I answered and said may be rendered “I replied” (Contemporary English Version) or “I said” (Good News Bible).

I said before, and I say now, and will say it again: Compare 2 Esd 7.45. Good News Bible says simply “I must repeat what I said before,” and Contemporary English Version has “I will repeat again what I’ve already said.”

There are more who perish than those who will be saved: See 2 Esd 7.45-61.

As a wave is greater than a drop of water: The word wave refers to a wave of water in the ocean. If translators work in languages that are not well equipped to deal with ocean metaphors, they may consider using some other comparison here. The point of this simile is that the number of the saved is very small indeed compared with those who will not be saved.

Good News Bible gives us a good model for verses 14-16. Here is another possible one:

• 14 I replied [or, I said to God], 15 “I will repeat what I have already said: More people will die than you will save. 16 It’s like comparing an ocean wave to a drop of water.”

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.