I was encouraged by the help of the Lord my God, and I gathered men from Israel to go up with me: We prefer the use of the simple past tense here in Revised Standard Version, instead of the perfect tense in Good News Bible (“has given … have been able”). Translators may begin this verse with “The Lord my God helped me by giving me confidence…” or “The Lord my God gave me confidence, and this helped me to….” Good News Bible renders I gathered men as “I have been able to persuade many men.” The Greek text does not actually say this, but it is clearly implied that Ezra either persuaded or selected certain men (the Greek specifies men in this sentence). Even if he selected them, he still had to persuade them. Go up means go to Jerusalem (see the comments on 1 Esd 2.5). Here are possible models for this verse:

• The Lord my God helped me by giving me confidence, and I got together [or, gathered together] a group of Jewish men to go to Jerusalem with me.

• The Lord my God gave me confidence, and this helped me to gather together….

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.