And he said to me may be rendered simply “He continued” (Good News Bible).

Not only that …: Here Uriel prepares for the illustration he makes in the next few verses. Not only that may be rendered “That’s not all” (Contemporary English Version) or “Here is another illustration.”

But ask the earth and she will tell you; defer to her, and she will declare it to you: Compare Job 12.7-8. The notion of asking the earth a question may be a bit strange, and in our model below we avoid it, but translators should note that in verses 62-69 Ezra actually addresses the earth. He does not ask the earth what Uriel here challenges him to ask, but he does direct his words to the earth. This may be a good reason to keep such an address here, in which case Good News Bible may serve as a model for verses 54-56. If translators choose to address the earth directly, they should consider whether to refer to the earth with a female, male, or neuter pronoun. There is also a problem with she will tell you and she will declare it to you since the earth does not answer in the following verses. The point is that the mineral content of the earth can provide a helpful illustration for Ezra’s moral question. Tell and declare have exactly the same meaning, and may be combined (see our model below). Defer to her means “ask her humbly [or, with humility].”

Here are alternative models for this verse:

• He continued, “Here is another illustration. You can learn a lesson from the earth if you will [just] think.

• … “Here is another illustration. If you humbly ask the earth, she will explain it to you.

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.