And the Most High shall be revealed upon the seat of judgment: For the Most High, see the comments on 2 Esd 3.3. Since Contemporary English Version views God as speaking in this subsection, it says “I, God Most High,” which other languages may find helpful. Shall be revealed may be rendered “will appear” (Good News Bible). The seat of judgment is the throne on which God sits to pass judgment on the world (compare Dan 7.9; Rev 20.11). This clause may be translated “Then God Most High will reveal himself [or, appear] on his judgment seat.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “Then I, God Most High, will start judging all people.”

And compassion shall pass away, and patience shall be withdrawn: These two clauses have almost the same meaning, and may be combined; for example, Good News Bible says “Mercy and patience will vanish completely,” and Contemporary English Version has “I will no longer be kind and gentle to sinners.” As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, the Latin expression for shall be withdrawn is literally “will gather together,” but it probably means “will shrink to the vanishing point,” that is, “will disappear.” The idea here is that when God begins his judgment, there will be no place for anyone to plead a case for anyone else; everything will be decided according to strict justice. Good News Bible joins the final sentence of verse 33 with the first one in the next verse, and we recommend this.

But only judgment shall remain may be translated “and justice shall replace them.”

Truth shall stand, and faithfulness shall grow strong: The Latin word for faithfulness has the sense of truth in this context (compare the comments on 2 Esd 6.28). God will judge according to the truth. Good News Bible combines these two parallel clauses, saying “Truth and faithfulness will once again stand firm.” Contemporary English Version says simply “I will judge with truth.”

Translators who can use the passive voice should study Good News Bible‘s model for verses 33-34. But for those who must use the active voice, we suggest the following model:

• 33 Then God Most High will appear on his judgment seat. He will no longer have mercy or patience toward sinners, 34 but will judge [or, punish] them. Truth and justice will once again stand firm.

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.