Gentlemen, why is not the king the strongest, since he is to be obeyed in this fashion?: See the comments on 1 Esd 3.24. This is another rhetorical question, which Good News Bible renders as a statement. It will be awkward in many languages to refer to the king as the strongest. Contemporary English Version tries to avoid the problem by rendering this whole question as “Men of Media and Persia, if the king can make sure people do these things, isn’t he the strongest in the world?” See also the model below.

And he stopped speaking: See the comments on 1 Esd 3.24.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Honorable sirs, since everyone obeys the king like this, he is surely more powerful than any other force in the world.” That is what the second speaker said.

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.