They roasted the passover lamb with fire, as required: The pronoun They has to refer to the Levites (see verse 13), which Good News Bible makes explicit. For the passover lamb, see 1 Esdras 1.1. Although the singular is used here, there were obviously many lambs and goats slaughtered on this occasion, so translators may certainly shift to the plural (so Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version with “the Passover sacrifices”). For most translators the phrase with fire is better translated “over fires” (this is what roasting is) or even omitted as unnecessary. According to Exo 12.8-9, the Passover animals are to be roasted, but according to Deut 16.7, they are to be boiled. Here is a possible model for this whole clause: “The Levites roasted the meat of the Passover animals over fires, just as the Law required.”

And they boiled the sacrifices in brass pots and caldrons: For the sacrifices, which refers to the cattle that were offered as sacrifices during the Passover Festival, see 1 Esdras 1.6. Some translators may find it helpful to speak of “the meat of the sacrifices” rather than the sacrifices to avoid the impression that whole animals were boiled. The Greek words for brass pots and caldrons refer to large metal pots in which food may be boiled in large quantity.

With a pleasing odor may be rendered “making a pleasant smell” (Good News Bible) or even “The cooking meat smelled wonderful!” (Contemporary English Version).

An alternative model for this verse is:

• The Levites roasted the Passover animals in the proper manner, and boiled the meat of the other sacrificed animals in brass pots and kettles. The smell was good [or, delicious].

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.