Then I broke off the reflections with which I was still engaged: Compare 2 Esd 9.39. Good News Bible says “When she told me this, I put aside my own thoughts,” and Contemporary English Version has “After hearing this, I stopped thinking only of myself.”

And answered her in anger and said may be rendered “and said in anger” (Contemporary English Version) or even “and spoke sharply to her” (Good News Bible).

An alternative model for this verse is:

• When I heard her say this, I became angry and put aside my own thoughts, saying to her….

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.