1 God said to him, “If I hold his foot, he says, ‘You have given me no grace in the world,’ and so I left him to his own desires because I loved him and thus I sent my righteous angels to watch him night and day.”
2 Sedrach said, “I know that among your own creatures, Master, you loved man first; among the four-footed creatures, the sheep; among trees, the olive; among plants which bear fruit, the vine; among things that fly, the bee; among the rivers, (the) Jordan; among the cities, Jerusalem.
3 But man also loves all these, Master.”
4 God said to Sedrach, “I will ask you one thing, Sedrach; if you can answer me, then you have rightly challenged me, although you have tempted your creator.”
5 Sedrach said, “Speak.”
6 The Lord God said, “Since I created everything, how many people have been born, and how many have died and how many shall die and how many hairs do they have?
7 Tell me, Sedrach, since the heaven and the earth have been created, how many trees have been made in the world, and how many shall fall and how many shall be made, and how many leaves do they have?
8 Tell me, Sedrach, since I made the sea how many waves have billowed, and how many have rolled slightly, and how many will arise, and how many winds blow near the shore of the sea?
9 Tell me, Sedrach, since the creation uf the world of the ages when the air is full of rain, how many drops have fallen upon the world and how many shall fall?”
10 And Sedrach said, “You alone know all these things, Lord; you alone are acquainted with all of these; I only beg you to make man free from punishment, for otherwise I myself am going to punishment and am not separated from our race.”’