2 Esdras 8:3-5

Revised Standard Version

³ Many have been created, but few shall be saved.”

Ezra Again Appeals to God’s Mercy

⁴ I answered and said, “Then drink your fill of understanding, O my soul, and drink wisdom, O my heart!^{[a] 5} For not of your own will did you come into the world,^[b] and against your will you depart, for you have been given only a short time to live.