Then arose the heads of families of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin …: The verb arose reflects a Hebrew idiom meaning “got ready.” The heads of families of the tribes refers to the men of the tribes who had authority in their own clans. Good News Bible says “the heads of the clans of the tribes.” We may translate “the leading men of the various clans in the tribes.” Judah and Benjamin were the two tribes whose members had been taken into exile by the Babylonians.

And the priests and the Levites: For priests see 1 Esd 1.2; for Levites see 1 Esd 1.3.

And all whose spirit the Lord had stirred to go up to build the house in Jerusalem for the Lord refers to all the other Jews whom God had prompted to leave Babylonia to rebuild the Temple. For whose spirit the Lord had stirred up, see 1 Esdras 2.2; for go up, see 1 Esdras 2.5; and for build the house, see 1 Esdras 2.5. We may translate the last half of this verse as “and all the other Jews whom the Lord had led to go and rebuild his Temple in Jerusalem.”

This verse reflects the historical fact that not all the Jews living in Babylonia chose to make the journey back to the land of Israel and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Alternative models for this verse are:

• Then the leading men of the clans of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, along with everyone else whom the Lord had led [or, stirred up] to go and rebuild his Temple in Jerusalem, prepared themselves to travel.

• After Cyrus made this proclamation, many Jews felt that the Lord was leading them to go Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple for him. So they made preparations to go. Among them were priests, Levites, and leading men of the clans [or, families] in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

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.