1. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 21.3 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 21.3. וְהָיָה הָעִיר הַקְּרֹבָה אֶל־הֶחָלָל וְלָקְחוּ זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִוא עֶגְלַת בָּקָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עֻבַּד בָּהּ אֲשֶׁר לֹא־מָשְׁכָה בְּעֹל׃ | 21.3. And it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 27.40 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 27.40. And by thy sword shalt thou live, And thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass when thou shalt break loose, That thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 19.2 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 19.2. זֹאת חֻקַּת הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה יְהוָה לֵאמֹר דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה תְּמִימָה אֲשֶׁר אֵין־בָּהּ מוּם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָלָה עָלֶיהָ עֹל׃ 19.2. וְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִטְמָא וְלֹא יִתְחַטָּא וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִתּוֹךְ הַקָּהָל כִּי אֶת־מִקְדַּשׁ יְהוָה טִמֵּא מֵי נִדָּה לֹא־זֹרַק עָלָיו טָמֵא הוּא׃ | 19.2. This is the statute of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer, faultless, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 5.18, 9.4, 14.25, 40.12, 46.6 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 5.18. הוֹי מֹשְׁכֵי הֶעָוֺן בְּחַבְלֵי הַשָּׁוְא וְכַעֲבוֹת הָעֲגָלָה חַטָּאָה׃ 9.4. כִּי כָל־סְאוֹן סֹאֵן בְּרַעַשׁ וְשִׂמְלָה מְגוֹלָלָה בְדָמִים וְהָיְתָה לִשְׂרֵפָה מַאֲכֹלֶת אֵשׁ׃ 14.25. לִשְׁבֹּר אַשּׁוּר בְּאַרְצִי וְעַל־הָרַי אֲבוּסֶנּוּ וְסָר מֵעֲלֵיהֶם עֻלּוֹ וְסֻבֳּלוֹ מֵעַל שִׁכְמוֹ יָסוּר׃ 40.12. מִי־מָדַד בְּשָׁעֳלוֹ מַיִם וְשָׁמַיִם בַּזֶּרֶת תִּכֵּן וְכָל בַּשָּׁלִשׁ עֲפַר הָאָרֶץ וְשָׁקַל בַּפֶּלֶס הָרִים וּגְבָעוֹת בְּמֹאזְנָיִם׃ 46.6. הַזָּלִים זָהָב מִכִּיס וְכֶסֶף בַּקָּנֶה יִשְׁקֹלוּ יִשְׂכְּרוּ צוֹרֵף וְיַעֲשֵׂהוּ אֵל יִסְגְּדוּ אַף־יִשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ׃ | 5.18. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as it were with a cart rope," 9.4. For every boot stamped with fierceness, and every cloak rolled in blood, shall even be for burning, for fuel of fire." 14.25. That I will break Asshur in My land, And upon My mountains tread him under foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, And his burden depart from off their shoulder." 40.12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, And meted out heaven with the span, And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, And weighed the mountains in scales, And the hills in a balance?" 46.6. Ye that lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance; ye that hire a goldsmith, that he make it a god, to fall down thereto, yea, to worship." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 5.5, 27.8 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 5.5. אֵלֲכָה־לִּי אֶל־הַגְּדֹלִים וַאֲדַבְּרָה אוֹתָם כִּי הֵמָּה יָדְעוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה מִשְׁפַּט אֱלֹהֵיהֶם אַךְ הֵמָּה יַחְדָּו שָׁבְרוּ עֹל נִתְּקוּ מוֹסֵרוֹת׃ 27.8. וְהָיָה הַגּוֹי וְהַמַּמְלָכָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יַעַבְדוּ אֹתוֹ אֶת־נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִתֵּן אֶת־צַוָּארוֹ בְּעֹל מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל בַּחֶרֶב וּבָרָעָב וּבַדֶּבֶר אֶפְקֹד עַל־הַגּוֹי הַהוּא נְאֻם־יְהוָה עַד־תֻּמִּי אֹתָם בְּיָדוֹ׃ | 5.5. I will get me unto the great men, And will speak unto them; For they know the way of the LORD, And the ordice of their God.’ But these had altogether broken the yoke, And burst the bands." 27.8. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I visit, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand." |
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6. Homer, Iliad, 19.406, 23.294 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)
| 19.406. /on a sudden he bowed his head, and all his mane streamed from beneath the yoke-pad beside the yoke, and touched the ground; and the goddess, white-armed Hera, gave him speech: Aye verily, yet for this time will we save thee, mighty Achilles, albeit the day of doom is nigh thee, nor shall we be the cause thereof 23.294. /and after him upsprang Tydeus' son, mighty Diomedes, and led beneath the yoke the horses of Tros, even them that on a time he had taken from Aeneas, albeit Apollo snatched away Aeneas' self; and after him uprose Atreus' son, fair-haired Menelaus, sprung from Zeus, and led beneath the yoke swift steeds, Aethe, Agamemnon's mare, and his own horse Podargus. |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 34.27 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 34.27. וְנָתַן עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה אֶת־פִּרְיוֹ וְהָאָרֶץ תִּתֵּן יְבוּלָהּ וְהָיוּ עַל־אַדְמָתָם לָבֶטַח וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי יְהוָה בְּשִׁבְרִי אֶת־מֹטוֹת עֻלָּם וְהִצַּלְתִּים מִיַּד הָעֹבְדִים בָּהֶם׃ | 34.27. And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her produce, and they shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them." |
