If now you were a judge between them, which would you undertake to justify, and which to condemn?: In this fable both the forest and the sea plotted foolishly. Here Uriel asks Ezra which plan he would judge to be the wiser one. Good News Bible‘s model for this verse is helpful. Other possibilities are:

• Now if you had to decide, who would you say was right? Who would you say was wrong?”

• If you had to judge between the plans of the forest and the sea, which one would you say was right? Which one would you say was wrong?”

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.