1 Esdras 4:33-41

Common English Bible

Superiority of truth

³³ The king and the officials looked at each other, and the third young man began to speak about truth: ³⁴ “Gentlemen, aren’t women strong? The earth is great, heaven is high, and the sun is swift in its course, for it circles the heavens and returns again to its place in a single day. ³⁵ Isn’t the one who does these things great? Yet truth is also great and superior still to all of these things. ³⁶ The whole earth calls on truth, and heaven praises it. All of heaven’s works^[a] move and tremble at the sight of it, and there’s nothing wrong with truth. ³⁷ You can’t trust wine; you can’t trust the king; you can’t trust women. No human beings are trustworthy. Everything they do is wrong. There is no truth in them. They will perish in their lies. ³⁸ But truth endures and is valid for all time; it lives and succeeds forever. ³⁹ With it there’s no charade or preference, but it does what is right instead of what is wrong or evil. Everyone approves of its deeds. There’s nothing unjust in its judgment. ⁴⁰ To it belongs the strength, the royalty, the authority, and the greatness of all ages. Bless God’s truth!” ⁴¹ He stopped speaking, and all the people cried out, “Great is truth and superior to all!”