And I brought him up with much care: This clause may be rendered as a separate sentence (so Revised Standard Version), but we recommend joining it to verse 47 (so Good News Bible).

So when he grew up and I came to take a wife for him, I set a day for the marriage feast: We would expect the father to arrange a marriage for his son. Hagar did this for her son Ishmael in Gen 21.21, since both of them had been thrown out by Abraham, the father. The marriage feast is the occasion when the marriage was celebrated; there was no particular marriage ceremony as such. After the celebration the couple went to the bedroom to consummate the marriage (see 2 Esd 10.1).

Here is a possible model for verses 46-47:

• 46 I brought him up with the greatest care, 47 and when he was grown I chose a woman to be his wife. I set a day for their marriage [feast].

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.