King James Version · Under Rome
2 Esdras 16
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1Woe be unto thee, , and ! woe be unto thee, and ! 2Gird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail your children, and be sorry; for your is at hand. 3A is sent upon you, and who may turn it back? 4A is sent among you, and who may quench it? 5Plagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive them away? 6May any man drive away an hungry lion in the wood? or may any one quench the in stubble, when it hath begun to burn? 7May one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong archer? 8The mighty sendeth the plagues and who is he that can drive them away? 9A shall go forth from his , and who is he that may quench it? 10He shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? he shall thunder, and who shall not be afraid? 11 shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly beaten to powder at his ? 12The earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea ariseth up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are troubled, and the fishes thereof also, before , and before the of his : 13For strong is his that bendeth the bow, his arrows that he shooteth are sharp, and shall not miss, when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world. 14Behold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again, until they come upon the earth. 15The is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it consume the foundation of the earth. 16Like as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer returneth not backward: even so the plagues that shall be sent upon earth shall not return again. 17Woe is me! woe is me! who will me in those days? 18The beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the beginning of and great ; the beginning of wars, and the powers shall stand in fear; the beginning of evils! what shall I do when these evils shall come? 19Behold, and plague, tribulation and anguish, are sent as scourges for amendment. 20But for all these things they shall not turn from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges. 21Behold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that they shall think themselves to be in good case, and even then shall evils grow upon earth, , , and great confusion. 22For many of them that upon earth shall of ; and the other, that escape the , shall destroy. 23And shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be no man to comfort them: for the earth shall be wasted, and the cities shall be cast down. 24There shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow it 25The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them? 26The grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all places shall be desolate of men: 27So that one man shall to see another, and to hear his voice. 28For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks. 29As in an orchard of Olives upon every tree there are left three or four olives; 30Or as when a is gathered, there are left some clusters of them that diligently seek through the : 31Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by them that search their houses with . 32And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof shall wax old, and her ways and all her shall grow full of , because no man shall travel therethrough. 33The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no helpers. 34In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and their husbands shall of . 35Hear now these things and understand them, ye servants of . 36Behold, the word of , receive it: not the gods of whom spake. 37Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack. 38As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth her son, with two or three hours of her birth great pains compass her , which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment: 39Even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it on every side. 40O my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle, and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth. 41He that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he that buyeth, as one that will lose: 42He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not therein: 43He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that planteth the , as he that shall not gather the grapes: 44They that marry, as they that shall get ; and they that marry not, as the widowers. 45And therefore they that labour labour in : 46For strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children , for in and shall they get children. 47And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons: 48The more will I be angry with them for their , saith . 49Like as a whore envieth a right honest and virtuous woman: 50So shall hate , when she decketh herself, and shall accuse her to her , when he cometh that shall defend him that diligently searcheth out every upon earth. 51And therefore be ye not like thereunto, nor to the works thereof. 52For yet a little, and shall be taken away out of the earth, and shall reign among you. 53Let not the say that he hath not : for shall burn coals of upon his head, which saith before and his , I have not . 54Behold, knoweth all the works of men, their imaginations, their , and their : 55Which spake but the word, Let the earth be made; and it was made: Let the be made; and it was created. 56In his word were the stars made, and he knoweth the number of them. 57He searcheth the deep, and the thereof; he hath measured the sea, and what it containeth. 58He hath shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his word hath he hanged the earth upon the waters. 59He spreadeth out like a vault; upon the waters hath he founded it. 60In hath he made springs of water, and pools upon the tops of the mountains, that the floods might pour down from the high rocks to water the earth. 61He made man, and put in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding. 62Yea and of Almighty , which made all things, and searcheth out all hidden things in the secrets of the earth, 63Surely he knoweth your inventions, and what ye think in your , even them that , and would hide their . 64Therefore hath exactly searched out all your works, and he will put you all to . 65And when your are brought forth, ye shall be before men, and your own shall be your accusers in that day. 66What will ye do? or how will ye hide your before and his ? 67Behold, himself is the judge, fear him: leave off from your , and forget your , to meddle no more with them for ever: so shall lead you forth, and you from all trouble. 68For, behold, the burning of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they shall take away certain of you, and feed you, being idle, with things offered unto idols. 69And they that consent unto them shall be had in derision and in , and trodden under foot. 70For there shall be in every place, and in the next cities, a great insurrection upon those that . 71They shall be like mad men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those that . 72For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of their houses. 73Then shall they be known, who are my chosen; and they shall be tried as the gold in the . 74Hear, O ye my beloved, saith : behold, the days of trouble are at hand, but I will you from the same. 75Be ye not afraid neither doubt; for is your guide, 76And the guide of them who keep my and precepts, saith : let not your weigh you down, and let not your lift up themselves. 77Woe be unto them that are bound with their , and covered with their like as a field is covered over with bushes, and thereof covered with , that no man may travel through! 78It is left undressed, and is cast into the to be consumed therewith.
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.