King James Version · Under Rome
2 Esdras 7
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1And when I had made an end of speaking these words, there was sent unto me which had been sent unto me the nights afore: 2And he said unto me, Up, , and hear the words that I am come to tell thee. 3And I said, Speak on, my . Then said he unto me, The sea is set in a wide place, that it might be deep and great. 4But put the case the entrance were narrow, and like a river; 5Who then could go into the sea to look upon it, and to rule it? if he went not through the narrow, how could he come into the broad? 6There is also another thing; A city is builded, and set upon a broad field, and is full of all good things: 7The entrance thereof is narrow, and is set in a dangerous place to fall, like as if there were a on , and on the left a deep water: 8And one only path between them both, even between the and the water, so small that there could but one man go there at once. 9If this city now were given unto a man for an , if he never shall pass the danger set before it, how shall he receive this ? 10And I said, It is so, . Then said he unto me, Even so also is Israel’s . 11Because for their sakes I made the world: and when transgressed , then was decreed that now is done. 12Then were the entrances of this world made narrow, full of sorrow and travail: they are but few and evil, full of perils,: and very painful. 13For the entrances of the elder world were wide and sure, and brought immortal fruit. 14If then they that live labour not to enter these strait and things, they can never receive those that are laid up for them. 15Now therefore why disquietest thou thyself, seeing thou art but a corruptible man? and why art thou moved, whereas thou art but mortal? 16Why hast thou not considered in thy this thing that is to come, rather than that which is present? 17Then answered I and said, O that bearest rule, thou hast ordained in thy law, that should these things, but that the ungodly should . 18Nevertheless shall suffer strait things, and for wide: for they that have done wickedly have suffered the strait things, and yet shall not see the wide. 19And he said unto me. There is no judge above , and none that hath understanding above the Highest. 20For there be many that in this life, because they despise of that is set before them. 21For hath given strait to such as came, what they should do to live, even as they came, and what they should observe to avoid punishment. 22Nevertheless they were not obedient unto him; but spake against him, and imagined things; 23And deceived themselves by their deeds; and said of , that he is not; and knew not his ways: 24But have they despised, and denied his ; in his have they not been , and have not performed his works. 25And therefore, , for the empty are empty things, and for the full are the full things. 26Behold, the time shall come, that these tokens which I have told thee shall come to pass, and the shall appear, and she coming forth shall be seen, that now is withdrawn from the earth. 27And whosoever is from the foresaid evils shall see my wonders. 28For my son shall be with those that be with him, and they that shall rejoice within four hundred years. 29After these years shall my son Christ , and all men that have life. 30And the world shall be turned into the old silence seven days, like as in the former judgments: so that no man shall . 31And after seven days the world, that yet awaketh not, shall be up, and that shall that is corrupt 32And the earth shall restore those that are asleep in her, and so shall those that in silence, and the secret places shall those that were committed unto them. 33And shall appear upon the seat of , and misery shall pass away, and the long suffering shall have an end: 34But only shall , truth shall stand, and shall wax strong: 35And the work shall follow, and the reward shall be shewed, and the good deeds shall be of force, and deeds shall bear no rule. 36Then said I, first for the Sodomites, and for the fathers that in : 37And after him for Israel in the time of Achan: 38And and for the : and for them that should come to : 39And Helias for those that received ; and for , that he might live: 40And Ezechias for the people in the time of : and many for many. 41Even so now, seeing corruption is grown up, and wickedness increased, and have for the ungodly: wherefore shall it not be so now also? 42He answered me, and said, This present life is not the end where much doth ; therefore have they for the weak. 43But the day of doom shall be the end of this time, and the beginning of the immortality for to come, wherein corruption is past, 44Intemperance is at an end, infidelity is , is grown, and truth is sprung up. 45Then shall no man be able to him that is destroyed, nor to oppress him that hath gotten the victory. 46I answered then and said, This is my first and last saying, that it had been better not to have given the earth unto : or else, when it was given him, to have restrained him from sinning. 47For what profit is it for men now in this present time to live in heaviness, and after to look for punishment? 48O thou , what hast thou done? for though it was thou that , thou art not fallen alone, but we all that come of thee. 49For what profit is it unto us, if there be promised us an immortal time, whereas we have done the works that bring ? 50And that there is promised us an , whereas ourselves being most are made ? 51And that there are laid up for us dwellings of health and safety, whereas we have lived wickedly? 52And that the of is kept to defend them which have led a wary life, whereas we have walked in the most ways of all? 53And that there should be shewed a , whose fruit endureth for ever, wherein is security and medicine, since we shall not enter into it? 54(For we have walked in unpleasant places.) 55And that the faces of them which have used abstinence shall shine above the stars, whereas our faces shall be blacker than ? 56For while we lived and committed , we considered not that we should begin to suffer for it after . 57Then answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the battle, which man that is born upon the earth shall fight; 58That, if he be overcome, he shall suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, he shall receive the thing that I say. 59For this is the life whereof spake unto the people while he lived, saying, Choose thee life, that thou mayest live. 60Nevertheless they not him, nor yet after him, no nor me which have spoken unto them, 61That there should not be such heaviness in their , as shall be joy over them that are persuaded to . 62I answered then, and said, I know, , that is called merciful, in that he hath mercy upon them which are not yet come into the world, 63And upon those also that turn to ; 64And that he is , and long suffereth those that have , as his creatures; 65And that he is bountiful, for he is ready to give where it needeth; 66And that he is of great mercy, for he multiplieth more and more to them that are present, and that are past, and also to them which are to come. 67For if he shall not multiply his , the world would not continue with them that therein. 68And he pardoneth; for if he did not so of his goodness, that they which have committed might be eased of them, the ten thousandth part of men should not living. 69And being judge, if he should not forgive them that are cured with his word, and put out of contentions, 70There should be very few left peradventure in an innumerable multitude.
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.