Chapter Seven

The necessity of sufferings on earth as a transitional step toward future blessings (1–16). The deservedness of the torments of sinners (17–25). The last judgment upon the world (26–44 according to the Bensly edition). The fewness of those who are saved and their special value in God’s eyes (45–61). The responsibility of rational beings for their deeds and, as a consequence of this, the righteousness of torments in the future life (62–74). Seven stages of torment for sinners (75–87) and seven stages of blessedness for the righteous (88–101). The ineffectiveness of the intercession of the righteous for sinners at the last judgment (102–115). Life as a struggle, the outcome of which depends on man’s free choice (116–131). The compatibility of the condemnation of sinners with God’s mercy (132–139).

2 Esdras 7:1. When I had finished speaking these words, the angel who had been sent to me on the previous nights was sent to me again, 2 Esdras 7:2. and said to me: Rise, Ezra, and hear the words that I have come to speak to you. 2 Esdras 7:3. I said: Speak, my lord. And he said to me: The sea is set in a wide place so as to be deep and vast; 2 Esdras 7:4. but its entrance is set in a narrow place, so that it is like rivers. 2 Esdras 7:5. If anyone should wish to go into the sea to view it or to rule over it, then if he does not pass through the narrowness, how can he come to the breadth? 2 Esdras 7:6. Or consider another example: a city is built and set on a plain, and it is full of all good things; 2 Esdras 7:7. but its entrance is narrow and set in a steep place, so that on the right there is fire and on the left deep water. 2 Esdras 7:8. Between them, that is, between the fire and the water, there is only a single path, which is wide enough for only one step of a man. 2 Esdras 7:9. If this city were given as an inheritance to someone, how would he obtain his inheritance unless he had passed through the danger lying in the way? 3–9. The present world, full of sorrows and deprivations, represents an inevitable transitional stage toward the blessings of the future age. To illustrate his thought, the author offers several similitudes: he compares the future age to a boundless sea, access to which is possible only through a narrow strait, and also to a well-built and strongly fortified city, which one can enter only through a narrow path, on one side of which a flood rushes forth, and on the other fire (cf. Matt 7:13-14).

2 Esdras 7:10. I said: So it is, O Lord. And He said to me: Such is also the portion of Israel. 2 Esdras 7:11. For them I have created the age; but when Adam violated My commandments, it was determined that what had been created should be condemned. 11. Because of Adam’s violation of God’s commandments, “it was determined that what was created should be condemned” (judicatum est quod factum est). The Apostle Paul speaks of the condemnation of all creation for the sins of the ancestors (Rom 8:20; cf. III:17).

2 Esdras 7:12. And the entrances of this age became narrow, mournful, toil-filled, and also strait, deceitful, full of miseries, and requiring great labor. 2 Esdras 7:13. But the entrances of the future age are broad, safe, and bring forth the fruit of immortality. 12–13. The meaning of the Latin text is rather obscure and hardly connects with the previous comparisons, where the narrowness of the entrance leading to the blessings of the future age is emphasized. In one of the Arabic translation recensions (ar. 2), the present age is recognized as a difficult entrance into the future age. In the Ethiopian translation, in both cases the discourse is not about entrances, but about the ways of life in the broad sense of the word. Here the present life, full of grievances and constrictions at every step, is opposed to the future life, where human personality is given full scope to manifest itself and where all dangers are eliminated.

2 Esdras 7:14. Therefore, if those who live do not enter through this narrow and sorrowful path, they cannot obtain what has been prepared. 2 Esdras 7:15. Why then are you troubled, since you are mortal, and why are you upset, since you are subject to death? 15. Ezra should not grieve because he is mortal and should not be distressed because he is subject to death. This is merely an inevitable transitional stage toward a glorious future.

2 Esdras 7:16. Why have you not taken to heart the things that are to come, and why have you received only the things of the present? 2 Esdras 7:17. I answered and said: O sovereign Lord! Behold, You have determined by Your law that the righteous shall inherit this, but the wicked shall perish. 17. The inheritance of the future age by the righteous and the destruction of the wicked are promised in Deuteronomy (VIII:1, 19–20).

2 Esdras 7:18. The righteous endure the narrowness, hoping for the breadth; but the wicked, though they too have endured the narrowness, have not seen the breadth. 18. The sufferings that befall the righteous are softened by the hope of blessings awaiting them in the future life. But all people suffer on earth. The fate of sinners in this life is thus even more sorrowful, since no hope of relief in the world beyond the grave warms their soul.

2 Esdras 7:19. And He said to me: There is no judge above God, and none who understands more than the Most High. 2 Esdras 7:20. Many perish in this life because they neglect the law of God set before them. 20. “Let many rather perish among the living than that the law of God, set before them, should be neglected” (Bensly).

2 Esdras 7:21. For God strictly commanded those who came that if they did what they were told, they would live; and if they kept the commandments, they would not be punished. 2 Esdras 7:22. But they did not obey Him and resisted Him, and established in themselves vain thoughts. 2 Esdras 7:23. They were seduced by sinful deceptions, said that the Most High does not exist, did not know His ways, 2 Esdras 7:24. despised His law, rejected His promises, did not believe His ordinances, and did not perform His works. 22–24. The author tries to thoroughly explain what the transgression of sinners consists of. They not only disobey the law, but also resist it, despise it, make their own lawlessness into a law, deny the existence of God (Ps 13:1), do not keep His commandments. It is hardly fair to apply this passage to all sinners in general, but only to certain parties known for their impiety among Judaism itself, such as the Sadducees (Gutschmid), or to attribute it to Christians (Nowack) or pagans (Kabish).

