Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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1 “But these are the signs: The
time will come when all people
on earth will be in the grip of great
confusion. noteThe way of truth will be
hidden, and no faith will be left in
the land.
2 Wickedness will increase
until it has become worse than you
have ever known it to be. note
3 The country
that you now see ruling the
world will lie in ruins, with no inhabitant
or traveler there.
4 After
that, note if God Most High lets you live
long enough, you will see that country
in confusion. The sun will suddenly
start shining at night, and the
moon in the daytime.
5 Blood will
drip from trees; stones will speak;
nations will be in confusion; the
movement of the stars will be
changed. note
6 A king unwanted by anyone
will begin to rule, and the birds
will fly away.
7 Fish will be washed
up on the shores of the Dead Sea.
The voice of one whom many do not
know will be heard at night; everyone
will hear it.
8 The earth will
break open note in many places and begin
spouting out flames. Wild animals
will leave the fields and forests.
At their monthly periods women will
bear monsters.
9 Fresh water will become
salty. Friends everywhere will
attack one another. Then understanding
will disappear, and reason
will go into hiding,
10 and they will
not be found even though many may
look for them. Everywhere on earth
wickedness and violence will increase.
11 One country will ask a
neighboring country if justice or
anyone who does right has come
that way, but the answer will always
be ‘No.’
12 At that time people will
hope for much, but will get nothing;
they will work hard, but will never
-- --
succeed at anything.
13 These are the
signs of the end that I am permitted
to show you. But if you begin to pray
again and continue to weep and fast
for seven more days, you will hear
even greater things.”
14 Then I woke up, and I was trembling
violently. I was so disturbed
that I was about to faint,
15 but the
angel that had come to talk with me
took hold of me, strengthened me,
and set me on my feet.
16 The next night, Phaltiel, who
was a leader of the people, came to
me and asked, “Where have you
been? And why do you look so sad?
17 Don't you know that the people of
Israel in the land of their exile have
been put in your care?
18 So get up
and eat. Do not abandon us like a
shepherd leaving his flock to the attacks
of savage wolves.”
19 “Leave me alone,” I answered,
“do not come near me for the next
seven days. Then come back.” So he
left. note
THE SECOND VISION
Ezra's Prayer and Uriel's Answer
20 Then, crying and mourning, I
fasted seven days, as the angel Uriel
had commanded me to do.
21 At the
end of the seven days, I was again
deeply troubled,
22 but I recovered
my ability to think, and again I began
to speak with God Most High.
23 “Lord and Master,” I said, “from
all the forests and plants on earth
you have chosen this one vine.
24 From all the countries of the
world, you have chosen this one
small land. From all the flowers in
the world, you have chosen this one
lily.
25 From all the water in the deep
oceans, you have filled up this one
river. From all the cities that have
ever been built, you have set apart
this one city, Jerusalem, as your
own.
26 From all the birds that were
created, you chose this one dove.
From all the animals that were
made, you chose this one lamb.
27 From all the nations of the world,
you chose this one nation to be your
own, and you gave its people your
Law, which is honored by people
everywhere.
28 “And now, Lord, since all of this
is true, why have you dishonored note
this one people more than all others
by handing them over to many nations?
Why have you scattered your
own people,
29 who believed in your
covenants? Why have you let them
be trampled by people who rejected
your promises?
30 If you are so angry
with your own people, you yourself
ought to punish them.”
31 When I had finished speaking,
the angel who had come to me on
a previous night was sent to me
again.
32 He said, “Listen carefully to
me, and I will teach you more.”
33 “Please go on, sir,” I said.
33 So he continued, “Are you worried
about the people of Israel? Do you
think you love them more than God,
who made them?”
34 “No, sir,” I replied. “I spoke as I
did because I was so confused and
upset. 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.”
35 “You cannot understand!” he
answered.
35 And I asked, “Why not, sir? In that
case, why was I born? Why didn't I
die before I was born? Then I
wouldn't have seen the sufferings
and troubles of the people of Israel.” note
36 The angel said to me, “I will answer
you if you can do the following
things: Tell me how many people are
yet to be born; collect scattered raindrops
for me; make dead flowers
bloom again;
37 open the rooms
where the winds are locked up and
make them blow for me; show me
the picture of a sound. If you can do
these things, I will answer your
questions about the sufferings of the
people of Israel.”
38 I answered, “Lord and master,
no one can do these things, except
God, who is not confined to this
world.
39 How can I give you any
kind of answer? What do I know?”
-- --
40 He continued, “You could not do
even one of the things that I asked
you to do. How can you expect to
understand God's judgments or why
God has promised his love to his
people?”
Descending Generations
41 Then I said, “But, Lord God,
your concern is with the people who
will be alive at the end of the world.
What will happen to those who live
before that time? What about us?
What about those who came before
us, and those who will live after us?”
42 He answered me, “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.”
43 I replied, “But couldn't you have
created all human beings, those of
the past, the present, and the future,
so that they would all live at the
same time? In that way, you could
have had your final judgment
sooner.”
44 He answered, “The creation cannot
move faster than the Creator.
And besides, the world wouldn't
have been able to hold all the people
if everyone had been created at the
same time.”
45 “Why, then,” I asked, “did you
just now tell me that one day you
would bring back to life at the same
time every creature that ever lived?
If the world can hold them all then,
it can hold them now.”
46 He answered, “That would be
like asking a woman who has given
birth to ten children why she didn't
have them all at once, instead of one
at a time.”
47 “That would be impossible,” I
answered. “She can't have them all
at once.”
48 “In the same way,” he continued,
“I have made the world like a
womb so that it produces human beings
at regular intervals.
49 The rule
that neither a young child nor an old
woman can give birth to a baby also
applies to the world that I have created.”
50 Then I said, “Since you have
brought up the subject, may I ask if
the world you have been talking
about is still young or is it approaching
old age?”
51 He replied, “You can learn the
answer from any woman who has
given birth to several children.
52 Ask her why her younger children
do not grow as tall as her older children. note
53 She will tell you that those
born while she was young and
healthy are much stronger than
those born when she was getting old
and becoming weak.
54 You will notice
that you are smaller than people
of earlier generations;
55 those who
come later will be smaller still. This
shows you that creation is already
getting old and losing the strength of
her youth.”
God Will Bring the End of the World
56 “If you please, Lord,” I asked,
“will you show me the one through
whom you will bring judgment on
your creation?”
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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