Esther 3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Esther 3:1 tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”
2. Esther 3:1 tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.” sn The promotion of Haman in 3:1 for reasons unexplained contrasts noticeably with 2:19-23, where Mordecai’s contribution to saving the king’s life goes unnoticed. The irony is striking.
3. Esther 3:1 tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”
4. Esther 3:2 tn Heb “and” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). Other modern English versions leave the conjunction untranslated here (NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).
5. Esther 3:2 sn Mordecai did not bow. The reason for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman is not clearly stated here. Certainly the Jews did not refuse to bow as a matter of principle, as though such an action somehow violated the second command of the Decalogue. Many biblical texts bear witness to their practice of falling prostrate before people of power and influence (e.g., 1 Sam 24:8; 2 Sam 14:4; 1 Kgs 1:16). Perhaps the issue here was that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, a people who had attacked Israel in an earlier age (see Exod 17:8-16; 1 Sam 15:17-20; Deut 25:17-19).
6. Esther 3:4 sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.
7. Esther 3:4 tn Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; NASB “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”
8. Esther 3:4 sn This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 2:10, 20.
9. Esther 3:5 tn Heb “Haman.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. Repeating the proper name here is redundant according to contemporary English style, although the name is repeated in NASB and NRSV.
10. Esther 3:6 tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”
11. Esther 3:6 tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.
12. Esther 3:6 tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.
13. Esther 3:6 tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (ʿam, “people”) to עִם (ʿim, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.
14. Esther 3:7 sn This year would be ca. 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.
15. Esther 3:7 tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).
16. Esther 3:7 tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.tn Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so KJV, NASB).
17. Esther 3:7 tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.
18. Esther 3:8 tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.
19. Esther 3:8 tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”
20. Esther 3:8 tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”
21. Esther 3:9 tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.”
22. Esther 3:9 tn Heb “let it be written” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “let it be decreed.”
23. Esther 3:9 sn The enormity of the monetary sum referred to here can be grasped by comparing this amount (10,000 talents of silver) to the annual income of the empire, which according to Herodotus (Histories 3.95) was 14,500 Euboic talents. In other words Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money was to come (in large measure) from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.
24. Esther 3:10 sn Possessing the king’s signet ring would enable Haman to act with full royal authority. The king’s ring would be used to impress the royal seal on edicts, making them as binding as if the king himself had enacted them.
25. Esther 3:11 tn Heb “the silver is given to you”; NRSV “the money is given to you”; CEV “You can keep their money.” C. A. Moore (Esther [AB], 40) understands these words somewhat differently, taking them to imply acceptance of the money on Xerxes’ part. He translates, “Well, it’s your money.”
26. Esther 3:11 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes”; NASB “do with them as you please.”
27. Esther 3:12 tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
28. Esther 3:12 tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”
29. Esther 3:13 tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
30. Esther 3:13 tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
31. Esther 3:13 tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”
32. Esther 3:14 tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).
33. Esther 3:15 tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”
34. Esther 3:15 tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).
35. Esther 3:15 tn Heb “with the word of the king.”
36. Esther 3:15 sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.
37. Esther 4:1 tn Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.
38. Esther 4:1 tn Heb “great.”
39. Esther 4:3 tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”
40. Esther 4:3 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”
41. Esther 4:3 sn Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.
42. Esther 4:3 tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”
43. Esther 4:4 tn The words “about Mordecai’s behavior” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NIV, NLT “about Mordecai”; TEV, CEV “what Mordecai was doing.”
44. Esther 4:5 tn Heb “whom he caused to stand before her”; NASB “whom the king had appointed to attend her.”
45. Esther 4:5 tn Heb “concerning Mordecai, to know what this was, and why this was.”
46. Esther 4:8 tn Heb “given” (so KJV); NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “issued”; NIV “published”; NAB “promulgated.”
47. Esther 4:9 tn Heb “the words of Mordecai” (so KJV); NIV, NRSV, CEV “what Mordecai had said”; NLT “with Mordecai’s message.”
