1. Anon., 1 Enoch, 1.2, 1.9, 5.5-5.7, 5.9 (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. |
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2. 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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3. Anon., 4 Ezra, 3.26, 3.34, 5.21-5.22, 5.27-5.31, 6.55-6.59, 7.1-7.25, 7.47-7.48, 7.50-7.61, 7.72, 7.116-7.134, 7.137, 8.2-8.3, 8.34
| 3.26. in everything doing as Adam and all his descendants had done, for they also had the evil heart. 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. 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 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? 7.1. 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. 7.47. 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. 7.72. 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? |
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