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June Message

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Songs for Final Week: NEW TESTAMENT & APOCRYPHA, Tuesday 17 June 2008

New Testament/Apocrypha
Songs Tuesday 17 June 2008

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REVELATION

Jean Langlais was a French organist/composer (1907-1991), a deeply religious man who set the book of Revelation for unaccompanied organ. The centerpiece of his Five Meditation on the Apocalypse is the final section, with its eerie musical illustration of the tormenting locusts written about in Revelation, chapter 9; the gloomy organ chords suggest the dark pit from which the locusts come, announced by the organ's imitation of a trumpet. The organ chords represents the cries of the damned. For our class, I've combined part of Langlais' movement with the spoken text it illustrates. The text follows:
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

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IN CHRIST THERE IS NO EAST OR WEST

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 3:28

In Christ there is no East or West, In Him no South or North; But one great fellowship of love Throughout the whole wide earth. In him shall true hearts ev'rywhere Their high communion find; His service is the golden cord Close binding all mankind.

THE GIFT OF LOVE

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing."
1 CORINTHIANS 13:1f.

Though I may speak with bravest fire, And have the gift to all inspire, And have not love, my words are vain, As sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

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I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

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GOD SHALL WIPE ALL TEARS AWAY
   "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying of pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
REVELATION 21:4

Though the clouds may hover over there's a bright and a golden ray, if the promise lay in Heaven God shall wipe all tears away. When we reach that blessed homeland where it is everlasting day, on that bright eternal morning God shall wipe all tears away.

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WHEN THE ROLL IS CALLED UP YONDER
"Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books."
REVELATION 20:12

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more and the morning breaks eternal, bright and far, when the saints of earth shall be gathered over on the other shore and roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. When the roll is called up yonder (x) I'll be there!

JOHN THE REVELATOR

Tell me who was that writing (John the Revelator) (X)  tell what was John writing, well he wrote the book of Revelation, he wrote it in the book of the Seven Seals.

SOMEBODY'S KNOCKING

Somebody's knocking at your door (at your door). (x) Crying, oh sinner, why don't you answer? Someone is knocking at your door (knocks like Jesus) (X), Crying oh sinner why don't you answer? Somebody's knocking at your door.

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YE THAT WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE

John 8:7

Lord, ye that without sin, Lord, cast your first stone (x). Cast the first stone, if you've done no wrong. According to the  Bible, these words are a fact, some men brought a woman to Jesus caught this woman in act, Jesus put these men to a test, they got so 'shamed of themselves when He said, "Ye that without sin, cast your stone." Do you know one thing? Jesus stopped down, start writing on the ground. When He rose up, all of those men was gone. He says, "Woman! Where your accusers?" She said, "Master, yonder go." He said, "You! go, in peace and sin no more." Wait a minute, here, let me tell you something here, children. Listen here sisters and brothers. I tell you what you need to do. Do unto others as you will have do to yo. Yes, stop gossiping on the phone, before you tear up somebody's home (maybe mine!). Ye that without sin, cast your stone. Lord, ye that without sin, Lord, cast your first stone (x). Cast the first stone, if you've done no wrong.

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HEAVENLY VISION
"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders."
REVELATION 5:11
This song, based on verses in the book of Revelation, is by the American Colonial composer, William Billings,
sung in the Sacred  Harp tradition.

I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number. Thousands of thousands, ten times thousands stood before the Lamb and they had palms in their hands and they cease not day nor night, saying Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come. And I heard a mighty angel flying through the midst of Heaven crying with a loud voice Woe woe woe , woe be unto the earth by reason of the trumpet which is yet to sound. And when the last trumpet sounded, the great men and nobles, rich men and poor, bond and free gathered themselves together and cried to the rocks and mountains to fall upon them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne. For the great day of the Lord is come and who shall be able to stand?

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WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN HEAVEN TODAY?
   "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying of pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
REVELATION 21:4

I'm thinking of friends whom I used to know who lived and suffered in this world below. They gone up to Heaven and I want to know. I want to know, what are they doing there now? Wonder what are they doing in Heaven today, where sins and sorrows are all done away. Where peace abounds like a river, they say. I want to know, what are they doing there now?  There were some whose bodies were full of disease, no medicine nor doctor could give them much ease. Yeah, they suffered till death brought a final release. But what are they doing there now? There were some who were poor and often despised, they looked up to Heaven with tear-blinded eyes but people were heedless and cold to their cries. I want to know, what are they doing there now?

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WE'LL UNDERSTAND IT BETTER BY AND BY
"To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."
REVELATION 4:21

By and by, when the morning comes, all the saints are gone to gathering home, We will tell the story of how we overcome and we'll understand it better by and by.

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I COME THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. John 10:10
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." JOHN 3:17

I come that you might have life more abundantly. (x) I come that you might have life through eternity. I didn't come to condemn the world, nor to shame you for your harm. No, no, but I came to mend your broken heart and give your heart a song. I come to give you life more abundantly, more abundantly.

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THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
The Rock group, The Byrds, had a hit with this song.

My buddies shun me since I turned to Jesus, they say I'm missing a whole world of fun. But I still love them and I sing with pride, I like the Christian life. I won't lose a friend by heeding God's call, for what is a friend who'd want you to fall? Others find pleasure in things I despise, I like the Christian life.

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JESUS ON THE MAIN LINE

My Jesus on the main line, tell him what you want (x) and you can call him up and tell him what you want. Now the line is never busy, tell him what you want (x), and you can call him up and tell him what you want.

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GUIDE MY FEET
"You were running a good race. Who but in on you and kept you  from obeying the truth?
GALATIANS 5:7

Guide my feet while I run this race (x) for I don't want to run this race in vain. Hold my hand while I run this race (x) for I don't want to run this race.

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OLD TIME RELIGION
"About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and siging hymns to god. . . ."
ACTS 16:25

Give me that old-time religion (x), it's good enough for me. It was good for Paul and Silas (x), it's good enough for me. It was good for the Hebrew children (x), it's good enough for me.

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SATAN WE'RE GOING TO TEAR YOUR KINGDOM DOWN
"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."
LUKE 10:18

Satan, we're going to tear your kingdom. The preachers are going to preach your kingdom down. (X) You've been building your kingdom all over this land, Satan we're going to tear your kingdom down. The deacons are going to pray your kingdom down (x), you've been building your kingdom all over this land, Satan we're going to tear your kingdom down!

