And what is more than all may be rendered “And worst of all” or “And what is even worse than all those things.”

The seal of Zion is an incomplete sentence, perhaps from a faulty translation, but perhaps for effect. Perhaps Ezra is too emotional to be able to complete his sentence. The precise reference of the seal of Zion is unknown, but from the context it is obviously intended to sum up the glory of Israel’s independence and confidence being lost. As a physical object, Box (quoted in Oesterley, page 123), speculates that it may refer in the mind of the author (long after the time of Ezra) to Judean coinage being replaced by Roman coinage after the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The seal of Zion probably refers to something that is similar to a national flag in a modern country. Translators may think of some useful equivalent in their own situation, but a possible model here is “Zion [or, Jerusalem] has lost her independence.”

For she has now lost the seal of her glory, and has been given over into the hands of those that hate us may be translated “Yes, she has lost her glorious independence. People who hate us control her now.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• And worst of all, Zion has lost her independence. Her glorious independence! Her population is in the power of people who hate them.

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.