King James Version · Under Rome
2 Esdras 6
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1And he said unto me, , when the earth was made, before the borders of the world stood, or ever the winds blew, 2Before it thundered and lightened, or ever the foundations of were laid, 3Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable powers were established, before the innumerable multitude of were gathered together, 4Or ever the heights of the air were lifted up, before the measures of the firmament were named, or ever the chimneys in were hot, 5And ere the present years were sought out, and or ever the inventions of them that now were turned, before they were sealed that have gathered for a : 6Then did I consider these things, and they all were made through me alone, and through none other: by me also they shall be ended, and by none other. 7Then answered I and said, What shall be the parting asunder of the times? or when shall be the end of the first, and the beginning of it that followeth? 8And he said unto me, From unto , when and were born of him, ’s hand held first the heel of . 9For is the end of the world, and is the beginning of it that followeth. 10The hand of man is betwixt the heel and the hand: other question, , ask thou not. 11I answered then and said, O that bearest rule, if I have found in thy sight, 12I beseech thee, shew thy servant the end of thy tokens, whereof thou shewedst me part the last night. 13So he answered and said unto me, Stand up upon thy feet, and hear a mighty sounding voice. 14And it shall be as it were a great motion; but the place where thou standest shall not be moved. 15And therefore when it speaketh be not afraid: for the word is of the end, and the foundation of the earth is understood. 16And why? because the speech of these things trembleth and is moved: for it knoweth that the end of these things must be changed. 17And it happened, that when I had heard it I stood up upon my feet, and hearkened, and, behold, there was a voice that spake, and the sound of it was like the sound of many waters. 18And it said, Behold, the days come, that I will begin to draw nigh, and to visit them that upon the earth, 19And will begin to make inquisition of them, what they be that have hurt unjustly with their unrighteousness, and when the affliction of shall be fulfilled; 20And when the world, that shall begin to vanish away, shall be finished, then will I shew these tokens: the books shall be opened before the firmament, and they shall see all together: 21And the children of a year old shall speak with their voices, the women with child shall bring forth untimely children of three or four months old, and they shall live, and be up. 22And suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, the full storehouses shall suddenly be found empty: 23And the shall give a sound, which when every man heareth, they shall be suddenly afraid. 24At that time shall friends fight one against another like , and the earth shall stand in fear with those that therein, the springs of the fountains shall stand still, and in three hours they shall not run. 25Whosoever remaineth from all these that I have told thee shall escape, and see my , and the end of your world. 26And the men that are received shall see it, who have not tasted from their birth: and of the inhabitants shall be changed, and turned into another meaning. 27For evil shall be put out, and deceit shall be quenched. 28As for , it shall flourish, corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which hath been so long without fruit, shall be declared. 29And when he talked with me, behold, I looked by little and little upon him before whom I stood. 30And these words said he unto me; I am come to shew thee the time of the night to come. 31If thou wilt yet more, and seven days again, I shall tell thee greater things by day than I have heard. 32For thy voice is heard before : for the Mighty hath seen thy dealing, he hath seen also thy chastity, which thou hast had ever since thy youth. 33And therefore hath he sent me to shew thee all these things, and to say unto thee, Be of good comfort and fear not 34And hasten not with the times that are past, to think things, that thou mayest not hasten from the latter times. 35And it came to pass after this, that I wept again, and seven days in like manner, that I might fulfil the three weeks which he told me. 36And in the eighth night was vexed within me again, and I began to speak before . 37For was greatly set on , and was in distress. 38And I said, O , thou spakest of the creation, even the first day, and saidst thus; Let and earth be made; and thy word was a perfect work. 39And then was , and and silence were on every side; the sound of man’s voice was not yet formed. 40Then commandedst thou a fair to come forth of thy , that thy work might appear. 41Upon the second day thou madest of the firmament, and commandedst it to part asunder, and to make a division betwixt the waters, that the one part might go up, and the other beneath. 42Upon the third day thou didst command that the waters should be gathered in the seventh part of the earth: six pats hast thou dried up, and kept them, to the intent that of these some being planted of and tilled might thee. 43For as soon as thy word went forth the work was made. 44For immediately there was great and innumerable fruit, and many and divers pleasures for the taste, and flowers of unchangeable colour, and odours of wonderful smell: and this was done the third day. 45Upon the fourth day thou commandedst that the sun should shine, and the moon give her , and the stars should be in order: 46And gavest them a charge to do unto man, that was to be made. 47Upon the fifth day thou saidst unto the seventh part, where the waters were gathered that it should bring forth living creatures, fowls and fishes: and so it came to pass. 48For the dumb water and without life brought forth living things at the of , that all people might thy wondrous works. 49Then didst thou ordain two living creatures, the one thou calledst , and the other Leviathan; 50And didst separate the one from the other: for the seventh part, namely, where the water was gathered together, might not hold them both. 51Unto thou gavest one part, which was dried up the third day, that he should in the same part, wherein are a thousand hills: 52But unto Leviathan thou gavest the seventh part, namely, the moist; and hast kept him to be devoured of whom thou wilt, and when. 53Upon the sixth day thou gavest unto the earth, that before thee it should bring forth , cattle, and creeping things: 54And after these, also, whom thou madest of all thy creatures: of him come we all, and the people also whom thou hast chosen. 55All this have I spoken before thee, O , because thou madest the world for our sakes 56As for the other people, which also come of , thou hast said that they are nothing, but be like unto spittle: and hast likened the abundance of them unto a drop that falleth from a . 57And now, O , behold, these heathen, which have ever been reputed as nothing, have begun to be lords over us, and to devour us. 58But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy , thy only begotten, and thy fervent lover, are given into their hands. 59If the world now be made for our sakes, why do we not possess an with the world? how long shall this ?
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.