Verses 31-32 describe the defeat of King Sapor and his Persian army from Kirman by the Arab forces under King Odenathus of Palmyra.

And then the dragons, remembering their origin, shall become still stronger: At first forced back by the savage Carmonian attack, the Arab soldiers remember who they are, and fight harder. This sentence may be rendered “But the dragons [or, Arabs] will remember that they are soldiers, and will fight even harder.”

And if they combine in great power and turn to pursue them, then these shall be disorganized and silenced by their power, and shall turn and flee: Here the pronouns are very confusing, so translators will need to specify the referents for some of them. The referents are as follows: if they (the Arabs under Odenathus) combine … pursue them (the Carmonians), then these (the Carmonians) shall be disorganized … by their power (that of the Arabs). Combine in great power may be translated “concentrate their great force” or “put their huge number of soldiers in one place.” Turn to pursue them may be expressed as “turn and chase after the wild boars [or, Carmonians].” Then these shall be disorganized may be rendered “then the wild boars [or, Carmonians] will panic” or “… will be terrified.” Silenced by their power may be translated “beaten into silence” (Good News Bible) or “stop fighting.”

We suggest the following model for verses 31-32:

• 31 But the dragons [or, Arabs] will remember that they are soldiers, and will fight even harder. When the dragons [or, Arabs] concentrate their great force [or, huge numbers of soldiers] and turn to chase down the wild boars [or, Carmonians], 32 the boars [or, Carmonians] will be thrown into panic, beaten into silence, and forced to turn and run.

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.