2 Esdr 15:61 And thou shalt be cast down by them as stubble, and they shall be unto thee as fire;

2 Esdr 15:62 And shall consume thee, and thy cities, thy land, and thy mountains; all thy woods and thy fruitful trees shall they burn up with fire.

2 Esdr 15:63 Thy children shall they carry away captive, and, look, what thou hast, they shall spoil it, and mar the beauty of thy face.

2 Esdr 16:1 Woe be unto thee, Babylon, and Asia! woe be unto thee, Egypt and Syria!

2 Esdr 16:2 Gird up yourselves with cloths of sack and hair, bewail your children, and be sorry; for your destruction is at hand.

2 Esdr 16:3 A sword is sent upon you, and who may turn it back?

2 Esdr 16:4 A fire is sent among you, and who may quench it?

2 Esdr 16:5 Plagues are sent unto you, and what is he that may drive them away?

2 Esdr 16:6 May any man drive away an hungry lion in the wood? or may any one quench the fire in stubble, when it hath begun to burn?

2 Esdr 16:7 May one turn again the arrow that is shot of a strong archer?

2 Esdr 16:8 The mighty Lord sendeth the plagues and who is he that can drive them away?

2 Esdr 16:9 A fire shall go forth from his wrath, and who is he that may quench it?

2 Esdr 16:10 He shall cast lightnings, and who shall not fear? he shall thunder, and who shall not be afraid?

2 Esdr 16:11 The Lord shall threaten, and who shall not be utterly beaten to powder at his presence?

2 Esdr 16:12 The earth quaketh, and the foundations thereof; the sea ariseth up with waves from the deep, and the waves of it are troubled, and the fishes thereof also, before the Lord, and before the glory of his power:

2 Esdr 16:13 For strong is his right hand that bendeth the bow, his arrows that he shooteth are sharp, and shall not miss, when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world.

2 Esdr 16:14 Behold, the plagues are sent, and shall not return again, until they come upon the earth.

2 Esdr 16:15 The fire is kindled, and shall not be put out, till it consume the foundation of the earth.

2 Esdr 16:16 Like as an arrow which is shot of a mighty archer returneth not backward: even so the plagues that shall be sent upon earth shall not return again.

2 Esdr 16:17 Woe is me! woe is me! who will deliver me in those days?

2 Esdr 16:18 The beginning of sorrows and great mournings; the beginning of famine and great death; the beginning of wars, and the powers shall stand in fear; the beginning of evils! what shall I do when these evils shall come?

2 Esdr 16:19 Behold, famine and plague, tribulation and anguish, are sent as scourges for amendment.

2 Esdr 16:20 But for all these things they shall not turn from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges.

2 Esdr 16:21 Behold, victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that they shall think themselves to be in good case, and even then shall evils grow upon earth, sword, famine, and great confusion.

2 Esdr 16:22 For many of them that dwell upon earth shall perish of famine; and the other, that escape the hunger, shall the sword destroy.

2 Esdr 16:23 And the dead shall be cast out as dung, and there shall be no man to comfort them: for the earth shall be wasted, and the cities shall be cast down.

2 Esdr 16:24 There shall be no man left to till the earth, and to sow it

2 Esdr 16:25 The trees shall give fruit, and who shall gather them?

2 Esdr 16:26 The grapes shall ripen, and who shall tread them? for all places shall be desolate of men:

2 Esdr 16:27 So that one man shall desire to see another, and to hear his voice.

2 Esdr 16:28 For of a city there shall be ten left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks.

2 Esdr 16:29 As in an orchard of Olives upon every tree there are left three or four olives;

2 Esdr 16:30 Or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are left some cl.u.s.ters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard:

2 Esdr 16:31 Even so in those days there shall be three or four left by them that search their houses with the sword.

2 Esdr 16:32 And the earth shall be laid waste, and the fields thereof shall wax old, and her ways and all her paths shall grow full of thorns, because no man shall travel therethrough.

2 Esdr 16:33 The virgins shall mourn, having no bridegrooms; the women shall mourn, having no husbands; their daughters shall mourn, having no helpers.

2 Esdr 16:34 In the wars shall their bridegrooms be destroyed, and their husbands shall perish of famine.

2 Esdr 16:35 Hear now these things and understand them, ye servants of the Lord.

2 Esdr 16:36 Behold, the word of the Lord, receive it: believe not the G.o.ds of whom the Lord spake.

2 Esdr 16:37 Behold, the plagues draw nigh, and are not slack.

2 Esdr 16:38 As when a woman with child in the ninth month bringeth forth her son, with two or three hours of her birth great pains compa.s.s her womb, which pains, when the child cometh forth, they slack not a moment:

2 Esdr 16:39 Even so shall not the plagues be slack to come upon the earth, and the world shall mourn, and sorrows shall come upon it on every side.

2 Esdr 16:40 O my people, hear my word: make you ready to thy battle, and in those evils be even as pilgrims upon the earth.

2 Esdr 16:41 He that selleth, let him be as he that fleeth away: and he that buyeth, as one that will lose:

2 Esdr 16:42 He that occupieth merchandise, as he that hath no profit by it: and he that buildeth, as he that shall not dwell therein:

2 Esdr 16:43 He that soweth, as if he should not reap: so also he that planteth the vineyard, as he that shall not gather the grapes:

2 Esdr 16:44 They that marry, as they that shall get no children; and they that marry not, as the widowers.

2 Esdr 16:45 And therefore they that labour labour in vain:

2 Esdr 16:46 For strangers shall reap their fruits, and spoil their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captives, for in captivity and famine shall they get children.

2 Esdr 16:47 And they that occupy their merchandise with robbery, the more they deck their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons: