A   Vpon the thirde daye I satt vnder an oke tre, then came there a voyce vnto me out of the bush, ∧ sayde: E&esset;dras, E&esset;dras. And I sayde: here I am LORDE, and stode vp vpon my fete. ^noteTh&ebar; spake he vnto me: In the bush dyd I appeare vnto Moses, ∧ talked &wt; him, wh&abar; my people serued in Egipte, and I sent him, and led my people out of Egipte, ∧ brought him vp&obar; þe; mount Sion, where I helde him by me a longe season, and tolde him my wonderous workes, and shewed him þe; secretes of the tymes, and the ende, and commaunded him, say&ebar;ge: These wordes shalt thou declare, ∧ not hyde th&ebar;. And now I saye vnto the, that thou laye vp in thine hert the dreames that thou hast sene, and the interpretacions which I haue shewed the: for thou shalt be receaued of all, thou shal be turned and remayne &wt; my councell, and with soch as be like the, vntyll þe; tymes be ended. For the worlde hath lost his youth, and the tymes begynne to waxe olde. For the tyme is deuyded in to twolue partes, and ten partes of it are gone all ready, and half of the tenth parte: yet remayneth there that, which is after þe; half of þe; tenth parte.

B   Therfore prepare and ordre thy house, and refourme thy people: comforte soch of them as be in trouble: and tell now of the destruccion: let go from the mortall thoughtes: cast awaye the burthens of man: put of the weake nature: laye vp in some place þe; thoughtes that are most heuy vnto the, and haist the to flyt from these tymes: for soch euell ∧ wickednesse as thou hast now sene happ&ebar;, shal they do yet moch worse. For the weaker that the worlde and the tyme is, ^note the more shal synne ∧ wickednesse increase, in them that dwell vp&obar; earth. For the trueth is fled farre awaye, ∧ lesynge is hard at hande. For now haisteth the vision to come, that thou hast sene.

Then answered I and sayde: Beholde LORDE, I wyl go as thou hast commaunded me, and refourme the people which are present. But they þt; shal be borne afterwarde, who wyl exhorte or rebuke th&ebar;? C   Thus the worlde is set in darcknes, and they þt; dwel therin, are without light: for thy lawe is kyndled, because no man knoweth the thinges that are done of the, or that shalbe done. Yf I haue fo&ubar;de grace before the, sende the holy goost in to me, and I shall wryte all that hath bene done in the worlde sens the begynnynge,

which was wrytten in thy lawe, that men maye fynde the path, and that they which wyl lyue in the latter dayes, maye lyue.

And he answered me, say&ebar;ge: Go þi; waye, gather thy people together, ∧ saye vnto th&ebar;, that they seke the not for xl. dayes, but loke thou gather the many boxe trees, and take with the Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Echanus and Asial, these fyue, which are ready to wryte swiftly, and come hither, and I shal light a c&abar;dle of vnderst&obar;dinge in thine hert, which shal not be put out, tyll the thinges be perfourmed which thou shalt begynne to wryte. And then shalt thou declare some thinges openly vnto the perfecte, and some thinges shalt thou shew secretly vnto þe; wyse. Tomorow this houre shalt thou begynne to wryte.

D   Then w&ebar;te I forth (as he comma&ubar;ded me) and gathered all þe; people together, and sayde: Heare these wordes o Israel: Oure fathers from the begynnynge were straunges in Egipte, from wh&ebar;ce they were delyuered, and receaued the lawe of life, ^note which they kepte not, which ye also haue tr&abar;sgressed after th&ebar;. Then was this londe and the londe of Sion parted am&obar;ge you by the lot to possesse. But yo&highr; fathers and ye yo&highr; selues also haue done vnrighteousnes, ∧ haue not kepte the wayes which the Hyest c&obar;maunded you. And for so moch as he is a righteous iudge, he toke from you in tyme the thinge that had geuen you. And now are ye here and yo&highr; brethren am&obar;ge you. Therfore yf so be that ye wil subdue yo&highr; owne vnderstandinge, and refourme youre hert, ye shal be kepte aliue, ∧ after death shal ye opteyne mercy. For after death shall the iudgment come, whan we shal lyue agayne: and then shal the names of the righteous be manifest, and þe; names of the vngodly with their workes shalbe declared. Let no m&abar; therfore come now vnto me, ner axe eny question at me these xl. dayes.

E   So I toke the fyue men (as he commaunded me) and we wente in to the felde, and remayned there. The next daye a voyce called me say&ebar;ge: ^note E&esset;dras, Open thy mouth, ∧ drynke that I geue the. Th&ebar; opened I my mouth, ∧ beholde, he reached me a full cuppe, which was full of water, but the colo&highr; of it was like fyre. And I toke it and dranke. And wh&abar; I had dronken it, my hert had vnderstondinge, and wy&esset;dome grew in my brest: for my sprete was kepte in remembraunce, and my mouth was opened and shut nomore. The Hyest gaue vnderstondinge vnto the fyue men, þt; they wrote þe; hye th&ibar;ges of the night, which they vnderstode not. But in the night they ate bred: as for me, I spake in the daye, and helde not my tonge by night. In xl. dayes, they wrote two hundreth ∧ foure bokes.

And it happened wh&abar; the xl. dayes were fulfilled, that the Hyest spake, sayenge: The first that thou hast wrytt&ebar;, speake openly, þt; the worthy and vnworthy maye rede it. But kepe þe; lxx. last, þt; thou mayest shew it onely to soch as be wyse amonge thy people. For in them is the sprynge of vnderst&obar;dinge, the fountayne of wy&esset;dome, and the streame of knowlege. And I dyd so.

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