And they said to them, “Explain to us what you have written”: There is no indication concerning who spoke to the three young men here. Presumably it is the same people who brought them into the throne room. Good News Bible uses the passive voice to avoid this problem. Contemporary English Version has the king speak here, which does not misrepresent the situation, and is what some Greek manuscripts in fact have. We suggest following Contemporary English Version here, without a footnote. A model for the verse that does this is:

• The king then said to the young men, “I want each of you to explain to us your answer to the question.”

Then the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, began and said: The first refers to the first of the three young bodyguards to speak; they have not been ranked in any order. The verb had spoken actually refers to writing (see 1 Esdras 3.8), so it may be rendered “had written” (Good News Bible). The strength of wine does not refer to the alcoholic content of wine, but is given as an answer to the question, “What is the strongest thing in the world?” (verse 5). For wine see verse 10. Here is an alternative model for this verse:

• The first man [or, of the young men] to speak had written that wine is the most powerful force in the world. Here is what he said:….

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.