And before the rumblings of thunder sounded, and before the flashes of lightning shone: The thunder and lightning fit in with the imagery of the winds in verse 1. Good News Bible has an excellent model for these two clauses. Another possibility is “before the thunder ever roared or the lightning flashed.”

And before the foundations of paradise were laid: Paradise here refers to the Garden of Eden. Since gardens do not have foundations, this clause probably refers to laying out the plans for the Garden of Eden. In rabbinic teaching the Garden of Eden was one of the things that God created before he created the world (see 2 Esd 3.6). This clause may be translated “before the Garden of Eden was planted” or “before I planted the Garden of Eden.”

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.