A Terrifying Vision of Warfare
28What a terrifying sight, appearing from the east! 29The nations of the dragons of Arabia shall come out with many chariots, and from the day that they set out, their hissing shall spread over the earth, so that all who hear them will fear and tremble. 30Also the Carmonians, raging in wrath, shall go forth like wild boarsh from the forest, and with great power they shall come and engage them in battle, and with their tusks they shall devastate a portion of the land of the Assyrians with their teeth. 31And then the dragons,i remembering their origin, shall become still stronger; and if they combine in great power and turn to pursue them, 32then these shall be disorganized and silenced by their power, and shall turn and flee.j 33And from the land of the Assyrians an enemy in ambush shall attack them and destroy one of them, and fear and trembling shall come upon their army, and indecision upon their kings.
Judgment on Babylon
34See the clouds from the east, and from the north to the south! Their appearance is exceedingly threatening, full of wrath and storm. 35They shall clash against one another and shall pour out a heavy tempest on the earth, and their own tempest;k and there shall be blood from the sword as high as a horse’s belly 36and a man’s thigh and a camel’s hock. 37And there shall be fear and great trembling on the earth; those who see that wrath shall be horror-stricken, and they shall be seized with trembling. 38After that, heavy storm clouds shall be stirred up from the south, and from the north, and another part from the west. 39But the winds from the east shall prevail over the cloud that wasl raised in wrath, and shall dispel it; and the tempestm that was to cause destruction by the east wind shall be driven violently toward the south and west. 40Great and mighty clouds, full of wrath and tempest, shall rise and destroy all the earth and its inhabitants, and shall pour out upon every high and lofty placen a terrible tempest, 41fire and hail and flying swords and floods of water, so that all the fields and all the streams shall be filled with the abundance of those waters. 42They shall destroy cities and walls, mountains and hills, trees of the forests, and grass of the meadows, and their grain. 43They shall go on steadily to Babylon and blot it out. 44They shall come to it and surround it; they shall pour out on it the tempesto and all its fury;p then the dust and smoke shall reach the sky, and all who are around it shall mourn for it. 45And those who survive shall serve those who have destroyed it.
Judgment on Asia
46And you, Asia, who share in the splendor of Babylon and the glory of her person—47woe to you, miserable wretch! For you have made yourself like her; you have decked out your daughters for prostitution to please and glory in your lovers, who have always lusted after you. 48You have imitated that hateful one in all her deeds and devices.q Therefore Godr says, 49I will send evils upon you: widowhood, poverty, famine, sword, and pestilence, bringing ruin to your houses, bringing destruction and death. 50And the glory of your strength shall wither like a flower when the heat shall rise that is sent upon you. 51You shall be weakened like a wretched woman who is beaten and wounded, so that you cannot receive your mighty lovers. 52Would I have dealt with you so violently, says the Lord, 53if you had not killed my chosen people continually, exulting and clapping your hands and talking about their death when you were drunk?
54Beautify your face! 55The reward of a prostitute is in your lap; therefore you shall receive your recompense. 56As you will do to my chosen people, says the Lord, so God will do to you, and will hand you over to adversities. 57Your children shall die of hunger, and you shall fall by the sword; your cities shall be wiped out, and all your people who are in the open country shall fall by the sword. 58Those who are in the mountains and highlandss shall perish of hunger, and they shall eat their own flesh in hunger for bread and drink their own blood in thirst for water. 59Unhappy above all others, you shall come and suffer fresh miseries. 60As they pass by they shall crush the hatefult city, and shall destroy a part of your land and abolish a portion of your glory, when they return from devastated Babylon. 61You shall be broken down by them like stubble,u and they shall be like fire to you. 62They shall devour you and your cities, your land and your mountains; they shall burn with fire all your forests and your fruitful trees. 63They shall carry your children away captive, plunder your wealth, and mar the glory of your countenance.
