Are you not the one that remains of the four beasts which I had made to reign in my world, so that the end of my times might come through them?: This rhetorical question is a deliberate reference to Dan 7.3-7. The eagle represents the climax of evil that must occur before God brings history to a close. In Daniel the fourth beast represented Alexander the Great, but our author reinterprets it to refer to the Roman Empire. Good News Bible provides a good model for this verse by rendering it as a statement. We also recommend the following model of Contemporary English Version:

• I chose four beasts to rule my world and to bring about the end of time. You are the last of these four.

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.