Then I opened my mouth, and behold, a full cup was offered to me: Here the word behold may be rendered “I saw” (see the model below). A full cup was offered to me may be rendered “someone offered me a full cup.” Good News Bible says “I was handed a cup full.” The Latin text here does not say that specifically, but the next verse says that Ezra took it, presumably in his hand.

It was full of something like water, but its color was like fire: In verse 22 Ezra prayed to receive the spirit of God. The liquid that Ezra was given to drink was not fire, but had the color of fire. Fire is connected with the Holy Spirit in Matt 3.11 and Acts 2.3-4. But we need to stress again that this is God’s spirit in the Old Testament sense, not the New Testament Holy Spirit. Fire and water are opposites; their combination here shows that something supernatural is involved.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• So I opened my mouth, and when I did, I saw a cup offered to me. It was full of something like water, but it had the color of fire.

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.