And I said, “No, lord, it cannot”: The pronoun it refers to the “womb” in the previous verse. Some translators will prefer to mention the womb here by saying “I said, ‘No, lord, the womb can’t [hold the child].’ ” Others will prefer to translate “I replied, ‘No, sir, she cannot!’ ” (similarly Good News Bible). For lord see the comments on 2 Esd 2.44.

And he said to me, “In Hades the chambers of the souls are like the womb: Hades is the realm of the dead, much like Sheol in the Old Testament, except that here it is implied that residence in Hades is temporary, awaiting final judgment, when souls will be assigned to heaven or to hell. For the chambers of the souls, see verse 35. Good News Bible says “the place where God has stored the souls.”

Good News Bible provides a good model for this verse. We also recommend Contemporary English Version‘s following model:

• “No sir,” I answered, “she cannot.”
Then he said, “The place where the souls are waiting in the world below is like a mother’s womb.

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.