Did not the souls of the righteous in their chambers ask about these matters, saying: The souls of the righteous refers to righteous people who have already died. Their chambers (that is, rooms) are in the world of the dead (see 2 Esd 4.41; 7.32). These matters refers to the questions asked by Ezra in verse 33.

How long are we to remain here?: The adverb here refers to the world of the dead (chambers). Revised Standard Version follows some of the ancient versions for this question. The Latin text reads literally “How long do I hope thus?” (Revised Standard Version footnote). We prefer the reading in Revised Standard Version without the use of a footnote.

And when will come the harvest of our reward?: Here the righteous dead people ask when they will receive their reward for being obedient. Good News Bible adds “When will the day of judgment come” in order to make this question clearer.

This whole verse is a rhetorical question. With this question Uriel seems to assume that Ezra already has this information about the righteous people in the world of the dead. (It has been suggested that verses 35-36a may actually be from another source, but the translator must work with the text we have.) It is best to picture Uriel as providing Ezra with this information, but doing it in this question form, as if Ezra already knew. Good News Bible does this successfully by translating the quote frame as a statement, and we recommend that translators study it as a model. A model that keeps this whole verse as a rhetorical question is:

• Isn’t it a fact that the souls of good people [or, people who have obeyed God] who have died are waiting in the world of the dead and asking the question, ‘When will we receive our reward?’

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.