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a Chapters 15 and 16 (except 15.57-59, which has been found in Greek) are extant only in Lat
b Other ancient authorities add and all who believe shall be saved by their faith
c Lat lacks to grow
d Cn: Lat shall empty
e Other ancient authorities read God
f Other ancient authorities read the Lord
g Other ancient authorities read the Lord
h Other ancient authorities lack like wild boars
i Cn: Lat dragon
j Other ancient authorities read turn their face to the north
k Meaning of Lat uncertain
l Literally that he
m Meaning of Lat uncertain
n Or eminent person
o Meaning of Lat uncertain
p Other ancient authorities add until they destroy it to its foundations
q Other ancient authorities read devices, and you have followed after that one about to gratify her magnates and leaders so that you may be made proud and be pleased by her fornications
r Other ancient authorities read the Lord
s Gk: Lat omits and highlands
t Another reading is idle or unprofitable
u Other ancient authorities read like dry straw
15.1–16.78 Chs. 15–16 are a Christian addition to the Jewish apocalypse that concluded in 14.49. They are known as 6 Ezra.
15.1–4 The author is made a prophet.
15.1 Put in your mouth. Cf. Isa 51.16; Jer 1.9. The author is unnamed, but is presumably Ezra.
15.2 Is this related to ch. 14? If so, 6 Ezra was written to supplement 4 Ezra. Paper, papyrus.
15.3 Cf. Jer 1.7–8.
15.5–27 Prediction of doom directed to the wicked. Egypt is mentioned specifically.
15.5 Cf. Isa 51.19; Jer 14.12.
15.6 There is a fixed measure of evil.
15.8 Blood cries out. Cf. Gen 4.10; reminiscent of Rev 6.9–10; 1 Enoch 9.3–5.
15.9 I will…avenge them, says the Lord. See Deut 32.43. Blood is life; cf. Lev 17.14.
15.10 Flock to the slaughter. Cf. Ps 44.22; Isa 53.7. The historical context remains obscure; some consider it the famine and plague in Alexandria sometime between 260 and 268 CE (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 7.21–22).
15.11 The exodus is invoked; cf. Deut 4.34.
15.13 Hail. Cf. Ex 9.25.
15.14 Troubles will come upon the whole earth.
15.15 Internecine strife; see 13.31; Mt 24.7.
15.16 The social order breaks down, part of the woes; cf. 5.1–13.
15.17–19 Civil order is overturned. Famine is also part of this chaos.
15.20 The kings are discussed here. Rising sun. The text is uncertain here.
15.21 Just as…so I will do. There is a relationship between punishment and the offense committed.
15.23 For fire as God’s weapon, cf. Deut 32.22; Ezek 22.21. God’s wrath affects the very underpinnings of the earth. Burnt straw, a common biblical image; cf. Ex 15.7; Mt 3.12.
15.24 A woe statement; cf. Isa 3.11; 1 Enoch 100.7–9.
15.25 Sanctuary may refer to a community.
15.26–27 The calamities that will befall the earth are foretold.
15.28–33 This passage has been thought to refer to the Sasanian Persian attack under Shapur of the mid-third century CE, which was eventually repulsed by Palmyrene forces under Odenathus, who was murdered in 267. Palmyra was an oasis between Syria and Babylonia and an important military and political force in the latter part of the third century.
15.29 Dragons of Arabia, the Palmyrene forces. The desert (i.e., Arabia) is a land of serpents (hissing); see Isa 30.6.
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br /> 15.30 Carmonians, usually interpreted as Persians from Kirman province. Land of the Assyrians, Syria.
15.31–32 Shapur’s defeat described.
15.33 Destroy one of them, perhaps the murder of Odenathus.
15.34–45 This passage is interpreted by some as the invasion of the Goths into the Roman Empire in the mid-third century CE; it could also be taken as a future prophecy.
15.34 For clouds in a symbolic vision, see also 2 Apocalypse of Baruch 53.
15.35 Blood…as high. Cf. Rev 14.20; 1 Enoch 100.3.
15.38–40 If the historical interpretation is taken, the events referred to here still are unclear, but the third century was very unsettled.
