The Apocrypha

1 Another reading is, Take.

2 So the Syriac and Ethiopic.

3 So the

Syriac.

fulness of your glory: I call to wit-
37 ness my saviour openly. O receive
that which is given you of the Lord,
and be joyful, giving thanks unto
him that hath called you to heaven-
38 ly kingdoms. Arise up and stand,
and behold the number of those that
be sealed in the feast of the Lord;
39 they that withdrew them from the

shadow of the world have received
40 glorious garments of the Lord. 1 Look
upon thy number, O Sion, and make
up the reckoning of those of thine
that are clothed in white, which have
41 fulfilled the law of the Lord. The
number of thy children, whom thou
longedst for, is fulfilled: beseech the
power of the Lord, that thy people,
which have been called from the
beginning, may be hallowed.
42 I Esdras saw upon the mount
Sion a great multitude, whom I
could not number, and they all
43 praised the Lord with songs. And
in the midst of them there was a
young man of a high stature, taller
than all the rest, and upon every
one of their heads he set crowns,
and was more exalted; whereat Í
44 marvelled greatly. So I asked the
angel, and said, What are these, my
45 Lord? He answered and said unto
me, These be they that have put
off the mortal clothing, and put on
the immortal, and have confessed
the name of God: now are they
46 crowned, and receive palms. Then
said I unto the angel, What young
man is he that setteth crowns upon
them, and giveth them palms in
47 their hands? So he answered and
said unto me, It is the Son of God,
whom they have confessed in the
world. Then began I greatly to
commend them that stood so stiffly
48 for the name of the Lord. //Then
the angel said unto me, Go thy way,
and tell my people what manner of
things, and how great wonders of
the Lord God thou hast seen.

gressed, and immediately thou appointedst death for him and in his generations; and there were born of him nations and tribes, peoples 8 and kindreds, out of number. And every nation walked after their own will, and did ungodly things before thee, and despised thy commandments, and thou didst not forbid 9 them. Nevertheless again in process of time thou broughtest the flood upon those that dwelt in the 10 world, and destroyedst them. And it came to pass that the same hap befell them; like as death was to Adam, so was the flood to these. 11 Nevertheless one of them thou leftest, Noah with his household, even all the righteous men that came of 12 him. And it came to pass, that when they that dwelt upon the earth began to multiply, they multiplied also children, and peoples, and many nations, and began again to be more ungodly than the first. And it came to pass, when they did wickedly before thee, thou didst choose thee one from among them, whose name was Abraham; and him thou lovedst, and unto him only thou shewedst the end of the times secretly by night: and madest an everlasting covenant with him, promising him that thou wouldest never forsake his seed. And unto him thou gavest Isaac, and unto Isaac thou gavest Jacob and Esau. And thou didst set apart Jacob for thyself, but didst put by Esau: and Jacob became a great multitude. And it came to pass, that_when thou leddest his seed out of Egypt, thou broughtest them up to the mount Sinai. Thou bowedst the heavens also, and didst shake the 4 So some earth, and movedst the whole world, versions. and madest the depths to tremble, Lat. set and troubledst the course of that fast. age. And thy glory went through four gates, of fire, and of earthquake, and of wind, and of cold; that thou mightest give the law unto the seed of Jacob, and the commandment unto the generation 20 of Israel. And yet tookest thou

not away from them their 5 wicked 5 Or, heart, that thy law might bring corrupt 21 forth fruit in them. For the first

3 In the thirtieth year after the
ruin of the city, I Salathiel (the
same is Esdras) was in Babylon, and
lay troubled upon my bed, and my
thoughts came up over my heart:
2 for I saw the desolation of Sion,
and the wealth of them that dwelt
3 at Babylon. And my spirit was Adam bearing a 5 wicked heart trans-
sore moved, so that I began to gressed, and was overcome; and not
speak words full of fear to the Most he only, but all they also that are
4 High, and said, O Lord that bearest 22 born of him. Thus disease was
rule, didst thou not speak at the made permanent; and the law was
beginning, when thou didst fashion in the heart of the people along
the earth, and that thyself alone, with the wickedness of the root; 6 Or, cor-
5 and commandedst the 2 dust, and it so the good departed away, and that ruptness
3 gave thee Adam, a body without 23 which was 5wicked abode still. So the
a soul? yet it was the workmanship times passed away, and the years
of thine hands, and thou didst were brought to an end: then didst
breathe into him the breath of life, thou raise thee up a servant, called
and he was made living before thee. David, whom thou commandedst to
6 And thou leddest him into paradise, build a city unto thy name, and to
which thy right hand did plant, be- offer oblations unto thee therein of
fore ever the earth came forward. 25 thine own. When this was done
7 And unto him thou gavest thy one many years, then they that inhabit-
commandment: which he trans-126 ed the city did evil, in all things

1 Or, corrupt

2 So the

Syriac.
The
Latin

has how this way may be left.

