11, 12. "Cp. Gen. 6.3 & Acts 14. 16. * Cp. Gen. 8. 1 & 1 Pet. 3. 20 & 2 Pet. 2. 5. Gen. 12. 1. "Cp. Gen. 17.5. 3. Gen. 15.12. Gen. 25. 25, 26. a Mal. 1. 2, 3. and there were born of him nations and tribes, peoples and kindreds, out of Cp. Gen. 6. number. 8 And every nation walked after their own will, and did ungodly things before thee, and despised thy commandments, and thou didst not forbid them. 98 Nevertheless again in process of time thou broughtest the Gen. 7. 10. Hlood upon those that dwelt in the world, and destroyedst them. 10 And it came to pass that the same hap befell them; like as death was to Adam, so was the flood to these. II Nevertheless one of them thou leftest, Noah with his household, even all the righteous men that came of him. 12 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. 13 And it came to pass, when they did wickedly before thee, u thou didst choose thee one from among them, whose name was Abraham; 14 and him thou lovedst, and wunto him only thou shewedst the end Gen. 17. 7. of the times secretly by night: 15 and madest an everlasting covenant with him, promising him that thou wouldest Gen. 21. 2, never forsake his seed. 16 And yunto him thou gavest Isaac, and unto Isaac thou gavest Jacob and Esau. And thou didst set apart Jacob for thyself, Rom. 9. 13. but didst put by Esau: and Jacob became a great multitude. 17 And it came to pass, that when thou leddest his seed out of Egypt, bthou broughtest them up to the mount Sinai. 18 Thou bowedst the heavens also, and ddidst 1shake the earth, and movedst the whole world, e and madest the depths to tremble, and troubledst the course of that age. fCp. Ex. 19. 19 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 of Israel. 209 And yet tookest thou not away from them their 2 wicked heart, that thy law might bring forth fruit in them. 21 For the first Adam bearing a 2 wicked heart transgressed, and was overcome; and not he only, but all they also that are born of him. 22 Thus disease was made permanent; and the law was in the heart of the people along with the 3 wickedness of the root; so the good departed away, and that which was 2 wicked abode still. 23 So the times passed away, and the years were brought to an end: then didst thou raise thee up a servant, called David, 24k whom thou commandedst to build a city unto thy name, and to offer oblations unto thee therein mof thine own. 25 When this was done many years, then they that inhabited the city did evil, 26 in all b Ex. 19. 1. Deut. 4. 10. 2 Sam. 22. 10. Ex. 19. 18. Cp. ch. 6. 16. € P8. 77. 16. 16, 18. See Ps. 18. 7-15. 3 Cp. ch. 4. 30, 31 &7. [48]. h ch. 4. 30 & 7. 48. i See Rom. 7.7-13. 1 Sam. 16. 13. k Cp. 2 Sam. 7. 5, 12, 13. Jer. 25. 29. 1 Chr. 29. 14, 16. 1 So some versions. Lat. set fast. things doing even as Adam and all his generations had done: for they also bare a 2 wicked heart; 27 and so thou gavest thy city over into the hands of thine enemies. 28 And I said then in mine heart, "Are their deeds any better that inhabit Babylon? and hath she therefore dominion over Sion? 29 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 failed me. 30 P 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 hast not signified 31 unto any how thy way may be comprehended. "Are the deeds of Babylon better than those of Sion? 32 Or is there any other nation that knoweth thee beside Israel? or what tribes have so believed thy covenants as these tribes of Jacob? 33 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 commandments. 348 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 inclineth. 35 Or when was it that they which dwell upon the earth have not sinned in thy sight? or what nation hath so kept thy commandments? 36 Thou shalt find that men who may be reckoned by name have kept thy precepts; but nations thou shalt not find. 4: 1 And the angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel, gave me an answer, 2 and said to me, "Thy heart hath utterly failed thee in regarding this world, wand thinkest thou to comprehend the way of the Most High? 3 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 thee: 4 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 2 wicked. 