15.41 Flying swords. Cf. Sibylline Oracles 3.672.
15.43 Babylon means Rome; cf. 3.1; Rev 14.8; 2 Apocalypse of Baruch 11.1.
15.44–45 The attack reaches Rome itself.
15.46–63 Some have interpreted this passage as referring to the fate of Palmyra under Odenathus and Zenobia, while others see it as purely future prophecy.
15.47–48 Derived from Rev 17.4–6; Asia is the wicked harlot’s daughter.
15.49 Cf. 15.5; see also Rev 18.7–8.
15.53 6 Ezra refers throughout to my…people, e.g., v. 10, but their identification is uncertain. Drunk. Cf. Dan 5.2. 3 Apocalypse of Baruch 4.17 is strongly opposed to alcoholic drink.
15.55 In biblical legislation the harlot’s recompense is death (Gen 38.24; Lev 21.9).
15.56 See v. 21.
15.58 People fled to mountains in troubled times; see Isa 2.10, 19, 21; Mk 13.14; Mt 24.15–16; Rev 6.15–16. Eat their own flesh. Cf. Jer 19.9.
15.60 See vv. 43–44.
15.61–63 According to the historical interpretation, this is Zenobia’s defeat.
2 ESDRAS 16
Further Denunciations
1Woe to you, Babylon and Asia! Woe to you, Egypt and Syria! 2Bind on sackcloth and cloth of goats’ hair,a and wail for your children, and lament for them; for your destruction is at hand. 3The sword has been sent upon you, and who is there to turn it back? 4A fire has been sent upon you, and who is there to quench it? 5Calamities have been sent upon you, and who is there to drive them away? 6Can one drive off a hungry lion in the forest, or quench a fire in the stubble once it has started to burn?b 7Can one turn back an arrow shot by a strong archer? 8The Lord God sends calamities, and who will drive them away? 9Fire will go forth from his wrath, and who is there to quench it? 10He will flash lightning, and who will not be afraid? He will thunder, and who will not be terrified? 11The Lord will threaten, and who will not be utterly shattered at his presence? 12The earth and its foundations quake, the sea is churned up from the depths, and its waves and the fish with them shall be troubled at the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power. 13For his right hand that bends the bow is strong, and his arrows that he shoots are sharp and when they are shot to the ends of the world will not miss once. 14Calamities are sent forth and shall not return until they come over the earth. 15The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out until it consumes the foundations of the earth. 16Just as an arrow shot by a mighty archer does not return, so the calamities that are sent upon the earth shall not return. 17Alas for me! Alas for me! Who will deliver me in those days?
The Horror of the Last Days
18The beginning of sorrows, when there shall be much lamentation; the beginning of famine, when many shall perish; the beginning of wars, when the powers shall be terrified; the beginning of calamities, when all shall tremble. What shall they do, when the calamities come? 19Famine and plague, tribulation and anguish are sent as scourges for the correction of humankind. 20Yet for all this they will not turn from their iniquities, or ever be mindful of the scourges. 21Indeed, provisions will be so cheap upon earth that people will imagine that peace is assured for them, and then calamities shall spring up on the earth—the sword, famine, and great confusion. 22For many of those who live on the earth shall perish by famine; and those who survive the famine shall die by the sword. 23And the dead shall be thrown out like dung, and there shall be no one to console them; for the earth shall be left desolate, and its cities shall be demolished. 24No one shall be left to cultivate the earth or to sow it. 25The trees shall bear fruit, but who will gather it? 26The grapes shall ripen, but who will tread them? For in all places there shall be great solitude; 27a person will long to see another human being, or even to hear a human voice. 28For ten shall be left out of a city; and two, out of the field, those who have hidden themselves in thick groves and clefts in the rocks. 29Just as in an olive orchard three or four olives may be left on every tree, 30or just as, when a vineyard is gathered, some clusters may be leftc by those who search carefully through the vineyard, 31so in those days three or four shall be left by those who search their houses with the sword. 32The earth shall be left desolate, and its fields shall be plowed up,d and its roads and all its paths shall bring forth thorns, because no sheep will go along them. 33Virgins shall mourn because they have no bridegrooms; women shall mourn because they have no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, because they have no help. 34Their bridegrooms shall be killed in war, and their husbands shall perish of famine.
