He answered me and said: The speaker here is probably the angel Uriel. The verb answered is better rendered “replied” or “responded,” since Uriel is not answering a question asked by Ezra.

Measure carefully in your mind may be translated “Think very carefully” or “Consider all these things very carefully” (Good News Bible).

And when you see that a certain part of the predicted signs are past may be expressed as “When you see that some of the signs I have told you about have already happened.”

Then you will know that it is the very time may be rendered “then you will know that the time has come.”

When the Most High is about to visit the world which he has made: For the Most High, see the comments on 2 Esd 3.3. In this context the verb visit refers to God’s judgment (see the comments on 2 Esd 5.56). So this clause may be translated “when God Most High will bring judgment on the world he has created.”

These two verses presuppose that a definite timetable exists for events at the end time, a common feature of apocalyptic writing (compare 2 Esd 4.36-37; 14.11-12). The idea seems to be that Ezra should do some calculating, figuring how many of the predicted signs have already come to pass, and then suppose that the end time is near. Here is an alternative model:

• 1 He [or, The angel Uriel] replied, “Think very carefully. When you see that some of the signs I have told you about have already happened, 2 then you will know that the time has come when God Most High will bring judgment on the world that he has created.

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.