HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  5.41–6.10 Predictive dialogue concerning the last things.

  5.41 Have charge of, perhaps “promise.”

  5.42 Circle, perhaps better crown (see text note b). The circularity of the crown implies identity of beginning and end.

  5.44 The creation…Creator. Cf. 4.26–27, 34. The end cannot be forced.

  5.45 Give life…to your creation. The resurrection is implied.

  5.48 The earth is both mother and womb; cf. 10.9–14.

  5.50 The senescence of the earth and consequent breakdown of order; cf. v. 55; 14.10. This implies an overall scheme of history.

  5.52–55 Degeneration of offspring corresponds to degeneration of the generations.

  2 ESDRAS 6

  1He said to me, “At the beginning of the circle of the earth, beforea the portals of the world were in place, and before the assembled winds blew, 2and before the rumblings of thunder sounded, and before the flashes of lightning shone, and before the foundations of paradise were laid, 3and before the beautiful flowers were seen, and before the powers of movementsb were established, and before the innumerable hosts of angels were gathered together, 4and before the heights of the air were lifted up, and before the measures of the firmaments were named, and before the footstool of Zion was established, 5and before the present years were reckoned and before the imaginations of those who now sin were estranged, and before those who stored up treasures of faith were sealed—6then I planned these things, and they were made through me alone and not through another; just as the end shall come through me alone and not through another.”

  The Dividing of the Times

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

  8He said to me, “From Abraham to Isaac,c because from him were born Jacob and Esau, for Jacob’s hand held Esau’s heel from the beginning. 9Now Esau is the end of this age, and Jacob is the beginning of the age that follows. 10The beginning of a person is the hand, and the end of a person is the heel;d seek for nothing else, Ezra, between the heel and the hand, Ezra!”

  More Signs of the End

  11I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, 12show your servant the last of your signs of which you showed me a part on a previous night.”

  13He answered and said to me, “Rise to your feet and you will hear a full, resounding voice. 14And if the place where you are standing is greatly shaken 15while the voice is speaking, do not be terrified; because the word concerns the end, and the foundations of the earth will understand 16that the speech concerns them. They will tremble and be shaken, for they know that their end must be changed.”

  17When I heard this, I got to my feet and listened; a voice was speaking, and its sound was like the sound of mightye waters. 18It said, “The days are coming when I draw near to visit the inhabitants of the earth, 19and when I require from the doers of iniquity the penalty of their iniquity, and when the humiliation of Zion is complete. 20When the seal is placed upon the age that is about to pass away, then I will show these signs: the books shall be opened before the face of the firmament, and all shall see my judgmentf together. 21Children a year old shall speak with their voices, and pregnant women shall give birth to premature children at three and four months, and these shall live and leap about. 22Sown places shall suddenly appear unsown, and full storehouses shall suddenly be found to be empty; 23the trumpet shall sound aloud, and when all hear it, they shall suddenly be terrified. 24At that time friends shall make war on friends like enemies, the earth and those who inhabit it shall be terrified, and the springs of the fountains shall stand still, so that for three hours they shall not flow.

  25“It shall be that whoever remains after all that I have foretold to you shall be saved and shall see my salvation and the end of my world. 26And they shall see those who were taken up, who from their birth have not tasted death; and the heart of the earth’sg inhabitants shall be changed and converted to a different spirit. 27For evil shall be blotted out, and deceit shall be quenched; 28faithfulness shall flourish, and corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which has been so long without fruit, shall be revealed.”

  Conclusion of the Second Vision

  29While he spoke to me, little by little the place where I was standing began to rock to and fro.h 30And he said to me, “I have come to show you these things this night.i 31If therefore you will pray again and fast again for seven days, I will again declare to you greater things than these,j 32because your voice has surely been heard by the Most High; for the Mighty One has seen your uprightness and has also observed the purity that you have maintained from your youth. 33Therefore he sent me to show you all these things, and to say to you: ‘Believe and do not be afraid! 34Do not be quick to think vain thoughts concerning the former times; then you will not act hastily in the last times.’”

  The Third Vision

  35Now after this I wept again and fasted seven days in the same way as before, in order to complete the three weeks that had been prescribed for me. 36Then on the eighth night my heart was troubled within me again, and I began to speak in the presence of the Most High. 37My spirit was greatly aroused, and my soul was in distress.