God’s People Must Prepare for the End
35Listen now to these things, and understand them, you who are servants of the Lord. 36This is the word of the Lord; receive it and do not disbelieve what the Lord says.e 37The calamities draw near, and are not delayed. 38Just as a pregnant woman, in the ninth month when the time of her delivery draws near, has great pains around her womb for two or three hours beforehand, but when the child comes forth from the womb, there will not be a moment’s delay, 39so the calamities will not delay in coming upon the earth, and the world will groan, and pains will seize it on every side.
40Hear my words, O my people; prepare for battle, and in the midst of the calamities be like strangers on the earth. 41Let the one who sells be like one who will flee; let the one who buys be like one who will lose; 42let the one who does business be like one who will not make a profit; and let the one who builds a house be like one who will not live in it; 43let the one who sows be like one who will not reap; so also the one who prunes the vines, like one who will not gather the grapes; 44those who marry, like those who will have no children; and those who do not marry, like those who are widowed. 45Because of this, those who labor, labor in vain; 46for strangers shall gather their fruits, and plunder their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captive; for in captivity and famine they will produce their children.f 47Those who conduct business, do so only to have it plundered; the more they adorn their cities, their houses and possessions, and their persons, 48the more angry I will be with them for their sins, says the Lord. 49Just as a respectable and virtuous woman abhors a prostitute, 50so righteousness shall abhor iniquity, when she decks herself out, and shall accuse her to her face when he comes who will defend the one who searches out every sin on earth.
The Power and Wisdom of God
51Therefore do not be like her or her works. 52For in a very short time iniquity will be removed from the earth, and righteousness will reign over us. 53Sinners must not say that they have not sinned;g for Godh will burn coals of fire on the head of everyone who says, “I have not sinned before God and his glory.” 54The Lordi certainly knows everything that people do; he knows their imaginations and their thoughts and their hearts. 55He said, “Let the earth be made,” and it was made, and “Let the heaven be made,” and it was made. 56At his word the stars were fixed in their places, and he knows the number of the stars. 57He searches the abyss and its treasures; he has measured the sea and its contents; 58he has confined the sea in the midst of the waters;j and by his word he has suspended the earth over the water. 59He has spread out the heaven like a dome and made it secure upon the waters; 60he has put springs of water in the desert, and pools on the tops of the mountains, so as to send rivers from the heights to water the earth. 61He formed human beings and put a heart in the midst of each body,
and gave each person breath and life and understanding 62and the spiritk of Almighty God,l who surely made all things and searches out hidden things in hidden places. 63He knows your imaginations and what you think in your hearts! Woe to those who sin and want to hide their sins! 64The Lord will strictly examine all their works, and will make a public spectacle of all of you. 65You shall be put to shame when your sins come out before others, and your own iniquities shall stand as your accusers on that day. 66What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins before the Lord and his glory? 67Indeed, Godm is the judge; fear him! Cease from your sins, and forget your iniquities, never to commit them again; so Godn will lead you forth and deliver you from all tribulation.
Impending Persecution of God’s People
68The burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you; they shall drag some of you away and force you to eat what was sacrificed to idols. 69And those who consent to eat shall be held in derision and contempt, and shall be trampled under foot. 70For in many placeso and in neighboring cities there shall be a great uprising against those who fear the Lord. 71They shallp be like maniacs, sparing no one, but plundering and destroying those who continue to fear the Lord.q 72For they shall destroy and plunder their goods, and drive them out of house and home. 73Then the tested quality of my elect shall be manifest, like gold that is tested by fire.
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