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Repeat Notice of Exam on 20 June 2008

FINAL EXAM Material

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THE FINAL EXAM is scheduled for 20 June 2008 to be held in the regular classroom, not the library screening room.
    The exam will cover  chapters 6 & 7 in your textbook (Editing and Sound), all the assigned films and study pictures, and the handouts on Editing and Sound.

    NO MAKEUP EXAMS ALLOWED except for documented medical emergency (not routine care), with advance notice.

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HANDOUTS

Sudden Impact 4-20
Potemkin, Psycho 4-20
Sabotage 4-21
The Man Who Knew Too Much (two segments) 4-25
The Gold Rush 4-26
Sherlock, Jr. 4-26
The Gold Rush (2) 4-26
North by Northwest 4-29
Breakfast at Tiffany's 5-1
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 5-1
Paradise, Hawaiian Style 5-3
The Public Enemy 5-4
Rope 5-4
Ben-Hur 5-6
Ben-Hur (2) 5-7
Network 5-9
The Sting 5-14
The Circus 5-23
Foley Artist: Mary Jo Lang 5-25
The Godfather 5-27
Mozart and "Song Sung Blue" 5-28
A Christmas Carol 5-28
Casablanca 5-29
High Noon 6-7
Gone with the Wind 6-8
Red River Music Cues 6-9
The Split Screen in Pillow Talk 6-11
The Jump Cut 6-11
Bambi 6-12 (same as Study Pictures)
Bambi 6-14

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Feature Films and Commentary

Brokeback Mountain
Way Down East
Twentieth Century
Network
A Summer Place
The Sting
The Exorcist
Red River
Bambi (Same as 6-12 handout)

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Old Testament Apocrypha Week of 17 June 2008

APOCRYPHA
Week of 17 June 2008

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Apocrypha (as in "cryptic" or hidden) refers to biblical books found only in Greek versions of the Bible, and therefore considered of doubtful canonicity (canonic status). (Only Hebrew was considered the genuine language of God's people.) Yet the texts below  are considered "deuterocanonical" (meaning "of the second canon") by the Catholic Church, though considered only as wisdom literature by Protestant churches (good for teaching but not doctrine).  But  these books have had great influence among some Christians and inspired a great deal of art, including paintings and music (Handel, for example, set many apocryphal texts to music). These texts were written about 200 years before the birth of Christ. Thus these books are called "intertestamental" (between the two canonic Testaments).
Tobit
Tobit is a fictional account of Jewish questions about God's justice, similar to the book of Job. Tobit represents an ideal Israel, faithfully observing the Torah (Jewish Law). Yet he's in exile, goes blind and wishes himself dead. In a parallel plot, Tobit's close relation, Sarah, has been unlucky in having seven husbands die on her wedding night (the work of a lustful demon). Unknown to them, the angel Raphael is sent from Heaven to help the family, showing that despite what may seem, God controls human events. Tobit represents exilic Israel, who, seemingly abandoned by God, is under God's care.

2

2: Upon seeing the abundance of food I [Tobit] said to my son [Tobias], "Go and bring whatever poor man of our brethren you may find who is mindful of the Lord, and I will wait for you."
3: But he came back and said, "Father, one of our people has been strangled and thrown into the market place."
4: So before I tasted anything I sprang up and removed the body to a place of shelter until sunset.
7: When the sun had set I went and dug a grave and buried the body.
9: On the same night I returned from burying him, and because I was defiled I slept by the wall of the courtyard, and my face was uncovered.
10: I did not know there were sparrows on the wall and their fresh droppings fell into my open eyes and white films formed on my eyes. I went to doctors, without cure.
Tobit is the ideal faithful Jew, observant of all Jewish dietary laws, caring for the unburied and concerned about ritual cleanliness (he sleeps outside because after touching a corpse he's unclean), the hungry, etc. Yet doing good, he suffers.

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7: On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media, it also happened that Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was scolded by her father's maids,
8: because she had been given to seven husbands, and the evil demon Asmodeus had slain each of them before he had been with her as his wife.
11: So she prayed by her window and said,
15: "Why should I live? Take pity on me."
16: Her prayer and Tobit's [to die] were heard.
Note the irony: though Sarah and Tobit pray for death, their prayers are answered, but to give them a better life, not death. Perhaps their prayers suggest their perfect faith in a just God. Note below we get the Devil as a full character, who needs to be bound, a motif repeated in the Gospels:
17: And Raphael was sent to heal the two of them: to scale away the white films of Tobit's eyes; to give Sarah in marriage to Tobias the son of Tobit, and to bind Asmodeus the evil demon, because Tobias was entitled to possess her.

4

1: On that day Tobit remembered the money which he had left in trust with Gabael at Rages in Media, and he said to himself;
2: "I have asked for death. Why do I not call my son Tobias so that I may explain to him about the money before I die?"
3: So he called him and said,
14: "Watch yourself, my son, in everything you do, and be disciplined in all your conduct.
15: And what you hate, do not do to any one.
V. 15 is the famous Golden Rule in negative form (similar to that found in Confucian tradition). Jesus uses the positive form of the rule: "Do unto others," etc.
20: And now let me explain to you about the ten talents of silver I left in trust with Gabael the son of Gabrias at Rages in Media."

5

1: Then Tobias said, "I will do everything you have commanded."
4: So he went to look for a man; and he found Raphael, an angel,
5: but Tobias did not know it. Tobias said to him, "Can you go with me to Rages in Media? Are you acquainted with that region?"
6: The angel said, "Yes; I know the way, and our brother Gabael."
16: And his father said to him, "Go with this man; God who dwells in heaven will prosper your way, and may his angel attend you."
Because the writer narrates the plot to the reader, the reader enjoys the irony of Tobit's remark, "God will prosper your way," because we know that in fact Raphael is God's angel sent to help. On the way, a fish leaps up (sent by God) and Tobias (son of Tobit) is told to use parts of the fish to trap Sarah's demon on their wedding night. Then they arrive at Sara's house.

