EST 3:2 Interlinear View

1. Hebrew word
2. Hebrew lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. Gloss
8. CAPS codes
9. OET tags
10. OET word #
1. וְ,כָל
2. 331378,331379
3. And all
4. Then and
5. 3605
6. S-C,Ncmsc
7. and=all
8. S
9. Y-453
10. 229517
2. 331380
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 229518
1. עַבְדֵי
2. 331381
3. the servants of
4. -
5. 5650
6. S-Ncmpc
7. the_servants_of
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229519
1. הַ,מֶּלֶךְ
2. 331382,331383
3. the king
4. -
5. 4428
6. S-Td,Ncmsa
7. the=king
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229520
1. אֲשֶׁר
2. 331384
3. who
4. -
6. S-Tr
7. who
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229521
2. 331385
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 229522
1. בְּ,שַׁעַר
2. 331386,331387
3. +were at the gate of
4. in at gate
5. 8179
6. P-R,Ncmsc
7. [were]_at,the_gate_of
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229523
1. הַ,מֶּלֶךְ
2. 331388,331389
3. the king
4. -
5. 4428
6. P-Td,Ncmsa
7. the=king
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229524
1. כֹּרְעִים
2. 331390
3. +were kneeling
4. -
5. 3766
6. V-Vqrmpa
7. [were]_kneeling
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229525
1. וּ,מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים
2. 331391,331392
3. and +were bowing down
4. -
5. 7812
6. V-C,Vvrmpa
7. and_[were],bowing_down
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229526
1. לְ,הָמָן
2. 331393,331394
3. to Haman
4. -
5. 2001
6. S-R,Np
7. to,Haman
8. -
9. Person=Haman; Y-453
10. 229527
1. כִּי
2. 331395
3. if/because
4. -
6. S-C
7. if/because
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229528
2. 331396
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 229529
1. כֵן
2. 331397
3. thus
4. -
6. S-D
7. thus
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229530
1. צִוָּה
2. 331398
3. he had commanded
4. commanded
5. 6680
6. V-Vpp3ms
7. he_had_commanded
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229531
2. 331399
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 229532
1. ל,וֹ
2. 331400,331401
3. to him/it
4. -
6. S-R,Sp3ms
7. to=him/it
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229533
1. הַ,מֶּלֶךְ
2. 331402,331403
3. the king
4. -
5. 4428
6. S-Td,Ncmsa
7. the=king
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229534
1. וּ,מָרְדֳּכַי
2. 331404,331405
3. and Mārəddəkay
4. -
5. 4782
6. S-C,Np
7. and,Mordecai
8. -
9. Person=Mordecai; Y-453
10. 229535
1. לֹא
2. 331406
3. not
4. -
5. 3808
6. S-Tn
7. not
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229536
1. יִכְרַע
2. 331407
3. he knelt
4. -
5. 3766
6. V-Vqi3ms
7. he_knelt
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229537
1. וְ,לֹא
2. 331408,331409
3. and not
4. -
5. 3808
6. S-C,Tn
7. and=not
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229538
1. יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶֽה
2. 331410
3. he bowed down
4. -
5. 7812
6. V-Vvi3ms
7. he_bowed_down
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229539
2. 331411
3. -
4. -
6. -x-sof-pasuq
8. -
9. -
10. 229540

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–6: Haman became angry with Mordecai

The next event in the story was that the king promoted one of his officials called Haman to the highest position in the land, next to the king himself. The king ordered all his servants to bow down to Haman in respect to him, but Mordecai refused to do this because he was a Jew. When Haman heard about this, he was angry and planned to destroy all the Jews in the empire. He cast lots to find out the best day to choose for killing the Jews.

3:2a

All the royal servants at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman,

All the officials who worked at the palace gate knelt down and bowed their heads to the ground in front of Haman to show their respect

royal servants: See note on “official” at 1:3a.

at the king’s gate: See note on 2:19b.

bowed down: Literally “prostrate oneself,” that is, a person knelt on the ground and bent forward until his head touched the ground. It was a common way of showing respect to someone very important. If such actions in your culture do not mean showing respect, you will have to add this implicit information or state the information in a footnote.

3:2b

because the king had commanded that this be done for him.

just as the king had ordered them to do.

3:2c

But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

But Mordecai refused to do this.

3:2b-c

The text does not explain why Mordecai refused to bow down. The only clue given is 3:4, where he seems to have told the other servants that it was because he was a Jew. Perhaps he refused to bow down because he thought this would be disobeying the second commandment (Exodus 20:4).

