The letter which you sent to us: The king acknowledges that the letter sent to him had been received. The us may refer to the king and his government officials or it may be a royal plural (so New English Bible has “me”). In languages with an inclusive-exclusive pronoun distinction, it should be translated as a first person plural exclusive pronoun.

Has been plainly read before me: The letter may have been “translated” into Persian and read to the king (Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version), or the Aramaic word for plainly may indicate that the letter was read to him clearly and distinctly as translated by Revised Standard Version (also King James Version, New King James Version , Nouvelle version Segond révisée, New English Bible) or word by word. New Jerusalem Bible understands it to mean “has been accurately translated for me.” It is preferable to understand that the letter was translated and read as in Good News Translation. The translation here should be compatible with the translation of verse 7.

In many languages the passive verb form has been … read must be changed to an active form. The subject may be an indefinite “they,” or it may be the king’s servants.

For before me, the more common English expression is “to me,” as in Good News Translation. The reading before the king that is described here was not a formal performance but a reading to the king as he was seeking information.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Ezra. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .