I Esdras 4

¹And the nexte folewer biganne to sey, that seide of the strengthe of a kyng,

²O men! whether men ben not passyngly stronge, the whiche holden loond and see, and alle thingis that ben in hem?

³The kyng forsothe passith aboue alle thingis, and he hath lordschip of hem, and thei don al thing, what euer he wil sey to hem.

⁴And if he sende hem to fiyters, thei gon, and destroyen hillis, and walles, and toures; thei ben sleyn,

⁵and slen, and thei passen not the word of the kyng; for if thei ouercomen, thei bryngen to the king alle thingis, what euer thingis thei han spoiled euermore, and all othere thingis.

⁶And hou fele euer beren not knyythod, ne fiyten, but eren the loond, eftsone whanne thei schul repe, thei bringen tributis to the king.

⁷And he is oon aloone; and if he bidde to sle, thei sleen; and if he bidde hem to foryiue, thei foryiuen;

⁸and if he sey hem to smyten, thei smyten; if he sey to outlawe, thei outlawen; if he bidde hem to bilden, thei bilden;

⁹if he bidde to throwe doun, thei throwen adoun; if he bidde to plaunte, thei plaunten;

¹⁰and alle folk and vertues obeishen to him; and ouer alle thes thingis he schal sitte, and drynke, and slepe.

¹¹Thes forsothe kepen him aboute, and moun not gon echoon, and do her owne werkis, but in his word men obeishen to him.

¹²What maner wise passith not the kyng bifore oothere, that thus is loosid?

¹³And he helde his pes. The thridde, that had seid of wymmen, and of treuthe; this is seid Sorobabel; he biganne to speke, O men!

¹⁴the kyng is not greet, neither many othere men, ne wyn passith biforn; who is it thanne that hath lordschip of hem?

¹⁵Whether not wymmen, that han goten kyngis, and al the peple, the whiche kingis han lordschip bothe of see and of loond, and of wymmen thei ben born?

¹⁶And thei brouyten forth hem that plauntiden vynes, of the whiche wyn is maad.

¹⁷And thei maken the stoles, or longe clothis, of alle men, and thei don glorie to men, and men moun not be seuered fro wymmen.

¹⁸If thei gedere togidere gold and siluer, and al fair thing, and seen a womman in good aray, and in good fairnesse,

¹⁹thei, forsakynge alle thes thingis, taken heede to here, and the mouth opened, thei biholden hir, and thei drawen more to hir than to gold and siluer, or ony precious thing.

²⁰A man schal forsake his fadir, that norishide him, and his owne loond, and to a womman he ioynith him togidre,

²¹and with a womman he lyuith his lijf, and noither remembrith fadir, ne modir, ne the lond of his birthe.

²²And therfor it bihouith us to knowen, that wymmen han lordschip of us. Whether ye serewen not?

²³And also a man takith his swerd, and goth in the wey to don theftis, and man slauytris, and to seilen ouer the see, and ouer flodes;

²⁴and he seeth a lioun, and he goth in derkenessis; and whanne he hath don his thefte, and gijles, and raueynes, he bringith it to his leef.

²⁵And efte a man louith his wijf more than fadir or modir;

²⁶and many men ben maad woode for their wyues, and many ben maad thrallis for hem;

²⁷and many perischiden, and weren stranglid, and many han synned for wymmen.

²⁸And now leeueth me; forsothe a kyng is greet, and his power, for alle regiouns, or kingdoms aboute, ben aferd to touche him.

²⁹I sawye neuer the latter Apeemen, the douyter of Besacis, the wondirful man, the secoundarie wijf of the kyng, sittynge biside the kyng at the riyt side;

³⁰and takynge awey the diademe fro his heed, and puttynge it on hir self, and with the pawme of hir lift hoond she smote the kyng.

³¹And ouer thes thingis, the mouth opened, he bihilde hir, and if sche lowye to him, he lowye, and if sche were wrooth to him, he glosith or plesith, vnto the tyme that he be recounsilid to grace.

³²O men! whi ben not wymmen strengist? Greet is the erthe, and heuen is hiy, that don thes thingis.