2 Esdras 7:25. And therefore, Ezra, what is empty for the empty, what is full is for the full. 25. See Jer 2:5. Those who are poor in good works on earth await scantiness in the blessings of the future age, while those who abound in good works will receive a like abundance of blessings in the future life. In its form, the author’s saying closely approaches the Gospel prediction about the future fate of men: “To everyone who has, more will be given and he will have an abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matt 13:12).

2 Esdras 7:26. Behold, the time will come when the signs which I have foretold to you will come, and the bride will appear, and appearing will show—she who is now hidden by the earth. 26. The author depicts the future judgment upon the world. In the Vulgate text it speaks of the appearance of the bride, hidden by the earth (et apparebit sponsa, et apparescens ostendetur quae nunc subducuitur terra). The image of a bride is applied in the Apocalypse to the New Testament church (XXI:9). Since in the author’s words, a stranger to Christianity, it is unnatural, preference should be given to the Eastern translations—Armenian, Arabic, and Ethiopian, where instead it is predicted that with the coming of the future age “the city which is invisible now will be revealed.” This refers to the heavenly Jerusalem. It is spoken of below in this same vision (VIII:52) and in the following (IX-X ch.). According to the beliefs of the rabbis, the land of Israel will be so insignificant in extent in the last days that no inhabitant will be able to be placed on it. With the coming of the Messiah it will seize the whole world (Corrodi, 200). The mention of the bride arose from a misreading of the Greek text, where, probably, the expression was used: καί φανησεται ή νύν μή φαινομένη πόλις. Instead of νύν μή, it was mistakenly read as νύμφη and understood in application to the Apocalypse.

2 Esdras 7:27. And whoever escapes from the evils I have enumerated will see My wonders. 2 Esdras 7:28. For My Son Jesus will be revealed with those who are with Him, and those who remain will rejoice for four hundred years. 28. The Latin text should be corrected. The naming of the Son of God as Jesus represents a Christian correction, refuted by all Eastern translations, where the usual designation of the Messiah found in the Old Testament is used (Ps 2:2; Dan 9:25-26). It arose before the fourth century: Ambrose of Milan cited this passage as proof that the name Jesus was given to the Savior long before birth by the Father Himself. “Our Lord Jesus received His name before His birth, and it was bestowed not by an angel but by the Father. For He says: My Son Jesus will be revealed together with those who will be blessed with Him, who will remain for 400 years. After the lapse of these years My Son Christ will die, and the age will pass away. Do you see that the angels proclaim what they heard, and did not seize it willfully” (Comment. in Luc. I, 60). The Old Testament righteous, who have not tasted death, will appear with the Messiah. According to the Talmud, He dwells in paradise with Enoch, Elijah, and Moses. Each lives in a separate dwelling. The teaching about the coming of Christ with all the saints is encountered in the Apostle Paul (1 Thess 3:13; cf. 2 Thess 1:7). The idea of a four-hundred-year Kingdom of the Messiah on earth has its foundation in the narrative of the Author of Genesis about the Egyptian captivity. In God’s conversation with Abraham (Gen 15:13), its duration is determined to be 400 years. On the basis of Psalm 89 (verse 15), the rabbis drew a complete parallel between the time when God smote Israel with various calamities and the time of the future triumph of the people of God (Gfrorer II, 252–253). In the Apocalypse, the Kingdom of the Messiah covers 1,000 years (XX:2, 7). Chiliasm arose as a fruit of the striving to reconcile the earlier purely sensual conception of the kingdom of the Messiah with the newer more spiritual view, in which the transcendental aspect predominated. The teaching of the prophetic book of Ezra about the Messiah is distinguished by duality: He is represented now as a heavenly, now as an earthly being. In view of this, equally unjust are both the attempts to represent the Messiah as a mere man, endowed only with extraordinary power (Vizer, Smirnov, Glubokovskii), and the striving to consider Him exclusively a supernatural being, for the sake of which passages are sacrificed where His human origin is mentioned. The Messiah is given various names in this book. Most often He bears the name of the Son of God, but since the conversation about Him is conducted by Ezra’s interlocutor, identified with God Himself, it is found in the form “My Son” (VII:28–29; XIII:32; XIV:9). Hamburger (II, 753) places this designation in connection with the mystical teaching about the pre-existence of the Messiah, seeing in it an indication of the supernatural character of His personality. But it is hardly possible to give it a New Testament meaning. The very fact that it is not the author himself but the Most High who calls the Messiah the Son of God makes one doubt that a special meaning is connected with it (Smirnov. 309–312. Posnov. Judaism, 205). Usually in Old Testament writing it indicates only outward adoption: thus, the entire Hebrew people God calls His son (Exod 4:22). In the same sense, it is applied in non-canonical (Wis 2:3) and apocryphal literature to Old Testament righteous men. In the Ethiopian text, instead of this the Messiah is called the Servant of God (puer meus, V:30, corresponds to lat. VII:29). The word puer represents a translation of the Greek παις. Stauffer (Les idees religieuses en Palestine, 129), Langen (458), and Smirnov (310) argue that the Messiah is called in all places of the book the Son of God in precisely this sense. But there is no basis for such an assumption. The Servant of God, of whom Isaiah prophesied, was not at all the Messiah whom Pseudo-Ezra expected. There is nowhere in his book any mention of the sufferings of the Messiah. The Son of God dies according to the law of all flesh. His violent death would be completely incomprehensible after He had destroyed all His enemies (XIII:2–4, 9–11, 32–38). The name Messiah is ascribed to the future Deliverer in the Psaltery (II:2) and by the prophet Daniel (IX:25–26), as the ideal king of God’s people, endowed with the highest gracious gifts and powers. On the basis of the book of the prophet Daniel (VII:13), the Messiah is depicted as a man coming with the clouds (XIII:2–3; cf. Rev 1:7), whom the Most High keeps for many times for the deliverance of His people (XIII:26). He dwells in heaven with Old Testament righteous men, who have not tasted death (VII:26). Next to this, names are ascribed to the Messiah that leave no doubt whatever as to His earthly origin. He is called a lion (XI:37; XII:1, 31–32), of whom the dying Jacob prophesied in his blessing to Judah (Gen 49:9; cf. Rev 5:5). Affirming that the beginning of the future age will be Jacob (VI:9), the author was certainly alluding to the Messiah as a descendant of Jacob. In all Eastern translations, the Messiah, or the Anointed One (Unctus), is said to have origin from the seed of David (XII:32). The authenticity of this passage cannot be denied, as Hilgenfeld does, since the designation of the Messiah as a descendant of David constitutes a common phenomenon in apocalyptic and Talmudic writing (Smirnov, 300–302. Hamburger, 739). The opinion of Vernes (Vernes. Histoire des idees mesianiques depuis Alexandre jusqu a l’empereur Adrien. P. 134–137) and Smirnov (300–306), that the expression “Son of David” did not carry the thought of the Messiah’s descent from the seed of David, since the very house of David had become extinct by this time, contradicts Gospel history. The Gospels testify that the Pharisees expected precisely the Son of David (Matt 21:41-42; John 7:41-42; Acts 2:22-30; Rom 1:3; 2 Tim 2:8; Rev 22:16; cf. Matt 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). Speaking of the coming of the Messiah, the author uses the expression: “My Son Messiah will be revealed” (VII:28). In De Faye’s opinion (De Faye. Les apocalypses juives. 126–127), revelation (revelatio) means not only the appearance of the Messiah to the people, or His entry into public service, but a transition from one sphere of being to another. To be revealed, in application to the Messiah, means to come out of the invisible world in order to enter the visible one. The pre-existence of the Messiah is presupposed in those passages of the prophetic book of Ezra where it is said that the Most High keeps Him for many times (XIII:26) or will preserve Him until the end (XII:32). Some scholars, including Smirnov, see here an echo of the Talmudic teaching about the so-called hidden state of the Messiah. This teaching attempted to reconcile the sudden appearance of the Messiah from heaven with His fleshly origin. The Jews believed that the Messiah at birth would remain in complete obscurity until His entry into service to the people. According to Talmudic belief, the Messiah was carried away by a whirlwind while still a nursing child. St. Justin Martyr in his “Dialogue with Trypho” reproduces the views of Judaism contemporary with him. “If Christ was born and exists somewhere, he continues to remain unknown and does not even realize His true purpose himself, having no power until Elijah comes, who will anoint Him and make Him manifest to all.” In regard to the origin of Jesus from Nazareth, the Jews expressed bewilderment: “concerning this we know where He is from; but when the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from” (John 7:27). But it is unjust to see in the prophetic book of Ezra only the Talmudic teaching about the hidden state of the Messiah. The Messiah is depicted here by such features as clearly show in Him not an earthly, but a heavenly being. The teaching about the Messiah as a supernatural being having pre-eternal existence is expressed in it with sufficient definiteness, although not placed in organic connection with the representation of Him as a descendant of David. This duality runs like a red thread through all the dogmatic teaching of post-exilic Judaism. The contradiction was eliminated only by the Christian dogma of the incarnation, which was foreign to the author of the 3rd book of Ezra.

