I answered and said may be rendered “Then I said to the angel Uriel” or simply “I said” (Contemporary English Version).

I know, O Lord, that the Most High is called merciful: For Lord as an address to an angel, see the comments on 2 Esd 2.44. For the Most High, see 2 Esd 3.3. This clause may be translated “Sir, I know that God Most High is called merciful [or, people call God Most High the merciful God].”

Because he has mercy on those who have not yet come into the world: God in his knowledge of the future knows that when a person is born, that person will eventually be a sinner, but until the person actually commits a sin, God finds him innocent (compare verse 136).

Good News Bible provides a reliable model for this verse.

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.