Those who conduct business, do it only to be plundered: Good News Bible says “Anyone who makes money will do so only to see it violently taken away,” which is a good model. However, in languages that do not have the passive voice, translators may say “Anyone who makes money will do so only to have people violently take it away [or, steal it] from them.”

The more they adorn their cities, their houses and possessions, and their persons, the more angry I will be with them for their sins,” says the Lord: Revised Standard Version has a serious problem with its punctuation here. At verse 40 there was a pair of opening quotes, which are closed here in verse 48. This is a long time to wait before being told that the Lord is the speaker. New Revised Standard Version avoids the problem by not using quotation marks at all, although it does keep the quote frame says the Lord (so also New English Bible). Contemporary English Version uses no quotation marks, but puts says the Lord into the first person by saying “I, the Lord.” Contemporary English Version does this in spite of the fact that it begins this section at verse 35 with the quote frame “Ezra said.” Good News Bible changes the first person reference to the Lord here into the third person, so that the Lord is not directly quoted. A first person reference to the Lord occurs only here in the whole section, so this is probably the easiest solution. For translators who hesitate to do this, our second choice would be following New Revised Standard Version and New English Bible with no quotation marks at all. An alternative model for this last sentence of verses 47-48 is:

• The more possessions people gather, the more they spend to decorate their homes and cities, and the more they make themselves attractive, 48 the angrier the Lord will become with them because of their sins. This is what the Lord says.

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.