In Latin this verse begins with the conjunction meaning “And” (King James Version). Here it may be rendered “One day” (Contemporary English Version) or “Now” (Myers).

The word of the Lord came to me, saying: This is a traditional way of introducing a prophecy. In verse 1 Ezra described himself as a prophet. Here he says God gave him a message. The material in 2 Esd 1.5–2.32 consists of the Lord’s message to Ezra, interrupted at 1.12, 15, 28, 33; 2.1, 10 for a repetition, in one form or another, of the prophetic statement found here. Some translators will have difficulty translating this sentence, since it may sound like only one word came from God. Word in this context means “message” (many words). For Lord (Latin dominus), see the comments on 1 Esd 1.1.

Good News Bible renders this verse as “the Lord said to me.” This model is adequate, but the following models express it better:

• One day the Lord spoke to me, and this is what he said:….

• One day the Lord gave me the following message:….

• Now the word of the Lord came to me, and this is what it said:….

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.