And now, O Lord, what shall we say, when we have these things?: This is not a real question, but an expression of despair and a confession of sinful ingratitude. There is a dramatic shift here from verses 78-81. Ezra confesses the sinfulness of his people even though God has been good to them. And now is better rendered “But now” (Good News Bible) to express this contrast. These things refers to the good things God has done for them (verses 78-81). This rhetorical question may be rendered “O Lord, what can we say now after you have done all this for us?” (similarly Good News Bible) or “O Lord, we really don’t know what to say now after you have done all this for us.”

For we have transgressed thy commandments may be translated “Because we have disobeyed your commandments.”

Which thou didst give by thy servants the prophets, saying: This verse introduces a quote from the prophets (verses 83-85). However, the words of verses 83-85 are not an exact quotation from any prophetic book; most of what is said most closely resembles Deut 7.1-3. In Deut 18.15 Moses is referred to as the first of a line of prophets. For prophets see the comments on 1 Esd 6.1. Thy servants means they were faithful to the Lord.

Good News Bible provides a good model for this verse. Contemporary English Version also provides the following helpful model:

• Our Lord, what can we say now? Even though you gave us all this, we have disobeyed the commands that were given to us by your servants the prophets. They said….

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.