Do not fear, mother of the sons: The sons refers to the Church’s dead people who will be raised.

For I have chosen you: See verse 15.

Says the Lord: See the comments on 2 Esd 1.14. This clause comes awkwardly here, since the Lord is speaking in verses 10b-32. Rather than interrupt the thought, translators may do as Good News Bible has done and have the speaker identify himself as the Lord, or they may omit this clause without fear of confusion (so Contemporary English Version), since the speaker has been identified as recently as verse 15.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Mother of these people, don’t be afraid [or, don’t worry], because I, the Lord, have chosen 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.