King James Version · Under Rome
2 Esdras 5
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1Nevertheless as coming the tokens, behold, the days shall come, that they which upon earth shall be taken in a great number, and of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be of . 2But shall be increased above that which now thou seest, or that thou hast heard long ago. 3And the land, that thou seest now to have root, shalt thou see wasted suddenly. 4But if grant thee to live, thou shalt see after the third that the sun shall suddenly shine again in the night, and the moon thrice in the day: 5And shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give his voice, and the people shall be troubled: 6And even he shall rule, whom they look not for that upon the earth, and the fowls shall take their flight away together: 7And the Sodomitish sea shall cast out fish, and make a noise in the night, which many have not known: but they shall all hear the voice thereof. 8There shall be a confusion also in many places, and the shall be oft sent out again, and the wild shall change their places, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters: 9And salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall destroy one another; then shall wit hide itself, and understanding withdraw itself into his secret chamber, 10And shall be sought of many, and yet not be found: then shall unrighteousness and incontinency be multiplied upon earth. 11One land also shall ask another, and say, Is that maketh a man gone through thee? And it shall say, No. 12At the same time shall men , but nothing obtain: they shall labour, but their ways shall not prosper. 13To shew thee such tokens I have leave; and if thou wilt again, and weep as now, and even days, thou shalt hear yet greater things. 14Then I awaked, and an extreme fearfulness went through all my body, and my was troubled, so that it fainted. 15So that was come to talk with me held me, comforted me, and set me up upon my feet. 16And in the second night it came to pass, that Salathiel the captain of the people came unto me, saying, Where hast thou been? and why is thy countenance so heavy? 17Knowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the land of their ? 18Up then, and eat bread, and forsake us not, as the that leaveth his flock in the hands of cruel wolves. 19Then said I unto him, Go thy ways from me, and come not nigh me. And he heard what I said, and went from me. 20And so I seven days, and weeping, like as commanded me. 21And after seven days so it was, that the of were very grievous unto me again, 22And recovered of understanding, and I began to talk with again, 23And said, O that bearest rule, of every wood of the earth, and of all the trees thereof, thou hast chosen thee one only : 24And of all lands of the whole world thou hast chosen thee one pit: and of all the flowers thereof one lily: 25And of all the depths of the sea thou hast filled thee one river: and of all builded cities thou hast hallowed unto thyself: 26And of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee one : and of all the cattle that are made thou hast provided thee one sheep: 27And among all the of people thou hast gotten thee one people: and unto this people, whom thou lovedst, thou gavest a law that is approved of all. 28And now, O , why hast thou given this one people over unto many? and upon the one root hast thou prepared others, and why hast thou scattered thy only one people among many? 29And they which did gainsay thy promises, and not thy , have trodden them down. 30If thou didst so much hate thy people, yet shouldest thou punish them with thine own hands. 31Now when I had spoken these words, that came to me the night afore was sent unto me, 32And said unto me, Hear me, and I will instruct thee; to the thing that I say, and I shall tell thee more. 33And I said, Speak on, my . Then said he unto me, Thou art sore troubled in for Israel’s sake: lovest thou that people better than he that made them? 34And I said, No, : but of very grief have I spoken: for my reins pain me every hour, while I labour to comprehend of , and to seek out part of his . 35And he said unto me, Thou canst not. And I said, Wherefore, ? whereunto was I born then? or why was not my mother’s then my , that I might not have seen the travail of , and the wearisome toil of the stock of Israel? 36And he said unto me, Number me the things that are not yet come, gather me together the dross that are scattered abroad, make me the flowers green again that are withered, 37Open me the places that are closed, and bring me forth the winds that in them are shut up, shew me the of a voice: and then I will declare to thee the thing that thou labourest to know. 38And I said, O that bearest rule, who may know these things, but he that hath not his dwelling with men? 39As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things whereof thou askest me? 40Then said he unto me, Like as thou canst do none of these things that I have spoken of, even so canst thou not find out my , or in the end the love that I have promised unto my people. 41And I said, Behold, O , yet art thou nigh unto them that be reserved till the end: and what shall they do that have been before me, or we that be now, or they that shall come after us? 42And he said unto me, I will liken my unto a ring: like as there is no slackness of the last, even so there is no swiftness of the first. 43So I answered and said, Couldest thou not make those that have been made, and be now, and that are for to come, at once; that thou mightest shew thy the sooner? 44Then answered he me, and said, The creature may not haste above the maker; neither may the world hold them at once that shall be created therein. 45And I said, As thou hast said unto thy servant, that thou, which givest life to all, hast given life at once to the creature that thou hast created, and the creature it: even so it might now also bear them that now be present at once. 46And he said unto me, Ask the of a woman, and say unto her, If thou bringest forth children, why dost thou it not together, but one after another? her therefore to bring forth ten children at once. 47And I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time. 48Then said he unto me, Even so have I given the of the earth to those that be sown in it in their times. 49For like as a young child may not bring forth the things that belong to the aged, even so have I disposed the world which I created. 50And I asked, and said, Seeing thou hast now given me , I will proceed to speak before thee: for our mother, of whom thou hast told me that she is young, draweth now nigh unto age. 51He answered me, and said, Ask a woman that beareth children, and she shall tell thee. 52Say unto her, Wherefore are unto they whom thou hast now brought forth like those that were before, but less of stature? 53And she shall answer thee, They that be born in the the strength of youth are of one fashion, and they that are born in the time of age, when the faileth, are otherwise. 54Consider thou therefore also, how that ye are less of stature than those that were before you. 55And so are they that come after you less than ye, as the creatures which now begin to be old, and have passed over the strength of youth. 56Then said I, , I beseech thee, if I have found in thy sight, shew thy servant by whom thou visitest thy creature.
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.