1 Esdras 4
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1THen the seconde which had spoken of the strength of the King, began to say, 2O ye men, are not men strongest, which beare rule by land and by sea, and ouer all things which are in them! 3But the King is yet greater: for he ruleth all things, & is lord of them, so that they do all things which he commandeth them. 4If he bid them make warre one against another, they do it: if he send them out against the enemies, they go and breake downe mountaines and walles and towres. 5They kil & are killed, & do not passe the commandement of the King: if they ouercome, they bring all to the King, aswel the spoyles as all other things, 6And those also which go not to warre & battel, but til the earth: for when they haue sowen it againe, thei reape it, & bring it to the King, and compell one another to paye tribute to the King. 7Yet he is but one man: if he bid, Kil, they kil: if he sai, Spare, they spare. 8If he bid, Smite, they smite: if he bid them, Make desolate, they make desolate: if he bid, Buyld, they buyld. 9If he bid, Cut of, they cut of: if he bid, Plante, they plante. 10So all his people & all his armies obey one man: in the meane while he sitteth downe, he eateth, and drinketh and slepeth. 11For these kepe him rounde about: nether can any one go & do his owne busines, nether are they disobedient vnto him. 12O ye men, how shulde not the King be strongest, seing he is thus obeied! So he helde his tongue. 13¶Then the thirde which had spoken of women & of the trueth (this was Zorobabel) began to speake, 14O ye men, nether the mightie King, nor many men nor wine is strongest: who then ruleth them or hathe dominion ouer them! are they not women! 15Women haue borne the King & all the people which beare rule by sea & by land. 16Euen of them were they borne, and they nourished them, which planted the vines, of which the wine is made. 17They also make mens garments & make men honorable, nether can men be without women. 18And if thei haue gathered together gold & siluer, or any goodlie thing, do they not loue a faire and beautiful woman! 19Do they not leaue all those things & giue them selues wholy vnto her, & gape, and gaze vpon her, & all men desire her more then gold, or siluer, or any precious thing! 20A man leaueth his owne father which hathe nourished him, & his owne countrei, and is ioyned with his wife. 21And for the woman he ieopardeth his life, and nether remembreth father nor mother nor countrey. 22Therefore by this ye may knowe that the women beare rule ouer you: do ye not labour and trauail, and giue and bring all to the women? 23Yea, a man taketh his sworde and goeth forthe to kil & to steale, and to saile vpon the sea, and vpon riuers, 24And he seeth a lion & goeth in darkenes, & when he hathe stollen, rauished & spoiled, he bringeth it to his loue. 25Wherefore a man loueth his owne wife more then father or mother. 26Yea, many haue runne mad for women, and haue bene seruants for them. 27Many also haue perished & haue erred and sinned for women. 28Now therefore do you not beleue me? is not the King great in his power? do not all regions feare to touche him? 29Yet I sawe him & Apame, the Kings concubine, the daughter of the famous Bartacus, sitting on the right hand of the King. 30And she toke the crowne of the Kings head, & put it vpon her owne, and stroke the King with her left hand. 31Yet in the meane season the King gaped and gazed on her: & if she laughed at him, he laughed: & if she were angrie with him, he did flatter her that he might be reconciled with her. 32How then, ô ye men, are not women more strong, seing they do thus? 33¶Then the King and the princes loked one vpon another, and he began to speake of the trueth. 34O ye men, are not women stronger? great is the earth, & the heauen is hie, and the sonne is swift in his course: for he turneth rounde about heauen in one day, & runneth againe into his owne place. 35Is not he great that maketh these things? therefore the trueth is greater and stronger then all. 36All the earth calleth for trueth, and the heauen blesseth it: and all things are shaken and tremble, nether is there any vniust thing with it. 37The wine is wicked, the King is wicked, women are wicked, & all the children of men are wicked, and all their wicked workes are suche, and there is no trueth in them, and they perish in their iniquitie. 38But trueth doeth abide, and is strong for euer, and liueth and reigneth for euer and euer. 39With her there is no receiuing of persons nor difference: but she doeth the things which are iuste, & absteineth from vniust & wicked things, and all men fauour her workes. 40Nether is there any vniust thing in her iudgement, and she is the strength and the kingdome and the power, and maiestie of all ages. Blessed be the God of trueth. 41So he ceased to speake, and then all the people cryed & said then, Trueth is great and strongest. 42Then the King said vnto him, Aske what thou wilt besides that which is appointed, & we wil giue it thee, because thou art founde the wisest, and thou shalt haue libertie to sit by me, and shalt be called my cousin. 43¶ Then he said to the King, Remembre the vowe that thou hast vowed to buylde Ierusalem, in the day that thou tokest the kingdome, 44And to send againe all the vessels that were taken out of Ierusalem, which Cyrus set a parte when he made a vowe to cut of Babylon, & vowed to send them thither. 45Thou also hast vowed to buylde the Temple, which the Idumeans burnt when Iudea was destroied by the Chaldeans. 46And now, ô Lord the King, this is that which I desire & require of thee, & this is the magnificence, which I require of thee: I require therefore that thou woldest accomplish the vowe which thou hast vowed with thine owne mouth to do to the King of heauen. 47Then King Darius rising vp, kissed him, & wrote him letters to all the stewardes and lieutenants, and captaines, and gouernours, that thei shulde bring on the waye bothe him, & all that were with him, which went vp to buylde Ierusalem. 48And he wrote letters to all the lieutenants in Coelosyria and Phenice, & to them that were in Libanus, that they shulde bring cedre wood from Libanus to Ierusalem, and buylde the citie wih him. 49And he wrote for all the Iewes, which went vp out of his kingdome vnto Iudea, concerning their libertie, that no price, nor lieutenant, nor gouernour, nor steward shulde enter into their dores, 50And that all the region which they kept, shulde paye no tribute, and that the Idumeans shulde let go the villages of the Iewes which they helde, 51And that euerie yere there shulde be giuen for the buylding of the Temple twentie talents vntil it were buylt, 52And to mainteine the burnt offrings vpon the altar euerie day (as they had a commandement to offer seuentene) other ten talents euerie yere. 53And that all they which went from Babylon to buylde the citie, shulde haue libertie, aswel they as their posteritie, and all the Priests that went away. 54He wrote also touching the charges and the Priests garment, wherein they shulde minister. 55And he wrote that they shulde giue the Leuites their charges vntil the House were finished, and Ierusalem buylt. 56Also he wrote that they shulde giue pensions & wages to them that kept the citie. 57And he sent away all the vessels which Cyrus had set aparte out of Babylon, and whatsoeuer Cyrus had commanded to do, he also commanded to do it, and to send to Ierusalem. 58And when the "yong man was gone forthe, he lift vp his face to heauen towardes Ierusalem, and gaue thankes to the King of heauen, 59Saying, Of thee is the victorie, & of thee is wisdome, & of thee is glorie, and I am thy seruant. 60Blessed be thou which hast giuen me wisdome: for vnto thee I acknowledge it, ô Lord of our fathers. 61¶ So he toke the letters & went out & came to Babylon & telled all his brethren. 62And thei blessed the God of their fathers, because he had giuen them fredome & libertie 63To go vp & to buylde Ierusalem, & the Temple, where his Name is renoumed, & they reioyced with instruments of musicke and ioye, seuen daies.