³³Thanne the kyng and the purpred men bihelden either in to oothere; and he biganne to speke of treuthe.

³⁴O men! wher wymmen ben not stronge? Greet is the eerthe, and heuen is hiy, and the cours of the sunne is swift; it is turned in the cumpas of heuen, and eft it renneth ayen in to the same place in a day.

³⁵Wher he is not a greet doer, that makith thes thingis? and treuthe greet, and strenger biforn alle thingis?

³⁶All erthe clepith inwardly trouthe, also it blessith heuene, and alle werkis ben moued and dreden it; and ther is no wickid thing with it.

³⁷Wickid kyng, and wickid wymmen, and alle the sones of men ben wickid, and ther is not treuthe in hem, and in her wickidnesse thei schul perische;

³⁸and treuthe dwellith, and wexith in to withouten ende, and it lyuith, and weldith, into worldus of worldis.

³⁹It is not anentis treuthe to outtake persoones, and differencis; but it doth tho thingis that ben riytful, to alle vnriytwise and yuel men; and alle men ben maad benyngne in his werkis.

⁴⁰And ther is not wickidnesse in his doom, but ther is strengthe, and rewme, and power, and magestee of alle duryngis aboue tyme.

⁴¹Blessid be the God of treuthe! And thanne he lefte in spekynge. And alle the peplis crieden, and seiden, Greet is treuthe, and it passith bifore alle othere.

⁴²Thanne the kyng seide to him, Aske, if thou wilt, ony thing more ouer, than ther ben writen, and I schal yiue to thee, aftir that thou art founden wiser; and next to me thou schalt sitte, and thou schalt be clepid my cosyn.

⁴³Thanne seide he to the king, Be thou myndeful of the vowy, that thou vowidist, to bilden up Jerusalem, in the day in whiche thou toke the rewme; and to senden ayen alle the vessels,

⁴⁴that ben taken fro Jerusalem, the whiche Cyrus departide, whanne he slouy Babiloyne, and wolde sende ayen thoo thingis thidere.

⁴⁵And thou woldist bilde up the temple, that Ydumes brenden, for Judee is put out of her termes, or marchis, of the Caldeis.

⁴⁶And now, lord, this it is that I aske, and that I bidde; this is the mageste that I aske of thee, that thou do the vow that thou vowidist to the kyng of heuen, of thi mouth.

⁴⁷Thanne Darius, the kyng, risynge kisside him, and wroot epistlis to alle the dispensatours, and prefectis, and to men clothid in purpre, that thei schulden lede him forth, and hem that weren with him, alle wendynge up to bilde Jerusalem.

⁴⁸And to alle the prefectis that weren in Sirie, and Fenyce, and Liban, he wroot epistles, that thei schulden drawe cedre trees fro the hill Liban in to Jerusalem, that thei bilde up the citee with hem.

⁴⁹And he wroot to alle the Jewis, that steyden up fro the rewme in Judee, for fredam, that ony man of power, or maistir iuge, and prefect, schulden not come ouer to the yatis of hem,

⁵⁰and eche regioun, that thei hadden holde, to be fre fro hem; and that Ydumeis leue up the castels of Jewis, that thei withholden,

⁵¹and to yiue yer bi yer twenty talentis, in to making of the temple, vnto the tyme that it be ful bildid;

⁵²and ech day to offre ostis upon the place of sacrid thingis, as thei ben comaundid; to offre, bi alle yeris, othere ten talentis; and to alle men,

⁵³that gon forth fro Babiloyne, to make the citee, as fredom were, bothe to hem, and to the sones of hem, and to the prestis that gon bifore.

⁵⁴Forsothe also he wroot the quantitee; and he comaundide the sacrid stole, or vestyment, to be youen, in whiche thei schulden serue;

⁵⁵and he wroot wagis to be youen to the dekens, vnto the day that the hous schulde be fully endid, and Jerusalem maad out; and he wrot to alle men kepinge the citee,

⁵⁶to yiue to the bilders lottis and wagis.

⁵⁷And he lefte hem alle the vessels, that Cirus had partid fro Babiloyn; and alle thingis, what euer Cyrus seide, he comaundide it to be don, and to be sent to Jerusalem.

