A   Vp&obar; the thyrd daye I sat vnder anoke tree, then came there a voyce vnto me out of the bush, ∧ sayde: Esdras, Esdras? And I sayde: here am I Lorde, and stode vp vpon my fete. Then spake he vnto me: ^note In the bush dyd I appeare vnto Moses, ∧ talked with hym wh&ebar; my people serued &ibar; Egypte, and I sent hym, and led my people out of Egypte, and brought him vpon the mount Syon, where I helde him by me a longe season, and tolde hym my wonderous worckes, and shewed hym the secretes of the tymes and the ende, and comma&ubar;ded hym, saying: These wordes shalt thou declare, ∧ not hyde them. And now I saye vnto the, that thou laye vp in thine herte the dreames that thou hast sene, and þe; interpretacy&obar;s whych I haue shewed the: for þu; shalt be receaued of all, thou shalt be turned and remayne with my co&ubar;cel, and with soch as be lyke the, vntyll the tymes be ended. For þe; worlde hath lost his youth, and the tymes beg&ibar;ne to waxe olde. For the tyme is deuided into twelue partes, and ten partes of it are gone all ready, and half of þe; tenth parte: yet remayneth there þt; which is after the half of the tenth parte.

B   Therfore, prepare and ordre thy house, and refourme thy people: comforte soch of them as be &ibar; trouble: and tell now of the destrucci&obar;: 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 flye from these tymes: for soch euel and wyckednesse as thou hast now sene happ&ebar;, shall they do yet moch worsse. ^noteFor the weaker that the worlde &abar;d the tyme is, the more shall synne and wickednesse increase in them that dwell vpon earth. For the trueth is fled farre awaye, ∧ lesynge is hard at hande. For now hasteth the vision to come that thou hast sene.

Then answered I before the, and sayde: Beholde Lord, I wyll go as thou hast comma&ubar;ded me, and refourme the people which are present. But they that shall be borne after warde, who wyll exhorte or rebuke them? Thus the worlde is set in darcknes: ∧ they that dwell therin, are without lyght: for thy lawe is kyndled, because no m&abar; knoweth the th&ibar;ges that are done of the, or that shalbe done. If I haue founde grace before the, s&ebar;de the holy goost into me, and I shall wryte all that hath bene done in the worlde sens the begynnyng, which was written in thy lawe, that m&ebar; maye fynde the path, and that they which will lyue in þe; latter dayes, maye lyue.

And he answered me, sayinge: God thy waye, gather the people together, and saye vnto them, that they seke þe; not for fourtye dayes, but loke thou gather þe; many boxe trees, ∧ take with the Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ecanus and Asiel, these fyue, whych are ready to wryte swyftly, ∧ come hyther, and I shall lyght a candle of vnderst&abar;dynge in thyne hert, which shall not be put out, tyll the thynges be perfourmed which thou shalt begynne to wryte. And th&ebar; shalt thou declare some thynges openly vnto the perfecte, and some thynges shalt thou shew secretly vnto the wyse. Tomorow this houre shalt thou begynne to wryte.

C   Then wente I forth (as he commaunded me) and gathered all the people together, and sayde: Heare these wordes O Israel, Oure fathers at þe; begynnynge were stra&ubar;gers in Egypte, from whence they were delyuered, ∧ receaued the lawe of lyfe ^note which they kepte not, which ye also haue transgressed after them. Then was thys lande ∧ the lande of Syon parted amonge you by lott to possesse. But your fathers ∧ ye your selues also haue done vnryghteousnes, and haue not kepte the wayes which the Hyest commaunded you. And for so moch as he is a ryghteous iudge, he toke from you in tyme þe; thynge þt; he had geuen you. And now are ye here ∧ youre brethren amonge you. Therfore yf so be that ye wyll subdue your awne vnderstandyng, and refourme youre herte, ye shall be kepte alyue, ∧ after death shall ye opteyne mercy. For after death shall the iudgem&ebar;t come, when we shall lyue agayne: and then shall the names of the ryghteous be manyfest, and the workes of the vngodly shall be declared. Let no man therfore come now vnto me, ner aske eny questyon at me these fourtye dayes.

D   So I toke the fyue men (as he c&obar;ma&ubar;ded me) and we wente in to the felde, ∧ remayned there. The next daye a voyce called me sayinge: Esdras ^note open thy mouth, ∧ dryncke þt; I geue the. Then opened I my mouth, ∧ beholde, he reached me a full cuppe, which was full as it were with water, but the coulour of it was lyke fyre. And I toke it and drancke. And when I had droncken it, my hert had vnderst&abar;dyng, ∧ wysdome grewe in my brest: for my sprete was kepte in rem&ebar;braunce, and my mouth was opened and shut nomore. The Hyest gaue vnderst&abar;dynge vnto the fyue men, that they wrote the hye thynges of þe; nyght, which they vnderstode not. But in the nyght they dyd eate bred: as for me, I spake in the daye ∧ helde not my tonge by nyght. In .xl. dayes, they wrote two hundred and foure bokes.

And it happened when the fourtye dayes were fulfylled, that þe; Hyest spake, saying: The fyrst that thou hast wrytten, speake op&ebar;ly, þt; the worthy ∧ vnworthy maye rede it. But kepe the .lxx. last, that thou mayest shew it onely to soch as be wyse am&obar;ge thy people. For in them is þe; sprynge of vnderstandynge, the fountayne of wysdome, and the streame of knowledge. And I dyd so.

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