And then the Spirit was hovering, and darkness and silence embraced everything: See Gen 1.2. Revised Standard Version capitalizes the word Spirit. Use of the capitalized word Spirit may suggest the third person of the Trinity to many readers. Since the Trinity belongs to Christian theology, it is better to render And then the Spirit was hovering as “Then your spirit was moving over the world.” The Latin word for Spirit can also mean “wind,” so Contemporary English Version renders And then the Spirit was hovering as “There was a wind blowing” (similarly Revised English Bible), which is an acceptable model. Darkness and silence embraced everything may be translated “Darkness was everywhere; not a sound was heard [or, there was complete silence].”

The sound of man’s voice was not yet there: As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, the Latin text adds “from you” to the end of this clause. This phrase could be taken to mean that God had not yet provided for a human voice to be heard by creating human beings. However, it is easier to follow most scholars and assume that the other ancient translations are correct by not including this phrase. This clause may be expressed as “not a person was speaking” or “there was no human voice.”

Here is a possible model for this verse:

• Darkness was everywhere; not a sound was heard, no human voice.* But your spirit was moving over the world.
* Some ancient translations no human voice; Latin adds from you.

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.