Ezra remonstrates with God: the sin of Adam
1 As I said this to him, Michael and Gabriel and all the apostles came and said,
2 “Greetings!”
3 [And Ezra said, “Faithful man of God!]
4 Arise and come hither with me, O Lord, to judgment.” And God said, “Behold I am giving you my covenant, both mine and yours, so that you will accept it.”
5 And Ezra said, “We shall plead our case in your ear(s).”
6 And God said, “Ask Abraham your father what kind of son presses suit against his father and come and plead the case with us.”
7 And Ezra said, “As the Lord lives, I shall never cease pleading the case with you on account of the Christian people.
8 Where are your former mercies, O Lord? Where your long-suffering?”
9 And God said, “As I made night and day I made the righteous and the sinner and it were fitting to conduct yourself like the righteous man.”
10 And the prophet said, “Who made Adam, the protoplast, the first one?”
11 And God said, “My immaculate hands, and I placed him in Paradise to guard the region of the tree of life.”
12 “Since he who established disobedience made this (man) sin.”
13 And the prophet said, “Was he not guarded by an angel?
14 And was life not preserved (by) the cherubim for the endless age?
15 And how was he deceived who was guarded by angels (whom) you commanded to be present whatever happened? Attend also to that which I say!
16 If you had not given him Eve, the serpent would never have deceived her.
17 If you save whom you wish you will also destroy whom you wish.”
Ezra remonstrates with God: the sins of men
18 And the prophet said, “O my Lord, let us continue to a second judgment.”
19 And God said, “I cast fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah.”
20 And the prophet said, “Lord, you bring upon us what we deserve.”
21 And God said, “Your sins exceed my kindness.”
22 And the prophet said, “Remember Scripture, my father, who measured out Jerusalem and rebuilt her.
23 Pity, Lord, the sinners, pity your own molding, have mercy upon your works.”
24 Then God remembered his works and said to the prophet, “How can I have mercy upon them?
25 They gave vinegar and gall to drink and [...] they repented.”
The day of judgment
26 And the prophet said, “Reveal yourcherubiml and let us go togethertojudgment,
27 and show me what is the character of the day of judgment.”
28 And God said, “You have digressed, Ezra,
29 for such is the day of judgment upon which there is no rain on the earth,
30 for is a merciful judgment during that day”.
31 And the prophet said, “I shall never cease to argue the case with you until I see the day of consummation.”
32 (And God said,) “Count the stars and the sand of the sea and if you will be able to count this, you will also be able to argue the case with me.”