1. Septuagint, Tobit, 8.6 (10th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 8.6. Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife as a helper and support.From them the race of mankind has sprung.Thou didst say, `It is not good that the man should be alone;let us make a helper for him like himself. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Proverbs, 8.22-8.25 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 8.22. יְהוָה קָנָנִי רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ קֶדֶם מִפְעָלָיו מֵאָז׃ 8.23. מֵעוֹלָם נִסַּכְתִּי מֵרֹאשׁ מִקַּדְמֵי־אָרֶץ׃ 8.24. בְּאֵין־תְּהֹמוֹת חוֹלָלְתִּי בְּאֵין מַעְיָנוֹת נִכְבַּדֵּי־מָיִם׃ 8.25. בְּטֶרֶם הָרִים הָטְבָּעוּ לִפְנֵי גְבָעוֹת חוֹלָלְתִּי׃ | 8.22. The LORD made me as the beginning of His way, The first of His works of old." 8.23. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Or ever the earth was." 8.24. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; When there were no fountains abounding with water." 8.25. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth;" |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 40.17 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 40.17. כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם כְּאַיִן נֶגְדּוֹ מֵאֶפֶס וָתֹהוּ נֶחְשְׁבוּ־לוֹ׃ | 40.17. All the nations are as nothing before Him; They are accounted by Him as things of nought, and vanity." |
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4. Septuagint, Tobit, 8.6 (4th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 8.6. Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife as a helper and support.From them the race of mankind has sprung.Thou didst say, `It is not good that the man should be alone;let us make a helper for him like himself. |
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5. Anon., 1 Enoch, 1.2, 1.9, 5.5-5.7, 5.9, 21.5, 21.9, 27.2, 33.3, 80.1-80.8 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.2. living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked and godless are to be removed. And he took up his parable and said -Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which i 1.9. And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly:And to convict all flesh of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. 5.5. Therefore shall ye execrate your days, And the years of your life shall perish, And the years of your destruction shall be multiplied in eternal execration, And ye shall find no mercy. 5.9. And they shall not again transgress, Nor shall they sin all the days of their life, Nor shall they die of (the divine) anger or wrath, But they shall complete the number of the days of their life.And their lives shall be increased in peace, And the years of their joy shall be multiplied, In eternal gladness and peace, All the days of their life. 21.5. I said: 'For what sin are they bound, and on what account have they been cast in hither' Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me, and was chief over them, and said: 'Enoch, why 21.9. fearful is the place and how terrible to look upon!' Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'Enoch, why hast thou such fear and affright' And 27.2. accursed valley between' Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered and said: 'This accursed valley is for those who are accursed for ever: Here shall all the accursed be gathered together who utter with their lips against the Lord unseemly words and of His glory speak hard things. Here shall they be gathered together, and here 33.3. I counted the portals out of which they proceed, and wrote down all their outlets, of each individual star by itself, according to their number and their names, their courses and their positions, and their 80.1. And in those days the angel Uriel answered and said to me: ' Behold, I have shown thee everything, Enoch, and I have revealed everything to thee that thou shouldst see this sun and this moon, and the leaders of the stars of the heaven and all those who turn them, their tasks and times and departures. 80.2. And in the days of the sinners the years shall be shortened, And their seed shall be tardy on their lands and fields, And all things on the earth shall alter, And shall not appear in their time: And the rain shall be kept back And the heaven shall withhold (it). 80.3. And in those times the fruits of the earth shall be backward, And shall not grow in their time, And the fruits of the trees shall be withheld in their time. 80.4. And the moon shall alter her order, And not appear at her time. 80.5. [And in those days the sun shall be seen and he shall journey in the evening on the extremity of the great chariot in the west] And shall shine more brightly than accords with the order of light. 80.6. And many chiefs of the stars shall transgress the order (prescribed). And these shall alter their orbits and tasks, And not appear at the seasons prescribed to them. 80.7. And the whole order of the stars shall be concealed from the sinners, And the thoughts of those on the earth shall err concerning them, [And they shall be altered from all their ways], Yea, they shall err and take them to be gods. 80.8. And evil shall be multiplied upon them, And punishment shall come upon them So as to destroy all.' |