  God’s Work in Creation

  38I said, “O Lord, you spoke at the beginning of creation, and said on the first day, ‘Let heaven and earth be made,’ and your word accomplished the work. 39Then the spirit was blowing, and darkness and silence embraced everything; the sound of human voices was not yet there.k 40Then you commanded a ray of light to be brought out from your store-chambers, so that your works could be seen.

  41“Again, on the second day, you created the spirit of the firmament, and commanded it to divide and separate the waters, so that one part might move upward and the other part remain beneath.

  42“On the third day you commanded the waters to be gathered together in a seventh part of the earth; six parts you dried up and kept so that some of them might be planted and cultivated and be of service before you. 43For your word went forth, and at once the work was done. 44Immediately fruit came forth in endless abundance and of varied appeal to the taste, and flowers of inimitable color, and odors of inexpressible fragrance. These were made on the third day.

  45“On the fourth day you commanded the brightness of the sun, the light of the moon, and the arrangement of the stars to come into being; 46and you commanded them to serve humankind, about to be formed.

  47“On the fifth day you commanded the seventh part, where the water had been gathered together, to bring forth living creatures, birds, and fishes; and so it was done. 48The dumb and lifeless water produced living creatures, as it was commanded, so that therefore the nations might declare your wondrous works.

  49“Then you kept in existence two living creatures;l the one you called Behemothm and the name of the other Leviathan. 50And you separated one from the other, for the seventh part where the water had been gathered together could not hold them both. 51And you gave Behemothn one of the parts that had been dried up on the third day, to live in it, where there are a thousand mountains; 52but to Leviathan you gave the seventh part, the watery part; and you have kept them to be eaten by whom you wish, and when you wish.

  53“On the sixth day you commanded the earth to bring forth before you cattle, wild animals, and creeping things; 54and over these you placed Adam, as ruler over all the works that you had made; and from him we have all come, the people whom you have chosen.

  Why Do God’s People Suffer?

  55“All this I have spoken before you, O Lord, because you have said that it was for us that you created this world.o 56As for the other nations that have descended from Adam, you have said that they are nothing, and that they are like spittle, and you have compared their abundance to a drop from a bucket. 57And now, O Lord, these nations, which are reputed to be as nothing, domineer over us and devour us. 58But we your people, whom you have called your firstborn, only begotten, z
ealous for you,p and most dear, have been given into their hands. 59If the world has indeed been created for us, why do we not possess our world as an inheritance? How long will this be so?”

  next chapter

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  a Meaning of Lat uncertain: Compare Syr The beginning by the hand of humankind, but the end by my own hands. For as before the land of the world existed there, and before; Ethiop: At first by the Son of Man, and afterwards I myself. For before the earth and the lands were created, and before

  b Or earthquakes

  c Other ancient authorities read to Abraham

  d Syr: Meaning of Lat uncertain

  e Lat many

  f Syr: Lat lacks my judgment

  g Syr Compare Ethiop Arab 1 Arm: Lat lacks earth’s

  h Syr Ethiop Compare Arab Arm: Meaning of Lat uncertain

  i Syr Compare Ethiop: Meaning of Lat uncertain

  j Syr Ethiop Arab 1 Arm: Lat adds by day

  k Syr Ethiop: Lat was not yet from you

  l Syr Ethiop: Lat two souls

  m Other Lat authorities read Enoch

  n Other Lat authorities read Enoch

  o Syr Ethiop Arab 2: Lat the firstborn world Compare Arab 1 first world

  p Meaning of Lat uncertain

  6.1 After he said to me should be added “The beginning is through a human being and the end is through myself.” Instead of at the beginning of, read “for before.”

  6.2 Paradise was created before the world; cf. 3.6.

  6.3 Powers of movements, probably angels; cf. Mt 24.29.

  6.4 Zion is God’s footstool; cf. Pss 99.5; 132.7.

  6.5 Predetermination is stressed.

  6.6 Just as…another should be omitted; it is in the Latin but not in any of the other versions. God alone planned and created.

