2 Esdras 6

1And he said to me, “At the beginning of the earthly world, before the ends of the age were established, and before the gatherings of the winds blew,

2and before the voices of the thunders sounded, and before the flashes of the lightnings shone, and before the foundations of paradise were established,

3and before the beautiful flowers were seen, and before the powers of the movements were established, and before

4and before the heights of the air were lifted up, and before the measures of the firmaments were named, and before the footstool was measured,

5and before the present years were searched out, and before the devices of those who now sin were estranged, and before those who have stored up faith were sealed—

6Then I considered, and these things were made through me and not through another, so also the end will be through me and not through another.”

7Then I answered and said, “What will be the dividing of the times? Or when will be the end of the former and the beginning of the one that follows?”

8And he said to me, “From Abraham to Abraham, because from him Jacob and Esau were born; for Jacob’s hand held Esau’s heel from the beginning. For Esau is the end of this age, and the beginning

9For Esau is the end of this age, and Jacob is the beginning of the one that follows.

10“Do not ask anything else, Ezra.” And I answered and said, “O Lord who rules, if I have found favor

11before your eyes, that you may show your servant the end of the signs

12of yours, of which you showed me a part in the previous night.” And he answered and said to me, “Stand on your feet, and you will hear

13And he answered and said to me, “Stand upon your feet, and you will hear a full, resounding voice.

14And if the place where you are standing is shaken violently,

15do not be terrified, because the word concerns the end, and the foundations of the earth will tremble and be shaken, because the discourse is about them.

16Because the speech concerns them, they will tremble and be shaken, for they know that their end must be changed.”

17And it happened, when I heard, that I stood upon my feet and listened, and behold, a voice was speaking, and its sound was like the sound of many waters.

18And it said, “Behold, days are coming, and it will be that when I begin to draw near to visit those who dwell on the earth,

19and when I begin to inquire of those who have unjustly harmed others by their injustice, and

20when the humiliation of Zion is completed, and when the age that is beginning to pass away is marked out, I will perform these signs: the books will be opened before the face of the firmament, and all will see together.

21And year-old infants will speak with their voices, and pregnant women will give birth to premature infants of three and four months, and they will live.

22And suddenly places sown will appear unsown, and full storehouses will suddenly be found empty, and the trumpet will sound, which when all hear, they will suddenly be terrified.

23And the trumpet will sound, and when all hear it, they will suddenly be terrified.

24And it will be in that time: friends will make war on friends like enemies, and the earth will be terrified along with those who dwell in it, and the channels of the springs will stand still so as not to run for three hours.

25And it will be that everyone who is left from all these things that I have foretold to you will be saved and will see my salvation and the end of my age.

26It will be turned into another understanding. For evil will be blotted out, and deceit will be extinguished. But faith will flourish, and corruption will be overcome,

27For evil will be blotted out, and deceit will be extinguished.

28and the truth, which has been fruitless for so long, will be revealed.”

29And it happened, while he was speaking to me, behold, the place on which I was standing was gradually moving. And he said to me:

30And he said to me, “I have come to show you these things tonight.”

31Therefore, if you pray again and fast again for seven days, I will again declare to you greater things than these by day.

32For your voice has indeed been heard before the Most High; for the Mighty One has seen your conduct and has taken note of the purity that you have had from your youth.

33Therefore he sent me to show you all these things and to say to you, ‘Take courage and do not fear,

34and do not hasten to think vain thoughts about the former times, so that you may not be hasty concerning the last times.’”

35And it happened after this that I wept again, and likewise I fasted seven days, so that I might complete the three weeks that had been spoken to me.

36And it happened on the eighth night that my heart was troubled again within me, and I began to speak before the Most High.

37For my spirit was greatly inflamed, and my soul was distressed.

38And I said, “O Lord, from the beginning of creation, on the first day, you spoke, saying, ‘Let heaven and earth be made,’ and your word accomplished the work.”

39And at that time the spirit was moving, and darkness and silence were surrounding everything; the sound of a human voice was not yet from you.

40Then you commanded that light should be brought forth from your treasuries, so that your works might then appear.

41And again, on the second day, you created the spirit of the firmament, and commanded it to divide and make a division between the waters, so that one part might recede upward and the other part remain below.

42And on the third day you commanded the waters to be gathered into the seventh part of the earth, but six parts you dried up and preserved, so that from these there might be before you things sown and cultivated, serving you.

43For your word went forth, and the work was immediately done.

44For at once there came forth fruit in immeasurable abundance, and manifold delights of taste, and flowers of inimitable color, and scents of unsearchable fragrance. These things were made on the third day.

45On the fourth day you commanded the brightness of the sun, the light of the moon, and the arrangement of the stars to be made,

46and you commanded them to serve the man who was to be formed.

47On the fifth day you said to the seventh part, where the water was gathered, that it should bring forth living creatures, birds, and fish;

48gathered together, that it might produce animals, birds, and fish; and so it happened: the mute water, which had no life, produced living creatures as it had been commanded.

49Then you preserved two living creatures: the name of the one you called Behemoth, and the name of the second you called Leviathan.

50the name of the second you called Leviathan. And you separated them from each other, for the seventh part where the water had been gathered could not hold them.

51And you gave Behemoth one part, which was dried up on the third day, to dwell in it, where there are a thousand mountains;

52but Leviathan you gave the moist seventh part, and you have kept it to be food for whom you wish and when you wish.

53And on the sixth day you commanded the earth to create before you livestock and beasts and creeping things;

54And over these is Adam, whom you appointed ruler over all the works that you made; and from him we all have come, the people whom you have chosen.

55But I have said all these things before you, Lord, because you said that for our sake you created the first world.

56But the rest of the nations, which have come from Adam, you said are nothing, and that they are like spittle; and you compared their abundance to a drop from a vessel.

57And now, Lord, behold, these nations, which have been reckoned as nothing, rule over us and devour us.

58But we, your people, whom you have called your firstborn, your only one, your beloved, your dear one, have been handed over into their hands.

59And if the world was created for our sake, why do we not possess our world as an inheritance? How long will this be?”