For truth shall go farther away, and falsehood shall come near: Here the author (as opposed to Ezra) is describing the times in which he himself is living, as well as his readers (compare 2 Esd 6.27-28; 7.34; see also Jer 7.28). The conjunction For may be omitted (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). The figurative expression truth shall go farther away may be rendered nonfiguratively by saying “Truth will be forgotten” (Contemporary English Version) or even “People will forget the truth.” Falsehood shall come near may also be translated nonfiguratively as follows: “people will prefer falsehood [or, dishonesty/lying].”

For the eagle which you saw in the vision is already hastening to come: Again the connector For may be omitted (so Good News Bible). The eagle which you saw refers to the eagle of chapter 11. This eagle represented the Roman Empire. Ezra lived well before the rise of Rome as a world power, so the author can have God say that it is still in the future. The readers would know that this sentence was written about their own times. Revised Standard Version‘s footnote here indicates the Latin is not clear. Translators may want to include a footnote indicating this, but there is no need to cite particular ancient versions.

Good News Bible may serve as a model for this verse. We also suggest the following one:

• People will forget the truth, and prefer falsehood. The eagle that you saw in your vision is coming soon.”

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.