Fourth Ezra

And he answered and said to me, "The beginning was through the Son of Man, but the end is through my own hands. For just as before the earth of the world existed, and before the exits of the world were established, and before the weight of the winds blew,"

"and before the sound of the thunders was heard, and before the flashes of the lightnings shone, and before the land of paradise was confirmed,"

"and before the beauty of the flowers appeared, and before the power of the earthquakes was strengthened, and before the countless hosts of angels were gathered,"

"and before the heights of"

"the air were exalted,"

"and before the measures of the firmaments were named, and before the footstool of Zion was established,"

"and before the present years were reckoned, and before the follies of present sinners were fashioned, and before those who gathered treasures of faith were sealed—"

"even then I deliberated, and all these things came into being through my hands alone, and not through the hands of another."

And I answered and said, "What will be the division of the times? Or when will be the end of the first age, or what will be the beginning of the second?"

And he answered and said to me, "From Abraham to Abraham; from Abraham was born Isaac, and from Isaac were born Jacob and Esau, and Jacob's hand held the heel of Esau."

"For Esau is the heel of the first, and Jacob is the hand of the second."

"For the beginning of a man is his hand, and the end of a man is his heel. Between the heel and the hand, therefore, seek nothing else, O Ezra!"

And I answered and said, "O Lord, my Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes,"

"make known to your servant the completion of the signs, of which you showed me a part on a previous night."

And he answered and said to me, "Rise to your feet, and you will hear a loud voice."

"And it shall be that if the place on which you stand should shake violently,"

"while it speaks with you, do not be terrified, for the word is about the good news of the end; and the foundations of the earth will understand"

"that the word concerns them, and they will tremble and quake, for they perceive that their end is being changed."

And it came to pass, when I heard it, I stood up on my feet; and I listened, and behold, a voice was speaking, and its sound was like the sound of many waters.

And it said, "Behold, the days are coming, and it will be, when I draw near to visit the inhabitants of the earth,"

"and when I am about to require retribution by the hands of the wicked, and when the humiliation of Zion is fulfilled,"

"and when this age which is about to pass away is sealed, these signs I will do: the books will be opened before the face of the firmament, and they will all see my judgment together."

"And one-year-old infants will speak and lift up their voices, and pregnant women will give birth untimely to infants of three and four months, and they will live and leap about."

"And suddenly places that were not"

"sown"

"will be found sown, and storehouses that were full will suddenly be found empty."

"And a trumpet will sound with a loud voice, which all will suddenly hear and be terrified."

"And it will be at that time that friends will make war against their friends like enemies, so that the earth with its inhabitants will be astonished; and the springs of fountains will stand still, so that they will not flow for three hours."

"And it will be that whoever survives all these things that I have foretold to you will be saved and will see my salvation and the end of the world."

"And then they will see the men who were taken up, who have not tasted death from their birth; and the heart of the inhabitants of the earth will be changed and transformed into a different mind."

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

"Faith will flourish, corruption will be overcome, and truth will be revealed, which has remained without fruit for many years."

And it came to pass, while he was speaking with me, behold, little by little the place on which I stood was shaking.

And he said to me, "These things I have come to show you this night."

"If therefore you will pray again and fast for seven days, I will again reveal to you things greater than these."

And be-

cause

your voice was heard before the Most High; for the Mighty One has seen your uprightness and also the holiness that you have had since your youth.

And on account of this he has sent me to reveal to you all these things. And he said to me: Take courage, and do not fear.

And do not hasten to think evil thoughts concerning the earlier times, lest you face judgment in the latter times.

And it came to pass after these things that I wept and fasted seven days, so that I might complete the three weeks that were told to me.

And it came to pass on the eighth night, behold, my heart was again troubled within me, and I began to speak before the Most High.

For my spirit was greatly inflamed, and my soul was in distress.

And I said, 'O Lord, my Lord, you indeed spoke from the beginning of your creation on the first day, and said that heaven and earth should come to be; and your word, Lord, accomplished the work.

And then the Spirit was hovering, and darkness was covering, and there was a silence of sound, and the voice of a human being did not yet exist.

Then you commanded that a ray of light should come forth from your own storehouses, so that your works might be seen.

And again on the second day you created the spirit of the firmament, and commanded it to make a division between waters and waters, so that a part of them should ascend above, and the other part should remain below.

And on the third day you commanded the waters to be gathered together into one of the seven parts of the earth; but six parts you dried and preserved, so that from them some might serve before you, and be cultivated and sown.

And your own word went forth, and in that very hour the work was accomplished.

For then suddenly there sprang up fruits in great abundance without number, sweet in their tastes of every kind, and flowers of diverse appearances that were not alike to one another, and trees incomparable in their appearance, and fragrances inscrutable in their perfumes. These came to be on the third day.

And on the fourth day you commanded, and there came to be the shining sun, and the brightness of the moon, and the order of the stars.

And you commanded them to serve the human being who was to be formed by you.

And on the fifth day you spoke to the seventh part where the waters were, that it should bring forth beasts and winged birds and fish.

And the waters, being speechless and lifeless, produced that which has life, so that from these the generations might recount your wondrous deeds.

And then you preserved two living creatures that you had created; and you called the name of the one Behemoth, and the name of the other you called Leviathan.

And you separated them one from the other, for that wet seventh part was not able to hold them both.

And you gave to Behemoth one of the parts that was dried on the third day, that he might dwell there, where there are a thousand mountains.

And to Leviathan you gave one of the seven parts of moisture; and you preserved them to be food for whomever you will, and whenever you will.

And on the sixth day you commanded the earth to bring forth before you domestic animals and wild beasts and creeping things;

and over these you appointed Adam as ruler over all the works that you had created beforehand; and from him are we, the people whom you have chosen.

All these things I have spoken before you, O Lord, my Lord, because you said that for our sake you created this world.

As for the rest of the nations who were born of Adam, you said that they are nothing, and you compared them to spittle, and like a drop from a bucket you have reckoned their abundance.

And now, Lord, behold, these nations that were considered as nothing, behold, they rule over us and trample us down.

And we, your people, whom you have honored and called your firstborn, only-begotten, near, and beloved, behold, we are handed over into their hands.

And if the world was created for our sake, why do we not inherit our world? How long shall these things be?'