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠כָל־עַבְדֵ֨י הַ⁠מֶּ֜לֶךְ אֲשֶׁר־בְּ⁠שַׁ֣עַר הַ⁠מֶּ֗לֶךְ

and=all servants_of (Some words not found in UHB: and=all servants_of the=king which/who [were]_at,the_gate_of the=king bowed_down and_[were],bowing_down to,Haman that/for/because/then/when so commanded to=him/it the=king and,Mordecai not bow_down and=not pay_homage )

This is probably a reference to the specific group of officials who were stationed at the gate, as Mordecai was. Alternate translation: [And the royal officials who were stationed at the palace gate]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠כָל־עַבְדֵ֨י הַ⁠מֶּ֜לֶךְ & כֹּרְעִ֤ים וּ⁠מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִים֙ לְ⁠הָמָ֔ן

The servants were required to do this as a way of honoring him whenever Haman walked by. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this explicitly, as in the UST.

Note 3 topic: translate-symaction

כֹּרְעִ֤ים וּ⁠מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִים֙

(Some words not found in UHB: and=all servants_of the=king which/who [were]_at,the_gate_of the=king bowed_down and_[were],bowing_down to,Haman that/for/because/then/when so commanded to=him/it the=king and,Mordecai not bow_down and=not pay_homage )

This means that the other officials humbled themselves and lay flat on the ground before Haman. These actions represented recognition and respect for the very high position that the king had given him in the Persian government.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

כֹּרְעִ֤ים וּ⁠מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִים֙

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The repetition is used to emphasize that the officials knew how important it was to obey the king’s command and honor Haman in this way. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [bowing down on the ground]

וּ⁠מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִים֙

This means bowing down all the way to the ground.

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

כִּי־כֵ֖ן צִוָּה־ל֣⁠וֹ

If it would be helpful in your language, you could put this information first in the verse because it explains the reason why all the other officials were bowing to Haman. See the UST.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

כִּי־כֵ֖ן צִוָּה־ל֣⁠וֹ

The king did this as a sign of Haman’s new position. You can state this here or in a separate sentence, as in the UST. Alternate translation: [the king had commanded them to do this in order to show that he had given Haman such a high position]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

וּ⁠מָ֨רְדֳּכַ֔י לֹ֥א יִכְרַ֖ע וְ⁠לֹ֥א יִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶֽה

See how you translated the similar phrases earlier in this verse. Alternate translation: [Mordecai would not bow down to the ground]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וּ⁠מָ֨רְדֳּכַ֔י לֹ֥א יִכְרַ֖ע וְ⁠לֹ֥א יִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶֽה

It appears that as a Jew, Mordecai considered it wrong to worship anyone other than Yahweh, and that he believed he would be worshiping Haman if he bowed down low to the ground to honor him. So, on religious grounds, Mordecai refused to bow down. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this explicitly.

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

1. OET-LV words
2. OET-RV words
3. Strongs
4. Hebrew word
5. Hebrew lemma
6. Role/Morphology
7. Gloss
8. CAPS codes
9. OET tags
10. OET word #
1. And all
2. Then and
3. 1987,3671
5. 331378,331379
6. S-C,Ncmsc
8. S
9. Y-453
10. 229517
1. the servants of
2. -
3. 5754
5. 331381
6. S-Ncmpc
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229519
1. the king
2. -
3. 1893,4308
5. 331382,331383
6. S-Td,Ncmsa
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229520
1. who
2. -
3. 238
5. 331384
6. S-Tr
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229521
1. +were at the gate of
2. in at gate
3. 846,7746
5. 331386,331387
6. P-R,Ncmsc
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229523
1. the king
2. -
3. 1893,4308
5. 331388,331389
6. P-Td,Ncmsa
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229524
1. +were kneeling
2. -
3. 3650
5. 331390
6. V-Vqrmpa
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229525
1. and +were bowing down
2. -
3. 1987,2766
5. 331391,331392
6. V-C,Vvrmpa
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229526
1. to Haman
2. -
3. 3705,1941
5. 331393,331394
6. S-R,Np
8. -
9. Person=Haman; Y-453
10. 229527
1. if/because
2. -
3. 3482
5. 331395
6. S-C
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229528
1. thus
2. -
3. 3529
5. 331397
6. S-D
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229530
1. he had commanded
2. commanded
3. 6641
5. 331398
6. V-Vpp3ms
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229531
1. to him/it
2. -
3. 3705,1978
5. 331400,331401
6. S-R,Sp3ms
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229533
1. the king
2. -
3. 1893,4308
5. 331402,331403
6. S-Td,Ncmsa
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229534
1. and Mārəddəkay
2. -
3. 1987,4809
5. 331404,331405
6. S-C,Np
8. -
9. Person=Mordecai; Y-453
10. 229535
1. not
2. -
3. 3835
5. 331406
6. S-Tn
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229536
1. he knelt
2. -
3. 3650
5. 331407
6. V-Vqi3ms
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229537
1. and not
2. -
3. 1987,3835
5. 331408,331409
6. S-C,Tn
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229538
1. he bowed down
2. -
3. 2766
5. 331410
6. V-Vvi3ms
8. -
9. Y-453
10. 229539

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.