A   Vpon the thyrd day I sat vnder an oke tree, then came there a voyce vnto me out of the bush, and sayde: Esdras, Esdras?
And I sayde: here am I Lorde, and stode vp vpon my fete. Then spake he vnto me: In the bushe dyd I appeare vnto Moyses, and talked with hym, wh&ebar; my people serued in Egipt, and I sent hym, and led my people out of Egypt, and brought hym vpon the mounte Syon, where I helde hym by me a longe season, and tolde hym my w&obar;derous workes, and shewed hym the secretes of the tymes and the ende, and commaunded hym, sayinge: These wordes shalt thou declare, and not hyde them. And now I saye vnto the, that thou laye vp in thyne hert the dreames that thou hast sene, and the interpretacions whiche I haue shewed the: for thou shalt be receyued ^note of all, thou shalte be turned and remayne with my counsayll, ∧ wyth suche as be lyke the, vntyll the tymes be ended. For the worlde hath lost his youth, and the tymes begyn to waxe olde. For the tyme is deuyded into twelue partes, ∧ ten partes of it are gone all ready, and half of the tenth parte: yet remayneth there that, which is after the half of the tenth parte.

B   Therefore prepare ∧ ordre thy house, and refourme thy people: comforte suche of them as be in trouble: and tell now of the destruccion: let go from the mortall thoughtes, cast awaye the burthens of m&abar;: 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 such euel and wyckednesse as thou hast now sene happen, shall they do yet much worse. For the weaker that the worlde ∧ the tyme is, the more shal synne and wyckednesse increase, in them that dwell vpon earth. For the trueth is fled farre away and lesynge ^note is harde at hande. For nowe hasteth the vysyon to come, that thou haste sene.

Then aunswered I and sayde: Beholde Lord, I will go as thou hast comma&ubar;ded me and refourme the people whiche are present. But they that shall be borne afterward, who will exhorte or rebuke theym? Thus ^note the worlde is set in darkenes, and they that dwel therin, are without sight: for thy law is kyndled, because ^note no man knoweth the thynges that are done of the, or that shalbe done. If I haue founde grace before the, sende the holy Ghooste into me, and I shall writte all that hath bene done in the worlde sens the beginnynge, whiche was written in thy lawe, that men maye fynde the path, ∧ that they which will lyue in the latter dayes, maye lyue.

C   And he aunswered me, sayinge: Go thy waye, gather thy people together, and saye vnto th&ebar;, that they seke the not for .xl. dayes, but loke thou gather the many boxe trees, ^note and take with the Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Echanus and Asrall, these fyue, whiche are ready to writte swyftly, and come hyther, ∧ I shall lighte a candle of vnderstandynge in thine hert, which shall not be put out, tyll the thinges be perfourmed which thou shalt begynne to write. And then shalte thou declare some thinges openly vnto the perfecte, and some thinges shalt thou shewe secretly vnto the wyse. To morowe this houre shalt thou beginne to wryte.

Then wente I forth (as he commaunded me) and gathered all the people together, ∧ sayd: Heare these wordes O Israel: Our fathers from the begynning were straunges in Egipte, from whence they were deliuered, ∧ receyued the lawe of lyfe, whych they kepte not, which ye also haue tr&abar;gressed after th&ebar;. Then was this lande and the lande of Si&obar; parted amonge you by lot to possesse. But your fathers ∧ ye your selfes also haue done vnrighteousnes, and haue not kepte þe; wayes which the Hyest commaunded you. And for so muche as he is a righteous iudge, he toke from you in tyme the thynge that he had geuen you. And now are ye here and your brethren amonge you. Therfore if so be that ye

will subdue your owne vnderstandyng, and refourme your herte, ye shall be kepte alyue, and after death shall ye opteyne mercy.
For after: death shall the iudgement come, when we shall lyue agayne: and then shal the names of the righteous be manifest, and the names of the vngodly with their woorkes shall be declared. Let no man therefore come nowe vnto me, nor aske any question at me these .xl. dayes.

D   So I toke the fyue men (as he commaunded me) and we went in to the felde, and remayned there. The next daye a voyce called me saying: Esdras, open thy mouth, ∧ drinke that I geue the. Then opened I my mouth, ∧ beholde, he reached me a full cuppe, which was full a water, but the coloure of it was lyke fyre. And I toke it and drank. And when I had dronk&ebar; it, my hert had vnderstanding and wysedome grewe in my breste: for my sprete was kepte in remembraunce, and my mouth was opened and shut nomore. The Hyest gaue vnderst&abar;ding vnto the fyue m&ebar;, that they wrote the hye thynges of the night, which they vnderstode not. But in the night they ate bread: as for me, I spake in the daye, and helde not my tonge by nyghte. In .xl. dayes, they wrote twoo hundred and foure bokes.

And it happened when the .xl. dayes were fulfylled, that the Hyest spake, saying: The firste that thou haste written, speake openly, that the worthy and vnworthy maye reade it. But kepe the .lxx. laste, that thou mayeste shewe it onely too suche as be wyse amonge thy people. For in them is the springe of vnderstandynge, the fountayne of wysedome, and the streame of knowlege. And I dyd so.

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