3 After the Oriental versions.

4 So the
Syriac.

The
Latin

omits of hell? or which are the

paths.

doing even as Adam and all his generations had done: for they also 27 bare a wicked heart: and so thou gavest thy city over into the hands 28 of thine enemies. And I said then

in mine heart, Are their deeds any better that inhabit Babylon? and hath she therefore dominion over 29 Sion? For it came to pass when I came hither, that I saw also impieties without number, and my soul saw many evil-doers in this thirtieth year, so that my heart 30 failed me. For I have seen how thou sufferest them sinning, and hast spared the ungodly doers, and hast destroyed thy people, and hast preserved thine enemies; and thou 31 hast not signified unto any how thy way may be comprehended. Are the deeds of Babylon better 32 than those of Sion? Or is there any

other nation that knoweth thee beside Israel? or what tribes have so believed thy covenants as these 33 tribes of Jacob? And yet their reward appeareth not, and their labour hath no fruit: for I have gone hither and thither through the nations, and I see that they abound in wealth, and think not upon thy 34 commandments. Weigh thou therefore our iniquities now in the balance, and theirs also that dwell in the world; and so shall it be found which way the scale inclin35 eth. Or when was it that they which dwell upon the earth have not sinned in thy sight? or what nation hath so kept thy command36 ments? Thou shalt find that men who may be reckoned by name have kept thy precepts; but nations thou shalt not find.

4 And the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel, gave me 2 an answer, and said to me, Thy heart hath utterly failed thee in regarding this world, and thinkest thou to comprehend the way of the Most High? Then said I, Yea, my Lord.

And he answered me, and said, I am sent to shew thee three ways, and to set forth three similitudes before 4 thee whereof if thou canst declare me one, I also will shew thee the way that thou desirest to see, and I will teach thee wherefore the heart is 1 wicked.

And I said, Say on, my Lord.

Then said he unto me, Go to, weigh me a weight of fire, or measure me a measure of wind, or call me again the day that is past.

Then answered I and said, Who of the sons of men is able to do this, that thou shouldest ask me of such things?

And he said unto me, If I had asked thee, saying, How many dwellings are there in the heart of the sea? or how many springs are there at the fountain head of the deep? or how many 3 ways are above the firmament? or which are the outgoings of hell? or

10 He said moreover unto me, Thine thou own things, that are grown up with canst not 11 thee, canst thou not know; how be sepa then can thy vessel comprehend rated. the way of the Most High? and how can he that is already worn out with the corrupted world understand incorruption?

6 Syriac and thiopic,

the way of the incor

7 So the Syriac

thiopic.

and The Latin is corrupt. 8 So the

Oriental versions.

12 7 And when I heard these things I fell upon my face, and said unto him, It were better that we were not here at all, than that we should come hither and live in the midstruptible. of ungodliness, and suffer, and not know wherefore. 13 He answered me, and said, 8 The woods of the trees of the field went forth, and took counsel together, 14 and said, Come, let us go and make war against the sea, that it may depart away before us, and that we 15 may make us more woods. The waves of the sea also in like manner took counsel together, and said, Come, let us go up and subdue the wood of the plain, that there also we may make us another country. 16 The counsel of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and con17 sumed it: likewise also the counsel of the waves of the sea, for the sand stood up and stopped them. 18 If thou wert judge now betwixt these two, whom wouldest thou justify, or whom condemn?

I answered and said, It is a foolish counsel that they both have taken, for the ground is given unto the wood, and the place of the sea is given to bear his waves.

