2 Esdras 7:17-19

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised

The Fate of the Ungodly

¹⁷ Then I answered and said, ‘O sovereign Lord, you have ordained in your law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but that the ungodly shall perish. ¹⁸ The righteous, therefore, can endure difficult circumstances while hoping for easier ones; but those who have done wickedly have suffered the difficult circumstances and will never see the easier ones.’

¹⁹ He said to me, ‘You are not a better judge than the Lord,^[a] or wiser than the Most High!