It is not as though you had forsaken me; you have forsaken yourselves: By abandoning the Lord the people were abandoning their own hope and protection, thus betraying themselves. Contemporary English Version says “You haven’t just turned against me—you’ve turned against yourselves!”

Says the Lord: See the comments on verse 14. Good News Bible omits this clause, but Contemporary English Version keeps it, saying “I, the Lord, have spoken.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• You have not just abandoned me. You have [also] betrayed yourselves. I, the Lord, have spoken.” ’

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.