2 Esdras
It is not me that you have betrayed; you have betrayed yourselves.
(2 Esdras 1:27)
I begged you to be my people so that I could be your God, to be my children so that I could be your father. I gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.
(2 Esdras 1:29-30)
Call heaven and earth to witness that I, the living God, have abolished evil and crated good.
(2 Esdras 2:14)
I will raise your dead from their graves because I recognize them as my people.
(2 Esdras 2:16)
Come to the defense of widows, take the side of the fatherless, give to the poor, protect orphans, give clothing to those who have none, take care of those who are broken and weak, do not make fun of those who are crippled, protect the disabled, and help the blind to catch a vision of my dazzling splendor.
(2 Esdras 2:20-21)
Although the Law was in the hearts of the people so also was the root of evil.
(2 Esdras 3:22)
There has never been a time when the people of the world did not sin.
(2 Esdras 3:35)
How do you weigh out a pound of fire? How do you measure a bushel of wind? How do you bring back a day that has passed?
(2 Esdras 4:5)
Can a man already worn down by this corrupt world understand the ways of the incorruptible God?
(2 Esdras 4:11)
The people of this world can understand only what goes on in this world, and only heavenly beings can understand what goes on in heaven.
(2 Esdras 4:21, Good News Bible)
If you live long enough, you will be surprised at what you will see.
(2 Esdras 4:26, Good News Bible)
Don’t be in a greater hurry than God Most High.
(2 Esdras 4:34, Good News Bible)
In the world of the dead, the place where God has stored the souls is like a womb. It is eager to return the souls entrusted to it from the beginning of the world as a woman is to end her labor pains.
(2 Esdras 4:41-42, Good News Bible)
I am always troubled whenever I try to think about the ways of God Most High or to understand even a small part of what he does.
(2 Esdras 5:34)
The final judgment can be compared to a circle, and just as a circle has no beginning or end, so those who come early will not be too early, and those who come late will not be too late.
(2 Esdras 5:42)
The creation cannot move faster than the Creator.
(2 Esdras 5:44)
I have made the world like a womb so that it produces human beings at regular intervals.
(2 Esdras 5:48)
The hearts and minds of people on earth will be changed. Evil will be destroyed and deceit eliminated. Faith will grow strong, corruption will be overcome, and truth, which has not produced fruit for so long, will make itself felt again.
(2 Esdras 6:26-28)
Everyone who lives must walk the narrow and meaningless ways of this world in order to receive the blessings stored up in the word to come.
(2 Esdras 7:14, Good News Bible)
On Judgment Day there will be no sun, moon or stars; no cloud, thunder, or lightning; now wind, water, or air; no darkness, evening, or morning; no summer, spring, or winter; no heat, frost, or cold; no hail, rain, or dew; no noon, night, or dawn; no daylight, brightness, or light. The only light will be the dazzling brightness of God Most High making it possible for everyone to see.
(2 Esdras 7:39-42, Good News Bible)
The evil impulse within us has grown and it has led us away from God’s ways, brought us to ruin, put us on the way to death and destruction, and taken us far from life.
(2 Esdras 7:48)
When you gave birth to the rest of creation you gave birth to reason. … As it is now, our reason grows up with us and then torments us, because we realize that we are going to die!
(2 Esdras 7:62,64, Good News Bible)
Everyone who is born is caught in the web of sin, is full of wickedness and burdened with guilt.
(2 Esdras 7:68, Good News Bible)
The present age is not the end of everything. … The Judgment Day will be the end of the present age and the beginning of the future age. Then all corruption will end, self-indulgence and disloyalty will be eliminated. Righteousness and truth will reach their full maturity.
(2 Esdras 7:112, 113-114, Good News Bible)
God Most High is spoken of as merciful because he shows mercy to those who have not yet entered this world. He is called compassionate because he shows compassion to those who repent and obey his Law. He is thought of s patient because he is patient with his own creatures who have sinned. He is known as generous because he prefers to give rather than to demand. And he is known as very forgiving because he continues to forgive sinners of the past, present, and future. If he did not continue to forgive, there would be no life for this world or the people in it.