8

1: When they had finished eating, [Sara's parents] showed Tobias to Sara.
2: As he went he remembered the words of Raphael and took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of the fish upon them and made a smoke.
3: When the demon smelled the odor he fled to the far parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him.
11: Then Raguel [Sara's father] went into his house
12: and said to his wife Edna, "Send one of the maids to see whether he is alive; and if he is not, let us bury him without any one knowing about it."
Some humor here, since Sarah's father expects Tobias to have died..
13: So the maid opened the door and went in, and found them both asleep.
15: Then Raguel blessed God,

11

5: Now Anna sat looking intently down the road for her son.
6: And she caught sight of him coming, and said to his father, "Behold, your son is coming, and so is the man who went with him!"
7: Raphael said, "I know, Tobias, that your father will open his eyes.
8: You therefore must anoint his eyes with the gall; and when they smart he will rub them, and will cause the white films to fall away, and he will see you."
10: Tobit started toward the door, and stumbled. But his son ran to him
11: and took hold of his father, and he sprinkled the gall upon his father's eyes, saying, "Be of good cheer, father."
12: And when his eyes began to smart he rubbed them.
14: Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, "Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels.
15: For thou hast afflicted me, but thou hast had mercy upon me; here I see my son Tobias!"
16: Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gate of Nineveh, rejoicing and praising God.
In many ways, the book of Tobit sums up the attitude of the Jewish faithful during the difficult period when Jews waited patiently for a deliverer.

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Susanna
A famous story featuring Daniel. There are numerous paintings of  "Susanna and the Elders." The story narrates God's power to save the innocent. This story, as well as Bel and the Dragon, also with Daniel, are ranked among the first detective stories.

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1: There was a man in Babylon whose name was Joakim.
2: His wife was Susanna, a beautiful woman who feared the Lord.
5: In that year two elders from the people were appointed as judges. Concerning them the Lord had said: "Iniquity came from Babylon, from elders who were judges, who were supposed to govern the people."
6: These men were frequently at Joakim's house, and all who had suits at law came to them.
7: When the people departed at noon, Susanna would go into her husband's garden to walk.
8: The two elders saw her every day and desired her.
14. They planned when they could find her alone.
15: Once she went to bathe in the garden, for it was hot.
19: When her maids left, the elders ran to her, and said:
20: "The garden doors are shut, no one sees us, and we are in love with you; so lie with us.
21: If you refuse, we will say a young man was with you, and this was why you sent your maids away."
24: Susanna cried with a loud voice, and the two elders shouted against her.
36: The elders said, "As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman came in with two maids, shut the garden doors, and dismissed the maids.
37: Then a young man, who had been hidden, came to her and lay with her."
41: The assembly believed them, because they were judges; and they condemned her to death.
42: Susanna cried out, "O God,
43: you know these men have lied. And now I am to die!"
44: The Lord heard her cry.
45: And as she was being led away to be put to death, God aroused the holy spirit of a young lad named Daniel;
46: and he cried with a loud voice,
48: "Are you fools, sons of Israel? Have you condemned a daughter of Israel without examination or learning the facts?
51: And Daniel said, "Separate them from each other, and I will examine them."
52: He summoned one of them and said,
54: "Under what tree did you see them being intimate with each other?" He answered, "Under a mastic tree."
55: And Daniel said, "You have lied against your own head, for the angel of God has received the sentence from God and will cut you in two."
56: Then he put him aside, and commanded them to bring the other. And he said to him,
58: "Under what tree did you catch them being intimate with each other?" He answered, "An oak."
59: And Daniel said, "You also have lied against your own head, for the angel of God is waiting to destroy you both."
60: Then the assembly shouted loudly and blessed God, who saves those who hope in him.
61: And they rose against the two elders, for out of their own mouths Daniel had convicted them of bearing false witness;
62: and they did to them as they had planned to do to their neighbor.

Wisdom of Solomon
This and Ecclesiasticus (see below) are the two great Wisdom books of the Apocrypha. The writer uses Greek ideas to defend the Jewish law (Torah). Note the increasing sense of doubt about God's justice, which led to the writing of Apocalypses and eschatological ideas (the End Times) (hence Jesus' emphasis on eschatological parables, preaching a near judgment):

2

1: [Sinners reason] unsoundly, saying to themselves, "Short and sorrowful is our life.
5: Our given time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death.
6: "Come, let's enjoy the good things that exist.
10: Let's oppress the righteous poor man; let us not spare the widow nor regard the gray hairs of the aged.
11: Let might be right; for what's weak is worthless.
12: So let's lie in wait for the righteous.
Such verses as these, seeming to refer to Jesus, doubtless aided in the inclusion of this book in the Catholic canon:
13: He claims to have knowledge of God and calls himself the child of God.
14: He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
15: the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange.
16: We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father.
18: But if the just man be the son of God, God will help him from his enemies.
19: Let us examine him with spite and torture, that we may know if he is meek and try his patience.
20: Let's condemn him with a shameful death; for by his own claim he shall be respected.
21: But their wickedness blinded them,
22: and they did not know the secret purposes of God, nor hope for the wages of holiness, nor discern the prize for blameless souls;
23: for God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity,
24: but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.

3
The following verses, on immortality, also helped make this book part of the Catholic canon:

1: But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God.
4: For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality.
5: Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6: like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a burnt offering he accepted them.
7: In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.

4

7: The righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest.
10: There was one who pleased God and was loved by him, and while living among sinners he was taken up.
11: He was caught up lest evil change his understanding or guile deceive his soul.
13: Being perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years;
14: for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, who took him quickly from the midst of wickedness.
16: Youth that is quickly perfected will condemn the prolonged old age of the unrighteous man.

5

1: Then the righteous man will stand with great confidence in the presence of those who have afflicted him or who make light of his labors.
2: When they see him, they will fear and be amazed at his unexpected salvation.
3: They will speak to one another in repentance, and in anguish of spirit they will groan, and say,
4: "This is the man whom we once held in derision and made a byword of reproach -- we fools! We thought that his life was madness and that his end was without honor.
5: Why has he been numbered among the sons of God? And why is his lot among the saints?
8: What has our arrogance profited us? And what good has our boasted wealth brought us?
9: "All those things have vanished like a shadow, and like a rumor that passes by;
10: like a ship that sails through the billowy water, and when it has passed no trace can be found, nor track of its keel in the waves. . . .

 7

29: [Wisdom] is more beautiful than the sun. Compared with the light she is superior,
30: for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

 9

4: Give me the wisdom that sits by your throne.
9: With you is wisdom, who knows your works and was present when you made the world.
As with Proverbs 8, one can see from verses 4, 9 how the incipit (first verses) of John's Gospel emerged by the end of the first century CE.

