And he has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judea: Good News Bible renders the Greek expression for he has commanded me as “[he] has given me the responsibility,” which is a bit closer to the Greek. The Greek verb here basically means that God has given Cyrus a sign of some kind that he is to do something. To build him a house refers to building the Temple, and this should probably be made specific (so Good News Bible). We may say “to build him a house of worship.” Which is in Judea may seem obvious, but since this proclamation is to be sent all over the Persian Kingdom, this information would have been necessary for people in distant places to understand. Good News Bible translates this verse as a continuation of verse 3, but we use a separate sentence in the following model:

• He has indicated to me that I should build a Temple for him in Jerusalem, a city in Judah.

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.