35
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?'
36
And the archangel Jeremiel answered and said, "When the number of those like yourselves is completed; for he has weighed the age in the balance,
37
and measured the times by measure, and numbered the times by number; and he will not move or arouse them until that measure is fulfilled.' "
38
Then I answered and said, "But, O sovereign Lord, all of us also are full of ungodliness.
39
It is perhaps on account of us that the time of threshing is delayed for the righteous—on account of the sins of those who inhabit the earth."
40
He answered me and said, "Go and ask a pregnant woman whether, when her nine months have been completed, her womb can keep the fetus within her any longer."
41
And I said, "No, lord, it cannot." He said to me, "In Hades the chambers of the souls are like the womb.
42
For just as a woman who is in labor makes haste to escape the pangs of birth, so also do these places hasten to give back those things that were committed to them from the beginning.
43
Then the things that you desire to see will be disclosed to you."
44
I answered and said, "If I have found favor in your sight, and if it is possible, and if I am worthy,
45
show me this also: whether more time is to come than has passed, or whether for us the greater part has gone by.