For what good is it to all that they live in sorrow now and expect punishment after death?: Ezra sees life as a hopeless proposition, if lives are hard in this world, and we can look forward to nothing after death but punishment. This rhetorical question may be expressed as a strong statement (see the second model below). The logical connector For may be left implied (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). Alternative models for this verse are:

• What good is life if we live in misery now, and can expect nothing but punishment after we die?

• It does us no good if we live in misery now, and can expect nothing but punishment after we die.

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.