If therefore that which has been sown is not reaped, and if the place where the evil has been sown does not pass away, the field where the good has been sown will not come: The conjunction therefore introduces a conclusion. Good News Bible leaves it implied. That which has been sown refers to evil. This world is the place where the evil has been sown. This evil world must pass out of existence before the good, which has already been sown, can grow. The field in which the good has been planted is the age to come. The author may mean also that the human heart must be cleared of evil before good can take its place. Alternative models for this verse are:

• Only when that harvest of evil is over can good begin to grow [like crops] in God’s field.

• Good has already been planted [in a field], but it cannot come up and grow until all the evil has been harvested, and the field where it grew has passed away.

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.