2 Esdras 4:23

23 For I did not wish to inquire about the ways above, but about those things which we daily experience: why Israel has been given over to the Gentiles as a reproach; why the people whom you loved has been given over to godless tribes, and the law of our fathers has been made of no effect and the written covenants no longer exist;

2 Esdras 4:23 In-Context

21 For as the land is assigned to the forest and the sea to its waves, so also those who dwell upon earth can understand only what is on the earth, and he who is above the heavens can understand what is above the height of the heavens."

22 Then I answered and said, "I beseech you, my lord, why have I been endowed with the power of understanding?

23 For I did not wish to inquire about the ways above, but about those things which we daily experience: why Israel has been given over to the Gentiles as a reproach; why the people whom you loved has been given over to godless tribes, and the law of our fathers has been made of no effect and the written covenants no longer exist;

24 and why we pass from the world like locusts, and our life is like a mist, and we are not worthy to obtain mercy.

25 But what will he do for his name, by which we are called? It is about these things that I have asked."