2 Esdras 7:29. But after these years My Son Christ will die, and all who draw the breath of life. 29. The Messiah, as a man, is subject to the law of death. His death has no relation to the Christian teaching of His redemptive sacrifice (cf. 1 Cor 15:28). The prophetic book of Ezra is foreign to the thought of the abasement and sufferings of the Messiah.

2 Esdras 7:30. And the age will return to primeval silence for seven days, just as it was at the beginning, so that no one will be left. 30. See VI:39. Silence at the beginning of the world’s existence lasted until the creation of man. In this passage again a parallel is drawn between the first and last days of the world’s life.

2 Esdras 7:31. After seven days the age that has been asleep shall awake, and the corrupted age shall die. 31. See 1 Cor (XV:26) “concerning these dwellings the Lord says” (John 14:2).

2 Esdras 7:32. And the earth shall yield up those who are asleep in it, and the dust those who are silent in it; and the storehouses shall give back the souls entrusted to them. 32. According to Ambrose (De bono mortis, X), “concerning these dwellings the Lord says” (John 14:2), that His Father has many dwellings, which He will prepare for His disciples, ascending to His Father.”

2 Esdras 7:33. Then the Most High will appear on the throne of judgment, and suffering will pass away, and long-suffering will come to an end. 33. The book of the prophet Daniel (VII:9) and the Apocalypse (XX:11) mention the throne on which the Judge of the world will sit. At the last judgment there will be no place for pity and long-suffering. “And compassion will pass away (et pertransibunt misericordiae), and long-suffering will depart.”

