And unrighteousness shall be increased beyond what you yourself see: Contemporary English Version says “People will become more wicked than you’ve ever seen.”

And beyond what you heard of formerly may be rendered “more even than you have ever heard of before.”

Here are possible models for this verse:

• There will be more wickedness than you have ever seen, more even than you have ever heard of before.

• People will become more wicked than you have ever seen or heard about in the past.

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.