And those who had come back from captivity offered sacrifices to the Lord, the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-two lambs, and as a thank offering twelve he-goats—all as a sacrifice to the Lord: Although the text is not clear about this, we must assume that those who had come back from captivity refers to all the returned Jews, and not simply those who returned with Ezra. For the numbers of animals sacrificed, compare 1 Esd 7.7-8 and Ezra 6.17. On this occasion the numbers of animals (12, 96, 72, 12) are all multiples of 12; this may be intended to underscore the completeness of Israel as now back together in Jerusalem. For bulls, rams, lambs and he-goats, see the comments on 1 Esd 6.28 and 7.7-8. In 1 Esd 7.8 the twelve male goats are sacrificed as a sin offering, but here they are a thank offering. Good News Bible says “fellowship offering,” which renders the Greek expression here better. For this type of offering see the comments on 1 Esd 1.14. Good News Bible provides an excellent model for this verse.

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.