2 Esdras 7:34. There will be one judgment, truth will be confirmed, faith will be established. 2 Esdras 7:35. Then works will follow, rewards will be revealed, righteousness will rise up, and unrighteousness will cease to prevail. 35. The deeds which each one has accomplished will follow him to judgment (Rev 14:13), and he will receive fitting recompense for them (cf. Isa 40:10). The last thought in the manuscripts is transmitted in the following form: “and unrighteousness will not rest.” Just as the deeds of the righteous will not remain hidden, so also the unrighteousness and wickedness of sinners, committed in secret, will come before the eyes of all 2. 36 I said: Abraham was the first to pray for the people of Sodom; Moses—for the fathers who sinned in the wilderness; 36 (106). Gen 18:32. Exod 32:32. Abraham asked God for the salvation of Sodom, where his relative Lot dwelt. Moses besought God for the forgiveness of the people of Israel after the Hebrews made a golden calf, but otherwise expressed a desire to be blotted out of the book into which he was written.

2 Esdras 7:37. Jesus after him—for Israel in the days of Ahab; 37 (107). In the printed text of the Vulgate, the name of Joshua is not mentioned because later his time of activity is attributed to Ahaz and Samuel. The passage referred generally to leaders who lived after Moses. Achar’s transgression consisted in taking from that which was devoted. At Joshua’s prayer about the causes of military failure, God pointed out the guilty man and commanded him to be stoned (Josh 7:1). In manuscripts of the Latin text and Eastern translations, the guilty one is named Achar, in agreement with the LXX. The origin of the error in the printed text is explained by the similarity in Greek letters of the words A χάρ and A χαζ.

2 Esdras 7:38. Samuel and David—for those who were perishing; Solomon—for those who came to sanctification; 38 (108). In Eastern translations—Syrian, Ethiopian, and Arabic—the time of Samuel’s activity is indicated: “Samuel in the days of Saul.” Samuel, by his own words, did not cease throughout his life to offer prayers for his people both in peaceful and warlike times (1 Sam 7:9). David prayed for the cessation of the plague that had taken 70,000 people (2 Sam 24:15-25). Solomon at the dedication of the temple interceded before God for all who would come to the sanctuary to pour out their feelings before God about the various events of public and private life (1 Kgs 8:22-61).

2 Esdras 7:39. Elijah—for those who received rain, and for the dead, that he might live; 39 (109). Under Ahab, because of the sins of the people, the kingdom of Israel became the victim of terrible famine as a result of drought. At the prayer of the prophet Elijah, rain was sent, and the famine ceased (1 Kgs 18:1-2). Even more powerfully was Elijah’s intercession before God manifested in the raising of the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:17-23).

2 Esdras 7:40. Hezekiah—for the people in the days of Sennacherib, and many—for many. 40 (110). When the armies of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, drew near to Jerusalem, Hezekiah prayed for the punishment of the Assyrian king for blaspheming the name of God (2 Kgs 19:15-19).

2 Esdras 7:41. Therefore, if in those times, when corruption had increased and unrighteousness had multiplied, the righteous prayed for the unrighteous, why should it not be so now? 41 (111). Having presented many examples in the history of God’s chosen people of the intercession of the righteous for sinners, which mitigated the punishment ready for them, the author asks whether it will not be so at the judgment: “why should it not be so then” (et tunc).

2 Esdras 7:42. He answered me and said: This present age is not the end; glory in it does not often remain, and therefore they prayed for the weak. 42 (112). In the Latin text is expressed the idea that glory is too frequent an occurrence in the present age (gloria in eo frequens manet). Apparently the translator intended the partiality of every judgment of a man during his life, thanks to which many people are unjustly surrounded by glory, in contrast to the day of judgment, when glory will be the possession of few. In Eastern translations, there is discourse of the inconstancy of earthly glory. Since the present age is full of imperfections and has a dependent, merely preparatory significance for the future age, it permits intercession “of those who could” (qui potuerunt) for the weak. In the printed text of the Vulgate, the contrast between the strong through the action of the prayers of the righteous on the one hand and sinners on the other is eliminated, since prayer for one’s neighbors constitutes the natural duty of every Christian.

2 Esdras 7:43. But the day of judgment will be the end of this age and the beginning of the age to come, immortal, when corruption shall pass away, 2 Esdras 7:44. intemperance shall come to an end, unbelief shall be cut off, and righteousness shall grow, truth shall shine forth. 2 Esdras 7:45. Then no one shall be able to save the lost, nor to oppress the victorious. 45 (115). “Then no one will be able to have compassion (misereri) for the one who is defeated at the judgment, or to drown the one who gains victory.”

2 Esdras 7:46. I answered and said: This is my first and last word: it would have been better if the earth had not produced Adam, or, when it had produced him, had restrained him from sinning. 46 (116). The author had already earlier expressed the thought (VII:63; cf. IV:12) that it would have been better for Adam not to appear in the world than to live in sins. Now he repeats it: “it would have been better if the earth had not brought forth Adam to life, or, since it brought him forth, should have restrained him from sin.” In the Slavonic and Russian translation, contrary to the context, it speaks of the fact that Adam should not have been given dominion over the earth, while the author had in mind the creation of man from the earth.

2 Esdras 7:47. What benefit is it to men to live in sorrow in the present age, and in death to expect punishment? 2 Esdras 7:48. O, what did you do, Adam? When you sinned, the fall came not upon you alone, but upon us also, who are descended from you. 48 (118). See III:7, 21–22; IV:30. Rosenthal (Vier apokryphischer Bucher aus der Zeit und Schule Rabbi Akibas, S. 45, 60) recognizes the teaching of the prophetic book of Ezra about sin to be borrowed from Judeo-Christians. Against this it is said that in the book of Ezra, the transmission of sin from ancestors to descendants or its heritability is not put in the foreground, but rather the beginning of sin in Adam. The latter thought is found in non-canonical books belonging to post-exilic Judaism. In the book of Jesus, son of Sirach (XXV:37), it is said: “from a woman sin had its beginning, and by her we all die.” The teaching about an evil heart, passing down by inheritance from parents to children, has in the book of Ezra the very same meaning as in the Talmud. An evil heart is an original property of the physical side of man. Each one in consequence of this performs sins with the same inevitability as Adam. In this respect there is no difference between Adam and his descendants. From this it is too far to the Christian teaching about the heredity of original sin and imputation for it.

