2 Esdras 6:1

1 He said to me: "In the beginning of the earthly world— before the world's exits were made, before the gathered winds blew,

2 Esdras 6:1 In-Context

1 He said to me: "In the beginning of the earthly world— before the world's exits were made, before the gathered winds blew,

2 before the voices of the thunders sounded, before the flashes of lightning shone, before paradise's foundations were made firm,

3 before beautiful flowers were seen, before the powers of movement were established, before the innumerable heavenly armies of angels were assembled,

4 before the heights of the air were lifted up, before the measures of the firmament were named, before Zion's footstool was established,

5 before the present years were reckoned, before the imaginations of those who now sin were alienated, before those who stored up faith as a treasure were sealed—

Footnotes

• [a] Lat in the beginning, the earthly world; Syr and other versions The beginning is through man and the end is through me.