the
inhabitants of the world and destroy them.
[10] And the same fate befell them: as death came upon Adam,
so the flood upon them.
[11] But thou didst leave one of them, Noah with his household,
and all the righteous who have descended from him.
[12] "When those who dwelt on earth began to multiply, they
produced children and peoples and many nations, and again they began to
be more ungodly than were their ancestors.
[13] And when they were committing iniquity before thee, thou
didst choose for thyself one of them, whose name was Abraham;
[14] and thou didst love him, and to him only didst thou reveal
the end of the times, secretly by night.
[15] Thou didst make with him an everlasting covenant, and promise
him that thou wouldst never forsake his descendants; and thou gavest to
him Isaac, and to Isaac thou gavest Jacob and Esau.
[16] And thou didst set apart Jacob for thyself, but Esau thou
didst reject; and Jacob became a great multitude.
[17] And when thou didst lead his descendants out of Egypt,
thou didst bring them to Mount Sinai.
[18] Thou didst bend down the heavens and shake the earth, and
move the world, and make the depths to tremble, and trouble the times.
[19] And thy glory passed through the four gates of fire and
earthquake and wind and ice, to give the law to the descendants of Jacob,
and thy commandment to the posterity of Israel.
[20] "Yet thou didst not take away from them their evil heart,
so that thy law might bring forth fruit in them.
[21] For the first Adam, burdened with an evil heart, transgressed
and was overcome, as were also all who were descended from him.
[22] Thus the disease became permanent; the law was in the people's
heart along with the evil root, but what was good departed, and the evil
remained.
[23] So the times passed and the years were completed, and thou
didst raise up for thyself a servant, named David.
[24] And thou didst command him to build a city for thy name,
and in it to offer thee oblations from what is thine.
[25] This was done for many years; but the inhabitants of the
city transgressed,
[26] in everything doing as Adam and all his descendants had
done, for they also had the evil heart.
[27] So thou didst deliver the city into the hands of thy enemies.
[28] "Then I said in my heart, Are the deeds of those who inhabit
Babylon any better? Is that why she has gained dominion over Zion?
[29] For when I came here I saw ungodly deeds without number,
and my soul has seen many sinners during these thirty years. And my heart
failed me,
[30] for I have seen how thou dost endure those who sin, and
hast spared those who act wickedly, and hast destroyed thy people, and
hast preserved thy enemies,
[31] and hast not shown to any one how thy way may be comprehended.
Are the deeds of Babylon better than those of Zion?
[32] Or has another nation known thee besides Israel? Or what
tribes have so believed thy covenants as these tribes of Jacob?
[33] Yet their reward has not appeared and their labor has borne
no fruit. For I have traveled widely among the nations and have seen that
they abound in wealth, though they are unmindful of thy commandments.
[34] Now therefore weigh in a balance our iniquities and those
of the inhabitants of the world; and so it will be found which way the
turn of the scale will incline.
[35] When have the inhabitants of the earth not sinned in thy
sight? Or what nation has kept thy commandments so well?
[36] Thou mayest indeed find individual men who have kept thy
commandments, but nations thou wilt not find."
[1] Then the angel that had been sent to me, whose name was Uriel,
answered
[2] and said to me, "Your understanding has utterly failed regarding
this world, and do you think you can comprehend the way of the Most High?"
[3] Then I said, "Yes, my lord." And he replied to me, "I have
been sent to show you three ways, and to put before you three problems.
[4] If you can solve one of them for me, I also will show you
the way you desire to see, and will teach you why the heart is evil."
[5] I said, "Speak on, my lord." And he said to me, "Go, weigh
for me the weight of fire, or measure for me a measure of wind, or call
back for me the day that is past."
[6] I answered and said, "Who of those that have been born can
do this, that you ask me concerning these things?"
[7] And he said to me, "If I had asked you, `How many dwellings
are in the heart of the sea, or how many streams are at the source of the
deep, or how many streams are above the firmament, or which are the exits
of hell, or which are the entrances of paradise?'