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6. Anon., Jubilees, 19.16, 19.19, 22.9-22.24 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 19.16. and Jacob was a smooth and upright man, and Esau was fierce, a man of the field, and hairy, and Jacob dwelt in tents. 19.19. And Abraham saw the deeds of Esau, and he knew that in Jacob should his name and seed be called; 22.9. And now I give thanks unto Thee, my God, because Thou hast caused me to see this day: 22.10. behold, I am one hundred three score and fifteen years, an old man and full of days, and all my days have been unto me peace. 22.11. The sword of the adversary hath not overcome me in all that Thou hast given me and my children all the days of my life until this day. 22.12. My God, may Thy mercy and Thy peace be upon Thy servant, and upon the seed of his sons, that they may be to Thee a chosen nation and an inheritance from amongst all the nations of the earth from henceforth unto all the days of the generations of the earth, unto all the ages. 22.13. And he called Jacob and said My son Jacob, may the God of all bless thee and strengthen thee to do righteousness, and His will before Him 22.14. and may He choose thee and thy seed that ye may become a people for His inheritance according to His will alway. And do thou, my son, Jacob, draw near and kiss me. 22.15. And he drew near and kissed him, and he said: "Blessed be my son Jacob And all the sons of God Most High, unto all the ages: May God give unto thee a seed of righteousness; And some of thy sons may He sanctify in the midst of the whole earth; 22.16. May nations serve thee, And all the nations bow themselves before thy seed. 22.17. Be strong in the presence of men, And exercise authority over all the seed of Seth. Then thy ways and the ways of thy sons will be justified, So that they shall become a holy nation. 22.18. May the Most High God give thee all the blessings Wherewith he hath blessed me And wherewith He blessed Noah and Adam; May they rest on the sacred head of thy seed from generation to generation for ever. 22.19. And may He cleanse thee from all unrighteousness and impurity, That thou mayest be forgiven all (thy) transgressions; (and) thy sins of ignorance. 22.20. And may He strengthen thee, And bless thee. And mayest thou inherit the whole earth, brAnd may He renew His covet with thee, That thou mayest be to Him a nation for His inheritance for all the ages 22.21. And that He may be to thee and to thy seed a God in truth and righteousness throughout all the days of the earth. 22.22. And do thou, my son Jacob, remember my words, And observe the commandments of Abraham, thy father: 22.23. Separate thyself from the nations, And eat not with them: And do not according to their works, And become not their associate; For their works are unclean, And all their ways are a pollution and an abomination and uncleanness. 22.24. They offer their sacrifices to the dead And they worship evil spirits, And they eat over the graves |
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7. Dead Sea Scrolls, Pesher On Habakkuk, 8.1, 8.9-8.10, 12.4, 12.9 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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8. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 17.1-17.4 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 17.1. The Lord created man out of earth,and turned him back to it again. 17.1. And they will praise his holy name,to proclaim the grandeur of his works. 17.2. He gave to men few days, a limited time,but granted them authority over the things upon the earth. 17.2. Their iniquities are not hidden from him,and all their sins are before the Lord. 17.3. He endowed them with strength like his own,and made them in his own image. 17.4. He placed the fear of them in all living beings,and granted them dominion over beasts and birds. |
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9. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 2.23, 7.26, 17.1-17.3 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 2.23. for God created man for incorruption,and made him in the image of his own eternity 7.26. For she is a reflection of eternal light,a spotless mirror of the working of God,and an image of his goodness. 17.1. Great are thy judgments and hard to describe;therefore unintructed souls have gone astray. 17.2. For when lawless men supposed that they held the holy nation in their power,they themselves lay as captives of darkness and prisoners of long night,shut in under their roofs, exiles from eternal providence. 17.3. For thinking that in their secret sins they were unobserved behind a dark curtain of forgetfulness,they were scattered, terribly alarmed,and appalled by specters. |
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10. Septuagint, 4 Maccabees, 4.11 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.11. Then Apollonius fell down half dead in the temple area that was open to all, stretched out his hands toward heaven, and with tears besought the Hebrews to pray for him and propitiate the wrath of the heavenly army. |
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11. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 2.227-2.232 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 2.227. And they all watch at all times and expect 2.228. With sleepless eyes. For it will be at dawn 2.229. Or eve or midday; but he sure shall come 2.230. 230 And it shall be as I say, it shall be 2.231. To them that sleep, that from the starry heaven 2.232. The stars at midday will to all appear |
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12. Philo of Alexandria, On The Creation of The World, 25, 77-88, 24 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 24. And if any one were to desire to use more undisguised terms, he would not call the world, which is perceptible only to the intellect, any thing else but the reason of God, already occupied in the creation of the world; for neither is a city, while only perceptible to the intellect, anything else but the reason of the architect, who is already designing to build one perceptible to the external senses, on the model of that which is so only to the intellect-- |
