2 Esdras 13:1-13

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Man from the Sea

13 After seven days I dreamed a dream in the night.^{(A) 2} And behold, a wind arose from the sea and stirred up^[a] all its waves.^{(B) 3} As I kept looking the wind made something like the figure of a man come up out of the heart of the sea. And I saw^[b] that this man flew^[c] with the clouds of heaven, and wherever he turned his face to look, everything under his gaze trembled,^{(C) 4} and whenever his voice issued from his mouth, all who heard his voice melted as wax melts when it feels the fire.

⁵ After this I looked and saw that an innumerable multitude of people were gathered together from the four winds of heaven to make war against the man who came up out of the sea.^{(D) 6} And I looked and saw that he carved out for himself a great mountain and flew up on to it.^{(E) 7} And I tried to see the region or place from which the mountain was carved, but I could not.

⁸ After this I looked and saw that all who had gathered together against him to wage war with him were filled with fear, yet they dared to fight. ⁹ When he saw the onrush of the approaching multitude, he neither lifted his hand nor held a spear or any weapon of war, ¹⁰ but I saw only how he sent forth from his mouth something like a stream of fire and from his lips a flaming breath and from his tongue he shot forth a storm of sparks. All these were mingled together, the stream of fire and the flaming breath and the great storm,^{(F) 11} and fell on the onrushing multitude that was prepared to fight and burned up all of them, so that suddenly nothing was seen of the innumerable multitude but only the dust of ashes and the smell of smoke. When I saw it, I was amazed.^(G)

¹² After this I saw the same man come down from the mountain and call to himself another multitude that was peaceable.^{(H) 13} Then the forms of many people appeared to him, some of whom were joyful and some sorrowful; some of them were bound, and some were bringing others as offerings.

The Interpretation of the Vision

Then I woke up in great terror and prayed to the Most High and said,