2 Esdras 7:49. What benefit is it to us that we are promised immortal time, but we have committed mortal deeds? 49 (119). See Heb 6:1 (νεκρά έργα).

2 Esdras 7:50. We have been promised eternal hope, but we who are worthless have become vain. 50 (120). See 1 Pet 1:3 (έλπίς ζώσα).

2 Esdras 7:51. Dwellings of health and rest have been prepared for us, but we have lived wickedly; 2 Esdras 7:52. and the glory of the Most High has been prepared to cover those who lived humbly, but we have walked in the ways of evil. 52 (122). See Isa 4:4-6.

2 Esdras 7:53. Paradise shall be revealed, the fruit of which remains incorruptible, in which there is peace and healing; 53 (123). “The fruit of paradise remains incorruptible, in which are satiation (saturitas) and healing.” All these details found their place already in the prophet Ezekiel (XLVII:12), and from there they were taken into the Apocalypse (XXII:2).

2 Esdras 7:54. but we shall not enter it, because we have walked in unfruitful places. 54 (124). See Wis 5:7.

2 Esdras 7:55. The faces of those who have practiced self-control shall shine brighter than the stars, but our faces shall be darker than darkness. 55 (125). Hell is represented now as a place of eternal darkness and night, now as a place of unquenchable fire. The author with bitter feeling notes the unattainability of the blessings of paradise. Although man is promised immortality, he works dead deeds; although living hope is given to him in the future, he has given himself completely over to vain thoughts, which are so inconstant. Paradise is not created for those living amid sins. The covering of the Most High overshadows only those who live purely (caste). The fruit of paradise nourishes and heals not those who revolve amid the wicked, in unfruitful places, where the soul cannot receive proper training. The glorification of the righteous brings only the thought of the darkness in which the wicked will remain.

2 Esdras 7:56. We did not think in life, when we committed lawlessness, that after death we should suffer. 2 Esdras 7:57. He answered and said to me: This is the significance of the struggle which every man born on earth must wage, 2 Esdras 7:58. so that if he is defeated, he shall suffer what you have said, but if he overcomes, he shall obtain what I say. 57–58 (127–128). “The significance of the struggle which a man born on earth must wage is as follows: if he is defeated, he shall suffer what you spoke of, and if he is victorious, he shall obtain what I speak of.” Throughout the preceding discourse, Ezra speaks of the sorry fate of sinners, to whom he ascribes himself; the Angel, on the contrary, to comfort his interlocutor, depicts the bright future of the righteous.

2 Esdras 7:59. This is the life about which Moses spoke when he lived and said to the people: “Choose for yourself life, that you may live. 59 (129). While Moses in his farewell discourse to the people had exclusively earthly existence in view (Deut 30:15), the author of our book imparts a higher meaning to his words, extending them to the future age.

2 Esdras 7:60. But they did not believe him, nor the prophets after him, nor Me who spoke to them, 2 Esdras 7:61. that there would be no grief for the perishing, as there will be joy for those to whom salvation has been prepared. 2 Esdras 7:62. I answered and said: I know, O Lord, that the Most High is called merciful, because He has mercy on those who have not yet come into the world, 2 Esdras 7:63. and He shows mercy to those who conduct their life in His law. 63 (133). In manuscripts of the Latin text, God is called “merciful” (miserator) or “compassionate,” since He shows compassion to those who conduct their lives in His law.

2 Esdras 7:64. He is patient, for he shows patience to those who have sinned, as to his own creation. 2 Esdras 7:65. He is generous, for he is ready to give according to need, 2 Esdras 7:66. and very compassionate, for he increases his mercies toward those living now and those who lived and those who will live. 2 Esdras 7:67. For if he did not multiply his mercies, the world could not continue to live with those who inhabit it. 2 Esdras 7:68. He grants gifts; for if he had not given out of his goodness to ease those who have done evil of their lawlessness, not even a ten-thousandth part of mankind could remain alive. 2 Esdras 7:69. He is judge, and if he did not forgive those who have been created by his word, and did not blot out many transgressions, 69 (139). Since above the mercy of God has been comprehensively illuminated, the naming of God as Judge sits poorly with the context. Volkmar attempts to explain its origin as an error in reading the Greek text: instead of χρηστός (gracious) it was supposedly read as κριτής (judge). Gunkel seeks the answer in the Hebrew text, where in his opinion the word schometh (forgiving, pardoning) was taken for schopheth (judge). God is called forgiving because if he did not forgive those who are created by his word, and did not blot out their transgressions, very few people would long ago remain on earth. The author sets forth seven epithets that exhaust the fullness of divine mercy.

2 Esdras 7:70. perhaps out of an innumerable multitude only very few would have remained. 2 Esdras 7:36. And the lake of torment will be revealed, and opposite it the place of rest; the furnace of Hades will be seen, and opposite it the paradise of delight. 36. See Luke 16:23; Matt 25:41.