5 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? 7 And he said unto me, If I had asked thee, saying, How many dwellings are there in the heart of the sea? zor how Cp. Job 38. many springs are there at the fountain head of the deep? or how many 5 ways 2 Or, corrupt 4 So the Syriac. The Latin has how this way may be left. 3 Or, corruptness 5 After the Oriental versions. 16. a ch. 6. 2 & 8. 52. ¿ Cp. Deut. 30. 12, 13 & Ps. 139. 8 6, 7. Cp. Eccles. 11. 5 are above the firmament? or which are the outgoings of hell? or which are the paths of a paradise? 8peradventure &7.136, 53 thou wouldest say unto me, I never went down into the deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever climb up & Rom. 10. into heaven. 9cNevertheless now have I asked thee but only of the fire and wind, and of the day, things where& Wisdom through thou hast passed, and 2 without which thou canst not be, and yet hast thou given me no answer of them. 10 He said moreover unto me, Thine own things, that are grown up with thee, canst thou not know; 11 how then can dthy vessel comprehend the way of the Most High? and how can he that is already worn out with the corrupted world understand incorruption? 9. 16. d ch. 7. [88]. Cp. 2 Cor. 4. 7 & 1 Thess. 4. 4 & 1 Pet. 3. 7. ✓ Cp. Ezek. 124 And when I heard these things I Cp. ver. 2. fell upon my face, and said unto him, gIt were better that we were not here at all, than that we should come hither and live in the midst of ungodliness, and suffer, and not know wherefore. 1. 28 & 3. 23. # Cp. ch. 7. 46, 47. 13 He answered me, and said, 5The 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 may make us more woods. 15 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 h the fire came and consumed it: 17 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 & Jer. 5. 22. two, whom wouldest thou justify, or whom condemn ? h Cp. Judg. 9. 15. i Cp. Job 38. 11 & Ps. 104, 9 19 I answered and said, It is a foolish counsel that they both have taken, for the ground is given unto the wood, and Cp. Gen. 1. the place of the sea is given to bear his 9. k Cp. Isai. 55. 8, 9 & John 3. 31 & 1 Cor. 2. 14. waves. Ps. 44. 13, 14 & 79. 4. Tobit 3. 4. Baruch 2.4 & 3. 8. Cp. Joel 2. 17. m Song of Three 9. Cp. ch.5.28 & 6. 57. by us daily; 'because Israel is given up 26 Then answered he me, and said, If thou be alive, thou shalt see, and if thou livest long, thou shalt marvel; "for ch. 6. 20. the world hasteth fast to pass away. 27 For it is not able to bear the things that are promised to the righteous in the times to come: 8for this world is full of sadness and infirmities. 28 For the evil 9 whereof thou askest me is sown, but the gathering thereof is not yet come. 29 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 field where the good is sown. 30t For a grain of evil Cp. ch. 3. 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 10 time of threshing "Cp. Matt. come! 31 Ponder now by thyself, how great fruit of wickedness a grain of evil seed hath brought forth. 32 When the ears which are without number shall be sown, how great a floor shall they fill! 33 Then I answered and said, 11v How "Cp. Rev. 6. long? and when shall these things come to pass? wherefore are our years wfew * Cp. chỉ 7. and evil? 34 And he answered me, and said, Thou dost not hasten more than the Cp, ch. 5. ́ Most High: for thy haste is 12 for thine own self, but he that is above hasteneth on behalf of many. 35 y Did not the souls of the righteous ask question of 20 Then answered he me, and said, these things in their chambers, saying, Thou hast given a right judgement, and How long 13 are we here? when cometli Cp. ver. 41. the fruit of the 10threshing time of our reward? 36 And unto them Jeremiel the archangel gave answer, and said, a Even when the number is fulfilled of them that are like unto you. For he hath weighed the world in the balance; 37 and by measure hath he measured the times, and by number hath he numbered the seasons; and he shall not 14 move nor stir them, until the said measure be fulfilled. why judgest thou not in thine own case? 22 Then answered I and said, I beseech So the Syriac. The Latin omits of hell or which are the paths. 