10

1: Wisdom protected the first-formed father of the world, when he alone had been created; she delivered him from his transgression,
2: and gave him strength to rule all things.
3: But when an unrighteous man departed from her in his anger, he perished because in rage he slew his brother.
4: When the earth was flooded because of him, wisdom again saved it, steering the righteous man by a paltry piece of wood.
The motif of the "wood" was also used typologically by Christians to refer to Jesus' Cross, which "saved" men, as the Flood was also used by St. Peter and others as a type of baptism.

14

5: It is thy will that works of thy wisdom should not be without effect; therefore men trust their lives even to the smallest piece of wood, and passing through the billows on a raft they come safely to land.
7: For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes.
In this way (though not intended by the writer of this text), the "wood" of Noah's Ark became, for Christians, a type of the wood of Jesus' cross, "by which righteousness comes."

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
Note the emphasis on Wisdom again in chapter 1. We saw this in Proverbs 8, again in the Wisdom of Solomon above, and now here. It will later appear in the incipit of John's Gospel:

1

1: All wisdom comes from the Lord and is with him forever.
4: Wisdom was created before all things.
8: She dwells with all flesh according to his gift, and he gave her to those who love him.

6:

18: My son, from your youth up choose instruction, and until you are old you will keep finding wisdom.
19: Come to her like one who plows and sows, and wait for her good harvest. For in her service you will toil a little while, and soon you will eat of her produce.
Note the image of sowing and reaping in good time, a central image in Jesus' parables.

9

11: Do not envy the honors of a sinner, for you do not know what his end will be.

10

9: How can he who is dust and ashes be proud? for even in life his bowels decay.
10: the king of today will die tomorrow.
11: For when a man is dead, he will inherit creeping things, and wild beasts, and worms.
14: The Lord has cast down the thrones of rulers, and has seated the lowly in their place.
Typical Jewish thought, found in Hannah's prayer, in Mary's Magnificat (modeled on Hannah's prayer), and powerfully expressed in vv. 11 and 14 above.

11

3: The bee is small among flying creatures, but her product is the best of sweet things.
18: There is a man who is rich, and this is the reward given him:
19: when he says, "I have found rest, and now I shall enjoy my goods!" he does not know how much time will pass until he leaves them to others and dies.
21: Do not wonder at the works of a sinner, but trust in the Lord and keep at your toil.
28: Call no one happy before his death.
V. 28 is a Greek thought, found in Greek drama. Vv. 18-19 are expressed in Jesus' parable of the Rich Fool and also in Ecclesiastes. V. 21 is typical of Jesus' parables of farming and waiting.

14

11: My son, treat yourself well, according to your means, and give worthy offerings to the Lord.
12: Remember that death will not delay, and the hour of Death has not been shown you.
14: Do not deny yourself a happy day or your share of good.
17: All living beings become old like a garment, for the law of old is, "You must surely die!"
18: Like leaves on a tree which sheds some and puts forth others, so are the generations of flesh and blood: one dies and another is born.
Vs. 14, 18 are similar to Ecclesiastes. V. 14 became a Commandment in later Judaism. V. 17 is familar from the Psalms. The "garment" motif is later developed by Jesus and found in Revelation.

19

1: He who despises small things will fail little by little.
Similar to Jesus' parable of the Mustard seed. The next verse, about gossip, is comically phrased, similar to a passage in Sameul Johnson's Rambler essays. The point is, once people know a secret, they suffer until they gossip about it!
10: Have you heard a word? Let it die with you. Be brave! It will not make you burst!
11: With such a word a fool will suffer pangs like a woman in labor with a child.
12: Like an arrow stuck in the flesh of the thigh, so is a word inside a fool.

20
Develops the "Wheel of Fortune" motif: we never know when our luck will change, for better or for worse. The theological point is to keep a wide perspective and hope for the time to be fulfilled:

9: There may be good fortune for a man in trouble, and a sudden gain may result in loss.
11: There are losses because of glory, and there are men who have raised their heads from low circumstances.
12: There is a man who buys much for a little, but pays for it seven times over.

21

10: The way of sinners is smoothly paved with stones, but at its end is the pit of Hades.
Familiar in the English proverb, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

24

1: Wisdom will praise herself, and will glory in the midst of her people.
9: From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.
Similar to John's "Word": though Jesus was not "created," but "begotten": a theological distinction that must be taken on faith.

27

6: The fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree; so the expression of a thought discloses the cultivation of a man's mind.
Also similar to Jesus' parable: "By their fruits ye shall know them."

38

24: The wisdom of the scribe depends on leisure; and he who has little business may become wise.

39

33: The works of the Lord are all good, and he will give every need in its hour.
34: And no one can say, "This is worse than that," for all things will prove good in their season.
The next chapters are among the most famous in the Bible. While praising the leisure of the wise man, the writer nonetheless captures the work of each artisan or laborer.

40

24: The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure; and he who has little business may become wise.
25: How can he become wise who handles the plow?
26: He sets his heart on plowing furrows, and he is careful about fodder for the heifers.
27: So too is every craftsman and master workman who labors by night as well as by day; those who cut the signets of seals, each is diligent in making a great variety; he sets his heart on painting a lifelike image, and he is careful to finish his work.
28: So too is the smith sitting by the anvil, intent upon his handiwork in iron; the breath of the fire melts his flesh, and he wastes away in the heat of the furnace; he inclines his ear to the sound of the hammer, and his eyes are on the pattern of the object. He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork, and he is careful to complete its decoration.
29: So too is the potter sitting at his work and turning the wheel with his feet; he is always deeply concerned over his work, and all his output is by number.
30: He moulds the clay with his arm and makes it pliable with his feet; he sets his heart to finish the glazing, and he is careful to clean the furnace.
31: All these rely upon their hands, and each is skilful in his own work.
32: Without them a city cannot be established, and men can neither sojourn nor live there.
33: Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people, nor do they attain eminence in the public assembly. They do not sit in the judge's seat, nor do they understand the sentence of judgment; they cannot expound discipline or judgment, and they are not found using proverbs.
34: But they keep stable the fabric of the world, and their prayer is in the practice of their trade.

41

1: O death, how bitter is the reminder of you to one who lives at peace among his possessions, who prospers in everything, and who still has the vigor to enjoy his food!
These verses were set to music by the German composer, Johannes Brahms, in his Four Serious Songs (his last music before his death).
2: O death, how welcome are you to one in need and failing in strength!

 44
What may be the most famous chapter in this book; the first phrase of v. 1 was used as the title of a James Agee book.

