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A new denunciation of the Jews for their indifference and coldness towards their mother - Zion or Jerusalem (1-4). The shame of Israel and his mother for their iniquities (5–9). The granting of the kingdom of Jerusalem as an inheritance to the new people of God from the pagans (10–14). God's speech to the New Testament church with a call to love and a promise of the highest blessings in heaven (15–32). Ezra's speech about the imminent coming of the Shepherd and moving away from the temptations of the world (33–37). Glorification of those who profess the truth by the Son of God (38–48). 3Ezra 2:1 Thus says the Lord: I brought this people out of work, I gave them a commandment through My servants the prophets, whom they did not want to listen, but rejected My advice. 3Ezra 2:2 The mother who gave birth to them says to them: “Go, children; for I am a widow and forsaken. 3Ezra 2:3 I brought you up with joy, and sent you away with weeping and sorrow, because you sinned against the Lord your God and did evil before Him. 3Ezra 2:4 Now what will I do for you? I am a widow and abandoned: go, children, and ask the Lord for mercy.” 2–4. Zion or Jerusalem, as the center of the Old Testament church, is repeatedly compared by the prophets to a mother (Jeremiah L:12; Hosea II:5). The mother grieves over the sinfulness of her children and her powerlessness to help them. Abandoned by both her children and God, she resembles a defenseless widow for whom joy is inaccessible (Isaiah LIV:4). 3Ezra 2:5 I call you, Father, as a witness against the mother of sons who did not want to keep my covenant. 3Ezra 2:6 Consign them to shame and their mother for destruction, so that their generation may not exist. 3Ezra 2:7 Let their names be scattered among the nations and blotted out from the earth, for they have despised my covenant. 5–7. God condemns to death both the sons who broke their union with Him and the mother who is guilty of being powerless to fulfill the task entrusted to her of raising children in devotion to the covenant of God. 3Ezra 2:8 Woe to you, Assyrian, who hides the wicked among himself! Evil generation! remember what I did to Sodom and Gomorrah. 8. The speech about Assyria seems rather unexpected coming from a person who lived many centuries after the fall of the Assyrian monarchy. The 10 tribes of Israel were taken to Assyria long before the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Even though Assyria soon ceased to exist politically, the name Assur continued to be applied for a long time to the monarchies that succeeded it. 3Ezra 2:9 Their land lies in tar heaps and ashen hills. This is what I will do to those who did not obey Me, says the Lord Almighty. 3Ezra 2:10 Thus says the Lord to Ezra: Proclaim to my people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I promised to Israel, 3Ezra 2:11 And I will receive glory from them and will give them the eternal mansions that I have prepared for them. 11. The expression: “eternal abodes” is taken from the Savior’s parable about the unrighteous steward (Luke XVI:9). 3Ezra 2:12 The tree of life will be an ointment for them; They will not be exhausted by labor and will not faint. 12. The Tree of Life is depicted in detail in the Apocalypse of John (II:7; XXII:2), from where this image was borrowed by the author. 3Ezra 2:13 Go and receive; ask for small days so that they do not delay. The kingdom is ready for you: watch. 13. Belief in the imminent advent of the Kingdom of the Messiah on earth (chiliasm) reigned in the Christian Church for the first three centuries of its existence. His anticipation was responsible for the extraordinary success that apocalyptic literature had among Christians. With a laconic apocalyptic call: “stay awake,” the author addresses his readers, anticipating the approach of the end. This winged word was passed from mouth to mouth amid the bloody persecutions that Christians experienced. Christ Himself called his followers to constant vigilance (Matthew XXIV:42; XXV:13; Mark XIII:35; Luke XXI:36 and many others). 3Ezra 2:14 Bear witness, O heavens and earth, for I have blotted out evil and created good. I live! says the Lord. 14. Brief saying: “I live! says the Lord,” awakened in the minds of the first Christians the thought of imminent revenge on all His opponents who persecuted Christianity. It is also used by the Old Testament prophets (Isa XLIX:18; Jer XXII:24). 