For it would have been better if the dust itself had not been born, so that the mind might not have been made from it: If there had been no human consciousness, there would be no problem about souls that must face eternal torment. The conjunction For may be left implied (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). Good News Bible uses the second person pronoun “you” to refer to the dust, since Ezra is addressing it. Other languages may find this adjustment helpful. Contemporary English Version provides the following helpful model for this verse:

• It would have been better if you had never been born, then we would not have minds to think with.

Another possible model is:

• It would have been better if dust [or, you, the earth] never existed. Then there would be no human mind.

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.