2 Esdras 10 — WEBU
10Verse 1“So it came to pass that when my son was entered into his wedding chamber, he fell down and died.Verse 2Then we all put out the lamps, and all my+neighbors rose up to comfort me. I remained quiet until the second day at night.Verse 3It came to pass, when they had all stopped consoling me, encouraging me to be quiet, then rose I up by night, and fled, and came here into this field, as you see.Verse 4Now I don’t intend to return into the city, but to stay here, and not eat or drink, but to continually mourn and fast until I die.”Verse 5Then I left the reflections I was engaged in, and answered her in anger,Verse 6“You most foolish woman, don’t you see our mourning, and what has happened to us?Verse 7For Zion the mother of us all is full of sorrow, and much humbled.Verse 8+It is right now to mourn deeply, since we all mourn, and to be sorrowful, since we are all in sorrow, but you are mourning for one son.Verse 9Ask the earth, and she will tell you that it is she which ought to mourn for so many that grow upon her.Verse 10For out of her, all had their beginnings, and others will come; and, behold, almost all of them walk into destruction, and the multitude of them is utterly doomed.Verse 11Who then should mourn more,+she who has lost so great a multitude, or you, who are grieved but for one?Verse 12But if you say to me, ‘My lamentation is not like the earth’s, for I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I brought forth with pains, and bare with sorrows;’Verse 13but it is with the earth after the manner of the earth. The multitude present in it has gone as it came.Verse 14Then say I to you, ‘Just as you have brought forth with sorrow, even so the earth also has given her fruit, namely, people, ever since the beginning to him who made her.’Verse 15Now therefore keep your sorrow to yourself, and bear with a good courage the adversities which have happened to you.Verse 16For if you will acknowledge the decree of God to be just, you will both receive your son in time, and will be praised among women.Verse 17Go your way then into the city to your husband.”Verse 18She said to me, “I won’t do that. I will not go into the city, but I will die here.”Verse 19So I proceeded to speak further to her, and said,Verse 20“Don’t do so, but allow yourself to be persuaded by reason of the adversities of Zion; and be comforted by reason of the sorrow of Jerusalem.Verse 21For you see that our sanctuary has been laid waste, our altar broken down, our temple destroyed,Verse 22our lute has been brought low, our song is put to silence, our rejoicing is at an end, the light of our candlestick is put out, the ark of our covenant is plundered, our holy things are defiled, and the name that we are called is profaned. Our free men are despitefully treated, our priests are burned, our Levites have gone into captivity, our virgins are defiled and our wives ravished, our righteous men carried away, our little ones betrayed, our young men are brought into bondage, and our strong men have become weak.Verse 23What is more than all, the seal of Zion has now lost the seal of her honor, and is delivered into the hands of those who hate us.Verse 24Therefore shake off your great heaviness, and put away from yourself the multitude of sorrows, that the Mighty One may be merciful to you again, and the Most High may give you rest, even ease from your troubles.”Verse 25It came to pass while I was talking with her, behold, her face suddenly began to shine exceedingly, and her countenance glistered like lightning, so that I was very afraid of her, and wondered what this meant.Verse 26Behold, suddenly she made a great and very fearful cry, so that the earth shook at the noise.Verse 27I looked, and behold, the woman appeared to me no more, but there was a city built, and a place shown itself from large foundations. Then I was afraid, and cried with a loud voice,Verse 28“Where is Uriel the angel, who came to me at the first? For he has caused me to fall into this great trance, and my end has turned into corruption, and my prayer a reproach!”Verse 29As I was speaking these words, behold, the angel who had come to me at first came to me, and he looked at me.Verse 30Behold, I lay as one who had been dead, and my understanding was taken from me. He took me by the right hand, and comforted me, and set me on my feet, and said to me,Verse 31“What ails you? Why are you so troubled? Why is your understanding and the thoughts of your heart troubled?”Verse 32I said, “Because you have forsaken me; yet I did according to your words, and went into the field, and, behold, I have seen, and still see, that which I am not able to explain.”Verse 33He said to me, “Stand up like a man, and I will instruct you.”Verse 34Then I said, “Speak on, my Lord; only don’t forsake me, lest I die before my time.Verse 35For I have seen what I didn’t know, and hear what I don’t know.Verse 36Or is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream?Verse 37Now therefore I beg you to explain to your servant what this vision means.”Verse 38He answered me, “Listen to me, and I will inform you, and tell you about the things you are afraid of, for the Most High has revealed many secret things to you.Verse 39He has seen that your way is righteous, because you are continually sorry for your people, and make great lamentation for Zion.Verse 40This therefore is the meaning of the vision.Verse 41The woman who appeared to you a little while ago, whom you saw mourning, and began to comfort her,Verse 42but now you no longer see the likeness of the woman, but a city under construction appeared to you,Verse 43and she told you of the death of her son, this is the interpretation:Verse 44This woman, whom you saw, is Zion,+whom you now see as a city being built.Verse 45She told you that she had been barren for thirty years because there were three thousand years in the world in which there was no offering as yet offered in her.Verse 46And it came to pass after three thousand years that Solomon built the city and offered offerings. It was then that the barren bore a son.Verse 47She told you that she nourished him with great care. That was the dwelling in Jerusalem.Verse 48When she said to you, ‘My son died when he entered into his marriage chamber, and that misfortune befell her,’ this was the destruction that came to Jerusalem.Verse 49Behold, you saw her likeness, how she mourned for her son, and you began to comfort her for what has happened to her. These were the things to be opened to you.Verse 50For now the Most High, seeing that you are sincerely grieved and suffer from your whole heart for her, has shown you the brightness of her glory and the attractiveness of her beauty.Verse 51Therefore I asked you to remain in the field where no house was built,Verse 52for I knew that the Most High would show this to you.Verse 53Therefore I commanded you to come into the field, where no foundation of any building was.Verse 54For no human construction could stand in the place in which the city of the Most High was to be shown.Verse 55Therefore don’t be afraid nor let your heart be terrified, but go your way in and see the beauty and greatness of the building, as much as your eyes are able to see.Verse 56Then will you hear as much as your ears may comprehend.Verse 57For you are more blessed than many, and are called by name to be with the Most High, like only a few.Verse 58But tomorrow at night you shall remain here,Verse 59and so the Most High will show you those visions in dreams of what the Most High will do to those who live on the earth in the last days.” So I slept that night and another, as he commanded me.