2 Esdras 7:102-115

Revised Standard Version

No Intercession for the Ungodly

¹⁰² I answered and said, “If I have found favor in thy sight, show further to me, thy servant, whether on the day of judgment the righteous will be able to intercede for the ungodly or to entreat the Most High for them, ¹⁰³ fathers for sons or sons for parents, brothers for brothers, relatives for their kinsmen, or friends^[a] for those who are most dear.”

¹⁰⁴ He answered me and said, “Since you have found favor in my sight, I will show you this also. The day of judgment is decisive^[b] and displays to all the seal of truth. Just as now a father does not send his son, or a son his father, or a master his servant, or a friend his dearest friend, to be ill^[c] or sleep or eat or be healed in his stead, ¹⁰⁵ so no one shall ever pray for another on that day, neither shall any one lay a burden on another;^[d] for then every one shall bear his own righteousness and unrighteousness.”

^36 106 I answered and said, “How then do we find that first Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom, and Moses for our fathers who sinned in the desert, ^37 107 and Joshua after him for Israel in the days of Achan, ^38 108 and Samuel in the days of Saul,^[e] and David for the plague, and Solomon for those in the sanctuary, ^39 109 and Eli′jah for those who received the rain, and for the one who was dead, that he might live, ^40 110 and Hezeki′ah for the people in the days of Sennach′erib, and many others prayed for many? ^41 111 If therefore the righteous have prayed for the ungodly now, when corruption has increased and unrighteousness has multiplied, why will it not be so then as well?”

^42 112 He answered me and said, “This present world is not the end; the full glory does not^[f] abide in it;^[g] therefore those who were strong prayed for the weak. ^43 113 But the day of judgment will be the end of this age and the beginning^[h] of the immortal age to come, in which corruption has passed away, ^44 114 sinful indulgence has come to an end, unbelief has been cut off, and righteousness has increased and truth has appeared. ^45 115 Therefore no one will then be able to have mercy on him who has been condemned in the judgment, or to harm^[i] him who is victorious.”