For an evil heart has grown up in us: The conjunction For introduces the reason why Ezra believes only a few people will be saved. For evil heart, see the comments on 2 Esd 3.20. Here it means “an evil tendency” or “a desire to do evil.” This clause may be rendered “We [or, Our hearts] have a desire to do evil that has grown stronger” or even “The evil impulse in our hearts has grown stronger.”

Which has alienated us from God: In the Latin text this clause is literally “which has alienated us from these.” The demonstrative pronoun “these” probably refers to God’s “commandments” in verse 45 and his “covenant” in verse 46, if the text is correct. Revised Standard Version is following a suggestion of Violet’s (1924, page 80) that assumes the Greek translator confused the Hebrew phrase for “from God” with a phrase looking a bit like the phrase for “from these things.” Good News Bible follows New English Bible by saying “from God’s ways,” which presumably translates the Latin text (similarly Contemporary English Version). An American Translation says “from these commands.” The model below translates this understanding of the Latin text. We could also render this whole clause in a similar way to Contemporary English Version by saying “and made us break your [or, God’s] covenant.”

And has brought us into corruption and the ways of death: Compare 2 Esd 3.20-22. Corruption means death. So we may combine the words corruption and death by rendering this clause as “It has led us to things that put us on the path to death” or “… that lead us to death.”

And has shown us the paths of perdition and removed us far from life: The word perdition means “destruction.” In many languages the metaphor of paths may be kept by rendering these two clauses as “It [or, This desire] has led us to do things that put us on the path to [or, that leads to] destruction and take us away from the path to life.” Life refers to eternal life.

And that not just a few of us but almost all who have been created!: This bleak fate awaits almost every person. This sentence may be translated “I am not talking about just a few of us, but almost every human being who has ever lived [or, whom God has created].”

Here are alternative models for this verse:

• We have a desire to do evil that has grown stronger, and has kept us from keeping the covenant. It has led us to do things that lead to death and destruction. It has taken away our chance to live forever. I don’t mean just a few of us—I mean almost every human being who has ever lived!”

• … Because of it we will never have eternal life. I am not talking about just a few of us, but I mean almost every human being who has ever lived.”

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.