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8. Euripides, Medea, 242 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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9. Hebrew Bible, 2 Chronicles, 10.4 (5th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 10.4. אָבִיךָ הִקְשָׁה אֶת־עֻלֵּנוּ וְעַתָּה הָקֵל מֵעֲבֹדַת אָבִיךָ הַקָּשָׁה וּמֵעֻלּוֹ הַכָּבֵד אֲשֶׁר־נָתַן עָלֵינוּ וְנַעַבְדֶךָּ׃ | 10.4. ’Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.’" |
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10. Anon., 1 Enoch, 54.6, 90.41, 91.6, 99.3-99.5, 100.1-100.3 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 54.6. And Michael, and Gabriel, and Raphael, and Phanuel shall take hold of them on that great day, and cast them on that day into the burning furnace, that the Lord of Spirits may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.' 90.41. gave Him glory. Then I wept with a great weeping and my tears stayed not till I could no longer endure it: when I saw, they flowed on account of what I had seen; for everything shall come and 91.6. And unrighteousness shall again be consummated on the earth, And all the deeds of unrighteousness and of violence And transgression shall prevail in a twofold degree. 99.3. In those days make ready, ye righteous, to raise your prayers as a memorial, And place them as a testimony before the angels, That they may place the sin of the sinners for a memorial before the Most High. 99.4. In those days the nations shall be stirred up, And the families of the nations shall arise on the day of destruction. 99.5. And in those days the destitute shall go forth and carry off their children, And they shall abandon them, so that their children shall perish through them: Yea, they shall abandon their children (that are still) sucklings, and not return to them, And shall have no pity on their beloved ones. 100.1. And in those days in one place the fathers together with their sons shall be smitten And brothers one with another shall fall in death Till the streams flow with their blood. 100.1. And now, know ye that from the angels He will inquire as to your deeds in heaven, from the sun and from the moon and from the stars in reference to your sins because upon the earth ye execute 100.2. For a man shall not withhold his hand from slaying his sons and his sons' sons, And the sinner shall not withhold his hand from his honoured brother: From dawn till sunset they shall slay one another. 100.3. And the horse shall walk up to the breast in the blood of sinners, And the chariot shall be submerged to its height. |
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11. Anon., Psalms of Solomon, 17.30 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
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12. Anon., Testament of Levi, 2.3 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 2.3. And when I was feeding the flocks in Abel-Maul, the spirit of understanding of the Lord came upon me, and I saw all men corrupting their way, and that unrighteousness had built for itself walls, and lawlessness sat upon towers. |
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13. Dead Sea Scrolls, War Scroll, 1.11-1.12, 16.11 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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14. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 5.27, 9.3, 10.2-10.3, 10.8-10.9, 12.4 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 5.27. תְּקֵל תְּקִילְתָּה בְמֹאזַנְיָא וְהִשְׁתְּכַחַתְּ חַסִּיר׃ 9.3. וָאֶתְּנָה אֶת־פָּנַי אֶל־אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים לְבַקֵּשׁ תְּפִלָּה וְתַחֲנוּנִים בְּצוֹם וְשַׂק וָאֵפֶר׃ 10.2. וַיֹּאמֶר הֲיָדַעְתָּ לָמָּה־בָּאתִי אֵלֶיךָ וְעַתָּה אָשׁוּב לְהִלָּחֵם עִם־שַׂר פָּרָס וַאֲנִי יוֹצֵא וְהִנֵּה שַׂר־יָוָן בָּא׃ 10.2. בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם אֲנִי דָנִיֵּאל הָיִיתִי מִתְאַבֵּל שְׁלֹשָׁה שָׁבֻעִים יָמִים׃ 10.3. לֶחֶם חֲמֻדוֹת לֹא אָכַלְתִּי וּבָשָׂר וָיַיִן לֹא־בָא אֶל־פִּי וְסוֹךְ לֹא־סָכְתִּי עַד־מְלֹאת שְׁלֹשֶׁת שָׁבֻעִים יָמִים׃ 10.8. וַאֲנִי נִשְׁאַרְתִּי לְבַדִּי וָאֶרְאֶה אֶת־הַמַּרְאָה הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְלֹא נִשְׁאַר־בִּי כֹּח וְהוֹדִי נֶהְפַּךְ עָלַי לְמַשְׁחִית וְלֹא עָצַרְתִּי כֹּחַ׃ 10.9. וָאֶשְׁמַע אֶת־קוֹל דְּבָרָיו וּכְשָׁמְעִי אֶת־קוֹל דְּבָרָיו וַאֲנִי הָיִיתִי נִרְדָּם עַל־פָּנַי וּפָנַי אָרְצָה׃ 12.4. וְאַתָּה דָנִיֵּאל סְתֹם הַדְּבָרִים וַחֲתֹם הַסֵּפֶר עַד־עֵת קֵץ יְשֹׁטְטוּ רַבִּים וְתִרְבֶּה הַדָּעַת׃ | 5.27. TEKEL, Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." 9.3. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes." 10.2. In those days I Daniel was mourning three whole weeks." 10.3. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled." 10.8. So that I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength." 10.9. Yet heard I the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I fallen into a deep sleep on my face, with my face toward the ground." 12.4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.’" |