2 Another reading is, from which 9.8. 8 So the Syriac. 9 So the Syriac and Æthiopic. 10 Or, threshing-floor 11 So the chief Oriental & ch. 7. 32 (mg.). peradventure it is that the threshing time of the righteous is kept back, because of the sins of them that dwell upon the earth. 40 So he answered me, and said, Go thy way to a woman with child, and ask of her when she hath fulfilled her nine months, if her womb may keep the birth any longer within her. 41 Then said I, No, Lord, that can it not. And he said unto me, In the grave Cp. ver. 35 9 the chambers of souls are like the womb: 4 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 begin-wild beasts shall change their places, ning. 43 Then shall it be shewed thee concerning those things which thou desirest to see. h ch. 5. 56 & 6. 11 & 8.42 & 12.7 & 14. 22. i Cp. ver. 50. 44 Then answered I and said, "If I have found favour in thy sight, and if it be possible, and if I be meet therefore, 45 shew me this also, whether there be more to come than is past, or whether the more part is gone over us. 46 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. 48 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. 49 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. 50 Then said he unto me, Consider with thyself; as the rain is more than the drops, and as the fire is greater than Cp. ver. 45 the smoke, so the quantity which is past did more exceed; but the drops and the smoke remained still. & ch. 14. 11, 12. k ch. 5. 13 & 6. 12 & 7.26. ! ch. 6. 24. Cp. Luke 21.26. m ch. 14. 18. " Cp. Luke 18.8. 51 Then I prayed, and said, May I live, thinkest thou, until that time? or who shall be in those days? 5 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 know it. I Nevertheless as concerning the 5 tokens, behold, the days shall come, that they which dwell upon earth shall be taken 2 with great amazement, mand the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith. 20 But iniquity shall be increased above & Matt. 24. that which now thou seest, or that thou hast heard long ago. 3 And the land, that thou seest now to have rule, shall be waste and 2untrodden, and men shall see it desolate. 4 But if the Most High ° Cp. ver. 10 12. 1 Or, threshing-floor Cp. ch. 11. 39, 40 & 12. 11 & Dan. 7.7. 2. 11 & Luke 19. 40. 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 Cp. Hab. voice, and the peoples shall be troubled; and their goings shall be changed: 6 and he shall rule, whom they that dwell upon the earth look not for, and the fowls shall take their flight away together: 7 and the Sodomitish sea shall cast out fish, and make a noise in the night, which many have not known: but all shall hear the voice thereof. 8 There shall be chaos also in many places, and the fire shall be oft sent out, and the and women shall bring forth monsters: 9 and "salt waters shall be found in the Cp. James sweet, and all friends shall destroy one another; then shall wit hide itself, and understanding withdraw itself into its chamber; 10 and it shall be sought of many, and shall not be found: and unrighteousness and incontinency shall be multiplied upon earth. 11 One land also shall ask another, and say, Is righteousness, is a man that doeth righteousness, gone through thee? And it shall say, No. 12 And it shall come to pass at that time that men shall hope, but shall not obtain: they shall labour, but their ways shall not prosper. 13" To shew ver. 1. thee such tokens I have leave; and if thou wilt pray again, and weep as now, and wfast seven days, thou shalt hear ch. 6. 31, yet greater things than these. 3. 11, 12. & Mark 13. t Cp. Prov. 22. 3. " Cp. ver. 2. ch. 4. 52. 35. 14 Then I awaked, and an extreme trembling went through my body, and my mind was troubled, so that it fainted. 15 So the angel that was come to talk with me held me, comforted me, and set me up upon my feet. 16 And in the second night it came to pass, that Phaltiel the captain of the people came unto me, saying, Where hast thou been? and why is thy countenance sad? 17 or knowest thou not that Israel is committed unto thee in the land of their captivity? 