You who keep my commandments and precepts …: The words commandments and precepts are very similar in meaning. Both are used for emphasis, which Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version keep by saying “laws and commands.”

Says the Lord God: This quote frame reminds the listeners that God is still the speaker (see the comments on 2 Esd 1.14). Here we recommend that translators omit it (so Contemporary English Version).

Do not let your sins pull you down, or your iniquities prevail over you: The chosen people have been following God’s commands, and when the time of testing, the persecution, comes, it will be no time to start disobeying. They must stand firm.

Contemporary English Version provides the following helpful model for this verse:

• You have always obeyed my laws and commands, so don’t let your sins take over and control you.

Another possible one is:

• You have been keeping my commandments, obeying me. Don’t let your sins drag you down now. Don’t let sin get the best of you.

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.