2 Esdras 4:1-7

1 Then the angel that had been sent to me, whose name was Uriel, answered
2 and said to me, "Your understanding has utterly failed regarding this world, and do you think you can comprehend the way of the Most High?"
3 Then I said, "Yes, my lord." And he replied to me, "I have been sent to show you three ways, and to put before you three problems.
4 If you can solve one of them for me, then I will show you the way you desire to see, and will teach you why the heart is evil."
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?'

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Syr Ethiop Arab 1 Arab 2 Georg [a measure]
  • [b]. Syr Compare Ethiop Arab 2 Arm: Lat lacks [of Hades, or which are the entrances]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.