3Ed.2:15 Mother! embrace your sons, raise them with joy; strengthen their feet like a dove, for I have chosen you, says the Lord. 15. The comparison of the new Zion (cf. II:40) with a dove was drawn by the author from the Greek text of the prophet Zephaniah (III:1): “O bright and liberated city, dove!” (cf. 3 Rides V:26). 3Ezra 2:16 And I will raise the dead from their places, and bring them out of their graves: because I have known my name in Israel. 16. Wed. Isa XXVI:19–20; Eze XXXVII:12–13. 3Ezra 2:17 Fear not, mother of sons, for I have chosen you, says the Lord. 3Ezra 2:18 I will send my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah to help you, according to whose advice I have consecrated and prepared for you twelve trees laden with various fruits, 3Ezra 2:19 and as many springs flowing with milk and honey, and seven great mountains producing roses and lilies, through which I will fill your sons with joy. 18–19. Already the prophet Ezekiel (XLVII:12), depicting the blessings awaiting Israel, mentions a stream and trees on which new fruits will ripen every month. The Apocalypse of John (XXII:2) applies this description to the tree of life growing in the middle of paradise. The author of the book under study speaks of 12 trees and 12 springs, meaning to symbolically represent the high significance for the church of the 12 apostles, who saturate all Christians with spiritual food. New Zion is protected on all sides by mountains, immersed in the scent of roses and the lushness of lilies. According to the testimony of the ancient prophetic book of Ezra (V:24), of all the flowers in the universe, God chose the lily as His destiny (cf. Matthew VI:28). 3Ezra 2:20 Justify the widow, give justice to the poor, help the needy, protect the orphan, clothe the naked, 3Ezra 2:21 Take care of the paralytic and the weak, do not mock the lame, protect the one without arms, and lead the blind to see My light, 3Ezra 2:22 Keep the old and the young within your walls, 3Ezra 2:23 Wherever you find the dead, seal them and deliver them to the grave, and I will give you first place in My resurrection. 20–23. The list of moral rules was taken partly from the prophet Isaiah (I:17; cf. Ps. LXXXI:3–4), but mainly from Hebrews. Matthew (XXV:35–39). 3Ezra 2:24 Rest and be at peace, My people, for your rest will come. 24. Wed. Hebrews III:11 (Ps. XCIV:7–11); IV:3, 10–11. 3Ezra 2:25 Feed your sons, O good nurse, strengthen their feet. 3Ezra 2:26 Let none of the servants whom I have given you perish, for I will require them from you. 3Ez.2:27 Do not weaken. When the day of sadness and distress comes, others will cry and lament, but you will be joyful and abundant. 27. This depicts the attitude of the Christian church towards the persecutions expected in the near future. Obviously, the book was written at a time when the church enjoyed comparative peace. This was at the beginning of the reign of Septimius Severus before the issuance of the edict of 202. The martyr's crowns not only did not inspire fear in Christians, but attracted them to them. The most severe persecution was powerless to disturb the bright outlook of Christians on life. 1Ezra 2:28 The pagans will envy you, but they cannot do anything against you, says the Lord. 28. Christianity aroused envy among the pagans, since it alone gave true peace (v. 24) and satisfied all the needs of the human spirit. 1Ezra 2:29 My hands will cover you, so that your sons will not see hell. 29. The concept of Gehenna in the sense of a place of eternal torment is not found in the Old Testament and is obviously taken from the Gospel (cf. Matthew V: 29-30; XVIII: 9 and many others). 3Ezra 2:30 Be comforted, mother, with your sons, for I will save you. 3Ezra 2:31 Remember your sons who sleep. I will bring them out from the ends of the earth and show them mercy, for I am merciful, says the Lord Almighty. 31. The most striking expression of the strong bonds of love, which were not interrupted even by death, during the era of persecution of Christianity was the celebration of the Eucharist at the tombs of the martyrs. 3Ezra 2:32 Embrace your children until I come and show mercy to them; for My springs are abundant and My grace will not fail. 32. A call for firmness, quite understandable during persecution. 