厄斯德拉四書（拉丁 2 Esdras） 第 5 章

But concerning the signs: behold, the days will come when those who dwell on the earth shall be seized with great terror; and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith;

and iniquity shall be multiplied beyond what you yourself now see, and beyond what you have heard of long ago.

And the land which you now see ruling shall be trodden down out of its course, and they shall see it made desolate.

But if the Most High grants you to live, you shall see it thrown into confusion after the third trumpet; and suddenly the sun shall shine forth by night, and the moon thrice in the day,

and blood shall drip from the wood, and the stone shall utter its voice, and the peoples shall be troubled;

and one shall reign whom those who dwell on the earth do not expect, and the birds shall migrate away;

and the Sodomite sea shall cast forth fish, and shall give a voice by night, which many did not know. And all shall hear its voice;

and chaos shall break out in many places, and fire shall often burst forth, and wild beasts shall change their haunts, and menstruous women shall bear monsters;

and in fresh waters salt shall be found, and all friends shall war one against another; and then understanding shall be hidden, and reason shall withdraw into its storehouse;

and it shall be sought by many, and shall not be found; and injustice and intemperance shall be multiplied upon the earth.

And one land shall ask its neighbour and say: Has righteousness, that makes men just, passed through you? And it shall answer, No.

And it shall be at that time that men shall hope, but shall not obtain; they shall labour, but their ways shall not be made straight.

I have been permitted to tell you these signs; and if you pray again and weep, as even now, and fast seven days, you shall hear yet greater things than these.

And I awoke, and my body shuddered greatly, and my soul laboured even to fainting;

and the angel who had come, who spoke with me, held me up, and strengthened me, and set me on my feet.

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

Do you not know that Israel has been entrusted to you in the land of their exile?

Rise up therefore, and taste bread, and do not forsake us, as a shepherd forsakes his flock into the hands of vicious wolves.

And I said to him: Go away from me, and do not come near me. And he heard, as I said, and withdrew from me.

And I fasted seven days, wailing and weeping, as the angel Uriel had commanded me.

And it came to pass after seven days, that the thoughts of my heart again troubled me greatly,

and my soul recovered the spirit of understanding; and again I began to speak words before the Most High,

and I said: O Lord, Sovereign, out of every forest of the earth, and all its trees, you have chosen one single vine;

and out of all the lands of the world, you have chosen for yourself one valley; and out of all the flowers of the world, you have chosen for yourself one lily;

and out of all the depths of the sea, you have filled for yourself one stream; and out of all the cities that are built, you have sanctified Zion for yourself;

and out of all the birds that were created, you have named for yourself one dove; and out of all the cattle that were formed, you have provided for yourself one sheep;

and out of all the peoples that were multiplied, you have acquired for yourself one people; and the law approved by all you have given to this people, whom you have desired.

And now, O Lord, why have you given over the one to the many? And you have prepared others upon the one root, and have scattered your only one among the many;

and those who contradicted your promises and did not believe your covenants have trampled it down.

And if you so utterly hate your people, it ought to be chastened by your own hands.

And it came to pass, when I had spoken these words, that the angel was sent to me, who had come to me on the night before,

and he said to me: Hear me, and I will instruct you; and give heed to me, and I will tell you yet more.

And I said: Speak, my lord. And he said to me: You have become exceedingly distressed in mind for Israel. Have you loved him more than he who made him?

And I said to him: No, my lord; but I have spoken out of grief. For my inmost being torments me at every hour, as I seek to lay hold of the path of the Most High, and to search out part of his judgement.

And he said to me: You cannot. And I said: Why, Lord? To what end was I born? Or why did not my mother's womb become my grave, that I might not see the travail of Jacob and the weariness of the race of Israel?

And he said to me: Count for me what has not yet come, and gather for me the scattered drops, and make green again for me the withered flowers,

and open for me the closed storehouses, and bring out for me the winds shut up in them; show me the image of a voice; and then I will show you the travail which you ask to see.

And I said: O Lord, Sovereign, who is able to know these things, except him who has no dwelling among men?

But I am foolish; how then shall I be able to speak of the things about which you have asked me?

And he said to me: Just as you cannot do one of these things that have been named, so you cannot discover my judgement, nor the love which I have promised to my people in the end.

And I said: But behold, O Lord, you are near to those who are at the end; and what shall those do who were before me, or we, or those who come after us?

And he said to me: I will liken my judgement to a circle; just as for the last there is no delay, so for the first there is no haste.

And I answered and said: Could you not have made those who have been, and who are, and who shall be, all at once, that you might the more quickly reveal your judgement?

And he answered me and said: The creature cannot hasten beyond the Creator, nor can the age hold together at once all those who are to be created in it.

And I said: How then did you say to your servant that you would assuredly give life to the creation you have made, all at once, and the creature would bear it? Then it can even now bear those who are present, all together.

And he said to me: Ask the womb of a woman, and say to her: If you bear children, why do you do it according to time? Ask her then to give ten at one birth.

And I said: She cannot at all, but only according to the time.

And he said to me: Even so I have given the womb of the earth to those who are sown upon it, each in its own time.

For just as an infant does not bring forth the things of the aged, so I have ordered the age created by me.

And I enquired and said: Since you have now given me the way, I will speak before you: is our mother, of whom you told me, still young? Or is she already drawing near to old age?

And he answered me and said: Ask her who bears children, and she will tell you.

For you shall say to her: Why are those whom you now bear not like those who were before you, but smaller in stature?

And she too will say to you: Some are born in the vigour of youth, and others in the time of old age, when the womb is failing.

Consider then, you too, that you are of smaller stature than those who were before you;

and those after you are smaller than you, as creatures already growing old and passing out of the strength of youth. And I said: I beseech you, Lord, if I have found grace before your eyes, show your servant by whom you will visit your creation.