thyne herte the dreames that thou hast sene / & the interpretacions whiche I haue shewed the: for thou shalte be receyued of all, thou shalt be turned and remayne with my coun∣cell, and with such as be lyke the, vntyll the tymes be ended. For the worlde hath lost his youth, and the tymes begynne to waxe olde. For the tyme is deuided into twelue partes / and ten partes of it are gone all redye / and halfe of the tenth parte: yet remayneth there yt which is after the half of the tenth parte.
Therfore, prepayre and ordre thy house / and refourme thy people: comforte suche of [unspec B] them as be in trouble: and tel nowe of the de¦struccion: let go from the mortall thoughtes cast awaye the burthens of man: put of the weake nature: laye vp in some places the thoughtes that are most heuy vnto the, and haste the to flyt from these tymes: for suche euyl and wyckednesse as thou hast now sene happen, shal they do yet muche worsse. For the weaker that the worlde and the tyme is / the more shal synne and wyckednes increase in them that dwel vpon earth. For the truth is fled farre away, & lesyng is harde at hāde. For nowe hasteth the vysion to come / that thou hast sene.
Then answered I before the, & sayde: Be∣holde Lorde, I wyl go as y• hast cōmaunded me, & refourme the people which are present But they y• shall be borne afterwarde, who wylexhorte or rebuke thē? Thus the worlde is set in darknes: & they that owel therin, are wt out lyght: for thy lawe is kyndled, because no man knoweth the thynges that are done of the, or y• shall be done. If I haue founde grace before the, sēde the holy ghost into me, & I shall wryte al that hath bene done in the world seus the begynnyng / which was wryt ten in thy lawe, that mē may fynde the path, and that they whiche wyll lyue in the latter dayes, may lyue.
And he answered me, sayeng: Go thy way gather the people together, & say vnto them that they seke the not for fourtye dayes, but loke thou gather the many boxe trees / and take with the Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, E∣canus and Asiel / these fyue / which are redy to wrytte swyftely / and come hyther / and I shall lyght a candle of vnderstandynge in thyne herte, whiche shall not be put out / tyl the thinges be perfourmed which thou shalt beginne to wryt. And then shalt thou declare some thynges openly vnto the perfecte, and some thynges shalt thou shewe secretly vn∣to the wyse. Tomorowe this houre shalte thou begynne to wryte.
Then went I forth (as he commaunded [unspec C] me) and gathered al the people together, and sayde: Heare these wordes O Israell: Oure fathers at the begynnynge were straungers in Egygte, from whence they were deliuered and receyued the lawe of lyfe whiche they kepte not / whiche ye also haue transgressed after them. Then was thys lande and the lande of Syon parted amonge you by lot to possesse. But your fathers and ye your sel∣ues also haue done vnryghtuousnes, and haue not kepte the wayes whiche the Hyest commaunded you. And for so muche as he is a rightuous iudge, he toke from you in time the thyng that he had geuen you. And nowe are ye here and your brethren amonge you. Therfore yf so be that ye wyll subdue youre owne vnderstandynge, and refourme youre herte, ye shalbe kepte alyue, and after death shall ye optayne mercy. For after death shal the iudgemente come / when we shall lyue a∣gayne: and then shal the names of the rygh∣tuous be manifest, & the worckes of the vn∣godly shalbe declared. Let no man therfore come now vnto me, nor aske any question at me these fourtye dayes.
So I toke the fyue men (as he commaū∣ded [unspec D] me) and we wente into the felde, and re∣mayned there. The nexte day a voyce called me sayinge: Esdras open thy mouth, and drynke that I geue the. Then opened I my mouth, & beholde, he reached me a ful cuppe which was ful as it were wt water / but y• cou¦••er of it was lyke fyre. And I toke it and drancke. And when I had droncke it / my herte had vnderstandyng, & wysdome grew in my brest: for my sprete was kepte in remē∣braunce, and my mouth was opened & shut nomore. The hyest gaue vnderstandyng vn to the fyue men / that they wrote the hye thin¦ges of the nyght / which they vnderstode not But in the nyght they dyd eate breade: as for me / I spake in the day and helde my tong by nyght. In. xl. dayes, they wrote two hun∣dreth and foure bokes.
And it happened when the fourtye dayes were fulfilled / that the Hyest spake, sayinge: The fyrste that thou hast wrytten / speake o∣penly, the worthy & vnworthy maye rede it. But kepe the. lxx. last / that thou mayst shew it onely to suche as be wyse among thy peo∣ple. For in them is the sprynge of vnderstan¦dynge, the fountayne of wysdome, and the streame of knowledge. And I dyd so.