But what is man, that thou art angry with him; or what is a corruptible race, that thou art so bitter against it?: With these two parallel rhetorical questions Ezra says that evil people are simply not worth God’s attention (compare Job 7.17; Psa 8.4). The conjunction But may be omitted (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). What is a corruptible race may be rendered “we are such worthless people” or “we are not worth anything.” Alternative models for this verse are:

• Why should you be so angry with us [or, humans]? We are so worthless that we don’t deserve such attention from you.

• I’m amazed you even take the time to be angry with humans. We are….

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.