King James Version · Under Rome
2 Esdras 8
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1And he answered me, saying, hath made this world for many, but the world to come for few. 2I will tell thee a similitude, ; As when thou askest the earth, it shall say unto thee, that it giveth much mould whereof earthen vessels are made, but little that gold cometh of: even so is the course of this present world. 3There be many created, but few shall be . 4So answered I and said, Swallow then down, O , understanding, and devour . 5For thou hast agreed to give ear, and art willing to : for thou hast no longer space than only to live. 6O , if thou suffer not thy servant, that we may before thee, and thou give us unto our , and culture to our understanding, that there may come fruit of it; how shall each man live that is corrupt, who beareth the place of a man? 7For thou art alone, and we all one workmanship of thine hands, like as thou hast said. 8For when the body is fashioned now in the mother’s , and thou givest it members, thy creature is preserved in and water, and nine months doth thy workmanship thy creature which is created in her. 9But that which keepeth and is kept shall both be preserved: and when the time cometh, the preserved delivereth up the things that grew in it. 10For thou hast commanded out of the parts of the body, that is to say, out of the breasts, milk to be given, which is the fruit of the breasts, 11That the thing which is fashioned may be nourished for a time, till thou disposest it to thy mercy. 12Thou broughtest it up with thy , and nurturedst it in thy law, and reformedst it with thy . 13And thou shalt mortify it as thy creature, and quicken it as thy work. 14If therefore thou shalt destroy him which with so great labour was fashioned, it is an easy thing to be ordained by thy , that the thing which was made might be preserved. 15Now therefore, , I will speak; touching man in general, thou knowest best; but touching thy people, for whose sake I am sorry; 16And for thine , for whose cause I mourn; and for Israel, for whom I am heavy; and for , for whose sake I am troubled; 17Therefore will I begin to before thee for myself and for them: for I see the falls of us that in the land. 18But I have heard the swiftness of the judge which is to come. 19Therefore , and understand my words, and I shall speak before thee. This is the beginning of the words of , before he was taken up: and I said, 20O , thou that dwellest in everlastingness which beholdest from above things in the and in the air; 21Whose is inestimable; whose may not be comprehended; before whom the hosts of stand with trembling, 22Whose is conversant in wind and ; whose word is true, and sayings constant; whose is strong, and fearful; 23Whose look drieth up the depths, and maketh the mountains to melt away; which the truth witnesseth: 24O hear the of thy servant, and give ear to the petition of thy creature. 25For while I live I will speak, and so long as I have understanding I will answer. 26O look not upon the of thy people; but on them which thee in truth. 27Regard not inventions of the heathen, but the of those that keep thy testimonies in afflictions. 28Think not upon those that have walked feignedly before thee: but remember them, which according to thy will have known thy fear. 29Let it not be thy will to destroy them which have lived like ; but to look upon them that have clearly taught thy law. 30Take thou no at them which are deemed worse than ; but love them that always put their in thy and . 31For we and our fathers do languish of such diseases: but because of us thou shalt be called merciful. 32For if thou hast a to have mercy upon us, thou shalt be called merciful, to us namely, that have no works of . 33For the , which have many good works laid up with thee, shall out of their own deeds receive reward. 34For what is man, that thou shouldest take displeasure at him? or what is a corruptible generation, that thou shouldest be so bitter toward it? 35For in truth them is no man among them that be born, but he hath dealt wickedly; and among the there is none which hath not done amiss. 36For in this, O , thy and thy goodness shall be declared, if thou be merciful unto them which have not the confidence of good works. 37Then answered he me, and said, Some things hast thou spoken aright, and according unto thy words it shall be. 38For indeed I will not think on the disposition of them which have before , before , before : 39But I will rejoice over the disposition of , and I will remember also their pilgrimage, and the , and the reward, that they shall have. 40Like as I have spoken now, so shall it come to pass. 41For as the husbandman soweth much upon the ground, and planteth many trees, and yet the thing that is sown good in his season cometh not up, neither doth all that is planted take root: even so is it of them that are sown in the world; they shall not all be . 42I answered then and said, If I have found , let me speak. 43Like as the husbandman’s perisheth, if it come not up, and receive not thy in due season; or if there come too much , and corrupt it: 44Even so perisheth man also, which is formed with thy hands, and is called thine own , because thou art like unto him, for whose sake thou hast made all things, and likened him unto the husbandman’s . 45Be not wroth with us but spare thy people, and have mercy upon thine own : for thou art merciful unto thy creature. 46Then answered he me, and said, Things present are for the present, and things to cometh for such as be to come. 47For thou comest far short that thou shouldest be able to love my creature more than I: but I have ofttimes drawn nigh unto thee, and unto it, but never to the unrighteous. 48In this also thou art marvellous before : 49In that thou hast humbled thyself, as it becometh thee, and hast not judged thyself worthy to be much glorified among . 50For many great miseries shall be done to them that in the latter time shall in the world, because they have walked in great pride. 51But understand thou for thyself, and seek out the for such as be like thee. 52For unto you is opened, is planted, the time to come is prepared, plenteousness is made ready, a city is builded, and rest is allowed, yea, perfect goodness and . 53The root of evil is sealed up from you, weakness and the moth is hid from you, and corruption is fled into hell to be forgotten: 54Sorrows are passed, and in the end is shewed the of immortality. 55And therefore ask thou no more questions concerning of them that . 56For when they had taken , they despised , thought scorn of , and forsook his ways. 57Moreover they have trodden down his , 58And said in their , that there is no ; yea, and that knowing they must . 59For as the things aforesaid shalt receive you, so thirst and pain are prepared for them: for it was not his will that men should come to nought: 60But they which be created have defiled the name of him that made them, and were unthankful unto him which prepared life for them. 61And therefore is my now at hand. 62These things have I not shewed unto all men, but unto thee, and like thee. Then answered I and said, 63Behold, O , now hast thou shewed me of the wonders, which thou wilt begin to do in the last times: but at what time, thou hast not shewed 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.