And thou didst lay upon him one commandment of thine: Lay upon him may be rendered simply “gave him” (Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). The commandment was that Adam and Eve must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Gen 2.17).

But he transgressed it: The verb transgressed may be translated “disobeyed” (Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version).

And immediately may be expressed as “As soon as he did that [or, disobeyed].”

Thou didst appoint death for him and for his descendants: Although this is not the only way the Genesis account may be understood, the author follows the interpretation that God did not assign death for human beings until after Adam and Eve had disobeyed his command regarding the forbidden fruit. We may render this clause as “you decided that he and all of his descendants would eventually die.”

From him there sprang nations and tribes, peoples and clans, without number: The Latin words for nations, tribes, peoples, and clans have no distinct meanings here, so the translator need not struggle to find four different terms if it proves difficult. This sentence notes that all the peoples of the world descend from Adam, who sinned against God. We may say “Today peoples, nations, and tribes that cannot be numbered are Adam’s descendants” or “Today countless peoples, nations, and tribes are Adam’s descendants.”

Here is a model for the whole verse:

• You gave him one command, but he disobeyed it. As soon as he did, you decided that he and all his descendants would not live forever, but would some day die. Today countless peoples, nations, and tribes are Adam’s descendants.

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.