Revised Standard Version sets off verses 9, 10 and part of 11 with dashes at the end of verse 8 and after the beginning of verse 11 to indicate that this may be an editorial addition to the original text (see also New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible de Jérusalem). Good News Translation however interprets the repetition of the names and titles here to have been at the beginning of the letter (also New English Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant). Contemporary English Version takes a more radical approach in rewriting verses 8-10 into a paragraph that presents the source of the letter that follows in verse 11. Note that Good News Translation slightly indents the left margin of the letter in verses 9-10 to set it apart from the surrounding text. It also does this for the responses in verses 11-16 and 17-22.

A number of other people are listed by position and ethnic origin as associates or co-workers of the two persons who are named. Those listed by position and not by ethnic origin were Persian officials. The judges decided cases of state security. The word translated as governors in Revised Standard Version refers to representatives of the king who had the function of investigating and inspecting other officials. A good translation for this term in English is “overseers.” It is not known if the word for officials is for a position or for a people. New King James Version , for example, considers the judges, the governors, and the officials to all refer to peoples, namely, “the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites.” Some versions, including Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous, list all three of these as place names: Din, Afarsatak, and Tarpel. The consensus among commentators is that these should be understood as positions of government officials, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done, and translators should do the same. The remainder of the list are peoples who are identified by places. Erech was the ancient city of Uruk in southern Babylonia. Susa was the capital of Elam. Its people were therefore referred to as Elamites or “people of Elam.”

That is: The Aramaic construction that is translated by this phrase is taken by some commentators and translators to be a geographic region called “Deha” (Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous). Its people are called “Dehaites” (Amplified Bible) or “Dehavites” (New King James Version ). Bible en français courant interprets the last half of this verse as a list of places from which the writers of the letter came by saying “and their colleagues from the regions of Din, Afarsatak, Tarpel, Afaras, Erech, Babylon, Susa, Deha and Elam.” Translators are advised to follow the interpretation of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. The alternative interpretation of Deha or Dehavites may be included in a footnote.

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 .