18 Up then, and eat some bread, and forsake us not, as the shepherd that leaveth his flock Cp. John in the hands of cruel wolves. 19 Then said I unto him, Go thy ways from me, and come not nigh me for w seven days, and then shalt thou come unto me. And he heard what I said, and went from me. e See ch. 4. 38. ƒ Ps. 80. 8. Up. chỉ 9. 21 7. 9 Cp. Deut. 11. 12 & Isai. 51.1 (for mg.). h Hos. 14. 5. Cp. S. of S. 2. 1, 2. i Cp. Ps. 46. 4. ¿See Deut. 12. 11. eO Lord that bearest rule, of all the woods of the earth, and of all the trees thereof, thou hast chosen thee one vine: 24 and g of all the lands of the & Isai. 5. 1, world thou hast chosen thee one 1country: and of all the flowers of the world thou hast chosen thee one lily: 25 and of all the depths of the sea thou hast filled thee ione river: and of all builded cities thou hast hallowed Sion unto thyself: 26 and of all the fowls that are created thou hast named thee kone dove: and of all the cattle that are made thou hast provided thee one sheep: 27 and among all the multitudes of peoples thou hast gotten thee one people and unto this people, mwhom thou lovedst, thou gavest a law that is approved of all. 28 And now, O Lord, why hast thou given this one people over unto many, and 2hast dishonoured the one root above others, and hast scattered thine only one among many? 29 And they which did gainsay thy promises have trodden them down that believed thy covenants. 30 If thou dost so much hate thy people, they should be punished with thine own hands. Cp. Ps. 74. 19. Cp. Ps. 74.1 & 79. 13 m See Deut. 7.8. * Cp. ch. 4. 23 & 6. 57. • See Lev. 26. 33. P Cp. 2 Sam. 24. 14 & Ecclus. 2. 18. ? ch. 4. 1. " ch. 8. 47. & 12. 4. 31 Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the night afore was sent unto me, 32 and said unto me, Hear me, and I will instruct thee; hearken unto me, and I shall tell thee more. 33 And I said, Speak on, my Lord. Then said he unto me, Thou art sore troubled in mind for Israel's sake: rlovest thou that people better than he that made them? 34 And I said, No, Lord: but of very grief have I spoken: for my reins torCp. ch. 4. 2 ment me every hour, while I labour to comprehend the way of the Most High, and to seek out part of his judgement. 35 And he said unto me, Thou canst not. And I said, Wherefore, Lord, or whereunto was I born? or twhy 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? t Job 3. 11. Jer, 20. 17. "Cp. Ecclus. 1. 2. ch. 4. 35. w See ch. 4. 38. 36 And he said unto me, u 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, 37 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. 38 And I said, wO Lord that bearest rule, who may know these things, but he that hath not his dwelling with men? * Cp. Jer. 1. 39 As for me, I am unwise: how may I then speak of these things whereof thou askest me? 6. 1 After the Oriental versions. The Latin has pit. hast prepared. 3 So the Syriac. 40 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 Cp. Isai. the love that I have promised unto my people. 41 And I said, But, lo, 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? 34 & 6. 34. 44 Then answered he me, and said, The creature may not haste above the Cp. ch. 4. 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? 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. 46 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. 47 And I said, She cannot: but must do it by distance of time. 51 He answered me, and said, Ask a woman that beareth children, and she shall tell thee. 52 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-Cp. Gen. wise. 54 Consider therefore thou also, how that ye are less of stature than 2 After the Oriental versions. The Latin reads 4 The Latin omits If... alive at once. 6.4 & Num. 13. 33. 9 See ch. 4. 44. h ch. 6. 18 & 9. 2. i Cp. Prov, 8. 23-25. See Gen. 1. 1. See ch. 4. 7. * Cp. ver. 44. Cp. Heb. 12. 22. m ver. 41. See Gen. 1. 6, 7. 28. 2. those that were before you. 55 And so 56 Then said I, Lord, I beseech thee, And he said unto me, In the ch. 14. 2. Cp. ver. 13. heard it I stood up upon my feet, and 6 beginning, when the earth was made, affliction of Sion shall be fulfilled, so and & 43. 