2 Esdras 7:37. And the Most High will say at that time to the nations that have been awakened: “Look and understand, whom have you rejected, whom have you not served, and whose commandments have you despised. 2 Esdras 7:38. Look straight before you and see what is opposite: there is sweetness and rest, but here is fire and torment.” This is what you will say to them on the day of judgment. 2 Esdras 7:39. This day is such that it has neither sun, nor moon, nor stars, 2 Esdras 7:40. nor clouds, nor thunder, nor lightning, nor wind, nor rain, nor fog, nor darkness, nor evening, nor morning, 2 Esdras 7:41. nor summer, nor spring, nor heat, nor winter, nor frost, nor cold, nor hail, nor rain, nor dew, 2 Esdras 7:42. nor midday, nor night, nor twilight, nor radiance, nor brightness, nor light, except only the radiance of the glory of the Most High, by which all are able to see what is before them. 39–42. The thought at the basis of the present picture is that all creation vanishes before the face of the Creator in consciousness of its nothingness. See Amos 5:18; Isa 9:19-20; Rev 21:23.

2 Esdras 7:43. Its duration will be as long as the weeks of years. 43. The judgment encompasses as much time as the creation of the world. In this detail the author continues the parallel between the beginning and the end of the world.

2 Esdras 7:44. Such is my judgment and its order. To you alone I have revealed this. 2 Esdras 7:45. And I answered: “I have spoken already, and now I will say: blessed are those living and fulfilling what has been commanded by you. 45. See VII:17.

2 Esdras 7:46. But I have asked about the following: will there be found anyone of the living so as not to sin, or will there be found anyone born so as not to violate your covenant? 46. See VII:18.

2 Esdras 7:47. And now I see that the coming age will bring sweetness to few, but torment to many. 2 Esdras 7:48. For within us has grown an evil heart, which has separated us from him and led us into corruption and the ways of death, shown us the paths of perdition, and removed us from life, and that not a small number, but almost all who were created. 2 Esdras 7:49. And he answered me and said: Listen to me, and I will instruct you and make you understand what is to come. 2 Esdras 7:50. For this reason God created not one age, but two. 50. According to the beliefs of the rabbis, the coming age was created before the creation of the visible world.

2 Esdras 7:51. As for your words, that the righteous are not many but few, while the wicked are many, then listen to this answer: 2 Esdras 7:52. “if you have very few precious stones, you will store them according to their number, but lead and clay are in abundance”. 52. There is obviously a lacuna in the Latin text, which is why the meaning of the comparison is quite obscure. In its full form the author’s thought is expressed in the form of a question: “If you had very few precious stones, would you not mix lead and clay with them; but lead and clay are abundant.” A man possessing precious stones will not, in order to have more of them, add to them ingots of lead or pebbles of baked clay.

2 Esdras 7:53. And I said: “How is that possible? 2 Esdras 7:54. And he said to me: “Not only this, but ask the earth, and it will tell you, approach it with respect, and it will reveal to you. 2 Esdras 7:55. You will say to it: you produce gold, silver and bronze, and also iron, lead and clay. 2 Esdras 7:56. But there is more silver than gold, more bronze than silver, more iron than bronze, more lead than iron and more clay than lead. 2 Esdras 7:57. Judge now for yourself which is precious and attracts desire? That which is abundant, or that which is rare? 2 Esdras 7:58. And I said: “O Master Lord! What is found in abundance is worse, and what is found more rarely is more precious. 2 Esdras 7:59. And he answered me and said: “Consider in your mind what you have thought: he who possesses what is difficult to acquire is more glad than he who possesses what is found in abundance. 54–59. The author draws the other comparison from the mineral kingdom. The more noble the metal, the more rarely it is found and the more difficult it is to process. On the contrary, clay, which occupies the last place in value, by its abundance should be placed before all metals.

2 Esdras 7:60. So it is with the creation promised by me. I will rejoice in the few who have been saved, for they have now established the dominion of my glory, and my name is now called upon them. 60. The Latin text must be corrected in accordance with the Eastern translations, the Syriac and Arabic. There, instead of creation, judgment is mentioned. Obviously, the Latin translator mistakenly read κτήσις (creation) instead of κρίσις (judgment) in the Greek text, seeing in the latter word an allusion to the “new creation” that will be revealed after the judgment.

2 Esdras 7:61. The multitude of the lost will not grieve me: they are the same ones who now are like vapor and are equated to fire and smoke. Behold, they flashed up, burned brightly, and died out”. 61. See Isa 43:17. The wicked even in their present life resemble burning fire, bringing devastation around itself, but at the same time inflicting a death blow to their own existence. Sooner or later it must die out. It is transformed into smoke, scattered without a trace in the air. It is quite natural that in the coming age, the lawless become the property of that element, which their deeds so closely resembled.

2 Esdras 7:62. And I answered and said: “O earth! What have you brought forth, if reason has come from dust, as has the rest of creation? 2 Esdras 7:63. It would have been better for dust not to appear, so that reason might not arise from it. 2 Esdras 7:64. But now, reason grows with us, and because of this we are tormented, because we knowingly go to destruction. 62–64. Reason (sense) like the heart is related to the carnal side of human existence. The capacity for empirical knowledge through the organs of sense and the evil heart irresistibly draw man to transgression. Therefore every man is sinful just as Adam, who transmitted to his descendants a body with all the capacities that he himself possessed.

