And thou didst love him: Good News Bible says simply “You loved him.”

And to him only didst thou reveal the end of the times, secretly by night: This clause apparently refers to Abraham’s vision in Gen 15.12-21. Ancient Jewish tradition outside the Bible interpreted Abraham’s dream to be a revelation of the future of Israel. Good News Bible provides a helpful model for this clause. Another possible model is “and during one night you secretly showed him alone what would happen at the end of time.”

Contemporary English Version provides the following good model for this verse:

• and you loved him so much that one night you told only him what would happen at the end of time.

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.