⁵⁸And whanne that younge man had gon forth, reisynge his face toward Jerusalem, he blesside the kyng of heuen, and seide,

⁵⁹Of thee, Lord, is victorie, and of thee is wisdom, and clernesse, and I am thi seruaunt.

⁶⁰Thou art blessid, for thou hast youen to me wisdom, and I knowleche to thee, Lord of oure fadris.

⁶¹And he toke the epistlis, or lettres, and wente forth in to Babiloyne; and he came, and tolde to alle his bretheren, that weren in Babyloyne.

⁶²And thei blessiden the God of her fadris, that yaf to hem foryiuenesse and refreschyng,

⁶³that thei schulden stye up, and bilde Jerusalem, and the temple, where his name is nemned in it; and thei ioyeden with musikis and with gladnesse seuen daies.

I Esdras 4

¹Then the second, that had spoken of the strength of the king, began to say,

²O ye men, do not men excel in strength that bear rule over sea and land and all things in them?

³But yet the king is more mighty: for he is lord of all these things, and hath dominion over them; and whatsoever he commandeth them they do.

⁴If he bid them make war the one against the other, they do it: if he send them out against the enemies, they go, and break down mountains walls and towers.

⁵They slay and are slain, and transgress not the king’s commandment: if they get the victory, they bring all to the king, as well the spoil, as all things else.

⁶Likewise for those that are no soldiers, and have not to do with wars, but use husbandry, when they have reaped again that which they had sown, they bring it to the king, and compel one another to pay tribute unto the king.

⁷And yet he is but one man: if he command to kill, they kill; if he command to spare, they spare;

⁸If he command to smite, they smite; if he command to make desolate, they make desolate; if he command to build, they build;

⁹If he command to cut down, they cut down; if he command to plant, they plant.

¹⁰So all his people and his armies obey him: furthermore he lieth down, he eateth and drinketh, and taketh his rest:

¹¹And these keep watch round about him, neither may any one depart, and do his own business, neither disobey they him in any thing.

¹²O ye men, how should not the king be mightiest, when in such sort he is obeyed? And he held his tongue.

¹³Then the third, who had spoken of women, and of the truth, (this was Zorobabel) began to speak.

¹⁴O ye men, it is not the great king, nor the multitude of men, neither is it wine, that excelleth; who is it then that ruleth them, or hath the lordship over them? are they not women?

¹⁵Women have borne the king and all the people that bear rule by sea and land.

¹⁶Even of them came they: and they nourished them up that planted the vineyards, from whence the wine cometh.

¹⁷These also make garments for men; these bring glory unto men; and without women cannot men be.

¹⁸Yea, and if men have gathered together gold and silver, or any other goodly thing, do they not love a woman which is comely in favour and beauty?

¹⁹And letting all those things go, do they not gape, and even with open mouth fix their eyes fast on her; and have not all men more desire unto her than unto silver or gold, or any goodly thing whatsoever?

²⁰A man leaveth his own father that brought him up, and his own country, and cleaveth unto his wife.

²¹He sticketh not to spend his life with his wife. and remembereth neither father, nor mother, nor country.

²²By this also ye must know that women have dominion over you: do ye not labour and toil, and give and bring all to the woman?

²³Yea, a man taketh his sword, and goeth his way to rob and to steal, to sail upon the sea and upon rivers;

²⁴And looketh upon a lion, and goeth in the darkness; and when he hath stolen, spoiled, and robbed, he bringeth it to his love.

²⁵Wherefore a man loveth his wife better than father or mother.

²⁶Yea, many there be that have run out of their wits for women, and become servants for their sakes.

²⁷Many also have perished, have erred, and sinned, for women.

²⁸And now do ye not believe me? is not the king great in his power? do not all regions fear to touch him?

²⁹Yet did I see him and Apame the king’s concubine, the daughter of the admirable Bartacus, sitting at the right hand of the king,

³⁰And taking the crown from the king’s head, and setting it upon her own head; she also struck the king with her left hand.

³¹And yet for all this the king gaped and gazed upon her with open mouth: if she laughed upon him, he laughed also: but if she took any displeasure at him, the king was fain to flatter, that she might be reconciled to him again.

