And all who transgress the law of your God or the law of the kingdom shall be strictly punished: The law of your God is the Jewish law, the Law of Moses. The law of the kingdom is the Persian law, the civil law. The king wants violators punished, and Ezra is given the authority to administer these punishments. This authorization is not specifically stated, but seems implied. The Greek pronoun for your is singular, referring to Ezra. In our judgment the translator would not be going too far to translate this verse so that Ezra is explicitly given the authority mentioned here (see our second model below). Shall be strictly punished may be rendered “you must punish severely.”

Whether by death or some other punishment, either fine or imprisonment mention three possible punishments: execution, a fine, or imprisonment. The punishment should be according to what the guilty persons deserve. For this last part of the verse Contemporary English Version has “by a heavy fine or prison or death.”

Alternative models for this verse are:

• Anyone who violates the Law of your God or the laws of my kingdom must be strictly punished: by being made to pay a fine, by being put in prison, or by being put to death.”

• You must severely [or, strictly] punish anyone who violates [or, disobeys] the Law of your God or the laws of my kingdom. You may fine them, imprison them, or put them to death.”

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.