For not of your own will did you come into the world, and against your will you depart, for you have been given only a short time to live: Instead of For not of your own will did you come into the world, the Latin says “For you came to obey,” although there is considerable confusion in the Latin manuscripts. The pronoun “you” refers back to “soul” in verse 4. Into the world is not in the Latin, but is supplied for sense, correctly so. Not of your own will, which is attributed to the Syriac in Revised Standard Version‘s footnote, seems to be a legitimate interpretation of “to obey,” that is, the soul came into the world obediently, because God had summoned it into existence. The soul is not pictured as resisting entering the world, although it is clearly said to leave the world involuntarily.

Here are possible models for verses 4-5:

• 4 After Uriel had spoken, I told myself that I must try as hard as I could to understand these things. 5 We come into this world obeying God’s command, but when we leave the world we do it against our will. God has given us only a short time to live.*
* The Latin of verses 4-5 is unclear.

• 4 After Uriel had said these things, I said to myself, “I must try as hard as I can to understand what he has said….”

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.