Be watchful and on guard until you deliver them to the leaders of the priests and the Levites, and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel, in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of our Lord: The Greek verbs rendered Be watchful and [be] on guard are very close in meaning; essentially the idea is repeated for emphasis. Good News Bible expresses this emphasis with one verb and an adverb, saying “Guard them carefully.” Good News Bible has rearranged the order of the ideas in this verse for a more logical progression. First the group carrying the treasures arrives at the Temple in Jerusalem, then they go to the chambers of the house of our Lord (Good News Bible “the priests’ rooms”), then they give them to the leaders in Jerusalem who will take charge of them. For the heads of fathers’ houses, see the comments on 1 Esd 5.1, even though the Greek phrase there is a little different. Good News Bible renders this phrase as “the leaders of the people,” but we prefer “the leaders of the family groups.” The chambers of the house of our Lord were rooms in the Temple complex that were used by the priests and that served as storehouses (see Neh 10.37-39). Here is a model for this verse:

• Guard them carefully until we reach the Temple in Jerusalem. Then go to its storerooms and turn them over to the leading priests and Levites there, and the leaders of the family groups of the Jews.’

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.