2 Esdras 7:65. Let mankind weep and rejoice the beasts of the field; let all who are born weep and let the quadrupeds and cattle be glad. 2 Esdras 7:66. For it is much better for them than for us, since they do not await judgment, they do not know either torment or the beatitude promised them after death. 2 Esdras 7:67. What good is it for us that we will live again, but will be cruelly tormented? 2 Esdras 7:68. For all who were born are saturated with lawlessness, full of sins, and burdened with transgressions. 2 Esdras 7:69. And perhaps it would have been better for us if we did not need to go to judgment. 65–69. The author’s despair reaches a striking force. In spite of the fact that in the canonical books (Gen 1:26-28; Ps 8:6-9) the high position occupied by man in relation to creation is compared with the lot of the angels, the author finds that reality shows the exact opposite. Man ought to envy the animals, which in the present life do not suffer because of the absence of reason, and in the future life will not be subjected to punishment. It is characteristic that the author numbers himself among sinners equally with other men (67, 69).

2 Esdras 7:70. And he answered me and said: “Before the Most High created the age with Adam and all those descended from him, he had prepared judgment and what is prepared for judgment. 70. According to the teaching of post-exilic Judaism, paradise, the place of the beatitude of the righteous, and Hades, the place of punishment of sinners, were created before the creation of the world.

2 Esdras 7:71. Now understand according to your own words; for you said that reason grows with us. 2 Esdras 7:72. Therefore those who live on earth suffer torment here, because, having reason, they committed lawlessness, and receiving commandments, they did not fulfill them, and though followers of the law, they rejected the law that had been given to them. 2 Esdras 7:73. What will they have to say at judgment, or what answer will they give in the near future? 2 Esdras 7:74. For in truth, how long has the Most High shown patience toward those who inhabit the ages, and not for their sake, but for the sake of fulfilling the time he foreknew? 74. See IV:37.

2 Esdras 7:75. And I answered and said: “If I have found favor before you, O Lord, show your servant further: After death, that is, when each of us gives up his soul, will we rest in peace until the times when you begin to renew creation come, or will we at once be subjected to torment? 2 Esdras 7:76. And he answered me and said: “I will show you this as well. But do not number yourself with those who despised, and do not count yourself among those who are tormented, 2 Esdras 7:77. for you have a treasure of works, kept with the Most High, but it will not be shown to you until the coming of the last time. 77. The Gospels speak of laying up treasures in heaven (Matt 6:20; Luke 12:33: see 1 Tim 6:17-19).

2 Esdras 7:78. Now there will be discussion of death, when a decree will go forth from the Most High concerning the time appointed for a man to die, and when the spirit will go out from the body to return to the one who gave it, first to bow down before the glory of the Most High. 78. Ecclesiastes 12:7. Having divested itself of the sensible covering of the body, the human soul feels much more strongly its dependence on God. Even the souls of sinners first go to bow down before the glory of the Most High, which they forgot on earth. Gunkel sees in this teaching a further step forward compared to the views of Ecclesiastes. According to Ecclesiastes, the spirit returns to God and dissolves in him, ceasing its individual existence. Ezra holds a different view, according to which the soul continues its independent existence after death. He puts into the words of Ecclesiastes the thought that the soul at its appointed time leaves the body and stands before the face of God.

2 Esdras 7:79. And if these will be the souls of those who despised and did not keep the ways of the Most High, who neglected his law and hated those who fear God, 2 Esdras 7:80. then such souls will not enter dwellings, but will begin at once in torments, in constant sorrow and grief, to wander on seven paths. 79–80. Here is found the echo of the popular belief that the souls of the wicked wander the earth after their death, mourning their transgression. The torments of sinners are divided into seven kinds. The basis of this division is the Hebrew conception, common with the Babylonian, of the existence of 7 heavens and 7 underworlds. Here the dead experience the blessedness or torment they have deserved. The teaching of the prophetic book of Ezra on the posthumous torments of the wicked has a purely spiritual character.

2 Esdras 7:81. The first path is that they despised the law of the Most High. 2 Esdras 7:82. The second path: they can no longer bring forth good repentance so as to live. 2 Esdras 7:83. The third path: they will see the reward kept for those faithful to the covenants of the Most High. 83. See VII:77.

2 Esdras 7:84. The fourth path: they will see the torments kept for them for the very last time. 2 Esdras 7:85. The fifth path: they see the dwellings of others, guarded in profound silence by angels. 2 Esdras 7:86. The sixth path: they see that at once they will pass from here to torments. 84–86. The difference between the sixth and the fourth torments is that the fourth torment is caused by the consciousness of the punishments awaiting sinners in the future, perhaps sufficiently far off, while the sixth is inspired by the thought of the nearness of the punishment. Bissell and Zöckler explain the sixth path in the sense that the wicked are shattered by witnessing how some of them are directed to the place of torments.

2 Esdras 7:87. The seventh path, surpassing all the aforementioned paths, is that they melt away in confusion, are consumed by shame, they are overcome with fear at the sight of the glory of the Most High, before which they sinned in life and before which they are to face judgment in the last days. 81–87. The torments of sinners consist: 1) in the consciousness of their transgressions, 2) in the impossibility of repentance, 3) in the contemplation of the blessedness awaiting the righteous, and 4) the torments that will befall sinners, 5) in the contemplation of the place where the righteous will dwell, 6) in the consciousness of the nearness of their torments, and finally, 7) in the feeling of fear at the thought of standing before the face of the Judge.

2 Esdras 7:88. As for those who kept the ways of the Most High, their lot after separation from the mortal vessel will be as follows: 88. The body is recognized here as a prison of the soul.

