Ezra’s Second Prayer of Complaint

²¹ And after seven days the thoughts of my heart were very grievous to me again. ²² Then my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began once more to speak words in the presence of the Most High. ²³ And I said, “O sovereign Lord, from every forest of the earth and from all its trees thou hast chosen one vine, ²⁴ and from all the lands of the world thou hast chosen for thyself one region,^[a] and from all the flowers of the world thou hast chosen for thyself one lily, ²⁵ and from all the depths of the sea thou hast filled for thyself one river, and from all the cities that have been built thou hast consecrated Zion for thyself, ²⁶ and from all the birds that have been created thou hast named for thyself one dove, and from all the flocks that have been made thou hast provided for thyself one sheep, ²⁷ and from all the multitude of peoples thou hast gotten for thyself one people; and to this people, whom thou hast loved, thou hast given the law which is approved by all.

Only a Few Will Be Saved

⁴⁵ I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, I said then and I say now:^[a] Blessed are those who are alive and keep thy commandments! ⁴⁶ But what of those for whom I prayed? For who among the living is there that has not sinned, or who among men that has not transgressed thy covenant? ⁴⁷ And now I see that the world to come will bring delight to few, but torments to many. ⁴⁸ For an evil heart has grown up in us, which has alienated us from God,^[b] and has brought us into corruption and the ways of death, and has shown us the paths of perdition and removed us far from life—and that not just a few of us but almost all who have been created!”

⁴⁹ He answered me and said, “Listen to me, Ezra,^[c] and I will instruct you, and will admonish you yet again. ⁵⁰ For this reason the Most High has made not one world but two. ⁵¹ For whereas you have said that the righteous are not many but few, while the ungodly abound, hear the explanation for this.

⁵² “If you have just a few precious stones, will you add to them lead and clay?”^[d]

⁵³ I said, “Lord, how could that be?”

⁵⁴ And he said to me, “Not only that, but ask the earth and she will tell you; defer to her, and she will declare it to you. ⁵⁵ Say to her, ‘You produce gold and silver and brass, and also iron and lead and clay; ⁵⁶ but silver is more abundant than gold, and brass than silver, and iron than brass, and lead than iron, and clay than lead.’ ⁵⁷ Judge therefore which things are precious and desirable, those that are abundant or those that are rare?”

⁵⁸ I said, “O sovereign Lord, what is plentiful is of less worth, for what is more rare is more precious.”

⁵⁹ He answered me and said, “Weigh within yourself^[e] what you have thought, for he who has what is hard to get rejoices more than he who has what is plentiful. ⁶⁰ So also will be the judgment^[f] which I have promised; for I will rejoice over the few who shall be saved, because it is they who have made my glory to prevail now, and through them my name has now been honored. ⁶¹ And I will not grieve over the multitude of those who perish; for it is they who are now like a mist, and are similar to a flame and smoke—they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are extinguished.”

The Argument Recapitulated

¹⁴ I answered and said, ¹⁵ “I said before, and I say now, and will say it again: there are more who perish than those who will be saved, ¹⁶ as a wave is greater than a drop of water.”

¹⁷ He answered me and said, “As is the field, so is the seed; and as are the flowers, so are the colors; and as is the work, so is the product; and as is the farmer, so is the threshing floor. ¹⁸ For there was a time in this age when I was preparing for those who now exist, before the world was made for them to dwell in, and no one opposed me then, for no one existed; ¹⁹ but now those who have been created in this world which is supplied both with an unfailing table and an inexhaustible pasture,^[a] have become corrupt in their ways. ²⁰ So I considered my world, and behold, it was lost, and my earth, and behold, it was in peril because of the devices of those who^[b] had come into it. ²¹ And I saw and spared some^[c] with great difficulty, and saved for myself one grape out of a cluster, and one plant out of a great forest.^{[d] 22} So let the multitude perish which has been born in vain, but let my grape and my plant be saved, because with much labor I have perfected them.