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1–12. The second bodyguard's speech about the strength of the king. 13–32. Speech by Zerubbabel's third bodyguard on women and 34–41 on truth. 42–46. The king's decision and Zerubbabel's request for the Jews. 47–57. Darius' mercy to the Jews. 58–60. Zerubbabel's prayer of thanksgiving. 61–63. The joy of the Jews on the occasion of the granting of freedom. 2Ezra 4:1 And the second one began to speak, the one who spoke about the strength of the king. 2Ezra 4:2 O men! Are not the people who own the land and the sea and everything contained in them strong? 2Ezra 4:3 But the king prevails and dominates over them and commands them, and whatever he says to them, they obey. 2Ezra 4:4 If he commands them to take up arms against each other, they do it; if he sends them against the enemy, they go and destroy mountains and walls and towers, 2Ezra 4:5 They kill and are killed, but do not transgress the king’s words; if they win, they bring everything to the king that they receive as booty, and everything else. 2Ezra 4:6 And those who do not go to war and do not fight, but cultivate the land, after sowing, having gathered a harvest, they also bring it to the king 2Ezra 4:7 And forcing one another, they bring tribute to the king. 2Ezra 4:8 And he alone, if he says to kill, they kill; if he says to let him go, he lets him go; said to beat - they beat; 2Ezra 4:9 said to devastate - they devastate; said to build - they build; said to cut it down - they cut it down; said to plant - they plant; 2Ezra 4:10 And all his people and his army obey him. Moreover, he reclines, eats and drinks and sleeps, 2Ezra 4:11 But they kept watch around him, and no one could go away and do their work, and they could not disobey him. 2Ezra 4:12 O men! Isn't the king the strongest when people obey him like that? - And he fell silent. 1–12. The speech of the second bodyguard is more extensive than the speech of the first. Its meaning is that the king is the strongest, since all people obey him. 2Ezra 4:13 But the third one who spoke about women and about the truth—it was Zerubbabel—began to say: 13–32. The third bodyguard's speech is the longest. It breaks into two halves. The first proves that women are stronger than wine and than the king, since they gave birth to the king, fed those who cultivated the vineyards, prepared clothes and everything needed for decoration, and made men forget everything for their sake. The second half of the speech extols the power of truth. 13. Writer's note about the third bodyguard: it was Zerubbabel, ser. other lat. and handicraft 108, 121 is transmitted with the addition of ό τού Σαλαθιήλ ᾿έκ φυλής Ί ούδα. 2Ez.4:14 Oh, men! Is not the king great, and many of the people, and is not the wine strong? But who dominates and owns them? aren't they women? 2Ezra 4:15 The women bare a king and all the people who possess the sea and the land; 2Ezra 4:16 And from them were born and from them those who planted grapes, from which wine is made, were born; 2Ezra 4:17 They make clothing for the people and provide ornaments for the people, and the people cannot be without wives. 2Ezra 4:18 If they gather up gold and silver and all kinds of precious things, and then see one woman, good in face and beautiful, 2Ezra 4:19 Leaving everyone, they rush to her and, with their mouths open, look at her, and everyone cleaves to her more than to gold and silver and to any expensive thing. 2Ezra 4:20 A man leaves his father who raised him and his country and cleaves to his wife, 2 Ezra 4:21 And he leaves his soul with his wife, and does not remember his father, nor his mother, nor his country. 21. And he leaves his soul with his wife (άφίησι τήν ψυχήν), that is, he remains with his wife until death (cf. Gen. XXXV:18). 2Ezra 4:22 And from this you must know that women rule over you. Don’t you go to great lengths and exert yourself, and don’t you give and bring everything to your wives? 2Ezra 4:23 A man takes his sword and sets out to go out onto the roads and plunder and steal, and is ready to sail on the sea and rivers, 2Ezra 4:24 He meets a lion, and wanders in darkness; but as soon as he steals, kidnaps and robs, he takes it to his beloved. 24. He meets Leo and wanders in the darkness. Wed. Proverbs XXII,13, XXVI,13; Sir IV:30; 1Pet V:8. In ancient Latin: leonem contemnit, despises the lion. The idea is that a person neglects all fears for the sake of his beloved. 2Ezra 4:25 And a man loves his wife more than his father and mother. 2Ezra 4:26 Many went mad because of women and became slaves through them. 2Ezra 4:27 Many perished and went astray and sinned through women. 2Ezra 4:28 Won't you believe me now? Isn't the king great in his power? Aren't all countries afraid to touch it? 2Ezra 4:29 I saw him and Apamina, the daughter of the glorious Bartaq, the king's concubine, sitting at the right hand of the king; 29. Daughter of the glorious Vartak. The name is read differently in the manuscripts and, apparently, should be considered corrupted. In I. Flavius ​​it reads: Ραβεζάκου τού Θεμασίου. The name Alami (Alamin) is very often found in monuments, as the name of Syrian princesses. 2Ezra 4:30 she took the crown from the king’s head and put it on herself, and with her left hand she struck the king on the cheek. 2Ezra 4:31 And with all this the king looked at her with his mouth open: if she smiled at him, he smiled too; if she gets angry with him, he caresses her so that she will make peace with him. 2Ed.4:32 Oh, men! How are women not strong when they do this? 2Ezra 4:33 Then the king and the nobles looked at each other, and he began to speak about the truth. 