2 Esdras 2:1-3

Common English Bible

2 The Lord says this: I led forth a people to whom I gave commandments. But they were unwilling to listen, and they ignored my advice ² The mother who bore them says to them: “Go, children, because I am widowed and abandoned. ³ I brought you up with joy, but I will send you away with mourning and sadness, because you have sinned in the presence of the Lord God and have done bad things in his sight.