So the times passed and the years were completed: The connector So (literally “And”) may be omitted. For these two clauses Good News Bible says simply “Many years later” (similarly Contemporary English Version). Another possible model is “After many years had passed.”

Thou didst raise up for thyself a servant, named David: God allowed enough years of lawlessness to pass, and in his own good time took action by providing Israel with a man who would really be devoted to him. That man was David. For servant of God, see 2 Esd 1.32.

Here is a possible model for this verse:

• “So time passed, the years went by, until you decided it was time to send David, a man who would be your servant.

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.