For I was ashamed to ask the king for foot soldiers and horsemen and an escort to keep us safe from our adversaries: The connector For may also be rendered “Because.” This verse explains why Ezra ordered the fasting and prayer. Since the king was being so generous with the Jews in recognition of their God, Ezra felt it would be admitting a lack of confidence in their God to ask the king for military protection on the journey, so they asked God to be their protector. This verse does not imply that Ezra did ask the king for an escort. Rather, it says that Ezra did not make the request because he would have been embarrassed to do so. For this reason Good News Bible renders I was ashamed as “I would have been ashamed.” Ashamed may be better rendered “embarrassed” in this context. The Greek word for horsemen refers to soldiers on horseback (see 1 Esd 5.1-2). Here an escort is a group of soldiers accompanying a person or group on a journey so as to provide protection. The foot soldiers and horsemen are the escort. Adversaries refers to any groups of people the Jews might encounter along the way who would try to rob them, kill them, or stop them from going further. An alternative model for this verse is:

• I did this because I would have been embarrassed to ask the king to send foot soldiers and soldiers on horseback along with us to keep us safe from any enemies.

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.