3Ezra 2:33 I, Ezra, received a command from the Lord on Mount Oreb to go to Israel. When I came to them, they rejected me and despised the commandment of the Lord. 33. At Mount Horeb, Moses received a command from the Lord to go to Israel (Exodus III:1), who heard a voice from a thorn bush. Ezra was also given a revelation in the same place. The origin of this detail is explained by the author’s desire to draw a parallel between Ezra, who recreated the lost sacred books, and Moses, the lawgiver of the Jewish people. Post-exilic Judaism recognized the significance of both for the people of God as completely identical. In the ancient prophetic book of Ezra, there is also a revelation from the bush, closely reminiscent of the initial conversation between God and Moses at Horeb (XIV: 1-6). 3Ezra 2:34 Therefore I say to you, Gentiles, who can hear and understand: Wait for your Shepherd, He will give you eternal rest, for He who will come at the end of the age is near. 34. The title of the Son of God as Shepherd is taken from the parable of the Savior (John X:11). 3Ezra 2:35 Be prepared for the reward of the kingdom, for an unfaltering light will shine on you forever. 3Ezra 2:36 Flee the shadow of this world; receive the sweetness of your glory. I openly testify about my Savior. 3Ezra 2:37 Receive the entrusted gift, and enjoy, thanking Him who called you to the heavenly kingdom. 36–37. Here is revealed a view of the relationship of the work of the Messiah to the Divine plans. The Savior, who called people to the Kingdom of Heaven, fulfilled the will of God. The author drew the concept of “Savior” (Luke II:11; John IV:14, 42) and “Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew V:19; VIII:11; XVIII:1, 4) from the Gospels. 3Ezra 2:38 Rise and stand, and see how many are signified at the Lord's supper, 3Ezra 2:39 who, having been removed from the shadow of this world, received bright raiment from the Lord. 3Ezra 2:40 Take thy number, O Zion, and shut up thy clothed in white robes, who have kept the law of the Lord. 3Ezra 2:41 The number of your desired sons is complete. Ask the power of the Lord that your people, called from the beginning, may be sanctified. 3Ezra 2:42 I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude that I could not number, and they all glorified the Lord with songs. 38–42. Ezra contemplates on Mount Zion (v. 42) the glorification of those who confessed the name of God, that is, the martyrs. The author paints his picture with the colors of the Apocalypse. An innumerable host of martyrs are marked or sealed ( Rev. VII:4-5 ) by God. According to the Apocalypse (XIV:1), this sign is that the name of the Father is written on their foreheads. They will be participants in the Lord's Supper (Rev XIX:9, 17). They will be clothed in white robes. White robes are a symbol of martyrdom. This explanation is given by the Apocalypse (VII: 13–14). “These are they who came out of the great tribulation; they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” 3Ezra 2:43 In the midst of them was a majestic youth, surpassing them all, and he placed crowns on the head of each of them and was even more exalted; I was amazed with surprise. 3Ezra 2:44 Then I asked the angel: Who are these, my lord? 3Ezra 2:45 He answered and said to me, “These are they who have laid aside the mortal garment and put on the immortal garment and confessed the name of God; they are now crowned and receive victory palms. 3Ezra 2:46 I asked, “Who is this young man who puts crowns on them and gives them palms?” 3Ezra 2:47 He answered me: Himself the Son of God, whom they glorified in this age. And I began to praise them, who stood courageously for the name of the Lord. 43–47. The majestic youth places crowns (cf. Rev. IV:4, 10) on the head of each of the confessors and distributes palm branches to them as a sign of their victory over the flesh. Countless multitudes of people stand before the throne with palm branches, according to the testimony of the Apocalypse (VII:9). 3Ezra 2:48 Then the angel said to me: Go and tell my people what wonderful works you have seen of the Lord God. 48. The first and second chapters present a completely complete whole. The main task is to console them and instill firmness in Christians in the upcoming bloody trials. Having depicted the benefits granted to the church as a result of the rejection of Israel, the author ends his book with a vivid picture of the triumph of Christian martyrs in the Kingdom of Heaven.