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15. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 8.18, 8.31, 13.41 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 8.18. and to free themselves from the yoke; for they saw that the kingdom of the Greeks was completely enslaving Israel. 8.31. And concerning the wrongs which King Demetrius is doing to them we have written to him as follows, `Why have you made your yoke heavy upon our friends and allies the Jews? 13.41. In the one hundred and seventieth year the yoke of the Gentiles was removed from Israel |
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16. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 28.19-28.20, 33.27, 40.1, 51.26 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 28.19. Happy is the man who is protected from it,who has not been exposed to its anger,who has not borne its yoke,and has not been bound with its fetters; 33.27. Put him to work, that he may not be idle,for idleness teaches much evil. 40.1. Much labor was created for every man,and a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam,from the day they come forth from their mothers womb till the day they return to the mother of all. 40.1. All these were created for the wicked,and on their account the flood came. 51.26. Put your neck under the yoke,and let your souls receive instruction;it is to be found close by. |
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17. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 7.9, 17.30 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 7.9. Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem,because all gold is but a little sand in her sight,and silver will be accounted as clay before her. |
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18. Septuagint, 3 Maccabees, 4.9 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.9. They were brought on board like wild animals, driven under the constraint of iron bonds; some were fastened by the neck to the benches of the boats, others had their feet secured by unbreakable fetters |
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19. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 3.391, 3.448, 3.508, 3.537, 4.87, 5.3 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 3.391. And famine shall prevail until of king 3.448. From heaven to earth, and from the earth again 3.508. Much-bewailed. Therefore shall that time be called 3.537. Will he make gods stand, empty-headed men 4.87. When Hellas very glorious shall sail 5.3. After the kings of Egypt were destroyed |
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20. Anon., 2 Baruch, 5.7, 12.5, 20.6, 21.1, 47.2 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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21. New Testament, Luke, 21.23 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 21.23. Woe to those who are pregt and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land, and wrath to this people. |
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22. New Testament, Mark, 13.19 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 13.19. For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. |
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23. New Testament, Matthew, 24.7-24.12 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 24.7. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. 24.8. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains. 24.9. Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name's sake. 24.10. Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. 24.11. Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. 24.12. Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. |
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24. Seneca The Younger, On Anger, 3.36.1-3.36.3 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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25. Marcus Aurelius Emperor of Rome, Meditations, 2.17, 3.4 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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26. Anon., 2 Enoch, 1.2
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27. Anon., 3 Baruch, 1.1-1.3
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28. Anon., 4 Ezra, 3.2-3.33, 3.35-3.36, 4.1-4.10, 4.21, 4.23-4.24, 4.36, 5.13, 6.35, 6.55-6.59, 7.19-7.25, 7.46-7.48, 7.52-7.61, 7.72, 8.2-8.3, 8.34, 10.29-10.30
| 3.2. because I saw the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those who lived in Babylon. 3.3. My spirit was greatly agitated, and I began to speak anxious words to the Most High, and said 3.4. O sovereign Lord, didst thou not speak at the beginning when thou didst form the earth -- and that without help -- and didst command the dust 3.5. and it gave thee Adam, a lifeless body? Yet he was the workmanship of thy hands, and thou didst breathe into him the breath of life, and he was made alive in thy presence. 3.6. And thou didst lead him into the garden which thy right hand had planted before the earth appeared. 3.7. And thou didst lay upon him one commandment of thine; but he transgressed it, and immediately thou didst appoint death for him and for his descendants. From him there sprang nations and tribes, peoples and clans without number. 