Good News Bible Anglicised

2 Esdras 12:16-34 Good News Bible Anglicised (GNBDC)

16. That is the meaning of the twelve wings that you saw.

17. “You heard the voice speaking from the middle of the eagle's body, instead of from its heads.

18. That means that after the rule of the second king, a great struggle for power will take place, and the empire will be in danger of breaking up. But that will not happen, and the empire will regain its earlier power.

19. “You saw the eight small wings growing out of the eagle's big wings. That means

20. that eight kings will rise up in the empire, but their rule will be brief and unimportant.

21. Two of them will appear briefly near the middle of the period, four of them will not appear until near the end, and two will be left until the very end.

22. “You saw the three heads that were asleep. That means

23. that in the last days of the empire, God Most High will raise up three kings; they will restore much of the empire and rule over the world

24. and its people with more harshness than any before them. The reason they are called the eagle's heads

25. is that these three kings will bring to a head and complete the godless work of the eagle.

26. You saw the largest head disappear. This means that one of the kings will die in his bed, in great agony.

27. The other two will die in battle.

28. One of them will kill the other; then he also will be killed in battle at the end of time.

29. “You saw the two small wings moving under the head on the right side.

30. That means that God Most High has kept them until the end, but their rule was short and full of trouble, as you saw.

31. “You saw the angry lion come roaring out of the forest, and you heard it speak to the eagle and rebuke it for the evil that it had done and for all that it had said.

32. The lion represents the Messiah, whom God Most High has held back until the end. He will be a descendant of David and will come and speak to the rulers. He will rebuke them for their wickedness, their sinfulness, and their contempt for God's ways.

33. While they are still living, he will bring them to judgement, condemn them for their sin, and destroy them.

34. But he will have mercy on the rest of my people, those who are left in my land; he will set them free and make them happy until the end comes, the Judgement Day about which I told you at the beginning.