2 Esdras 7:89. while living in it they served the Most High with difficulty and were exposed to danger every hour, just so that they might fully keep the law of the Lawgiver. 2 Esdras 7:90. Therefore the judgment concerning them will be such: 2 Esdras 7:91. First of all they will see with great joy the glory of the one who accepts them to himself; and they will taste rest in seven kinds: 2 Esdras 7:92. The first kind is that they struggled with great difficulty in order to overcome the evil imagination created with them, so that it might not turn them away from life to death. 2 Esdras 7:93. The second kind: they behold the confusion in which the souls of the wicked wander, and the punishment awaiting them. 2 Esdras 7:94. The third kind: they behold the testimony given them by their Creator, that they kept the law entrusted to them during their life. 2 Esdras 7:95. The fourth kind: they are aware of the rest which they now enjoy, having gathered in their repositories and guarded in profound silence by angels, and the glorification awaiting them in the last times. 2 Esdras 7:96. The fifth kind: they rejoice over having now left the perishable and will receive the future inheritance; they see also the narrowness, full of distress, from which they have been freed, and begin to feel spaciousness, blessed and immortal. 2 Esdras 7:97. The sixth kind: their face will be shown to shine like the sun, and they will become like the brightness of the stars, having become incorruptible at once. 97. See Dan 12:3; Matt 13:43; 1 Cor 15:41.

2 Esdras 7:98. The seventh kind, surpassing all the ones mentioned before: they will rejoice with confidence, hope without shame, and be glad without fear, since they hasten to see the face of the one whom they served in life, and from whom they will receive a reward consisting of glorification. 98. See Matt 5:8.

2 Esdras 7:99. Such is the lot of the souls of the righteous, announced to them immediately. The paths of those torments which sinners suffer at once have been mentioned above. 91–99. The blessedness of the righteous, like the torments of sinners, has seven kinds or degrees. It consists: 1) in the consciousness of victory over the evil imagination, 2) in the contemplation of the torments awaiting sinners, 3) in the consciousness of one’s righteousness, resting on the law, 4) in the contemplation of future blessedness, 5) in joy over liberation from the mortal bonds of the body, 6) in the presentiment of approaching glorification, and 7) in the vision of God.

2 Esdras 7:100. And I answered and said: “So souls after separation from the body will be given time to see what you have told me? 2 Esdras 7:101. And he said to me: “Seven days will their freedom last, so that they may see within seven days what was spoken of above, and after that they will be gathered in their dwellings. 101. It is characteristic that Plato expresses a similar thought. According to popular representations, the soul remains free for 40 days. Volkmar without sufficient grounds suggests that by the dwellings where the righteous abide, graves are meant. In contrast to sinners wandering in unrest on earth, the righteous peacefully rest in the graves. Therefore, to observe the beatitude awaiting them and the torment faced by sinners, they are given 7 days, corresponding to the 7 kinds of beatitude, after which peaceful rest ensues. Undoubtedly, by dwellings the author means the place where the souls of the righteous abide after separation from the body. It closely resembles those repositories where the souls of all people remain before their birth. The extensive section depicting the beatitude of the righteous and the torments of sinners reflects the popular representations contemporary with the author. They are drawn by the author to illuminate his main question: is it possible for the righteous to intercede for the wicked. They could have significance only if, before the judgment, both the righteous and the wicked were in a state of complete rest, receiving neither rewards nor punishments. But since this is not the case, and after death, as soon as the soul is separated from the body, the dead begin, although not entirely, to experience the fate awaiting them in the coming age, then the prayers of the righteous are already powerless to change their fate.

2 Esdras 7:102. And I answered and said: “If I have found mercy in your sight, show your servant further: can the righteous achieve justification of the wicked or intercede for them before the Most High on the day of judgment, 2 Esdras 7:103. fathers for sons, sons for parents, brothers for brothers, relatives for their kindred, or friends for those dear to them? 2 Esdras 7:104. He answered me and said: “Since you have found mercy in my sight, I will show you this as well. The day of judgment is decisive and reveals the seal of truth to all. Just as now a father does not send a son, nor a son a father, nor a master a servant, nor a friend the most dear man to think for him, or to sleep or to eat or to be healed for him, 2 Esdras 7:105. so no one will ever intercede for anyone, but each will bring his righteousness or unrighteousness. (The 36th verse (106) of the Synodal translation of the 3rd book of Ezra follows. Editor’s note for the HTML version) * * * After verse 35, there is an extensive lacuna in the printed text of the Vulgate, which arose because in the manuscript codex that served as the basis for the manuscripts used by the first editors of the book, a whole page was torn out (Codex sangermanensis). The authenticity of this passage is beyond doubt, since Ambrose cites excerpts from it (De bono mortis, X-XII). Vigilantius in the 4th century referred to it, who rejected prayers for the dead, a position against which Jerome fought (Contra Vigilantium). Until 1875, this gap was filled based on Eastern translations. In that year, Bensly discovered the Amiens codex (Codex Ambianensis), which filled this gap, and then 4 more Latin codices were found, containing the complete text of the book. In Bensly’s edition, 4 codices are used. According to Lücke, Volkmar, and Renan, the lacuna was made under pressure from the church. Lücke dates its appearance to the time of Pope Gregory the Great, when the doctrine of purgatory took its final form in the Catholic church. Gregory the Great’s teaching on purgatory, to which the souls of all the dead are directed, and the associated idea of the legitimacy of prayers for the deceased, found an irreconcilable opponent in the author of the prophetic book of Ezra (Volkmar, 92–93. Renan. Evangiles, 133–139). As early as the 4th century, the book served as support for Vigilantius’s defense of his heretical views. However, the lacuna of passages contradicting church teaching was made purely mechanically, so that much disappeared that presented no difficulty from the perspective of Christianity, and at the same time, passages expressing this thought in a more moderate form or in general terms survived. The proposed translation is made according to the Bensly edition while retaining his division into verses.