This verse is similar in content to verse 4. However, here the original text shifts from the direct quotation of verse 4 to a non-quotation. Good News Translation restructures the verse to make it read more smoothly than the syntactic order of the original Aramaic text, which is followed quite closely by Revised Standard Version. Good News Translation will be a suitable model for many translators to follow.

For your information is literally “to inform you.”

That we might write down the names: Their intention was to record the names, that is, “in order for us to write down the names.” Revised English Bible makes it explicit that they wanted to prepare a list, but no names are recorded here (see the comment on verse 4 above).

The men at their head is a fairly literal rendering of the Aramaic (also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Its meaning is as in Good News Translation “leaders” or Revised English Bible “those in charge.”

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 .