And now you are here, and your brethren are farther in the interior: The adverb here refers to Babylonia. Your brethren refers to the ten northern Israelite tribes, taken captive by the Assyrians. These Israelites had moved further into the interior of Asia, escaping the Assyrians (see 2 Esd 13.39-45). In our judgment the Latin text for your brethren are farther in the interior, while not as clear as we could wish, is not so unclear (Good News Bible) as to need a footnote. While the Latin can be translated as Revised Standard Version does in its footnote, it can also be understood to mean exactly what Revised Standard Version says in its text. This clause means these Israelites are further in the interior of Asia, so they are further from Israel. This is presumably what Good News Bible means by saying “you are closer to Jerusalem than some of your own people.”

We suggest the following model for this verse:

• Now you are here [in exile], and there are fellow Israelites of yours [or, some of your own people] who are even farther away from your homeland than you are.

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.