He answered me and said: The angel Uriel speaks here, which Good News Bible makes clear by translating “The angel replied.”

When the Most High made the world and Adam and all who have come from him: When may be rendered “Before.” For the Most High, see the comments on 2 Esd 3.3. All who have come from him may be translated “all the rest of humanity” or “all human beings after him [Adam].”

He first prepared the judgment and the things that pertain to the judgment: The things that pertain to the judgment probably refers to paradise and hell (see the comments on 2 Esd 3.6).

Here is a possible model for this verse:

• The angel Uriel then said to me, “Before God Most High created the world, and Adam and all the rest of humanity, he made preparations for the final judgment, and created heaven and hell.

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.