Then the king and the nobles looked at one another: Zerubbabel’s speech had been so persuasive that “The emperor and his officials just looked at one another” (Good News Bible; similarly Contemporary English Version). The addition of the word “just” in Good News Bible implies that the men were so impressed that they could not think of anything to do or say. We may render this clause as “Then the king and his officials looked at each other in amazement.” For nobles see the comments on 1 Esd 3.1-2, but here it is not necessary to distinguish nobles from other important officials.

And he began to speak about truth: The pronoun he refers to Zerubbabel, not the king. Good News Bible makes this clear by using the name “Zerubbabel.” Zerubbabel continues to speak, but changes the subject. Truth in this context refers to “reliability” (see the introductory comments on verses 34-40 below). This clause may be rendered “But then Zerubbabel began speaking again—this time about reliability.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Then the king and his officials looked at each other in amazement. But then Zerubbabel began speaking again—this time about being reliable.

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.