³²O ye men, how can it be but women should be strong, seeing they do thus?

³³Then the king and the princes looked one upon another: so he began to speak of the truth.

³⁴O ye men, are not women strong? great is the earth, high is the heaven, swift is the sun in his course, for he compasseth the heavens round about, and fetcheth his course again to his own place in one day.

³⁵Is he not great that maketh these things? therefore great is the truth, and stronger than all things.

³⁶All the earth crieth upon the truth, and the heaven blesseth it: all works shake and tremble at it, and with it is no unrighteous thing.

³⁷Wine is wicked, the king is wicked, women are wicked, all the children of men are wicked, and such are all their wicked works; and there is no truth in them; in their unrighteousness also they shall perish.

³⁸As for the truth, it endureth, and is always strong; it liveth and conquereth for evermore.

³⁹With her there is no accepting of persons or rewards; but she doeth the things that are just, and refraineth from all unjust and wicked things; and all men do well like of her works.

⁴⁰Neither in her judgment is any unrighteousness; and she is the strength, kingdom, power, and majesty, of all ages. Blessed be the God of truth.

⁴¹And with that he held his peace. And all the people then shouted, and said, Great is Truth, and mighty above all things.

⁴²Then said the king unto him, Ask what thou wilt more than is appointed in the writing, and we will give it thee, because thou art found wisest; and thou shalt sit next me, and shalt be called my cousin.

⁴³Then said he unto the king, Remember thy vow, which thou hast vowed to build Jerusalem, in the day when thou camest to thy kingdom,

⁴⁴And to send away all the vessels that were taken away out of Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart, when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and to send them again thither.

⁴⁵Thou also hast vowed to build up the temple, which the Edomites burned when Judea was made desolate by the Chaldees.

⁴⁶And now, O lord the king, this is that which I require, and which I desire of thee, and this is the princely liberality proceeding from thyself: I desire therefore that thou make good the vow, the performance whereof with thine own mouth thou hast vowed to the King of heaven.

⁴⁷Then Darius the king stood up, and kissed him, and wrote letters for him unto all the treasurers and lieutenants and captains and governors, that they should safely convey on their way both him, and all those that go up with him to build Jerusalem.

⁴⁸He wrote letters also unto the lieutenants that were in Celosyria and Phenice, and unto them in Libanus, that they should bring cedar wood from Libanus unto Jerusalem, and that they should build the city with him.

⁴⁹Moreover he wrote for all the Jews that went out of his realm up into Jewry, concerning their freedom, that no officer, no ruler, no lieutenant, nor treasurer, should forcibly enter into their doors;

⁵⁰And that all the country which they hold should be free without tribute; and that the Edomites should give over the villages of the Jews which then they held:

⁵¹Yea, that there should be yearly given twenty talents to the building of the temple, until the time that it were built;

⁵²And other ten talents yearly, to maintain the burnt offerings upon the altar every day, as they had a commandment to offer seventeen:

⁵³And that all they that went from Babylon to build the city should have free liberty, as well they as their posterity, and all the priests that went away.

⁵⁴He wrote also concerning. the charges, and the priests’ vestments wherein they minister;

⁵⁵And likewise for the charges of the Levites, to be given them until the day that the house were finished, and Jerusalem builded up.

⁵⁶And he commanded to give to all that kept the city pensions and wages.

⁵⁷He sent away also all the vessels from Babylon, that Cyrus had set apart; and all that Cyrus had given in commandment, the same charged he also to be done, and sent unto Jerusalem.

⁵⁸Now when this young man was gone forth, he lifted up his face to heaven toward Jerusalem, and praised the King of heaven,

⁵⁹And said, From thee cometh victory, from thee cometh wisdom, and thine is the glory, and I am thy servant.

⁶⁰Blessed art thou, who hast given me wisdom: for to thee I give thanks, O Lord of our fathers.

⁶¹And so he took the letters, and went out, and came unto Babylon, and told it all his brethren.

⁶²And they praised the God of their fathers, because he had given them freedom and liberty

⁶³To go up, and to build Jerusalem, and the temple which is called by his name: and they feasted with instruments of musick and gladness seven days.