1: Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers.
4: leaders of the people in understanding, wise in their words of instruction;
5: those who composed musical tunes, and set forth verses in writing. . . .

51

27: See, I have labored little and found myself rest.
28: Get instruction with silver and you will gain gold.
30: Do your work before the appointed time, and in God's time he will give you your reward.

Bel and the Dragon
This charming fiction has claim to be the world's first detective story. It also features Daniel:

1

3: Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel.
4: The king worshiped it. But Daniel worshiped  God.
5: And the king said, "Why do you not worship Bel?
6: "Do you not think Bel a living God? Do you not see he eats and drinks every day?"
7: Then Daniel laughed. "This is but clay inside and brass outside, and it never ate or drank anything."
8: The king was angry and called his priests and said, "If you do not tell me who is eating this food, you shall die.
9: But if you prove Bel is eating them, Daniel shall die, because he cursed Bel."
11: And the priests of Bel said, "See, we are going outside; you yourself, O king, shall place the food and wine, and shut the door and seal it.
12: And when you return in the morning, if you do not find that Bel has eaten it all, we will die; or else Daniel will, who is telling lies about us."
13: They were unconcerned, for beneath the table they had made a hidden entrance, through which they used to go in regularly and eat the food.
14: When they had gone out, the king set forth the food for Bel. Then Daniel ordered his servants to bring ashes and they dropped them throughout the whole temple in the presence of the king. Then they went out, sealed the door, and left.
15: In the night the priests came with their wives and children, as they were accustomed to do, and ate and drank everything.
16: Early in the morning the king came with Daniel.
17: And the king said, "Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?" He answered, "They are."
18: As soon as the doors were opened, the king looked at the table, and shouted in a loud voice, "You are great, O Bel; and with you there is no deceit."
19: Then Daniel laughed and said, "Look at the floor, and notice whose footsteps these are."
20: The king said, "I see the footsteps of men and women and children."
21: Then the king was enraged and seized the priests and their wives and children; and they showed him the secret doors through which they were accustomed to enter and eat what was on the table.
22: So the king put them to death, and gave Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple.
23: There was also a great dragon, which the Babylonians revered.
24: And the king said to Daniel, "You cannot deny this is a living god; so worship him."
25: Daniel said, "I will worship the Lord my God, for he is the living God.
26: But if you give me permission, I will slay the dragon without sword or club." The king said, "I give you permission."
27: Then Daniel took pitch, fat, and hair, and boiled them together and made cakes, which he fed to the dragon. The dragon ate them, and burst open. And Daniel said, "See what you have been worshiping!"

---

Prayer of Manasseh 1
Because Manasseh was an evil ruler but had a successful reign, Bible writers had to picture him repenting before God (as we are told in Chronicles that he prayed to God); hence this prayer, supposedly spoken by Manasseh, thus explaining why he was successful in his reign:

12: I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I know my transgressions.
14: In me thou wilt manifest thy goodness; for, unworthy as I am, thou wilt save me in thy great mercy,
15: and I will praise thee continually all the days of my life. For all the host of heaven sings thy praise, and thine is the glory for ever. Amen.

1 Maccabees
The books of the Maccabees were very popular among early Christians (later Catholics) because of the ideas of expiatory suffering and atoning prayers for the dead. Hence the canonic status of 1 & 2 Maccabees. The texts mainly concern the "Abomination" of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BCE and its purification and dedication in 164, on 25 December, now called the Jewish Feast of Lights, or Chanukah, an eight-day holiday.

1

7: After Alexander had reigned twelve years, he died.
8: Then his officers began to rule, each in his own place.
10: From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king.
Just like people today are attracted by American culture, the writer here speaks of "Hellinization," that is, modeling one's conduct on Greek norms. This was frowned upon by faithful Jews. Some Jews however went so far as to have "epispasm" performed on themselves, reversing the appearance of circumcision, in order to look Greek. (Gymnasiums were basic to Greek culture, where youth appeared nude; hence circumcision would be easily noticed among Jews [v. 15].)
11: In those days lawless men came forth from Israel, and misled many, saying, "Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles round about us, for since we separated from them many evils have come upon us."
14: So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom,
15: and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.
20: After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned in the one hundred and forty-third year. He went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force.
21: He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils.
44: And he sent letters to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land,
45: to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and feasts,
46: to defile the sanctuary and the priests,
47: to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals,
48: and to leave their sons uncircumcised.
This is the "Abomination" Daniel and Jesus refer to:
54: Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding cities of Judah,
55: and burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets.
56: The books of the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire.
60: According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised,
61: and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers' necks.
62: But many in Israel stood firm.
63: They chose to die than be defiled.

2

1: In those days Mattathias the son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein.
2: He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi,
3: Simon called Thassi,
4: Judas called Maccabeus,
5: Eleazar called Avaran, and Jonathan called Apphus.
6: He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem,
14: And Mattathias and his sons rent their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly.
15: Then the king's officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the city of Modein to make them offer sacrifice.
16: Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathias and his sons were assembled.
17: Then the king's officers spoke to Mattathias as follows: "You are a leader, honored and great in this city, and supported by sons and brothers.
18: Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts."
19: But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice:
22: "We will not obey the king's words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left."
23: When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice upon the altar in Modein, according to the king's command.
24: When Mattathias saw it, he burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him upon the altar.
25: At the same time he killed the king's officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar.
27: Then Mattathias cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!"
28: And he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the city.
42: Then there united with them a company of Hasideans, mighty warriors of Israel, every one who offered himself willingly for the law.
44: They organized an army, and struck down sinners in their anger and lawless men in their wrath; the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety.
45: And Mattathias and his friends went about and tore down the altars;
46: they forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that they found within the borders of Israel.
48: They rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the upper hand.
70: Mattathias died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year and was buried in the tomb of his fathers at Modein. And all Israel mourned for him with great lamentation.

4

[After several victories in battle we get the Dedication of the Temple, which became the Jewish holiday called Chanukah, whose date, the 25th of December, doubtless influenced the dating of Christ's birthday. Another influence for the dating of Christ's birthday was the Persian celebration of the revived sun (solstice) around that date, as well as the final verses in the book of Malachi, which predicts the coming a "sun of righteousness with healing in its wings" (4:2)]

36: Then said Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, "Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it."
47: Then they took unhewn stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the former one.
50: Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple.
52: Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year,
53: they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built.
59: Then it was decided that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.

