For when I came here I saw ungodly deeds without number, and my soul has seen many sinners during these thirty years. And my heart failed me

Did not the souls of the righteous in their chambers ask about these matters, saying, ‘How long are we to remain here? And when will the harvest of our reward come?’

And I said, “No, lord, it cannot.” He said to me, “In Hades the chambers of the souls are like the womb.

Conclusion of the Vision

Then I woke up, and my body shuddered violently, and my soul was so troubled that it fainted.

Then my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began once more to speak words in the presence of the Most High.

My spirit was greatly aroused, and my soul was in distress.

The earth shall give up those who are asleep in it and the dust those who rest there in silence, and the chambers shall give up the souls that have been committed to them.

State of the Dead before Judgment

I answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, show this also to your servant: whether after death, as soon as everyone of us yields up the soul, we shall be kept in rest until those times come when you will renew the creation, or whether we shall be tormented at once?”

The second order: because they see the perplexity in which the souls of the ungodly wander and the punishment that awaits them.

This is the order of the souls of the righteous, as henceforth is announced, and the previously mentioned are the ways of torment that those who would not give heed shall suffer hereafter.”

Then I answered and said, “Will time therefore be given to the souls, after they have been separated from the bodies, to see what you have described to me?”

Ezra Again Appeals to God’s Mercy

I answered and said, “Then drink your fill of understanding, O my soul, and drink wisdom, O my heart.

—or is my mind deceived and my soul dreaming?

strengthen me and show me, your servant, the interpretation and meaning of this terrifying vision so that you may fully comfort my soul.

I will be silent no longer concerning their ungodly acts that they impiously commit, neither will I tolerate their wicked practices. Innocent and righteous blood cries out to me, and the souls of the righteous cry out continually.