2 Esdras 6:1-3

Revised Standard Version

6 And he said to me, “At the beginning of the circle of the earth,^[a] before the portals of the world were in place, and before the assembled winds blew, ² and before the rumblings of thunder sounded, and before the flashes of lightning shone, and before the foundations of paradise were laid, ³ and before the beautiful flowers were seen, and before the powers of movement^[b] were established, and before the innumerable hosts of angels were gathered together,