Fourth Ezra

Now concerning the signs:

behold, days are coming,

and the inhabitants of the earth will be seized with great panic,

and the portion of truth will be hidden,

and the land of faith will be barren.

And iniquity and dissoluteness will increase,

more than this which you see now,

and more than that which you have heard of formerly.

And it will be without stability,

and untrodden, this land which you now see reigning,

and they will see this land made desolate.

And if the Most High grants you

vision,

you will see that which is after the third thrown into confusion;

and the sun shall suddenly shine forth by night,

and the moon by day.

And blood shall drip from wood,

and the stone shall utter its voice,

and the peoples shall be troubled,

and the skies shall be altered.

And one shall reign whom many do not expect,

and the birds shall fly away,

and the Sea of Sodom shall cast forth fish,

and it shall utter its voice by night, which many do not know;

and all shall hear its voice.

And chasms shall open in many places, and fire shall continually break out, and the wild beasts of the field shall wander away from their haunts, and portents shall be brought forth by women, for infants shall be born before they are mature.

And salt waters shall be found in sweet, and friends shall suddenly make war on their friends; and then wisdom shall hide itself, and understanding shall withdraw into its chambers,

and it shall be sought

by many, but shall not be found; and oppression and dissipation shall increase upon the earth.

And one region shall ask another that is near to it and say, 'Has righteousness, or a man who does righteousness, passed through you?' And that region will deny it.

And it shall come to pass in that time that human beings shall hope and not obtain; and they shall strive and not succeed; and they shall labor, but their way shall not prosper.

These signs I was commanded to tell you; and if you pray again and petition as now, and fast seven days, you shall hear yet greater things than these."

Then I awoke, and my body trembled exceedingly, and my soul was so weary that it was as if to depart.

And the angel who spoke with me took hold of me, and strengthened me, and set me upon my feet.

And it came to pass on the second night that Phaltiel, a leader of the people, came to me and said to me, "Where have you been, and why is your face downcast?

Or do you not know that you were entrusted with Israel in the land of their captivity?

Rise up therefore and eat a little bread, lest you forsake them like a shepherd forsaking his flock into the hands of ravenous wolves."

And I said to him, "Depart from me and do not come near me for seven days, and then you shall come to me and I will speak to you." And when I had said this to him, he departed from me. The Prayer of Ezra.

And I fasted seven days, groaning and weeping, just as Ramiel the angel had commanded me.

And it came to pass after seven days, that behold, the thoughts of my heart were again very grievous to me.

And my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began again to speak words of petition and supplication before the Most High.

And I answered and said, "O Lord, my Lord, from all the forests of the earth and its trees you have chosen for yourself one vine;

and from all the lands of the world you have chosen for yourself one region;

and from all the depths of the sea you have filled for yourself one stream; and from all

the flowers

of the world you have chosen for yourself one flower; and from all the cities that have been built you have consecrated Zion for yourself;

and from all the birds that were created you have named for yourself one dove; and from all the flocks that were created you have chosen for yourself one sheep;

and from the multitude of nations you have brought near to yourself one people; and the law that was approved above all you gave to the people whom you loved.

And now, Lord, why have you surrendered the one to the many, and dishonored the one root more than the many, and scattered and dispersed your only one among the many?

And those who oppose your commandments have trampled upon those who believed in your covenant.

And if you truly hate your people, it were fitting that they should be punished by your own hands."

And after I had spoken these words, the angel who had been sent to me on the preceding night was sent to me,

and he said to me, "Listen to me, Ezra, and I will instruct you; and look upon me, and I will set forth words before you."

And I answered and said to him, "Speak, my Lord." And he said to me, "Are you so greatly troubled concerning Israel? Or do you love him more than his Maker does?"

And I said, "No, my Lord, but in my sorrow I have spoken; for my reins torment me every hour as I seek to comprehend the judgment of the Most High and to search out something of his justice."

And he said to me, "You cannot." And I said to him, "Why, my Lord?

I pray,

why then was I born? And why did not my mother's womb become my grave, that I might not see the travail of Jacob and the weariness of the offspring of Israel?"

And he answered and said to me, "Count for me those who have not yet come, and gather for me the drops that are scattered, and make green for me the flowers that are withered;

and open for me the chambers that are shut, and bring out for me the winds that are imprisoned in them; and show me the likeness of faces that you have not yet seen, or show me the likeness of a voice; and then I will make known to you the travail and the time that you seek to see."

And I said, "O Lord, my Lord, who is able to know these things except one whose dwelling is not with human beings?

As for me, I am foolish and wretched; how can I speak concerning these things that you have asked me?"

And he said to me, "Just as you are not able to do one of these things that have been mentioned, even so you cannot find out my judgment or the fullness of the love that I have promised to my people."

And I said, "Yet, Lord, behold, you have made promise to those who exist at the end; but what shall they do who were before us, or we ourselves, or those who come after us?"

And he answered and said to me, "I have likened my judgment to a circle; just as there is no lateness for the last, so there is no precedence for the first."

And I answered and said, "Could you not have made together those who have been, those who are, and those who are yet to be, so that you might make your judgment known quickly?"

And he answered and said to me, "Creation cannot hasten faster than its Creator; neither could the world bear all those who were to be created in it at once."

And again I answered and said, "And how did you say to your servant that you will certainly give life all at once to the creation that was created by you? If therefore they will indeed live all at once and creation will endure it, it could even now endure those who are coming into being all at once."

And he answered and said to me, "Ask the womb of a woman, and say to it, 'If you bear ten children, why do you bear them one by one?' Demand of it therefore that it give birth to ten at one time."

And I said, "It cannot, my lord, except at intervals."

And he said to me, "So also have I made the earth a womb for those who come upon it at intervals."

"For just as an infant does not give birth, nor she who has grown old any longer, so also have I ordered the world that I created."

And I asked him and said, "Seeing that you have now given me the way to speak before you: is our mother Zion, of whom you spoke to me—yes, my lord, is she still young, or is she now already nearing old age?"

And he answered and said to me, "Ask a woman who gives birth, and she will tell you."

"Say to her: 'Why are those whom you bear now unlike the earlier ones, but smaller in stature?'"

"And she will say to you, 'Those who were born in the strength of youth are of one sort, and those born in old age, when the womb begins to fail, are of another.'"

"Consider therefore, you also, and see that you are smaller in stature than those who were before you;"

"and those who come after you will be smaller still than you, because creation is already growing old and the vigor of its youth has passed away."

And I answered and said, "I beseech you, my lord, if I have found favor before you, make known to your servant through whom you will visit your creation."