2 Maccabees
This book continues the story of the conflict between orthodox and Hellinized Jews:
4

7: When Seleucus died and Antiochus who was called Epiphanes succeeded to the kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias obtained the high priesthood by corruption. . . .

7

1: It happened that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and compelled by the king to eat unlawful swine's flesh.
2: One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, "What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our fathers."
3: The king fell into a rage, and gave orders that pans and caldrons be heated.
4: These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and the mother looked on.
5: When he was utterly helpless, the king ordered them to take him to the fire, still breathing, and to fry him in a pan. The smoke from the pan spread widely, but the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, saying,
6: "The Lord God is watching over us and in truth has compassion on us, as Moses declared in his song which bore witness against the people to their faces, when he said, `And he will have compassion on his servants.'"
7: After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward the second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and asked him, "Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by limb?"
8: He replied in the language of his fathers, and said to them, "No." Therefore he in turn underwent tortures as the first brother had done.
This is the resurrection motif that appealed to early Christians:
9: And when he was at his last breath, he said, "You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws."
10: After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands,
11: and said nobly, "I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again."
14: And when he was near death, he said, "One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!"
20: The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Though she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord.
21: She encouraged each of them in the language of their fathers. Filled with a noble spirit, she fired her woman's reasoning with a man's courage, and said to them,
22: "I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you.
23: Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws."
27: [L]eaning close to [her son], she spoke in their native tongue as follows:
29: "Accept death, so in God's mercy I may get you back again with your brothers."
41: Last of all, the mother died, after her sons.

12
In one battle, Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the rebellion against Hellinization of the Jews, gathers up the dead and prays for them. This is used by the writer of the book to prove the resurrection of the dead in the following way (a point cherished by the early Catholic church, which believed in prayers for the dead, hence the book's canonical status in the Catholic Bible):

44: [I]f he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.
45: Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.

4 Maccabees
3 & 4 Maccabees are not canonical in the Catholic church (and not in Protestant churches) but were studied by early Christians due to the idea of "expiatory suffering" (that another, like Jesus, can die for the sins of others). There is Stoic influence here. Stoicism believed in controlling the emotions through Reason; it believed that man was part of the just order of Nature and should live in harmony with Nature's Law. The philosophy survives in the English word, "stoic," used of people who control their emotions:

1

1: The subject I am about to discuss is whether devout reason is master over the emotions.

2

2: Joseph is praised, because by mental effort he overcame sexual desire.
4: Not only is reason proved to rule over the frenzied urge of sexual desire, but every desire.
8: Thus, as soon as a man adopts a way of life in accordance with the law, even though he is a lover of money, he is forced to act contrary to his natural ways and to lend without interest to the needy and to cancel the debt when the seventh year arrives.
14: Do not consider it odd when reason, through law, can master hatred. Thus an enemy's fruit trees are not cut down, but one helps raise up what has fallen.

5
The stories of Eleazor and the mother's seven sons are told as types of Reason over the emotions for the sake of God's Law. Eleazor is old; the mother is a woman; her sons are young; yet all defy natural emotions (fear, weakness, motherly love) because Reason tells them to obey God's Law:

1: The tyrant Antiochus
2: ordered the guards to seize each and every Hebrew and to compel them to eat pork and food sacrificed to idols.
3: If any were not willing to eat defiling food, they were to be broken on the wheel and killed.
14: When the tyrant urged Eleazar to eat meat unlawfully, he said,
22: "You mock our philosophy as though living by it were irrational,
23: but it teaches us self-control, so that we master all pleasures and desires, and it also trains us in courage, so that we endure suffering;
24: it instructs us in justice, so in all our dealings we act fairly, and it teaches us to worship the only real God.
34: I will not play false to you, O law that trained me, nor will I renounce you, beloved self-control.
35: I will not put you to shame, philosophical reason, nor will I reject you, honored priesthood and knowledge of the law."

6

26: When he was burned to his very bones and about to expire, he lifted up his eyes to God and said,
27: "You know, O God, that though I might have saved myself, I am dying in burning torments for the sake of the law.
Here appears the motif of expiation, or dying for another's sins, which became dear to early Christian martyrs, as in Jesus' own expiatory death (that is, death for the sake of others):
28: Be merciful to your people, and let our punishment suffice for them.
29: Make my blood their purification, and take my life in exchange for theirs."
31: Devout reason is therefore master of the emotions.

17
Note the Resurrection motif:

17: The tyrant himself and all his council marveled at their endurance,
18: because of which they now stand before the divine throne and live through blessed eternity.
22: And through the blood of those devout ones and their death as an expiation, divine Providence preserved Israel that previously had been afflicted.

18

23: The sons of Abraham with their victorious mother are gathered together into the chorus of the fathers, and have received pure and immortal souls from God.

Judith
The book of Judith has been influential in literature and art, but it's fiction, Judith =Judah, representing an ideal Israel). Historical facts are wrong: Nebuchadnezzar was king of the Babylonians, not the Assyirans. By this time, Jews had lost touch with their own history. Many bible motifs should be apparent: the weak woman destroying, through God's grace, the strong warrior (as Jael killed Sisera); the motif of faithfulness (the widow Judah remains faithful to her dead husband), obeying the Law (Torah), the motif of God's reversal (Hannah's prayer; Mary's Magnificat), etc.

2

1: The people of Israel in Judea heard everything Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had destroyed their temples;
11: And they bowed before the temple
13: So the Lord heard their prayers.

7

1: Holofernes ordered his army to make war on the Israelites.
19: The people of Israel cried out to the Lord their God.

 8

1: Judith heard about these things
4: Judith lived as a widow.
7: She was beautiful and
8: feared God.
10: She sent her maid to call the elders of her city.
11: They came to her, and she said, "Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right, promising to surrender the city to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days.
33: I will go with my maid; and within the days after which you have promised to surrender the city to our enemies, the Lord will deliver Israel by my hand."

9

1: Then Judith cried out to the Lord,
7: "See, the Assyrians are increased in might; and know not that you are the Lord who crushes wars; the Lord is your name.
9: See their pride, and send your anger upon their heads; give to me, a widow, the strength to do what I plan.
Typical of the prayers of Hannah (Samuel's mother) and Mary (Jesus' mother):
11: "For you are God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed, upholder of the weak, savior of those without hope.

