2 Esdras 4:7

7 Then he said, "What if I had asked you how many dwelling places there are at the bottom of the sea? How many rivers flow into the waters beneath the earth? How many rivers are there above the dome of the sky? Where are the exits from the world of the dead? Where are the entrances to Paradise?

2 Esdras 4:7 In-Context

5 "I agree, sir," I said. Then he said to me, "Good! How do you weigh out a pound of fire? How do you measure a bushel of wind? How do you bring back a day that has passed?"

6 I answered, "Why do you ask me such questions? No human being could answer them."

7 Then he said, "What if I had asked you how many dwelling places there are at the bottom of the sea? How many rivers flow into the waters beneath the earth? How many rivers are there above the dome of the sky? Where are the exits from the world of the dead? Where are the entrances to Paradise?

8 If I had asked you these questions, you might have answered, "I have never gone down into the waters beneath the earth, and I have not yet entered the world of the dead. I have never gone up to heaven.'

9 But all I have asked you about is fire, wind, and the day that has just passed - things that you have experienced. Yet you have given me no answer.

Footnotes

• [a]. [Some ancient translations] exits from . . . entrances to; [Latin] exits from.