And why have you not considered in your mind what is to come, rather than what is now present?: This is another rhetorical question. Contemporary English Version renders it well as a strong statement, saying:

• Stop thinking about the present and think instead about the age to come.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.