(2 Esdras 7:132-137, Good News Bible)
God Most High made this world for many people, but the future world for only a few.
(2 Esdras 8:1)
I was brought into this world without my consent, and I will leave it against my will
(2 Esdras 8:5)
As long as I have life and understanding, I cannot keep silent.
(2 Esdras 8:25, Good News Bible)
What is man that you should be angry with him? What is this mortal race that you should be so biter against it? To speak the truth, no person was ever born who did not sin; there is no one living who is not guilty. Therefore, Lord, your righteousness and goodness will certainly be made known when you show your mercy to those who have no treasure of good deeds.
(2 Esdras 8:34-36, Good News Bible)
God Most High did not want anyone to perish. He created everyone and prepared life for everyone, but those he created dishonored the name of their Creator and were ungrateful to the one who offered them life.
(2 Esdras 8:59-60)
Keep your tears to yourself, and be brave about what has happened to you.
(2 Esdras 10:15, Good News Bible)
May God Most High, the Almighty, be merciful to you and give your peace. May he give your rest from your troubles.
(2 Esdras 10:24, Good News Bible)
It is better to pass through these dangers and reach the end than to disappear like a cloud from this world and never see what takes place in the last days.
(2 Esdras 13:20, Good News Bible)
No one can explore the bottom of the sea to find out what is there. In the same way, no human being can see my son or those who come with him until the day that has been fixed.
(2 Esdras 13:52, Good News Bible)
“Here I am, Lord!”
(2 Esdras 14:2, Good News Bible)
Put earthly cares away from you, throw down your human burdens, and lay aside your weak human nature. Put all hour anxieties aside.
(2 Esdras 14:14-15, Good News Bible)
As the world grows older and weaker, the evils that will come upon its people will multiply.
(2 Esdras 14:17, Good News Bible)
This world is a dark place, and its people have no light.
(2 Esdras 14:20, Good News Bible)
I will light the lamp of understanding in your heart.
(2 Esdras 14:25. Good News Bible)
If you will discipline your thoughts and be willing to learn, you will be kept safe in this life and will be granted mercy after death.
(2 Esdras 14:34, Good News Bible)
We will be brought back to life, and the righteous people will be made known, while what the godless have done will be exposed.
(2 Esdras 14:35, Good News Bible)
Do not be afraid of those who plot against you or be disturbed by their unbelief.
(2 Esdras 15:3. Good News Bible)
I am going to bring terrible disasters on the whole world - war and famine, death and destruction, because wickedness has spread everywhere, and evil has reached its limit.
(2 Esdras 15:5-6, Good News Bible)
I will hear the plea of all the innocent people who have been murdered and I will take vengeance for what has been done to them.
(2 Esdras 15:9, Good News Bible)
God is aware of all those who sin against him.
(2 Esdras 15:26, Good News Bible)
When the Lord God sends disaster, no one can hold it back.
(2 Esdras 16:8, Good News Bible)
Famine, epidemics, troubles, and suffering are sent to punish and correct people.
(2 Esdras 16:19, Good News Bible)
When disasters come, you must live as people whose home is not in this world.
(2 Esdras 16:40, Good News Bible)
The more possessions people gather, the more they spend on their cities and houses, the more attention they give to their personal appearance, the more angry the Lord will become with them.
(2 Esdras 16:47-48, Good News Bible)
Righteousness despises sinfulness, no matter how attractive it may look.
(2 Esdras 16:50, Good News Bible)
Do not imitate sinfulness or what it does, for in a very short time sinfulness will be swept out of the world and righteousness will rule among us.
(2 Esdras 16:52, Good News Bible)
Sinners must not deny their sins.
(2 Esdras 16:53, Good News Bible)
The Lord certainly knows everything that people do; he knows their plans and innermost thoughts.
(2 Esdras 16:54, Good News Bible)
God is your judge, so fear him!
(2 Esdras 16:67, Good News Bible)
Don’t be afraid or have any doubts: I am your God and I will lead you.
(2 Esdras 16:75, Good News Bible)
You must not let your sins weigh you down or control you.
(2 Esdras 16:76, Good News Bible)