2. Rev. 1. 15 & 14. 2 & 19. 6. a ch. 5. 56 & 9. 2. Cp. Isai. 40. 2. See ch. 4. 26. Dan. 7. 10. Rev. 20. 12. Matt. 24. 31. 1 Cor. 15. 52. Cp. Amos 3. 6. ƒ See ch. 5. 9. 9 Cp. Matt. 24. 30 & Luke 21. before the outgoings of the world when the seal shall be set upon the were fixed, or ever the gatherings of the world that is to pass away, then will I winds blew, 2 before the voices of the shew these tokens: dthe books shall be thunder sounded and before the flashes opened before the firmament, and all of the lightning shone, or ever the foun- shall see together: 21 and the children dations of paradise were laid, 3 before of a year old shall speak with their k the fair flowers were seen, or ever the voices, the women with child shall bring powers of the earthquake were esta- forth untimely children at three or four blished, before the innumerable hosts months, and they shall live, and dance. of angels were gathered together, 4 or 22 And suddenly shall the sown places ever the heights of the air were lifted appear unsown, the full storehouses up, before the measures of the firma- shall suddenly be found empty: 23 and ment were named, or ever " the footstool the trumpet shall give a sound, which Zech. 9. 14. "See 1 Chr. of Sion 1was established, 5 and ere the when every man heareth, they shall be present years were sought out, and or suddenly afraid. 24 At that time shall ever the imaginations of them that now friends make war one against another sin were estranged, before they were like enemies, and the earth shall stand sealed that have gathered faith for Pain fear with those that dwell therein, treasure: 6 then did I consider these the springs of the fountains shall stand things, and they all were made through still, so that for three hours they shall me alone, and through none other: as not run. 25 And it shall be that who- Matt. 10. by me also they shall be ended, and by soever remaineth after all these things none other. that I have told thee of, he shall be saved, and shall see my salvation, and the end of my world. 26 And they shall see the men that have been taken up, who have not tasted death from their birth and the heart of the inhabitants shall be changed, and turned into another meaning. 27 For evil shall be blotted out, and deceit shall be quenched; 28 mand faith shall flourish, and corruption shall be overcome, m and the truth, which hath been so long without fruit, shall be declared. ⚫ ch. 2. 38. Hos. 12. 3. 7 Then answered I and said, What ? Gen. 17. 5 8 And he said unto me, From 29 Abra- * See ch. 4. 38. t See ch. 5. 1-13. 33 & Ezek. 2. 1, 2 & Dan. 8. 18. III answered then and said, 80 Lord that bearest rule, gif I have found favour in thy sight, 12 I beseech thee, shew thy servant the end of thy tokens, whereof thou shewedst me part the last night. 13 So he answered and said unto me, "Cp. ch. 10. Stand up upon thy feet, and thou shalt hear "a mighty sounding voice; 14 wand if the place whereon thou standest be greatly moved, 15 when it speaketh be not thou afraid: for the word is of the end, and the foundations of the earth Cp.ver. 29. shall understand, 16 that the speech is of them: they shall tremble and be moved: for they know that their end must be changed. 29 And when he talked with me, behold, by little and little "the place whereon I "Cp. ver. 14. stood rocked to and fro. 3o And he said unto me, These things came I to shew thee this night. 31 If therefore thou wilt pray yet again, seven days more, PI shall yet greater things than these. 32 For thy voice hath surely been heard before the Most High: 9 for the Mighty hath seen thy righteous dealing, he hath seen aforetime also thy chastity, which thou hast had ever since thy youth. 33r And therefore hath he sent me to shew Cp. Dan. 9. thee all these things, and to say unto thee, Be of good comfort, and fear not. 34 And be not hasty in regard of the Cp. ch. 4. former times, to think vain things, that thou mayest not hasten in the latter times. 35 And it came to pass after this, that 2 Perhaps for Abram. 3 Another reading is, Isaac. 4 So the Syriac, &c. 39 & 13, 54 23. * See ch. 7. [44]. 34 & 5. 44. |