So I took the five men, as he commanded me: See verse 24. The verb took does not imply that Ezra forced the men to go, only that they accompanied him. The pronoun he refers to God, which some languages may need to make explicit. Good News Bible uses the passive expression “As I had been commanded,” which is fine, but it would be better to make the agent explicit by saying “as God had told me.”

And we proceeded to the field, and remained there: In some languages it will be good to render we as “the five men and I.” For the field, see 2 Esd 9.26. The phrase remained there sounds rather permanent. Good News Bible is a little better with “stayed there,” but we prefer “waited there,” which indicates that Ezra and the five men have done their part, and now God must act.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• So I did what God had told me to do. The five men and I went back to the field, and we waited there.

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.