2 Esdras 4:7

7 And he said to me, "If I had asked you, "How many dwellings are in the heart of the sea, or how many streams are at the source of the deep, or how many streams are above the firmament, or which are the exits of Hades, or which are the entrances of paradise?'

2 Esdras 4:7 In-Context

5 I said, "Speak, my lord." And he said to me, "Go, weigh for me the weight of fire, or measure for me a blast of wind, or call back for me the day that is past."

6 I answered and said, "Who of those that have been born can do that, that you should ask me about such things?"

7 And he said to me, "If I had asked you, "How many dwellings are in the heart of the sea, or how many streams are at the source of the deep, or how many streams are above the firmament, or which are the exits of Hades, or which are the entrances of paradise?'

8 perhaps you would have said to me, "I never went down into the deep, nor as yet into Hades, neither did I ever ascend into heaven.'

9 But now I have asked you only about fire and wind and the day—things that you have experienced and from which you cannot be separated, and you have given me no answer about them."

Footnotes

• [a]. Syr Compare Ethiop Arab 2 Arm: Lat lacks [of Hades, or which are the entrances]