Even in our bondage we were not forsaken by our Lord may be rendered “Even when we were captives [or, slaves], our Lord did not forsake us” or “Even when we were slaves, you, O Lord, never turned your back on us.” Our bondage refers to the Jewish exile in Babylonia. Many languages will prefer to use the second person for our Lord, since Ezra is praying to him (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version).

But he brought us into favor with the kings of the Persians: This clause refers to how the fortunes of the Jewish exiles changed when the Persians conquered the Babylonian Empire, and allowed the peoples taken captive by the Babylonians, including the Jews, to return to their own countries.

So that they have given us food: The Persians treated the Jews well, even seeing that they had enough food, and Ezra attributes this to God’s mercy. Good News Bible provides a good model for this clause and the previous one, saying “you made the emperors of Persia favor us, so that they gave us food.” Contemporary English Version has “And because of you, the kings of Persia were kind and gave us food.”

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.