[8] Perhaps you would have said to me, `I never went down into
the deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever ascend into heaven.'
[9] But now I have asked you only about fire and wind and the
day, things through which you have passed and without which you cannot
exist, and you have given me no answer about them!"
[10] And he said to me, "You cannot understand the things with
which you have grown up;
[11] how then can your mind comprehend the way of the Most High?
And how can one who is already worn out by the corrupt world understand
incorruption?" When I heard this, I fell on my face
[12] and said to him, "It would be better for us not to be here
than to come here and live in ungodliness, and to suffer and not understand
why."
[13] He answered me and said, "I went into a forest of trees
of the plain, and they made a plan
[14] and said, `Come, let us go and make war against the sea,
that it may recede before us, and that we may make for ourselves more forests.'
[15] And in like manner the waves of the sea also made a plan
and said, `Come, let us go up and subdue the forest of the plain so that
there also we may gain more territory for ourselves.'
[16] But the plan of the forest was in vain, for the fire came
and consumed it;
[17] likewise also the plan of the waves of the sea, for the
sand stood firm and stopped them.
[18] If now you were a judge between them, which would you undertake
to justify, and which to condemn?"
[19] I answered and said, "Each has made a foolish plan, for
the land is assigned to the forest, and to the sea is assigned a place
to carry its waves."
[20] He answered me and said, "You have judged rightly, but why
have you not judged so in your own case?
[21] For as the land is assigned to the forest and the sea to
its waves, so also those who dwell upon earth can understand only what
is on the earth, and he who is above the heavens can understand what is
above the height of the heavens."
[22] Then I answered and said, "I beseech you, my lord, why
have I been endowed with the power of understanding?
[23] For I did not wish to inquire about the ways above, but
about those things which we daily experience: why Israel has been given
over to the Gentiles as a reproach; why the people whom you loved has been
given over to godless tribes, and the law of our fathers has been made
of no effect and the written covenants no longer exist;
[24] and why we pass from the world like locusts, and our life
is like a mist, and we are not worthy to obtain mercy.
[25] But what will he do for his name, by which we are called?
It is about these things that I have asked."
[26] He answered me and said, "If you are alive, you will see,
and if you live long, you will often marvel, because the age is hastening
swiftly to its end.
[27] For it will not be able to bring the things that have been
promised to the righteous in their appointed times, because this age is
full of sadness and infirmities.
[28] For the evil about which you ask me has been sown, but
the harvest of it has not yet come.
[29] If therefore that which has been sown is not reaped, and
if the place where the evil has been sown does not pass away, the field
where the good has been sown will not come.
[30] For a grain of evil seed was sown in Adam's heart from
the beginning, and how much ungodliness it has produced until now, and
will produce until the time of threshing comes!
[31] Consider now for yourself how much fruit of ungodliness
a grain of evil seed has produced.
[32] When heads of grain without number are sown, how great
a threshing floor they will fill!"
[33] Then I answered and said, "How long and when will these
things be? Why are our years few and evil?"
[34] He answered me and said, "You do not hasten faster than
the Most High, for your haste is for yourself, but the Highest hastens
on behalf of many.
[35] Did not the souls of the righteous in their chambers ask
about these matters, saying, `How long are we to remain here? And when
will come the harvest of our reward?
[36] And Jeremiel the archangel answered them and said, `When
the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the
age in the balance,
[37] and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times
by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.'"
[38] Then I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, but all of
us also are full of ungodliness.
[39] And it is perhaps on account of us that the time of threshing
is delayed for the righteous -- on account of the sins of those who dwell
on earth."
[40] He answered me and said, "Go and ask a woman who is with
child if, when her nine months have been completed, her womb can keep the
child within her any longer."
[41] And I said, "No, lord, it cannot."
And he said to me, "In Hades the chambers of the souls are like the
womb.
