Exhortation to Good Works

¹⁵ “Mother, embrace your sons; bring them up with gladness, as does the dove; establish their feet, because I have chosen you, says the Lord. ¹⁶ And I will raise up the dead from their places, and will bring them out from their tombs, because I recognize my name in them. ¹⁷ Do not fear, mother of the sons, for I have chosen you, says the Lord. ¹⁸ I will send you help, my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to their counsel I have consecrated and prepared for you twelve trees loaded with various fruits, ¹⁹ and the same number of springs flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains on which roses and lilies grow; by these I will fill your children with joy. ²⁰ Guard the rights of the widow, secure justice for the fatherless, give to the needy, defend the orphan, clothe the naked, ²¹ care for the injured and the weak, do not ridicule a lame man, protect the maimed, and let the blind man have a vision of my splendor. ²² Protect the old and the young within your walls; ²³ When you find any who are dead, commit them to the grave and mark it,^[a] and I will give you the first place in my resurrection. ²⁴ Pause and be quiet, my people, because your rest will come. ²⁵ Good nurse, nourish your sons, and strengthen their feet. ²⁶ Not one of the servants whom I have given you will perish, for I will require them from among your number. ²⁷ Do not be anxious, for when the day of tribulation and anguish comes, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but you shall rejoice and have abundance. ²⁸ The nations shall envy you but they shall not be able to do anything against you, says the Lord. ²⁹ My hands will cover you, that your sons may not see Gehenna. ³⁰ Rejoice, O mother, with your sons, because I will deliver you, says the Lord. ³¹ Remember your sons that sleep, because I will bring them out of the hiding places of the earth, and will show mercy to them; for I am merciful, says the Lord Almighty. ³² Embrace your children until I come, and proclaim mercy to them; because my springs run over, and my grace will not fail.”

Ezra on Mount Horeb

³³ I, Ezra, received a command from the Lord on Mount Horeb to go to Israel. When I came to them they rejected me and refused the Lord’s commandment. ³⁴ Therefore I say to you, O nations that hear and understand, “Await your shepherd; he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand. ³⁵ Be ready for the rewards of the kingdom, because the eternal light will shine upon you for evermore. ³⁶ Flee from the shadow of this age, receive the joy of your glory; I publicly call on my Savior to witness.^{[b] 37} Receive what the Lord has entrusted to you and be joyful, giving thanks to him who has called you to heavenly kingdoms. ³⁸ Rise and stand, and see at the feast of the Lord the number of those who have been sealed. ³⁹ Those who have departed from the shadow of this age have received glorious garments from the Lord. ⁴⁰ Take again your full number, O Zion, and conclude the list of your people who are clothed in white, who have fulfilled the law of the Lord. ⁴¹ The number of your children, whom you desired, is full; beseech the Lord’s power that your people, who have been called from the beginning, may be made holy.”

Ezra Sees the Son of God

⁴² I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude, which I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs. ⁴³ In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound. ⁴⁴ Then I asked an angel, “Who are these, my lord?” ⁴⁵ He answered and said to me, “These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and they have confessed the name of God; now they are being crowned, and receive palms.” ⁴⁶ Then I said to the angel, “Who is that young man who places crowns on them and puts palms in their hands?” ⁴⁷ He answered and said to me, “He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world.” So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.