3.8. And every nation walked after its own will and did ungodly things before thee and scorned thee, and thou didst not hinder them. 3.9. But again, in its time thou didst bring the flood upon the inhabitants of the world and destroy them. 3.10. And the same fate befell them: as death came upon Adam, so the flood upon them. 3.11. But thou didst leave one of them, Noah with his household, and all the righteous who have descended from him. 3.12. When those who dwelt on earth began to multiply, they produced children and peoples and many nations, and again they began to be more ungodly than were their ancestors. 3.13. And when they were committing iniquity before thee, thou didst choose for thyself one of them, whose name was Abraham; 3.14. and thou didst love him, and to him only didst thou reveal the end of the times, secretly by night. 3.15. Thou didst make with him an everlasting covet, and promise him that thou wouldst never forsake his descendants; and thou gavest to him Isaac, and to Isaac thou gavest Jacob and Esau. 3.16. And thou didst set apart Jacob for thyself, but Esau thou didst reject; and Jacob became a great multitude. 3.17. And when thou didst lead his descendants out of Egypt, thou didst bring them to Mount Sinai. 3.18. Thou didst bend down the heavens and shake the earth, and move the world, and make the depths to tremble, and trouble the times. 3.19. And thy glory passed through the four gates of fire and earthquake and wind and ice, to give the law to the descendants of Jacob, and thy commandment to the posterity of Israel. 3.20. Yet thou didst not take away from them their evil heart, so that thy law might bring forth fruit in them. 3.21. For the first Adam, burdened with an evil heart, transgressed and was overcome, as were also all who were descended from him. 3.22. Thus the disease became permanent; the law was in the people's heart along with the evil root, but what was good departed, and the evil remained. 3.23. So the times passed and the years were completed, and thou didst raise up for thyself a servant, named David. 3.24. And thou didst command him to build a city for thy name, and in it to offer thee oblations from what is thine. 3.25. This was done for many years; but the inhabitants of the city transgressed 3.26. in everything doing as Adam and all his descendants had done, for they also had the evil heart. 3.27. So thou didst deliver the city into the hands of thy enemies. 3.28. Then I said in my heart, Are the deeds of those who inhabit Babylon any better? Is that why she has gained dominion over Zion? 3.29. For when I came here I saw ungodly deeds without number, and my soul has seen many sinners during these thirty years. And my heart failed me 3.30. for I have seen how thou dost endure those who sin, and hast spared those who act wickedly, and hast destroyed thy people, and hast preserved thy enemies 3.31. and hast not shown to any one how thy way may be comprehended. Are the deeds of Babylon better than those of Zion? 3.32. Or has another nation known thee besides Israel? Or what tribes have so believed thy covets as these tribes of Jacob? 3.33. Yet their reward has not appeared and their labor has borne no fruit. For I have traveled widely among the nations and have seen that they abound in wealth, though they are unmindful of thy commandments. 3.35. When have the inhabitants of the earth not sinned in thy sight? Or what nation has kept thy commandments so well? 3.36. Thou mayest indeed find individual men who have kept thy commandments, but nations thou wilt not find. 4.1. Then the angel that had been sent to me, whose name was Uriel, answered 4.2. and said to me, "Your understanding has utterly failed regarding this world, and do you think you can comprehend the way of the Most High? 4.3. Then I said, "Yes, my lord." And he replied to me, "I have been sent to show you three ways, and to put before you three problems. 4.4. If you can solve one of them for me, I also will show you the way you desire to see, and will teach you why the heart is evil. 4.5. I said, "Speak on, my lord." And he said to me, "Go, weigh for me the weight of fire, or measure for me a measure of wind, or call back for me the day that is past. 4.6. I answered and said, "Who of those that have been born can do this, that you ask me concerning these things? 4.7. And he said to me, "If I had asked you, `How many dwellings are in the heart of the sea, or how many streams are at the source of the deep, or how many streams are above the firmament, or which are the exits of hell, or which are the entrances of paradise?' 4.8. Perhaps you would have said to me, `I never went down into the deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever ascend into heaven.' 4.9. But now I have asked you only about fire and wind and the day, things through which you have passed and without which you cannot exist, and you have given me no answer about them! 4.10. And he said to me, "You cannot understand the things with which you have grown up; 4.21. For as the land is assigned to the forest and the sea to its waves, so also those who dwell upon earth can understand only what is on the earth, and he who is above the heavens can understand what is above the height of the heavens. 