[42] For just as a woman who is in travail makes haste to escape
the pangs of birth, so also do these places hasten to give back those things
that were committed to them from the beginning.
[43] Then the things that you desire to see will be disclosed
to you."
[44] I answered and said, "If I have found favor in your sight,
and if it is possible, and if I am worthy,
[45] show me this also: whether more time is to come than has
passed, or whether for us the greater part has gone by.
[46] For I know what has gone by, but I do not know what is
to come."
[47] And he said to me, "Stand at my right side, and I will
show you the interpretation of a parable."
[48] So I stood and looked, and behold, a flaming furnace passed
by before me, and when the flame had gone by I looked, and behold, the
smoke remained.
[49] And after this a cloud full of water passed before me and
poured down a heavy and violent rain, and when the rainstorm had passed,
drops remained in the cloud.
[50] And he said to me, "Consider it for yourself; for as the
rain is more than the drops, and the fire is greater than the smoke, so
the quantity that passed was far greater; but drops and smoke remained."
[51] Then I prayed and said, "Do you think that I shall live
until those days? Or who will be alive in those days?"
[52] He answered me and said, "Concerning the signs about which
you ask me, I can tell you in part; but I was not sent to tell you concerning
your life, for I do not know.
[1] "Now concerning the signs: behold, the days are coming when
those who dwell on earth shall be seized with great terror, and the way
of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith.
[2] And unrighteousness shall be increased beyond what you yourself
see, and beyond what you heard of formerly.
[3] And the land which you now see ruling shall be waste and
untrodden, and men shall see it desolate.
[4] But if the Most High grants that you live, you shall see
it thrown into confusion after the third period; and the sun shall suddenly
shine forth at night,and the moon during the day.
[5] Blood shall drip from wood,and the stone shall utter its
voice;the peoples shall be troubled, and the stars shall fall.
[6] And one shall reign whom those who dwell on earth do not
expect, and the birds shall fly away together;
[7] and the sea of Sodom shall cast up fish; and one whom the
many do not know shall make his voice heard by night, and all shall hear
his voice.
[8] There shall be chaos also in many places, and fire shall
often break out, and the wild beasts shall roam beyond their haunts, and
menstruous women shall bring forth monsters.
[9] And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends
shall conquer one another; then shall reason hide itself, and wisdom shall
withdraw into its chamber,
[10] and it shall be sought by many but shall not be found,
and unrighteousness and unrestraint shall increase on earth.
[11] And one country shall ask its neighbor, `Has righteousness,
or any one who does right, passed through you?' And it will answer, `No.'
[12] And at that time men shall hope but not obtain; they shall
labor but their ways shall not prosper.
[13] These are the signs which I am permitted to tell you, and
if you pray again, and weep as you do now, and fast for seven days, you
shall hear yet greater things than these."
[14] Then I awoke, and my body shuddered violently, and my soul
was so troubled that it fainted.
[15] But the angel who had come and talked with me held me and
strengthened me and set me on my feet.
[16] Now on the second night Phaltiel, a chief of the people,
came to me and said, "Where have you been? And why is your face sad?
[17] Or do you not know that Israel has been entrusted to you
in the land of their exile?
[18] Rise therefore and eat some bread, so that you may not
forsake us, like a shepherd who leaves his flock in the power of cruel
wolves."
[19] Then I said to him, "Depart from me and do not come near
me for seven days, and then you may come to me." He heard what I said and
left me.
[20] So I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, as Uriel the
angel had commanded me.
[21] And after seven days the thoughts of my heart were very
grievous to me again.
[22] Then my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and
I began once more to speak words in the presence of the Most High.
[23] And I said, "O sovereign Lord, from every forest of the
earth and from all its trees thou hast chosen one vine,
[24] and from all the lands of the world thou hast chosen for
thyself one region, and from all the flowers of the world thou hast chosen
for thyself one lily,
[25] and from all the depths of the sea thou hast filled for
thyself one river, and from all the cities that have been built thou hast
consecrated Zion for thyself,
[26] and from all the birds that have been created thou hast
named for thyself one dove, and from all the flocks that have been made
thou hast provided for thyself one sheep,
[27] and from all the multitude of peoples thou hast gotten
for thyself one people; and to this people, whom thou hast loved, thou
hast given the law which is approved by all.