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13. Anon., 2 Baruch, 14.17-14.19 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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14. Anon., The Life of Adam And Eve, 40.6, 43.1 (1st cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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15. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 15.49 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 15.49. As we haveborne the image of those made of dust, let's also bear the image of theheavenly. |
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16. New Testament, 2 Corinthians, 4.4 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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17. New Testament, Colossians, 1.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.15. who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. |
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18. New Testament, Ephesians, 2.11-2.22 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.11. Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "uncircumcision" by that which is called "circumcision," (in the flesh, made by hands); 2.12. that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covets of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 2.13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. 2.14. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition 2.15. having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordices, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; 2.16. and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. 2.17. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. 2.18. For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 2.19. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God 2.20. being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; 2.21. in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 2.22. in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. |
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19. New Testament, Romans, 8.29 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 8.29. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. |
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20. New Testament, Luke, 4.18-4.19, 10.25-10.37 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 4.18. The Spirit of the Lord is on me, Because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to the captives, Recovering of sight to the blind, To deliver those who are crushed 4.19. And to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. 10.25. Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 10.26. He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it? 10.27. He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. 10.28. He said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live. 10.29. But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor? 10.30. Jesus answered, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 10.31. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 10.32. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 10.33. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion 10.34. came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 10.35. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' 10.36. Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers? 10.37. He said, "He who showed mercy on him."Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise. |
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21. New Testament, Matthew, 11.10 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 11.10. For this is he, of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.' |
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22. Tosefta, Sanhedrin, 7.11 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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23. Anon., 4 Ezra, 3.1, 3.4-3.11, 3.15-3.16, 3.19-3.27, 3.32, 3.34, 4.23, 4.36-4.37, 5.21-5.22, 5.27-5.31, 5.50-5.51, 6.45-6.46, 6.49-6.55, 6.57-6.59, 7.1-7.25, 7.46-7.48, 7.50-7.74, 7.92, 7.116-7.134, 7.137, 8.2-8.16, 8.19-8.22, 8.31-8.32, 8.34, 8.36, 8.44-8.45, 8.50-8.53, 12.42, 13.42, 13.57, 14.5, 14.9, 14.26-14.36, 14.45-14.48
| 3.1. In the thirtieth year after the destruction of our city, I Salathiel, who am also called Ezra, was in Babylon. I was troubled as I lay on my bed, and my thoughts welled up in my heart 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. 3.15. 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. 3.19. 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. 3.32. Or has another nation known thee besides Israel? Or what tribes have so believed thy covets as these tribes of Jacob? 3.34. Now therefore weigh in a balance our iniquities and those of the inhabitants of the world; and so it will be found which way the turn of the scale will incline. 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; 4.36. 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 4.37. and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.' 5.21. And after seven days the thoughts of my heart were very grievous to me again. 5.22. Then my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began once more to speak words in the presence of the Most High. 5.27. and from all the multitude of peoples thou hast gotten for thyself one people; and to this people, whom thou hast loved, thou hast given the law which is approved by all. 5.28. And now, O Lord, why hast thou given over the one to the many, and dishonored the one root beyond the others, and scattered thine only one among the many? 5.29. And those who opposed thy promises have trodden down those who believed thy covets. 