I said may be rendered “I prayed” (Contemporary English Version).

O Lord, thou didst speak at the beginning of creation, and didst say on the first day, ‘Let heaven and earth be made,’ and thy word accomplished the work: According to Gen 1.3-5, God created light on the first day of creation, not the sky (heaven) and the earth.

The following model of this verse is based on Contemporary English Version:

• I prayed, “Lord, on the first day of creation, you said, ‘I command the sky and the earth to appear,’ and they did, just as you commanded.

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.