2 Esdras 10:7-9

Common English Bible

⁷ Zion the mother of us all is afflicted in sadness and utterly dejected. Grieve mightily ⁸ now because we all grieve, and be sorrowful because we are all sorrowful. But you are mourning only for one son!^{[a] 9} Ask the earth, and she will tell you that she is the one who should mourn, since so many have sprouted upon her.