2 Esdras 7:116-126

116 I answered, "I made this point before, and I will make it again. It would have been better if the earth had never produced Adam, or when it had done so, if it had made him so that he could not sin.
117 What good is it for any of us to have life in the present age, when it is full of misery and when all we can look forward to after death is punishment?
118 O Adam, what have you done? Your sin was not only your own downfall; it was also the downfall of all of us who are your descendants.
119 What good is it to us that we have the promise of immortal life, when we have committed sins that condemn us to death?
120 What good is the hope of eternity, when we find ourselves in such a completely hopeless situation?
121 What good is it that safe and secure homes have been prepared for us in the future world, when we have lived such wicked lives?
122 What good is the promise that the glorious presence of God Most High will protect those who have lived pure lives, when our own lives have been so full of sin?
123 What good is it that Paradise is shown to us, that its imperishable fruit can heal us and provide all we need? We can never go there 1
124 because we have lived unacceptable lives.
125 What good is it that the faces of those who practice self-control will shine more brightly than the stars, when our own faces will be blacker than the night?
126 Never in our whole lives, when we sinned, did we think about what we would have to suffer after death."

Cross References 1

  • 1. 7.123Ezekiel 47.12;Revelation 22.2.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. [Probable text] unacceptable lives; [Latin] in unacceptable places.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.