Then answered he me, and said, Thou hast given a right judgement, and why judgest thou not in thine 21 own case? For like as the ground is given unto the wood, and the sea to his waves, even so they that dwell upon the earth may understand nothing but that which is upon the earth: and he only that dwelleth above the heavens may understand the things that are above the height of the heavens.

Then answered I and said, I beseech thee, O Lord, 3wherefore is the power of understanding given 23 unto me? For it was not my mind to be curious of the ways above, but of such things as pass by us daily; because Israel is given up as a reproach to the heathen, and the people whom thou hast loved is given over unto ungodly nations, and the law of our forefathers is made of none effect, and the written cove

The Latin is corrupt. See Judg. ix. 8.

1 So the chief Oriental versions. The Latin is

corrupt.

2 So the Syriac.

3 So the Syriac and Ethiopic.

4 Or, threshing-floor

5 So the chief Oriental versions.

6 So the Syriac. The Latin is corrupt. 7 So the Syriac. The

Latin

has shall

I hope
on this
fashion?

8 Syr.

rest.

And he said unto me, In the grave the chambers of souls are like the womb: for like as a woman that travaileth maketh haste to escape the anguish of the travail: even so do these places haste to deliver those things that are committed unto them from the beginning. 43 Then shall it be shewed thee concerning those things which thou desirest to see.

Then answered he me, and said, If thou be alive, thou shalt see, and if thou livest long, thou shalt marvel; for the world hasteth fast 27 to pass away. For it is not able to bear the things that are promised to the righteous in the times to come: for this world is full of sad28 ness and infirmities. For the evil 3 whereof thou askest me is sown, but the gathering thereof is not yet 29 come. If therefore that which is sown be not reaped, and if the place where the evil is sown pass not away, there cannot come the 30 field where the good is sown. For 48 a grain of evil seed was sown in the heart of Adam from the beginning, and how much wickedness hath it brought forth unto this time! and how much shall it yet bring forth until the time of threshing come! 31 Ponder now by thyself, how great fruit of wickedness a grain of evil 32 seed hath brought forth. When the

ears which are without number shall be sown, how great a floor shall they fill!

Then I answered and said, 5 How long? and when shall these things come to pass? wherefore are our years few and evil?

34 And he answered me, and said, Thou dost not hasten more than the Most High: for thy haste is 6 for thine own self, but he that is above hasteneth on behalf of many. 35 Did not the souls of the righteous ask question of these things in their chambers, saying, How long are we here? when cometh the fruit of the 4 threshing time of our reward? 36 And unto them Jeremiel the archangel gave answer, and said, Even when the number is fulfilled of them that are like unto you. For he hath weighed the world in the 37 balance; and by measure hath he measured the times, and by number hath he numbered the seasons; and he shall not move nor stir them, until the said measure be fulfilled.

Then answered I and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, and if it be possible, and if I be meet therefore, shew me this also, whether there be more to come than is past, or whether the more part is gone over us. For what is gone I know, but what is for to come I know not.

47 And he said unto me, Stand up upon the right side, and I shall expound the similitude unto thee.

So I stood, and saw, and, behold, a hot burning oven passed by before me and it happened, that when the flame was gone by I looked, and, behold, the smoke remained still. After this there passed by before me a watery cloud, and sent down much rain with a storm; and when the stormy rain was past, the drops remained therein still.

Then said he unto me, Consider with thyself; as the rain is more than the drops, and as the fire is greater than the smoke, so the quantity which is past did more exceed; but the drops and the smoke remained still.

Then I prayed, and said, May I live, thinkest thou, until that time? or who shall be in those days?

He answered me, and said, As for the tokens whereof thou askest me, I may tell thee of them in part: but as touching thy life, I am not sent to shew thee; for I do not 5 know it. Nevertheless as concerning the tokens, behold, the days shall come, that they which dwell upon earth shall be taken 2with great amazement, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall 2 be barren of faith. But iniquity shall be increased above that which now thou seest, or that thou hast 3 heard long ago. And the land, that thou seest now to have rule, shall be waste and 2untrodden, and men 4 shall see it desolate. But if the Most High grant thee to live, thou shalt see that which is after the third kingdom to be troubled; and the sun shall suddenly shine forth in the night, and the moon in the day: 5 and blood shall drop out of wood, and the stone shall give his voice, and the peoples shall be troubled; and their goings shall be changed: 6 and he shall rule, whom they that ing to dwell upon the earth look not for, and the fowls shall take their 7 flight away together: and the So- the air. domitish sea shall cast out fish, and

