And when they were committing iniquity before thee, thou didst choose for thyself one of them, whose name was Abraham: Good News Bible reduces this verse to one clause, “But then you chose Abraham” (similarly Contemporary English Version). This is legitimate, since the first clause of this verse repeats much of verse 12. However, this repetition emphasizes the sinfulness of the people, so a better model for this verse is:

• But while all this sin was going on [or, while they were sinning like this], you chose one man as your own, and his name was Abraham.

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.