Apocrypha
I Esdras
Greek Esdras
9 chapters · read and listen
Reading note
An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. Published here from a public-domain translation, edited for continuous reading.
Chapters
Dossier
An alternative account of the return from exile, containing an episode found in no canonical book: three guards of the Persian king wager on who can write the truest sentence about what is strongest in the world.
Where this text comes from
Greek, probably 2nd century BC, translated from a Semitic original. It covers material from 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, but in a different order and with the debate of the three guards added.
Why it is not in the Bible
Canonical in the Greek Orthodox Church, where it is simply called Esdras A. Outside the Catholic and Protestant canons, though it appears as an appendix in some editions of the Vulgate.
What you will find
- The debate of the three guards: one says wine is strongest, another the king, the third women — and truth above all.
- Zerubbabel wins the contest and asks as his prize for the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
- Josiah's Passover opens the book with a scene of liturgical restoration on a grand scale.
Frequently asked questions
- Is 1 Esdras the same as the biblical book of Ezra?
- No. It covers some of the same material in a different order and adds the episode of the three guards, which does not exist in canonical Ezra.