2 Esdras 9:14-21 Good News Bible Anglicised (GNBDC)

14. I said,

15. “I must repeat what I said before. The lost far outnumber those who are saved —

16. it is like a wave compared with a drop of water.”

17. He answered, “The seed to be sown depends on the soil; the colour of the flower depends on the kind of flower; the quality of a product depends on the skill of the worker; and the size of the harvest depends on how hard the farmer has worked.

18. Before I created this world or the people who would live in it, no one opposed me, because no one existed.

19. When I had created the world, I supplied it with an abundance of food and a Law of profound wisdom, but the people I created lived corrupt lives.

20. I looked at my world and saw that it was ruined. I saw that my earth was in danger of being destroyed by the wicked plans of the people who had come into it.

21. When I saw this, I found it very difficult to spare them, but I saved a few for myself, one grape out of a bunch and one tree out of a great forest.

2 Esdras 9