10 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Why do the faithful suffer while the empires that crush them prosper?
The Second Book of Esdras gives that question to Ezra, a scribe grieving Jerusalem’s fall. Speaking in his name, this anonymous apocalypse places him in Babylon, where he presses the angel Uriel for answers about suffering, justice, and why so few are saved.
Its Jewish core, also called Fourth Ezra, contains seven visions filled with argument, grief, and startling images. Later Christian additions, Fifth and Sixth Ezra, frame this central work. According to the text, Ezra encounters a mourning woman, an eagle of empire facing judgment, and a man who rises from the sea.
What you’ll discover
- Questions that resist easy comfort Follow Ezra’s disputes with Uriel as grief becomes a demand for justice.
- A woman deep in grief Meet a weeping woman whose sorrow draws Ezra away from his disputes with Uriel.
- An empire faces judgment Explore the dream of a many-winged eagle and the lion that judges it.
- A figure from the sea Enter a vision that explores the coming messianic figure and the end of this age.
- A voice from a bush Follow Ezra into an encounter that recalls Moses and the giving of the Law.
Who will love it
For readers who love the Bible's apocrypha, Jewish and early Christian history, and dreamlike visions, and anyone drawn to questions of suffering and justice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A book built in three layers
- Ezra dares to question God's justice
- Many are made but few are saved
- A grieving woman becomes a city
- Empire is judged and a man rises
- The lost books are written again
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 10 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear The Second Book of Esdras in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Second Book of Esdras
by Attributed to the prophet Ezra
After Jerusalem falls, Ezra debates God's justice with the angel Uriel in visions of grief, empire and deliverance.
Excellent
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A book built in three layers
The Second Book of Esdras is not one work by one author. Its heart is chapters three to fourteen, a Jewish apocalypse that scholars call Fourth Ezra. Most think it was composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, around the year 100, by a writer who lived through the aftermath of Rome's destruction of the Temple. The Hebrew original is lost.
The book survives in translations. The Latin version is the fullest and the one that shaped Western Bibles. Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic, Armenian and Georgian versions also exist, and they sometimes differ from the Latin. Behind them stands a Greek text that has also vanished. This is why the book comes to us in several forms, and why its numbering can confuse a new reader.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Second Book of Esdras
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy just the printed book?
Yes. The paperback costs USD 4.95 on its own. Start free and you pay the cost of printing: USD 4.95 for this paperback, and any other book at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is the Second Book of Esdras about?
It records seven visions given to Ezra after the fall of Jerusalem. He debates God's justice with the angel Uriel, sees Zion as a woman and a city, watches an eagle judged, and is told to restore the lost sacred books.
Why is 2 Esdras not in most Bibles?
It was written late, in the first century CE, and was not part of the Hebrew Bible. Jerome left it out of the Vulgate, and Protestant Bibles place it in the apocrypha. Some Eastern churches treat parts of it with honour.
What is the difference between 2 Esdras and 4 Ezra?
Fourth Ezra is the Jewish core, chapters three to fourteen. Second Esdras is the whole sixteen chapters, including Christian chapters added at the start, called Fifth Ezra, and at the end, called Sixth Ezra.
More like this
FreeOur mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in the lost books
See all