9 Accord

some Oriental versions,

1 The Syriac has Psaltiel.

2 After the Oriental versions. The Latin has pit.

make a noise in the night, which many have not known: but all shall 8 hear the voice thereof. There shall be chaos also in many places, and the fire shall be oft sent out, and the wild beasts shall change their places, and women shall bring forth mon9 sters and salt waters shall be found in the sweet, and all friends shall destroy one another; then shall wit hide itself, and understanding with10 draw itself into its chamber; and it shall be sought of many, and shall not be found: and unrighteousness and incontinency shall be multiplied 11 upon earth. One land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness, is a man that doeth righteousness, gone through thee? And it 12 shall say, No. And it shall come to pass at that time that men shall hope, but shall not obtain: they shall labour, but their ways shall 13 not prosper. To shew thee such tokens I have leave; and if thou wilt pray again, and weep as now, and fast seven days, thou shalt hear yet greater things than these.

Then I awaked, and an extreme trembling went through my body, and my mind was troubled, so that 15 it fainted. So the angel that was come to talk with me held me, comforted me, and set me up upon 16 my feet. And in the second night it came to pass, that 1 Phaltiel the captain of the people came unto me, saying, Where hast thou been? and 17 why is thy countenance sad? or knowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the land of 18 their captivity? Up then, and eat some bread, and forsake us not, as the shepherd that leaveth his flock 19 in the hands of cruel wolves. Then said I unto him, Go thy ways from me, and come not nigh me for seven days, and then shalt thou come unto me. And he heard what I said, and went from me.

thee one people: and unto this
people, whom thou lovedst, thou
gavest a law that is approved of all.
And now, O Lord, why hast thou
given this one people over unto
many, and 3 hast dishonoured the 3 After
one root above others, and hast the
scattered thine only one
among versions.
many? And they which did gainsay The
thy promises have trodden them Latin
down that believed thy covenants. reads
If thou dost so much hate thy hast pre-
people, they should be punished with pared.

thine own hands.

Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the night afore was sent unto me, and said unto me, Hear me, and I I will instruct thee; hearken unto me, and I shall tell thee more.

And I said, Speak on, my Lord. Then said he unto me, Thou art sore troubled in mind for Israel's sake: lovest thou that people better than he that made them?

And I said, No, Lord: but of very grief have I spoken: for my reins torment me every hour, while I labour to comprehend the way of the Most High, and to seek out part of his judgement.

And he said unto me, Thou canst not. And I said, Wherefore, Lord, or whereunto was I born? or why was not my mother's womb then my grave, that I might not have seen the travail of Jacob, and the wearisome toil of the stock of Israel ?

And he said unto me, Number me them that are not yet come, gather me together the drops that are scattered abroad, make me the flowers green again that are withered, open me the chambers that are closed, and bring me forth the winds that in them are shut up, or shew me the image of a voice: and then I will declare to thee the travail that thou askest to see.

And I said, O Lord that bearest rule, who may know these things, but he that hath not his dwelling 39 with men? As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things whereof thou askest me?

And so I fasted seven days,
mourning and weeping, like as Uriel
21 the angel commanded me. And
after seven days so it was, that the
thoughts of my heart were very
22 grievous unto me again, and my
soul recovered the spirit of under-
standing, and I began to speak
words before the Most High again,
23 and said, O Lord that bearest rule,
of all the woods of the earth, and
of all the trees thereof, thou hast
24 chosen thee one vine: and of all the
lands of the world thou hast chosen
thee one 2 country: and of all the
flowers of the world thou hast
25 chosen thee one lily and of all the
depths of the sea thou hast filled
thee one river: and of all builded
cities thou hast hallowed Sion unto
26 thyself and of all the fowls that 42
are created thou hast named thee
one dove and of all the cattle that
are made thou hast provided thee
27 one sheep: and among all the mul-
titudes of peoples thou hast gotten | 43

Then 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 judgement, or the end of the love that I have promised unto my people.

And I said, But, fo, O Lord, thou hast made the promise unto them that be in the end: and what shall they do that have been before us, or we that be now, or they that shall come after us?