4.23. For I did not wish to inquire about the ways above, but about those things which we daily experience: why Israel has been given over to the Gentiles as a reproach; why the people whom you loved has been given over to godless tribes, and the law of our fathers has been made of no effect and the written covets no longer exist; 4.24. and why we pass from the world like locusts, and our life is like a mist, and we are not worthy to obtain mercy. 4.36. And Jeremiel the archangel answered them and said, `When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance 5.13. These are the signs which I am permitted to tell you, and if you pray again, and weep as you do now, and fast for seven days, you shall hear yet greater things than these. 6.35. Now after this I wept again and fasted seven days as before, in order to complete the three weeks as I had been told. 6.55. All this I have spoken before thee, O Lord, because thou hast said that it was for us that thou didst create this world. 6.56. As for the other nations which have descended from Adam, thou hast said that they are nothing, and that they are like spittle, and thou hast compared their abundance to a drop from a bucket. 6.57. And now, O Lord, behold, these nations, which are reputed as nothing, domineer over us and devour us. 6.58. But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy first-born, only begotten, zealous for thee, and most dear, have been given into their hands. 6.59. If the world has indeed been created for us, why do we not possess our world as an inheritance? How long will this be so? 7.19. And he said to me, "You are not a better judge than God, or wiser than the Most High! 7.20. Let many perish who are now living, rather than that the law of God which is set before them be disregarded! 7.21. For God strictly commanded those who came into the world, when they came, what they should do to live, and what they should observe to avoid punishment. 7.22. Nevertheless they were not obedient, and spoke against him; they devised for themselves vain thoughts 7.23. and proposed to themselves wicked frauds; they even declared that the Most High does not exist, and they ignored his ways! 7.24. They scorned his law, and denied his covets; they have been unfaithful to his statutes, and have not performed his works. 7.25. Therefore, Ezra, empty things are for the empty, and full things are for the full. 7.46. But what of those for whom I prayed? For who among the living is there that has not sinned, or who among men that has not transgressed thy covet? 7.47. And now I see that the world to come will bring delight to few, but torments to many. 7.48. For an evil heart has grown up in us, which has alienated us from God, and has brought us into corruption and the ways of death, and has shown us the paths of perdition and removed us far from life -- and that not just a few of us but almost all who have been created! 7.52. If you have just a few precious stones, will you add to them lead and clay? 7.53. I said, "Lord, how could that be? 7.54. And he said to me, "Not only that, but ask the earth and she will tell you; defer to her, and she will declare it to you. 7.55. Say to her, `You produce gold and silver and brass, and also iron and lead and clay; 7.56. but silver is more abundant than gold, and brass than silver, and iron than brass, and lead than iron, and clay than lead.' 7.57. Judge therefore which things are precious and desirable, those that are abundant or those that are rare? 7.58. I said, "O sovereign Lord, what is plentiful is of less worth, for what is more rare is more precious. 7.59. He answered me and said, "Weigh within yourself what you have thought, for he who has what is hard to get rejoices more than he who has what is plentiful. 7.60. So also will be the judgment which I have promised; for I will rejoice over the few who shall be saved, because it is they who have made my glory to prevail now, and through them my name has now been honored. 7.61. And I will not grieve over the multitude of those who perish; for it is they who are now like a mist, and are similar to a flame and smoke -- they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are extinguished. 7.72. For this reason, therefore, those who dwell on earth shall be tormented, because though they had understanding they committed iniquity, and though they received the commandments they did not keep them, and though they obtained the law they dealt unfaithfully with what they received. 8.2. But I tell you a parable, Ezra. Just as, when you ask the earth, it will tell you that it provides very much clay from which earthenware is made, but only a little dust from which gold comes; so is the course of the present world. 8.3. Many have been created, but few shall be saved. 8.34. But what is man, that thou art angry with him; or what is a corruptible race, that thou art so bitter against it? 10.29. As I was speaking these words, behold, the angel who had come to me at first came to me, and he looked upon me; 10.30. and behold, I lay there like a corpse and I was deprived of my understanding. Then he grasped my right hand and strengthened me and set me on my feet, and said to me |
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29. Anon., Apocalypse of Abraham, 9.7, 12.1-12.2
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30. Anon., Ascension of Isaiah, 2.9-2.10
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