And I said to them: This quote frame introduces what Ezra said to the priests and Levites (verses 58-59) when he gave them the treasures for the Temple. Translators may make the referent for the pronoun them explicit by saying “I said to the priests and Levites.”

You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are vowed to the Lord, the Lord of our fathers: The priests and Levites were holy to the Lord because they were set apart to lead in worshiping the Lord, and the silver, gold, and utensils were holy because they had been vowed to the Lord, that is, dedicated for use in worshiping the Lord. The Lord of our fathers may be rendered “the Lord whom our ancestors worshiped.”

Alternative models for this verse are:

• I said to them [or, the priests and Levites], ‘You are holy, because you have been singled out [or, set apart] to lead in worshiping the Lord. These utensils, including all this silver and gold, have been dedicated to the Lord of our ancestors.

• I said to them, ‘We have dedicated you [or, set you apart] to lead in worshiping the Lord. We have also dedicated these utensils along with all the silver and gold to the Lord.

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.