 10

3: Then she took off her widow's garments, and bathed her body with water, and anointed herself with ointment, and combed her hair and put on a tiara, and arrayed herself in her gayest apparel, which she used to wear while her husband was living.
For v. 3b, above, compare Isaiah 52:1ff.: "Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendour, O Jerusalem, the holy city."
4: And she put sandals on her feet, and put on her anklets and bracelets and rings, and her earrings and all her ornaments, and made herself beautiful, to entice the eyes of all men who might see her.
11: The women went straight on through the valley; and an Assyrian patrol met her
12: and asked her, "To what people do you belong, and where are you coming from, and where are you going?" She replied, "I am a daughter of the Hebrews, but I am fleeing from them, for they are about to be handed over to you to be destroyed.
13: I am on my way to Holofernes, commander of your army. I will show him how he can capture the hill country without losing one of his men."

12

16: Then Judith came in and lay down, and Holofernes' heart  was moved with desire.
20: And Holofernes drank more than he had ever drunk in any one day since he was born.

13

1: When evening came, his slaves left.
2: So Judith was alone in the tent, with Holofernes  on his bed, for he was overcome with wine.
3: Judith had told her maid to stand outside the bedchamber.
6: She went up to the post at the end of the bed, above Holofernes' head, and took down his sword that hung there.
7: She came close to his bed and took hold of the hair of his head, and said, "Give me strength this day, God of Israel!"
8: And she struck his neck twice with all her might, and severed it from his body.
9: She went out, and gave Holofernes' head to her maid,
10: who placed it in her food bag. Then the two of them went up the mountain to Bethulia and came to its gates.
11: Judith called, "Open the gate! God is still with us, to show his power in Israel, and his strength against our enemies!"

Additions to the Book of Esther, chapter 13
These verses, omitted from the canonical book of Esther, were added to compensate for the fact that Esther and Mordecai seem too godless in that book. These verses show that she and he were God-fearing. The following explains why Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman:

12: Thou knowest all things; thou knowest, O Lord, that it was not in pride or glory I refused to bow down to Haman.
13: I would have been willing to kiss the soles of his feet, to save Israel!
14: But I will not bow down to any one but to thee, who art my Lord; and I will not do these things in pride.
16: Do not neglect thy portion, which thou didst redeem for thyself out of the land of Egypt.

14
These verses show that Esther did not really adapt to Persian culture, and, in fact, did not even eat non-Kosher food at King Xerxes' table!

15: You know all things; you know I hate the splendor of the wicked and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of any alien.
16: I abhor the sign of my proud position, which is upon my head on the days when I appear in public. I abhor it like a menstruous rag, and I do not wear it on the days I am at leisure.
18: I have had no joy since the day I was brought here until now, except in thee, O Lord God of Abraham."

---

1 Esdras 3
Esdras is the Greek version of the name, Ezra.  1 Esdra is a redaction of parts of Chronicles and Nehemiah,  and all of the canonical Ezra. The sole addition is an interesting parable, set in the Persian period, about the power of Truth:

1: King Darius gave a banquet for all the nobles of Media and Persia.
3: They ate and drank, and when they were satisfied they departed; and Darius the king went to his bedroom, and went to sleep, and then awoke.
4: Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who kept guard over the person of the king, said to one another,
5: "Let each state what one thing is strongest; to him whose statement seems wisest, Darius the king will give rich gifts."
10: The first wrote, "Wine is strongest."
11: The second wrote, "The king is strongest."
12: The third wrote, "Women are strongest, but truth is victor over all things."
13: When the king awoke, they took the writing and gave it to him, and he read it.
16: And he said, "Call the young men, and they shall explain their statements."
17: And they said to them, "Explain to us what you have written." Then the first said:
18: "Gentlemen, how is wine strongest? It leads astray.
19: It makes equal the mind of the king and the orphan, of the slave and the free, of the poor and the rich.
20: It turns every thought to feasting and mirth, and forgets sorrow and debt.
24: Gentlemen, is not wine the strongest, since it forces men to do these things?" When he had said this, he stopped speaking.

4

1: Then the second began to speak:
2: "Gentlemen, are not men strongest, who rule over land and sea and all that is in them?
3: But the king is stronger; he is their lord and master, and whatever he says they obey.
4: If he tells them to make war on one another, they do it.
5: If they win the victory, they bring everything to the king.
6: Likewise those who till the soil, when they sow, they reap the harvest and bring some to the king."
13: Then the third, that is Zerubbabel, who had spoken of women and truth, began to speak:
14: Gentlemen, is not the king great, and are not men many, and is not wine strong? Who then is their master, or who is their lord? Is it not women?
15: Women gave birth to the king and to every people that rules over sea and land.
18: If men gather gold and silver or any other beautiful thing, and then see a woman lovely in appearance and beauty,
19: they let all those things go, and gape at her, and with open mouths stare at her, and all prefer her to gold or silver or any other beautiful thing.
22: Hence you must realize that women rule over you! "Do you not labor and toil, and bring everything and give it to women?
28: "Is not the king great in his power? Do not all lands fear to touch him?
29: Yet I have seen him with Apame, the king's concubine, the daughter of the illustrious Bartacus; she would sit at the king's right hand
30: and take the crown from the king's head and put it on her own, and slap the king with her left hand.
31: At this the king would gaze at her with mouth agape. If she smiles at him, he laughs; if she loses her temper with him, he flatters her, that she may be reconciled to him.
32: Gentlemen, why are not women strong, since they do such things?"
33: The king and the nobles looked at one another; and he began to speak about truth:
34: "Gentlemen, are not women strong?
35: But truth is great, and stronger than all things.
36: The whole earth calls upon truth, and heaven blesses her. All God's works quake and tremble, and with him there is nothing unrighteous.
37: Wine is unrighteous, the king is unrighteous, women are unrighteous, all the sons of men are unrighteous, all their works are unrighteous, and all such things. There is no truth in them and in their unrighteousness they will perish.
38: But truth endures and is strong for ever, and lives and prevails for ever and ever!"
42: Then the king said to him, "Ask what you wish and we will give it to you, for you have been found to be the wisest. And you shall sit next to me, and be called my kinsman."

