Hence you must realize that women rule over you!: The conjunction Hence may be rendered “Therefore” (New Revised Standard Version), “So” (Good News Bible), or even “then” (see our model below). The Greek pronouns for you are plural, referring to the Persian officials, whom Zerubbabel is addressing. Many languages will use special honorifics for these pronouns; for example, they may begin this verse with “So, all you honorable sirs [or, gentlemen] ….” Must realize may be translated “should see” or “must recognize” (Good News Bible). Women probably refers to wives here, which translators may make explicit. This whole sentence may be rendered “So, most honorable sirs, surely you realize that women [or, your wives] control you.”

Do you not labor and toil, and bring everything and give it to women?: Just as soldiers bring what they capture to the king, who is more powerful than they are (verse 5), so men work hard for things and give them to women (proving that women are more powerful than men). The Greek pronoun for you is still plural. The Greek verbs for labor and toil mean the same thing here. Using these two verbs serves to picture a man’s work as wearisome and tiring. Women probably still refers to wives here. This question is rhetorical, so translators may express it as a statement, for example, “You work very hard for what you earn, and yet you take the money and give it to your wives.”

Revised Standard Version places a paragraph break in the middle of this verse, but Good News Bible does not. If shorter paragraphs are desired, it is perhaps better to follow Contemporary English Version by beginning a new paragraph with the first sentence of this verse. An alternative model for this verse is:

• “You see, then, women control you. After you have worked hard for what you earn, don’t you take it and give it to your wives?

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.