But man, who has been formed by thy hands and is called thy own image because he is made like thee, and for whose sake thou hast formed all things—hast thou also made him like a farmer’s seed?: See Gen 1.26-30; Psa 8.5-8. Scripture says that God took special care when he created the human race (man). He made them to be like himself, not like plants, and he created all plants and animals for their benefit. At the end of this verse Ezra ask rhetorically if God going to treat his special creation as if they were nothing more than seed in a farmer’s hand. Good News Bible offers a good model for this verse, but some languages may prefer to change Good News Bible‘s rhetorical question into a strong statement, for example, “There is no way you can compare them to a farmer’s seed!”

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.