  6.8–10 The answer to the double question of v. 7. From Abraham to Isaac. Read From Abraham to Abraham (text note c); i.e., there is no division of the times, yet the second Abraham denotes Esau and Jacob, who followed one another immediately. So Rome (Esau) will be followed by Israel’s kingdom.

  6.11–29 A prediction of signs resembling 5.1–13 in form and continuing it.

  6.13 Rise to your feet, for divine pronouncement. A full, resounding voice. Cf. the sound with Ezek 1.24; Dan 10.6.

  6.14–16 The earth shakes when God appears (1 Kings 19.11–12; Joel 3.16); a cosmic change will happen.

  6.18 God is speaking. Visit, punish; see 5.56.

  6.19–20 When these measures are filled, then omens will be revealed. Books, of human deeds; see Dan 7.10; Rev 20.12; 2 Apocalypse of Baruch 24.1.

  6.21 The omen is a dramatic shortening of the normal life pattern. Cf. Gen 6.3; Jubilees 23.25.

  6.22 The natural order is disrupted.

  6.24 Friends…like enemies, social disorder; cf. note on 5.9; 1 Enoch 100.1.

  6.25 The first prophecy of redemption. See my salvation. Cf. 7.27; 9.8; 13.48, 50; Ps 91.16; Dead Sea Scrolls Damascus Document (CD) 20.34.

  6.26 Who…have not tasted death. Perhaps including Enoch (Gen 5.24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2.9–12). Heart…shall be changed. See Ezek 11.19; 36.26.

  6.27–28 An eschatological poem; cf. 7.33–35, 113–14; 14.18. Corruption designates this-worldly things.

  6.29 The fulfillment of vv. 13–16.

  6.30–34 Conclusion including injunctions (cf. 5.13) and statement of Ezra’s worthiness (cf. 12.36; 14.45–46).

  6.30 This night, better “on the night that has passed.”

  6.34 Oracular statements mark shifts in the revelatory dynamic. See 4.34.

  6.35–9.25 Third vision.

  6.35–37 Introduction. Cf. 3.1–3; 5.21–22. This vision is extremely long.

  6.35 Three weeks of fasting, apparently taken from Dan 10.2–3. The first week is not mentioned before the first vision.

  6.37 Ezra receives inspiration.

  6.38–59 Address. Cf. 3.4–36; 5.23–30. A narrative of creation, followed by inferences from it.

  6.38 Cf. Gen 1.1; Jubilees 2.2. Creation through speech; see 3.4.

  6.39 Cf. Gen 1.2. Primordial silence; see 7.30; Ps.-Philo, Biblical Antiquities 60.2. Speech is an essential attribute characterizing the creation of humans.

  6.40 Cf. Gen 1.3; Jubilees 2.2.

  6.41 Spirits of natural phenomena; see also Jubilees 2.2; 1 Enoch 60.15.

  6.42 Cf. Gen 1.9–10; Jubilees 2.5–6; a sevenfold division of the world is unknown elsewhere.

  6.44 Note the fragrances; cf. 1 Enoch 24.3–4; 2 Enoch 8.3.

  6.45 Cf. Gen 1.14–19; Jubilees 2.8–10.

  6.47 Cf. Gen 1.20; Jubilees 2.11.

  6.49–52 Behemoth, Leviathan. Cf. Job 40.15–41.11. These legendary animals developed from mythological origins. They will be the food at the eschatological banquet for the righteous, according to Jewish tradition; see 2 Apocalypse of Baruch 29.4; 1 Enoch 60.7–10.

  6.55 The world was created for Israel’s sake; see v. 59; 7.11; Testament of Moses 1.12; Sifre Deuteronomy 11.21; Genesis Rabbah 12.2.

  6.56 Based on Isa 40.15, 17.

  6.57 See 3.28; 5.28–29.

  6.58 Firstborn. Cf. Ex 4.22; Jer 31.9; Sir 36.17.

  6.59 How long. Cf. Pss 4.2; 13.2; 2 Apocalypse of Baruch 81.3.

  2 ESDRAS 7

  Response to Ezra’s Questions

  1When I had finished speaking these words, the angel who had been sent to me on the former nights was sent to me again. 2He said to me, “Rise, Ezra, and listen to the words that I have come to speak to you.”

