Women make men’s clothes: Good News Bible says “Women make the clothes that men wear” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

They bring men glory: The Greek word translated glory (doxa) has a number of meanings, among them “fame” and “reputation” (see the comments on 1 Esd 1.33). Myers translates this clause as “and they give men reputation,” which does not mean anything. Contemporary English Version says “and they tell men how great they are,” which apparently comes from the idea of “fame” or “reputation.” However, we think it improbable that the speaker intended to say that. The Greek word for glory is sometimes used to refer to how a person looks, especially when dressed in fine clothing (see Sir 50.13). This is one possible sense here. The Greek clause here is literally “and they make glory for men,” which is closely parallel to Women make men’s clothes. It can be seen as a repetition of the first clause, advancing the thought that women make fine clothing for men. The idea then is that when a man appears in public dressed in impressive clothing and making an impressive show, it is because a woman has made the garments that give him such a splendid appearance. There is another possibility. Zimmermann suggests that it refers to children. His argument is based on arguing back to an Aramaic original, but it is not necessary to accept his linguistic argument to interpret glory as having that meaning. It seems to us that the simplest meaning is that men can only succeed and win whatever glory or fame they have because they are supported and encouraged by their wives. In the end, we must admit that the meaning is not clear, and whichever way translators choose to go, a footnote saying this is appropriate. We offer three models below. Translators may choose the one they prefer. Our own preference is definitely for the third one.

Men cannot exist without women: Contemporary English Version says “Men could not live without women.”

Alternative models for this verse are:

• Women make the clothes that men wear. They make it possible for men to impress people by their fine clothing.* Men could not live [or, get along] without women.
* They make … clothing; the meaning of this sentence is unclear in Greek.

• Women make the clothes that men wear, and give them the children they take such pride in.* Men could not live [or, get along] without women.
* Give them … pride in; the meaning of this clause is unclear in Greek.

• Women make the clothes that men wear. Men could not live [or, get along] without women. Women are always responsible for whatever success men have.*
* Women … have; the meaning of this sentence is unclear in Greek.

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.