Or that the faces of those who practiced self-control shall shine more than the stars, but our faces shall be blacker than darkness?: Or that may be rendered “So what if” or “What good is it that.” Those who practiced self-control may be translated “those who could control their evil urges.” For the faces … shall shine more than the stars, see verse 97, which refers to the shining faces of the righteous. Our faces shall be blacker than darkness is a way of expressing the opposite. Blackness is used here as a symbol of evil (compare Job 10.21). A possible model for this verse is:

• You said that those who could control their evil urges will shine more brightly than the stars, but what good is it? We ourselves will be invisible in complete darkness.

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.