This verse reflects the idea that in the last days the forces of evil will wage war against the forces of good. See Ezek 38–39; Rev 16.12-14; 20.7-10.

After this I looked, and behold: See the comments on 2 Esd 11.2. Good News Bible says “I looked again and saw.” Contemporary English Version has simply “Then I saw.”

An innumerable multitude of men were gathered together from the four winds of heaven to make war against the man who came up out of the sea: An innumerable multitude of men is better rendered “a huge number of people” or “a crowd too large to count” (Good News Bible), since the Latin text refers to “people” not “men” in particular. For languages that do not have the passive voice, were gathered together may be translated “came together.” The idiomatic expression from the four winds of heaven means “from all directions.”

Here is a possible model for this verse:

• Then I saw a huge number of people that had come together from all over the world to go to war [or, fight] against the man who had come up from the sea.

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.