  3I said, “Speak, my lord.” And he said to me, “There is a sea set in a wide expanse so that it is deep and vast, 4but it has an entrance set in a narrow place, so that it is like a river. 5If there are those who wish to reach the sea, to look at it or to navigate it, how can they come to the broad part unless they pass through the narrow part? 6Another example: There is a city built and set on a plain, and it is full of all good things; 7but the entrance to it is narrow and set in a precipitous place, so that there is fire on the right hand and deep water on the left. 8There is only one path lying between them, that is, between the fire and the water, so that only one person can walk on the path. 9If now the city is given to someone as an inheritance, how will the heir receive the inheritance unless by passing through the appointed danger?”

  10I said, “That is right, lord.” He said to me, “So also is Israel’s portion. 11For I made the world for their sake, and when Adam transgressed my statutes, what had been made was judged. 12And so the entrances of this world were made narrow and sorrowful and toil-some; they are few and evil, full of dangers and involved in great hardships. 13But the entrances of the greater world are broad and safe, and yield the fruit of immortality. 14Therefore unless the living pass through the difficult and futile experiences, they can never receive those things that have been reserved for them. 15Now therefore why are you disturbed, seeing that you are to perish? Why are you moved, seeing that you are mortal? 16Why have you not considered in your mind what is to come, rather than what is now present?”

  The Fate of the Ungodly

  17Then I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, you have ordained in your law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but that the ungodly shall perish. 18The righteous, therefore, can endure difficult circumstances while hoping for easier ones; but those who have done wickedly have suffered the difficult circumstances and will never see the easier ones.”

  19He said to me, “You are not a better judge than the Lord,a or wiser than the Most High! 20Let many perish who are now living, rather than that the law of God that is set before them be disregarded! 21For the Lordb strictly commanded those who came into the world, when they came, what they should do to live, and what they should observe to avoid punishment. 22Nevertheless they were not obedient, and spoke against him;

  they devised for themselves vain thoughts,

  23and proposed to themselves wicked frauds;

  they even declared that the Most High does not exist,

  and they ign
ored his ways.

  24They scorned his law,

  and denied his covenants;

  they have been unfaithful to his statutes,

  and have not performed his works.

  25That is the reason, Ezra, that empty things are for the empty, and full things are for the full.

  The Temporary Messianic Kingdom

  26“For indeed the time will come, when the signs that I have foretold to you will come to pass, that the city that now is not seen shall appear,c and the land that now is hidden shall be disclosed. 27Everyone who has been delivered from the evils that I have foretold shall see my wonders. 28For my son the Messiahd shall be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain shall rejoice four hundred years. 29After those years my son the Messiah shall die, and all who draw human breath.e 30Then the world shall be turned back to primeval silence for seven days, as it was at the first beginnings, so that no one shall be left. 31After seven days the world that is not yet awake shall be roused, and that which is corruptible shall perish. 32The earth shall give up those who are asleep in it, and the dust those who rest there in silence; and the chambers shall give up the souls that have been committed to them. 33The Most High shall be revealed on the seat of judgment, and compassion shall pass away, and patience shall be withdrawn.f 34Only judgment shall remain, truth shall stand, and faithfulness shall grow strong. 35Recompense shall follow, and the reward shall be manifested; righteous deeds shall awake, and unrighteous deeds shall not sleep.g 36The pith of torment shall appear, and opposite it shall be the place of rest; and the furnace of helli shall be disclosed, and opposite it the paradise of delight. 37Then the Most High will say to the nations that have been raised from the dead, ‘Look now, and understand whom you have denied, whom you have not served, whose commandments you have despised. 38Look on this side and on that; here are delight and rest, and there are fire and torments.’ Thus he willj speak to them on the day of judgment—39a day that has no sun or moon or stars, 40or cloud or thunder or lightning, or wind or water or air, or darkness or evening or morning, 41or summer or spring or heat or winterk or frost or cold, or hail or rain or dew, 42or noon or night, or dawn or shining or brightness or light, but only the splendor of the glory of the Most High, by which all shall see what has been destined. 43It will last as though for a week of years. 44This is my judgment and its prescribed order; and to you alone I have shown these things.”