And because of his wisdom he shall sit next to Darius and shall be called kinsman of Darius: This part of the young men’s wishful thoughts does come true (see 1 Esd 4.42). Kinsman of Darius was an honorary title, since the king could not make a person who was not related to him into a relative. We may indicate this by rendering called kinsman of Darius as “give him the title ‘Relative of the King.’ ” A model that uses indirect speech for this verse is (see the comments on 1 Esdras 3.4):

• Darius [or, His Majesty] would think he was so wise that he would invite him to sit beside him, and give him the title “King’s Relative” [or, give him the privileges of a member of the royal family].

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.