48. Esther 4:11 tn Heb “one is his law”; NASB “he (the king NIV) has but one law”
49. Esther 4:11 tn Heb “and he will live”; KJV, ASV “that he may live”; NIV “and spare his life.”
50. Esther 4:12 tn Heb “the words of Esther”; TEV, NLT “Esther’s message.”
51. Esther 4:13 tn Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.
52. Esther 4:13 tn Heb “from all the Jews”; KJV “more than all the Jews”; NIV “you alone of all the Jews.”
53. Esther 4:14 tn Heb “stand”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT “arise.”
54. Esther 4:14 tn Heb “place” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); NRSV “from another quarter.” This is probably an oblique reference to help coming from God. D. J. A. Clines disagrees; in his view a contrast between deliverance by Esther and deliverance by God is inappropriate (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther [NCBC], 302). But Clines’ suggestion that perhaps the reference is to deliverance by Jewish officials or by armed Jewish revolt is less attractive than seeing this veiled reference as part of the literary strategy of the book, which deliberately keeps God’s providential dealings entirely in the background.
55. Esther 4:14 tn Heb “And who knows whether” (so NASB). The question is one of hope, but free of presumption. Cf. Jonah 3:9.
56. Esther 4:14 tn Heb “have come to the kingdom”; NRSV “to royal dignity”; NIV “to royal position”; NLT “have been elevated to the palace.”
57. Esther 4:16 tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.
58. Esther 4:16 tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”
59. Esther 5:1 tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”
60. Esther 5:1 tn Heb “the house of the king”; NASB “the king’s rooms”; NIV, NLT “the king’s hall.” This expression is used twice in this verse. In the first instance, it is apparently the larger palace complex that is in view, whereas in the second instance the expression seems to refer specifically to the quarters from which the king governed.
61. Esther 5:1 tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).
62. Esther 5:2 tn Heb “she obtained grace in his eyes”; NASB “she obtained favor in his sight”; NIV “he was pleased with her”; NLT “he welcomed her.”
63. Esther 5:3 tn Heb “What to you?”; NAB, NIV NRSV “What is it, Queen Esther?”
64. Esther 5:4 tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; NASB “If it please the king.”
65. Esther 5:6 sn As much as half the kingdom. Such a statement would no doubt have been understood for the exaggeration that it clearly was. Cf. the similar NT scene recorded in Mark 6:23, where Herod makes a similar promise to the daughter of Herodias. In that case the request was for the head of John the Baptist, which is a lot less than half the kingdom.
66. Esther 5:7 tn Heb “answered and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.
67. Esther 5:8 tn Heb “if upon the king it is good.” Cf. the similar expression in v. 4, which also occurs in 7:3; 8:5; 9:13.
68. Esther 5:8 tn Heb “and tomorrow” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “and then.”
69. Esther 5:8 tn Heb “I will do according to the word of the king,” i.e., answer the question that he has posed. Cf. NCV “Then I will answer your question about what I want.”
70. Esther 5:9 tn Heb “happy and good of heart”; NASB “glad and pleased of heart”; NIV “happy and in high spirits.”
71. Esther 5:9 tn Heb “tremble from before him”; NIV “nor showed fear in his presence”; TEV “or show any sign of respect as he passed.”
72. Esther 5:10 tn Heb “sent and brought.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (a figure of speech in which a single idea is expressed through two words or phrases), in which case the two verbs could be translated simply as “summoned” (so NAB) or “sent for” (NASB).
73. Esther 5:11 tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”
74. Esther 5:11 sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.
75. Esther 5:12 tn Heb “caused to come”; KJV “did let no man come in…but myself.”
76. Esther 5:12 tn Heb “called to her”; KJV “invited unto her”; NAB “I am to be her guest.”
77. Esther 5:14 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
78. Esther 5:14 tn Heb “50 cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about 75 feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”
79. Esther 5:14 tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”