[28] And now, O Lord, why hast thou given over the one to the
many, and dishonored the one root beyond the others, and scattered thine
only one among the many?
[29] And those who opposed thy promises have trodden down those
who believed thy covenants.
[30] If thou dost really hate thy people, they should be punished
at thy own hands."
[31] When I had spoken these words, the angel who had come to
me on a previous night was sent to me,
[32] and he said to me, "Listen to me, and I will instruct you;
pay attention to me, and I will tell you more."
[33] And I said, "Speak, my lord." And he said to me, "Are you
greatly disturbed in mind over Israel? Or do you love him more than his
Maker does?"
[34] And I said, "No, my lord, but because of my grief I have
spoken; for every hour I suffer agonies of heart, while I strive to understand
the way of the Most High and to search out part of his judgment."
[35] And he said to me, "You cannot." And I said, "Why not, my
lord? Why then was I born? Or why did not my mother's womb become my grave,
that I might not see the travail of Jacob and the exhaustion of the people
of Israel?"
[36] He said to me, "Count up for me those who have not yet come,
and gather for me the scattered raindrops, and make the withered flowers
bloom again for me;
[37] open for me the closed chambers, and bring forth for me
the winds shut up in them, or show me the picture of a voice; and then
I will explain to you the travail that you ask to understand."
[38] And I said, "O sovereign Lord, who is able to know these
things except he whose dwelling is not with men?
[39] As for me, I am without wisdom, and how can I speak concerning
the things which thou hast asked me?"
[40] He said to me, "Just as you cannot do one of the things
that were mentioned, so you cannot discover my judgment, or the goal of
the love that I have promised my people."
[41] And I said, "Yet behold, O Lord, thou dost have charge of
those who are alive at the end, but what will those do who were before
us, or we, or those who come after us?"
[42] He said to me, "I shall liken my judgment to a circle; just
as for those who are last there is no slowness, so for those who are first
there is no haste."
[43] Then I answered and said, "Couldst thou not have created
at one time those who have been and those who are and those who will be,
that thou mightest show thy judgment the sooner?"
[44] He replied to me and said, "The creation cannot make more
haste than the Creator, neither can the world hold at one time those who
have been created in it."
[45] And I said, "How hast thou said to thy servant that thou
wilt certainly give life at one time to thy creation? If therefore all
creatures will live at one time and the creation will sustain them, it
might even now be able to support all of them present at one time."
[46] He said to me, "Ask a woman's womb, and say to it, `If you
bear ten children, why one after another?' Request it therefore to produce
ten at one time."
[47] I said, "Of course it cannot, but only each in its own time."
[48] He said to me, "Even so have I given the womb of the earth
to those who from time to time are sown in it.
[49] For as an infant does not bring forth, and a woman who has
become old does not bring forth any longer, so have I organized the world
which I created."
[50] Then I inquired and said, "Since thou hast now given me
the opportunity, let me speak before thee. Is our mother, of whom thou
hast told me, still young? Or is she now approaching old age?"
[51] He replied to me, "Ask a woman who bears children, and she
will tell you.
[52] Say to her, "Why are those whom you have borne recently
not like those whom you bore before, but smaller in stature?'
[53] And she herself will answer you, `Those born in the strength
of youth are different from those born during the time of old age, when
the womb is failing.'
[54] Therefore you also should consider that you and your contemporaries
are smaller in stature than those who were before you,
[55] and those who come after you will be smaller than you,
as born of a creation which already is aging and passing the strength of
youth."
[56] And I said, "O Lord, I beseech thee, if I have found favor
in thy sight, show thy servant through whom thou dost visit thy creation."