33. Then the king and the nobles looked at each other - apparently expressing surprise at what Zerubbabel said. 2Ed.4:34 Oh, men! Aren't women strong? The earth is great, and the sky is high, and the sun is fast in its course, for in one day it goes around the circle of the sky and again returns to its place. 2Ezra 4:35 Is not He who does this great? And the truth is great and stronger than anything. 2Ezra 4:36 The whole earth cries out for the truth, and heaven blesses it, and all works shake and tremble before it. And there is no untruth in it. 2Ezra 4:37 The wine is unjust, the king is unjust, the women are unjust, all the sons of men are unjust, and so are all their works, and there is no truth in them, and they perish in their unrighteousness; 2Ezra 4:38 But the truth endures and remains strong forever, and lives and reigns for ever and ever. 2Ezra 4:39 And she has no partiality or discrimination, but she does what is right, shunning everything unjust and evil, and everyone approves of her deeds. 2Ezra 4:40 And there is nothing wrong in her judgment; she is the power and the kingdom and the authority and majesty of all ages: blessed is the God of truth! 35–40. Zerubbabel glorifies truth by presenting it as the most powerful, not God. It is possible that he means pagan listeners. In addition, Zerubbabel's speech reflects the influence of the era in which the author of the book lived. The idea of ​​God in later Jewish theology was divided into particular concepts (σοφία, λόγος, πνεύμα, θεού, αλήθεια); these concepts were hypostasized and began to mean the idea of ​​​​the Divine in place of the ancient ones. 2Ezra 4:41 And he stopped speaking. And everyone then shouted and said: Great is the truth and stronger than all. 2Ezra 4:42 Then the king said to him: Ask what you want, more than what is written, and we will give it to you, since you have proven to be the wisest, and you will sit next to me and will be called my relative. 41–42. Zerubbabel, recognized as the winner, is given permission to ask for what he wants and makes intercession on behalf of the Jews. 2Ezra 4:43 Then he said to the king, Remember the promise that you made on the day that you received your kingdom, that you would build Jerusalem 2Ezra 4:44 And you will send back all the vessels taken from Jerusalem, which Cyrus took away when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and promised to send them there. 2Ezra 4:45 And you promised to build the church, which the Edomites burned when Judea was devastated by the Chaldeans. 45. You promised to build a church, which the Edomites burned. The participation of the Edomites in the sack of Jerusalem is spoken of by the prophet Obadiah and in the book. Eze XXVI5. 2Ezra 4:46 And now I ask you about this very thing, lord king, and I beg you, and this is your greatness: I ask you to fulfill the promise that you promised with your lips to the King of Heaven to fulfill. 2Ezra 4:47 Then King Darius stood up and kissed him, and wrote him letters to all the rulers and commanders of the regions and military leaders and satraps, so that they would let him and everyone with him go to build Jerusalem. 2Ezra 4:48 He also wrote letters to all the local leaders in Kela-Syria and Phenicia and those in Lebanon, so that they would bring cedar trees from Lebanon to Jerusalem and help him build the city. 2Ezra 4:49 He wrote about freedom for all the Jews leaving the kingdom for Judea, so that no one in authority, the regional leader and the satrap and the governor, would come to their doors, 49. He did not come to their doors, that is, he did not interfere in their inner life. 2Ezra 4:50 But so that the whole country that they own should be taken away from tribute, and so that the Edomites leave the villages of the Jews that they own; 2Ezra 4:51 Also, that twenty talents should be given every year for the building of the church until it is built; 2Ezra 4:52 And for offering daily burnt offerings on the altar, in addition to the seventeen prescribed, ten more talents were given a year; 52. The mention of seventeen prescribed burnt offerings is not clear. In Sir.. Ancient-Lat. and Vulg. it is omitted. Wed. Exodus XXIX:38; Number XXVIII.8. 2Ezra 4:53 and that all who depart from Babylon may have freedom to build the city, both themselves and their descendants and all the priests who go. 2Ezra 4:54 He also wrote about the contents and the priestly vestments in which they serve. 2Ezra 4:55 He wrote to give support also to the Levites until the day when the church was completed and Jerusalem was built; 2Ezra 4:56 And he ordered that all those guarding the city be given wages and food. 56. Ordered to give salary and food, - κλήρους και όψώνια, estates and maintenance. 2Ezra 4:57 He also sent away all the vessels which Cyrus had separated from Babylon; and everything that Cyrus ordered to be done, and he commanded to be fulfilled and sent to Jerusalem. 2Ezra 4:58 And when the young man came out, he fixed his face on heaven, opposite Jerusalem, and gave thanks to the King of Heaven and said: 58. And when the young man came out, he obviously came out of the royal palace. - He fixed his face on the sky opposite Jerusalem. Wed. Dan VI10. It was a common custom to pray with one's face toward Jerusalem. 2Ezra 4:59 From You is victory, and from You is wisdom, and Your glory, and I am Your servant. 2Ezra 4:60 Blessed are You, who has given me wisdom, and I thank You, O Lord, God of our fathers. 2Ezra 4:61 And he took the letters and set out and came to Babylon and told all his brothers. 2 Ezra 4:62 And they gave thanks to the God of their fathers for giving them freedom and permission 2Ezra 4:63 Go and build Jerusalem and the church on which His name is called. And they rejoiced with music and joy for seven days.