5.30. If thou dost really hate thy people, they should be punished at thy own hands. 5.31. When I had spoken these words, the angel who had come to me on a previous night was sent to me 5.50. Then I inquired and said, "Since thou hast now given me the opportunity, let me speak before thee. Is our mother, of whom thou hast told me, still young? Or is she now approaching old age? 5.51. He replied to me, "Ask a woman who bears children, and she will tell you. 6.53. On the sixth day thou didst command the earth to bring forth before thee cattle, beasts, and creeping things; 6.54. and over these thou didst place Adam, as ruler over all the works which thou hadst made; and from him we have all come, the people whom thou hast chosen. 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. 6.57. 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? 7.1. When I had finished speaking these words, the angel who had been sent to me on the former nights was sent to me again 7.2. and he said to me, "Rise, Ezra, and listen to the words that I have come to speak to you. 7.3. I said, "Speak, my lord." And he said to me, "There is a sea set in a wide expanse so that it is broad and vast 7.4. but it has an entrance set in a narrow place, so that it is like a river. 7.5. If any one, then, wishes to reach the sea, to look at it or to navigate it, how can he come to the broad part unless he passes through the narrow part? 7.6. Another example: There is a city built and set on a plain, and it is full of all good things; 7.7. but the entrance to it is narrow and set in a precipitous place, so that there is fire on the right hand and deep water on the left; 7.8. and there is only one path lying between them, that is, between the fire and the water, so that only one man can walk upon that path. 7.9. If now that city is given to a man for an inheritance, how will the heir receive his inheritance unless he passes through the danger set before him? 7.10. I said, "He cannot, lord." And he said to me, "So also is Israel's portion. 7.11. For I made the world for their sake, and when Adam transgressed my statutes, what had been made was judged. 7.12. And so the entrances of this world were made narrow and sorrowful and toilsome; they are few and evil, full of dangers and involved in great hardships. 7.13. But the entrances of the greater world are broad and safe, and really yield the fruit of immortality. 7.14. Therefore unless the living pass through the difficult and vain experiences, they can never receive those things that have been reserved for them. 7.15. But now why are you disturbed, seeing that you are to perish? And why are you moved, seeing that you are mortal? 7.16. And why have you not considered in your mind what is to come, rather than what is now present? 7.17. Then I answered and said, "O sovereign Lord, behold, thou hast ordained in thy law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but that the ungodly shall perish. 7.18. The righteous therefore can endure difficult circumstances while hoping for easier ones; but those who have done wickedly have suffered the difficult circumstances and will not see the easier ones. 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! 7.50. For this reason the Most High has made not one world but two. 7.51. For whereas you have said that the righteous are not many but few, while the ungodly abound, hear the explanation for this. 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. 7.62. I replied and said, "O earth, what have you brought forth, if the mind is made out of the dust like the other created things! 7.63. For it would have been better if the dust itself had not been born, so that the mind might not have been made from it. 7.64. But now the mind grows with us, and therefore we are tormented, because we perish and know it. 7.65. Let the human race lament, but let the beasts of the field be glad; let all who have been born lament, but let the four-footed beasts and the flocks rejoice! 7.66. For it is much better with them than with us; for they do not look for a judgment, nor do they know of any torment or salvation promised to them after death. 7.67. For what does it profit us that we shall be preserved alive but cruelly tormented? 7.68. For all who have been born are involved in iniquities, and are full of sins and burdened with transgressions. 7.69. And if we were not to come into judgment after death, perhaps it would have been better for us. 7.70. He answered me and said, "When the Most High made the world and Adam and all who have come from him, he first prepared the judgment and the things that pertain to the judgment. 7.71. And now understand from your own words, for you have said that the mind grows with us. 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. 7.73. What, then, will they have to say in the judgment, or how will they answer in the last times? 7.74. For how long the time is that the Most High has been patient with those who inhabit the world, and not for their sake, but because of the times which he has foreordained! 7.92. The first order, because they have striven with great effort to overcome the evil thought which was formed with them, that it might not lead them astray from life into death. 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. 8.4. I answered and said, "Then drink your fill of understanding, O my soul, and drink wisdom, O my heart! 8.5. For not of your own will did you come into the world, and against your will you depart, for you have been given only a short time to live. 8.6. O Lord who are over us, grant to thy servant that we may pray before thee, and give us seed for our heart and cultivation of our understanding so that fruit may be produced, by which every mortal who bears the likeness of a human being may be able to live. 8.7. For thou alone dost exist, and we are a work of thy hands, as thou hast declared. 