At this the king would gaze at her with mouth agape: For this idiomatic expression see the comments on verses 18-19. The king is so taken in by Apame’s playful teasing that, even though he has been insulted, he just stares at her, fascinated. This clause may be rendered “When she does this, the king looks at her with his mouth wide open [or, his jaw hanging open].”

If she smiles at him, he laughs; if she loses her temper with him, he flatters her, that she may be reconciled to him: He takes his cues from her. He laughs if she smiles, and if she starts pouting, he tries to get her to smile for him. She loses her temper is probably a bit strong for the context. The root meaning of the Greek verb here is “to become bitter,” and in this context it means no more than that she pouts like a child—the kind of behavior that would make the king be nice to her and say nice things to get her to smile again.

Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• When she did this, the king just stared at her with his jaw hanging open. When she smiles at him, he laughs. If she pouts [or, sulks], he talks to her sweetly to get her to be pleasant again.

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.