2 Esdras 7:16-18

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised

¹⁶ Why have you not considered in your mind what is to come, rather than what is now present?’

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.’