8.8. And because thou dost give life to the body which is now fashioned in the womb, and dost furnish it with members, what thou hast created is preserved in fire and water, and for nine months the womb which thou has formed endures thy creation which has been created in it. 8.9. But that which keeps and that which is kept shall both be kept by thy keeping. And when the womb gives up again what has been created in it 8.10. thou hast commanded that from the members themselves (that is, from the breasts) milk should be supplied which is the fruit of the breasts 8.11. so that what has been fashioned may be nourished for a time; and afterwards thou wilt guide him in thy mercy. 8.12. Thou hast brought him up in thy righteousness, and instructed him in thy law, and reproved him in thy wisdom. 8.13. Thou wilt take away his life, for he is thy creation; and thou wilt make him live, for he is thy work. 8.14. If then thou wilt suddenly and quickly destroy him who with so great labor was fashioned by thy command, to what purpose was he made? 8.15. And now I will speak out: About all mankind thou knowest best; but I will speak about thy people, for whom I am grieved 8.16. and about thy inheritance, for whom I lament, and about Israel, for whom I am sad, and about the seed of Jacob, for whom I am troubled. 8.19. Therefore hear my voice, and understand my words, and I will speak before thee." The beginning of the words of Ezra's prayer, before he was taken up. He said: 8.20. O Lord who inhabitest eternity, whose eyes are exalted and whose upper chambers are in the air 8.21. whose throne is beyond measure and whose glory is beyond comprehension, before whom the hosts of angels stand trembling 8.22. and at whose command they are changed to wind and fire, whose word is sure and whose utterances are certain, whose ordice is strong and whose command is terrible 8.31. For we and our fathers have passed our lives in ways that bring death, but thou, because of us sinners, are called merciful. 8.32. For if thou hast desired to have pity on us, who have no works of righteousness, then thou wilt be called merciful. 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? 8.36. For in this, O Lord, thy righteousness and goodness will be declared, when thou art merciful to those who have no store of good works. 8.44. But man, who has been formed by thy hands and is called thy own image because he is made like thee, and for whose sake thou hast formed all things -- hast thou also made him like the farmer's seed? 8.45. No, O Lord who art over us! But spare thy people and have mercy on thy inheritance, for thou hast mercy on thy own creation. 8.50. For many miseries will affect those who inhabit the world in the last times, because they have walked in great pride. 8.51. But think of your own case, and inquire concerning the glory of those who are like yourself 8.52. because it is for you that paradise is opened, the tree of life is planted, the age to come is prepared, plenty is provided, a city is built, rest is appointed, goodness is established and wisdom perfected beforehand. 8.53. The root of evil is sealed up from you, illness is banished from you, and death is hidden; hell has fled and corruption has been forgotten; 12.42. For of all the prophets you alone are left to us, like a cluster of grapes from the vintage, and like a lamp in a dark place, and like a haven for a ship saved from a storm. 13.42. that there at least they might keep their statutes which they had not kept in their own land. 13.57. Then I arose and walked in the field, giving great glory and praise to the Most High because of his wonders, which he did from time to time 14.5. and I told him many wondrous things, and showed him the secrets of the times and declared to him the end of the times. Then I commanded him, saying 14.9. for you shall be taken up from among men, and henceforth you shall live with my Son and with those who are like you, until the times are ended. 14.26. And when you have finished, some things you shall make public, and some you shall deliver in secret to the wise; tomorrow at this hour you shall begin to write. 14.27. Then I went as he commanded me, and I gathered all the people together, and said 14.28. Hear these words, O Israel 14.29. At first our fathers dwelt as aliens in Egypt, and they were delivered from there 14.30. and received the law of life, which they did not keep, which you also have transgressed after them. 14.31. Then land was given to you for a possession in the land of Zion; but you and your fathers committed iniquity and did not keep the ways which the Most High commanded you. 14.32. And because he is a righteous judge, in due time he took from you what he had given. 14.33. And now you are here, and your brethren are farther in the interior. 14.34. If you, then, will rule over your minds and discipline your hearts, you shall be kept alive, and after death you shall obtain mercy. 14.35. For after death the judgment will come, when we shall live again; and then the names of the righteous will become manifest, and the deeds of the ungodly will be disclosed. 14.36. But let no one come to me now, and let no one seek me for forty days. 14.45. And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, "Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first and let the worthy and the unworthy read them; 14.46. but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people. 14.47. For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge. 14.48. And I did so. |
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