And he said unto me, I will liken my judgement unto a ring: like as there is no slackness of them that be last, even so there is no swiftness of them that be first.

So I answered and said, Couldest

Oriental

1 So the

Syriac.

2 The Latin omits If ...alive at once.

thou not make them to be at once
that have been made, and that be
now, and that are for to come;
that thou mightest shew thy judge-
ment the sooner?

Then answered he me, and said,
The creature may not haste above
the creator; neither may the world
hold them at once that shall be
created therein.

45 And I said, How hast thou said
unto thy servant, that thou wilt
surely make alive at once the
creature that thou hast created?
2 If therefore they shall be alive at
once, and the creature shall sustain
them even so it might now also
support them to be present at once.

And he said unto me, Ask the womb of a woman, and say unto her, If thou bringest forth ten children, why doest thou it at several times? pray her therefore to bring forth ten children at once.

And I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time.

Then said he unto me, Even so have I given the womb of the earth to those that be sown therein in 49 their several times. For like as a young child may not bring forth, neither she that is grown old bring forth any more, even so have I disposed the world which I created.

And I asked, and said, Seeing thou hast now shewed me the way, I will speak before thee: Is our mother, of whom thou hast told me, still young? or doth she now draw nigh unto age?

4 gether, or ever the heights of the
air were lifted up, before the mea-
sures of the firmament were named,
or ever the footstool of Sion 1 was
5 established, and ere the present
years were sought out, and or ever
the imaginations of them that now
sin were estranged, before they were
sealed that have gathered faith for
6 a treasure: then did I consider
these things, and they all were made
through me alone, and through
none other: as by me also they
shall be ended, and by none other.

Then 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?

And he said unto me, From

3 Abraham unto Abraham, inas-3 Perhaps
much as Jacob and Esau were born for
of him, for Jacob's hand held the Abram.
heel of Esau from the beginning.

9 For Esau is the end of this world,
and Jacob is the beginning of it
10 that followeth. 5The beginning of
a man is his hand, and the end of a
man is his heel; between the heel
and the hand seek thou nought
else, Esdras.

I answered then and said, O Lord that bearest rule, if I have found favour in thy sight, I beseech thee, shew thy servant the end of thy tokens, whereof thou shewedst me part the last night.

So he answered and said unto me, Stand up upon thy feet, and thou shalt hear a mighty sounding voice; 14 and if the place whereon thou 15 standest be greatly moved, when it

speaketh be not thou afraid: for the word is of the end, and the foundations of the earth shall 16 understand, that the speech is of them: they shall tremble and be moved for they know that their end must be changed.

He answered me, and said, Ask
a woman that beareth children, and
52 she shall tell thee. Say unto her,
Wherefore are not they whom thou
hast now brought forth like those
that were before, but less of stature?
53 And she also shall answer thee,
They that be born in the strength
of youth are of one fashion, and they
that are born in the time of age,
when the womb faileth, are other-
54 wise. Consider therefore thou also,
how that ye are less of stature
than those that were before you.
55 And so are they that come after 18
you less than ye, as born of the
creature which now beginneth to
be old, and is past the strength of
youth.

Then said I, Lord, I beseech thee,
if I have found favour in thy sight,
shew thy servant by whom thou
visitest thy creature.

6 And he said unto me, In the
beginning, when the earth was
made, before the outgoings of the
world were fixed, or ever the
2 gatherings of the winds blew, before
the voices of the thunder sounded
and before the flashes of the light-
ning shone, or ever the foundations
3 of paradise were laid, before the
fair flowers were seen, or ever the
powers of the earthquake were
established, before the innumerable
hosts of angels were gathered to-

And 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. And it said, Behold, the days come, and it shall be that when I draw nigh to visit them that dwell upon the earth, 19 and when I shall make inquisition of them that have done hurt unjustly with their unrighteousness, and when the affliction of Sion 20 shall be fulfilled, and when the seal shall be set upon the world that is to pass away, then will I shew these tokens: the books shall be opened before the firmament, and all shall see together: and the children of a year old shall speak with their voices, the women with child shall bring forth untimely children at three or four months, and they shall live, and dance. And suddenly shall the sown places appear unsown, the full storehouses shall suddenly be found.

4 Another
reading
is, Isaac.

5 So the
Syriac,
&c. The
is de-
fective.

Latin

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