2 Esdras, 1
Dated to the first century CE, this is a Jewish apocalypse, with Christian additions at the beginning and end, as seen in the following verses. Jesus compares himself to a mother hen protecting her young. These additions are "dispensationalist," telling why God rejected Jews:

28: "Thus says the Lord Almighty:
30: I gathered you as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. But now I will cast you out from my presence.
32: I sent to you my servants the prophets, but you have taken and slain them.
35: I will give your houses to a people that will come, who without having heard me will believe. Those to whom I have shown no signs will do what I have commanded.
36: They have seen no prophets, yet will recall their former state.
37: I call to witness the gratitude of the people that is to come, whose children rejoice with gladness; though they do not see me with bodily eyes, yet with the spirit they will believe the things I have said.
38: "And now, father [Ezra], look with pride and see the people coming from the east [=Gentiles: now it is Gentiles who will have the Patriarchs and the Prophets! Chapter 2 refers to the Diaspora, or Dispersion of the Jews, from the conquest of Northern Israel in 722 on.];
39: to them I will give as leaders Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Hosea and Amos and Micah and Joel and Obadiah and Jonah
40: and Nahum and Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, who is also called the messenger of the Lord.

2

7: Let them [Jews] be scattered among the nations, let their names be blotted out from the earth, because they have despised my covenant.
10: Thus says the Lord to Ezra: "Tell my people [Christians] that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I was going to give to Israel.
11: I will take back their glory, and will give to these others the everlasting habitations, which I had prepared for Israel.
15: "Mother [the "new" Israel, or the Chuch], embrace your sons; bring them up with gladness, as does the dove; establish their feet, because I have chosen you, says the Lord.
The Resurrection motif again:
16: And I will raise up the dead from their places, and will bring them out from their tombs, because I recognize my name in them.
23: When you find any who are dead, commit them to the grave and mark it, and I will give you the first place in my resurrection.
24: Pause and be quiet, my people, because your rest will come."
Ezra represents the Law (Mount Horeb is the same as Mount Sinai, on which Moses received the Ten Commandments):
33: I, Ezra, received a command from the Lord on Mount Horeb to go to Israel. When I came to them they rejected me and refused the Lord's commandment.
34: Therefore I say to you, O nations that hear and understand, "Await your shepherd; he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand.
38: Rise and stand, and see at the feast of the Lord the number of those who have been sealed.
39: Those who have departed from the shadow of this age have received glorious garments from the Lord.
40: Take again your full number, O Zion, and conclude the list of your people who are clothed in white, who have fulfilled the law of the Lord.
41: The number of your children, whom you desired, is full; beseech the Lord's power that your people, who have been called from the beginning, may be made holy."
The Christian symbolism is clear: the young man is Jesus:
42: I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude, which I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs.
43: In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they.
44: Then I asked an angel, "Who are these, my lord?"
45: He answered and said to me, "These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and they have confessed the name of God; now they are being crowned, and receive palms."
46: Then I said to the angel, "Who is that young man who places crowns on them and puts palms in their hands?"
47: He answered and said to me, "He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world."

4
In the Jewish part of this book, Ezra has dialogues with an angel, Uriel. The book is in the form of a theodicy and apocalypse (why does righteous Israel suffer and how things will be set right in the second of the "two ages" that Jews and Christians believed in (the age of this life and the age of the afterlife):

22: Then I said, "I beseech you, my lord,
23: about those things which we daily experience: why Israel has been given over to the Gentiles as a reproach; why the people whom you loved has been given over to godless tribes, and the law of our fathers has been made of no effect and the written covenants no longer exist;
24: and why we pass from the world like locusts, and our life is like a mist, and we are not worthy to obtain mercy."
26: He [the angel Uriel] answered me and said, "The age is hastening swiftly to its end.
28: For the evil about which you ask me has been sown, but the harvest of it has not yet come.
Note images familiar in Jesus' eschatological parables: the harvest will be reaped in the face of suffering: a way to deal with suffering:
30: For a grain of evil seed was sown in Adam's heart from the beginning, and how much ungodliness it has produced until now, and will produce until the time of threshing comes!"
33: Then I answered and said, "How long and when will these things be? Why are our years few and evil?"
34: He answered me and said, "You do not hasten faster than the Most High, for your haste is for yourself, but the Highest hastens on behalf of many.
God's time is not man's time.

8
More eschatological commentary:

1: He answered me and said, "The Most High made this world for the sake of many, but the world to come for the sake of few.

9

10: And as many as did not acknowledge me in their lifetime, although they received my benefits,
11: and as many as scorned my law while they still had freedom, and did not understand but despised it while an opportunity of repentance was still open to them,
12: these must in torment acknowledge it after death.
20: So I considered my world, and behold, it was lost, and my earth, and behold, it was in peril because of the devices of those who had come into it.
21: And I saw and spared some with great difficulty, and saved for myself one grape out of a cluster, and one plant out of a great forest.
22: So let the multitude perish which has been born in vain, but let my grape and my plant be saved, because with much labor I have perfected them.

12

31: "As for the lion whom you saw roaring and speaking to the eagle and reproving him for his unrighteousness,
32: this is the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the posterity of David; he will denounce them for their wickedness.
33: For first he will set them living before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will destroy them.
34: But he will deliver in mercy the remnant of my people.

13

32: And when these things come to pass and the signs occur which I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed, whom you saw as a man coming up from the sea.
35: But he shall stand on the top of Mount Zion.
37: And he, my Son, will reprove the assembled nations for their ungodliness
38: and will destroy them by the law
39: And as for your seeing him gather to himself another multitude that was peaceable,
40: these are the ten tribes which were led away from their own land into captivity in the days of King Hoshea, whom Shalmaneser the king of the Assyrians led captive; he took them across the river, and they were taken into another land.

14

22: If then I have found favor before thee, send the Holy Spirit into me, and I will write everything that has happened in the world from the beginning, the things which were written in thy law, that men may be able to find the path, and that those who wish to live in the last days may live."
23: He answered me and said, "Go and gather the people, and tell them not to seek you for forty days.
25: and you shall come here, and I will light in your heart the lamp of understanding, which shall not be put out until what you are about to write is finished.
Ezra in other words takes the place of Moses, writing the Holy Law by inspiration. V. 25 above was famously quoted by the martyr Latimer in the 16th century before his death.
34: If you, then, will rule over your minds and discipline your hearts, you shall be kept alive, and after death you shall obtain mercy.
The Resurrection motif again. Note the symbolic number, "40 days," during which Ezra writes the 24 books of the Jewish canon:
35: For after death the judgment will come, when we shall live again; and then the names of the righteous will become manifest, and the deeds of the ungodly will be disclosed.
45: And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, "Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first and let the worthy and the unworthy read them.
47: For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge."

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