For you come far short of being able to love my creation more than I love it: Ezra cannot shame God into having mercy on the unrighteous. No one loves God’s created beings more than God himself does. The connector For may be omitted (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). You come far short of may be rendered “You are certainly not able to” (Good News Bible) or “You simply cannot.” My creation may be translated “what I have created.”

But you have often compared yourself to the unrighteous. Never do so!: God does not want Ezra likening himself to the unrighteous (see verses 31-35, where Ezra does so). The Revised Standard Version footnote here may be ignored.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• You are a long way from loving [or, certainly cannot love] my creation more than I do. But Ezra, you have often been comparing yourself to the unrighteous. You must never do that!

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.