And I looked, and behold: See the comments on 2Esdras 11.2. Good News Bible says simply “I saw.”

On the right side one wing arose, and it reigned over all the earth …: These two verses mean that one emperor ruled the Roman world, died, and the next one took his place. In the opinion of scholars the first wing represents Julius Caesar. One wing arose may be rendered “one wing rose up.”

And while it was reigning it came to its end and disappeared, so that its place was not seen: Good News Bible has “After its rule came to an end, it vanished so completely that it left no trace,” which is a good model. Or we may say “After it stopped ruling, it vanished so completely that it disappeared from the body of the eagle.”

Then the next wing arose and reigned, and it continued to reign a long time: The second wing symbolizes Julius’ successor, Augustus.

We recommend Good News Bible as our model for both these verses.

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.