In the thirtieth year after the destruction of our city, I Salathiel, who am also called Ezra, was in Babylon: Compare Ezek 1.1. Our city is Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. Thirty years later would be 557 B.C., but 30 years after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. would be 100 A.D. This sentence is often taken to be an indication of the time of writing of the unit consisting of chapters 3–14. Ezra is nowhere else referred to as Salathiel, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Shealtiel (father of Zerubbabel) given in Ezra 3.2; 5.2; Neh 12.1. It is possible, as Stone (page 116) suggests, that this name is given to Ezra since it can be interpreted to mean “I asked God,” and in this book Ezra asks many questions. Babylon was the capital city of Babylonia (modern Iraq; see the comments on 1 Esd 1.40). The author thus pictures Ezra as among the Jewish exiles in that city, although for our author, as for the author of Revelation, Babylon is probably a coded reference to Rome. This sentence may be rendered “My name is Salathiel, although I am also called Ezra. Thirty years after our city was destroyed [or, after the Babylonians destroyed our city Jerusalem].”

I was troubled as I lay on my bed: Compare Dan 4.5. I was troubled may be rendered “I was upset.” For both these clauses Contemporary English Version has “As I lay on my bed, I was very disturbed.”

And my thoughts welled up in my heart may be shortened to “I kept thinking.”

Because I saw the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those who lived in Babylon: The verb saw does not indicate literal seeing, either in a vision or awake. It simply refers to Ezra’s knowledge, his awareness that Zion (here an affectionate reference to Jerusalem) lay in ruins, while the Babylonians (that is, the Romans) lived in wealth. This verb may be combined with the previous clause (see the model below). The Latin word for desolation refers to a ruined place that is deserted. For Zion see the comments on 1 Esd 8.81.

Here is an alternative model for these two verses:

• 1 My name is Salathiel, although I am also called Ezra. Thirty years after our city, Jerusalem, was destroyed, I was in the city of Babylon, lying in bed awake and upset. I kept thinking 2 about the empty ruins of Jerusalem, and about how wealthy the Babylonians were.

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.