And he said introduces what Josiah said to the Levites in verses 4-6. The pronoun he refers to Josiah, not to the last-mentioned David or Solomon. Good News Bible makes this clear by using the name “Josiah.”

You need no longer carry it upon your shoulders: The ark was equipped with rings mounted on the sides, through which poles were inserted (see Exo 25.13-15). The Levites would carry the ark by lifting the poles, never touching the ark itself. You need no longer carry it upon your shoulders does not mean that there is now some other way of carrying it. It means that the Levites will no longer carry it at all. It is to stay in the Temple permanently. So we may translate “You don’t have to ever carry it again.”

Now worship the Lord your God and serve his people Israel: See Good News Bible‘s helpful model here. We may also translate “Now you must worship the Lord your God and minister to his people, the Israelites.” The Lord your God in some languages will be rendered “the heavenly ruler your God,” while in others it will be necessary to make it clear that the phrase your God does not mean that God belongs to the people, but that he is the God whom they worship. So we may say simply “Now you must worship God and minister to….”

And prepare yourselves by your families and kindred: Prepare yourselves means the Levites had to get ready to carry out their duties for the Passover. Good News Bible uses the general expression “Get ready … to carry out your duties,” but it is better to be more specific by saying “You must get ready to celebrate the Passover.” Good News Bible renders by your families and kindred as “by family and clan,” which is a helpful model. This phrase may also be rendered “by your families and family groups.”

This verse is connected to the next one, where we will provide a model for verses 4 and 5.

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.