King James Version · Under Rome
2 Esdras 10
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1And it so came to pass, that when my son was entered into his chamber, he fell down, and . 2Then we all overthrew the lights, and all my neighbours rose up to comfort me: so I took unto the second day at night. 3And it came to pass, when they had all left off to comfort me, to the end I might be quiet; then rose I up by night and fled, and came hither into this field, as thou seest. 4And I do now purpose not to return into the city, but here to stay, and neither to eat nor drink, but continually to mourn and to until I . 5Then left I the meditations wherein I was, and spake to her in , saying, 6Thou foolish woman above all other, seest thou not our , and what happeneth unto us? 7How that our mother is full of all heaviness, and much humbled, very sore? 8And now, seeing we all mourn and are sad, for we are all in heaviness, art thou grieved for one son? 9For ask the earth, and she shall tell thee, that it is she which ought to mourn for the fall of so many that grow upon her. 10For out of her came all at the first, and out of her shall all others come, and, behold, they walk almost all into , and a multitude of them is utterly rooted out. 11Who then should make more than she, that hath lost so great a multitude; and not thou, which art sorry but for one? 12But if thou sayest unto me, My is not like the earth’s, because I have lost the fruit of my , which I brought forth with pains, and with sorrows; 13But the earth not so: for present in it according to the course of the earth is gone, as it came: 14Then say I unto thee, Like as thou hast brought forth with labour; even so the earth also hath given her fruit, namely, man, ever since the beginning unto him that made her. 15Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage that which hath befallen thee. 16For if thou shalt the determination of to be , thou shalt both receive thy son in time, and shalt be commended among women. 17Go thy way then into the city to thine husband. 18And she said unto me, That will I not do: I will not go into the city, but here will I . 19So I proceeded to speak further unto her, and said, 20Do not so, but be counselled. by me: for how many are the adversities of ? be comforted in regard of the sorrow of . 21For thou seest that our sanctuary is laid waste, our broken down, our temple destroyed; 22Our psaltery is laid on the ground, our song is put to silence, our rejoicing is at an end, of our candlestick is put out, the ark of our is spoiled, our things are defiled, and the name that is called upon us is almost profaned: our children are , our priests are burnt, our are gone into , our virgins are defiled, and our wives ravished; our men , our little ones destroyed, our young men are brought in bondage, and our strong men are become weak; 23And, which is the greatest of all, the seal of hath now lost her ; for she is into the hands of them that hate us. 24And therefore shake off thy great heaviness, and of sorrows, that the Mighty may be merciful unto thee again, and the Highest shall give thee rest and ease from thy labour. 25And it came to pass while I was talking with her, behold, her upon a sudden shined exceedingly, and her countenance glistered, so that I was afraid of her, and mused what it might be. 26And, behold, suddenly she made a great cry very fearful: so that the earth shook at the noise of the woman. 27And I looked, and, behold, the woman appeared unto me no more, but there was a city builded, and a large place shewed itself from the foundations: then was I afraid, and cried with a loud voice, and said, 28Where is , who came unto me at the first? for he hath caused me to fall into many trances, and mine end is turned into corruption, and my to rebuke. 29And as I was speaking these words behold, he came unto me, and looked upon me. 30And, lo, I lay as one that had been , and mine understanding was taken from me: and he took me by , and comforted me, and set me upon my feet, and said unto me, 31What aileth thee? and why art thou so disquieted? and why is thine understanding troubled, and the of thine ? 32And I said, Because thou hast forsaken me, and yet I did according to thy words, and I went into the field, and, lo, I have seen, and yet see, that I am not able to express. 33And he said unto me, Stand up manfully, and I will advise thee. 34Then said I, Speak on, my , in me; only forsake me not, lest I frustrate of my . 35For I have seen that I knew not, and hear that I do not know. 36Or is my sense deceived, or in a ? 37Now therefore I beseech thee that thou wilt shew thy this . 38He answered me then, and said, Hear me, and I shall inform thee, and tell thee wherefore thou art afraid: for the Highest will many unto thee. 39He hath seen that thy way is right: for that thou sorrowest continually for thy people, and makest great for . 40This therefore is the meaning of the which thou lately sawest: 41Thou sawest a woman , and thou begannest to comfort her: 42But now seest thou the of the woman no more, but there appeared unto thee a city builded. 43And whereas she told thee of the of her son, this is the solution: 44This woman, whom thou sawest is : and whereas she said unto thee, even she whom thou seest as a city builded, 45Whereas, I say, she said unto thee, that she hath been thirty years : those are years wherein there was no made in her. 46But after thirty years builded the city and offered : and then the a son. 47And whereas she told thee that she nourished him with labour: that was the dwelling in . 48But whereas she said unto thee, That my son coming into his marriage chamber happened to have a fail, and : this was the that came to . 49And, behold, thou sawest her , and because she mourned for her son, thou begannest to comfort her: and of these things which have chanced, these are to be opened unto thee. 50For now seeth that thou art grieved unfeignedly, and sufferest from thy for her, so hath he shewed thee the brightness of her , and the comeliness of her beauty: 51And therefore I bade thee in the field where no house was builded: 52For I knew that the Highest would shew this unto thee. 53Therefore I commanded thee to go into the field, where no foundation of any building was. 54For in the place wherein the Highest beginneth to shew his city, there can no man’s building be able to stand. 55And therefore fear not, let not thine be affrighted, but go thy way in, and see the beauty and greatness of the building, as much as thine eyes be able to see: 56And then shalt thou hear as much as thine ears may comprehend. 57For thou art above many other, and art called with the Highest; and so are but few. 58But to morrow at night thou shalt here; 59And so shall the Highest shew thee of the high things, which will do unto them that upon the earth . So I slept that night and another, like as he commanded me.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.