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interlinearVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL JOB YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Est C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10
OET (OET-LV) All the_servants the_king and_people of_the_provinces the_king [are]_knowing (cmp) every man and_woman who he_goes to the_king into the_court the_inner who not he_is_summoned [is]_one law_he to_put_to_death to/for_except to_if he_holds_out to_him/it the_king DOM the_scepter the_gold and_live and_I not I_have_been_summoned[fn][fn][fn] to_come to the_king this thirty day[s].
OET (OET-RV) “There’s a law about going to the king that applies to everyone in the kingdom, both men and women. If anyone goes into the inner courtyard of the palace, where the king can see them, and the king has not summoned them, that person will be executed. Only if the king holds out his golden scepter to them, then they will live. (Everyone in the whole empire knows this law.) The king hasn’t called for me in over a month, and if I go in without being summoned, I could be put to death.”
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / merism
כָּל־עַבְדֵ֣י הַמֶּ֡לֶךְ וְעַם־מְדִינ֨וֹת הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ יֽוֹדְעִ֗ים
all/each/any/every servants the=king and,people provinces the=king know
All the servants of the king refers to the royal officials in the palace. The people of the provinces refers to those living out in the empire. So this phrase means something like “those both near and far.” Esther is using a figure of speech to refer to something by speaking of two extreme parts of it in order to include everything in between those parts. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases and say something like, “everyone in the whole empire knows.” Alternate translation: “all the king’s officials and all the people in the empire know this law”
כָּל־עַבְדֵ֣י הַמֶּ֡לֶךְ וְעַם־מְדִינ֨וֹת הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ יֽוֹדְעִ֗ים
all/each/any/every servants the=king and,people provinces the=king know
Esther says this to show that there is no uncertainty about this being the law. You can put this information after the description of the law itself, If it would be helpful in your language, so that it can serve to emphasize how definite the law is that was just described.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / merism
כָּל־אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשָּׁ֡ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר
all/each/any/every all/each/any/every (a)_man and,woman which/who
Here, Esther once again refers to a group by describing two parts of it. She means all of the people whom Ahasuerus rules as king. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these phrases and say something like “anyone”.
Note 3 topic: translate-symaction
יָבֽוֹא־אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ֩ אֶל־הֶחָצֵ֨ר הַפְּנִימִ֜ית
goes to/towards the=king to/towards the,court the,inner
As 5:1 makes clear, this refers to a courtyard right outside the room where King Ahasuerus sat on his throne. He could see out of the entrance to the room into the courtyard and tell if anyone came and stood there. Anyone who did that was asking to speak to the king. Alternate translation: “who goes into the inner courtyard of the palace, where the king can see them”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־יִקָּרֵ֗א
which/who which/who which/who not he/it_will_be_called
If it would help your readers to understand, you could say this with an active form, and you could say who did the action. Alternate translation: “when the king has not summoned that person”
אַחַ֤ת דָּתוֹ֙
one(fs) law,he
If it would be helpful in your language, you could put this after the explanation of the law itself. Alternate translation: “this law applies to everyone in the kingdom”
לְהָמִ֔ית
to,put_to_death
Alternate translation: “that person must be executed” or “the guards will kill that person”
Note 5 topic: translate-symaction
לְ֠בַד מֵאֲשֶׁ֨ר יֽוֹשִׁיט־ל֥וֹ הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ אֶת־שַׁרְבִ֥יט הַזָּהָ֖ב
to/for,except to,if holds_out to=him/it the=king DOM scepter the=gold
If the king pointed his scepter toward a person, that meant that the king was accepting him. Alternate translation: “unless the king extends his golden scepter towards him”
Note 6 topic: translate-unknown
שַׁרְבִ֥יט הַזָּהָ֖ב
scepter the=gold
A scepter was an ornamental staff or wand that rulers carried or held as a symbol of their authority. According to this, the scepter of King Ahasuerus was made of gold. Alternate translation: “golden scepter”
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
וְחָיָ֑ה
and,live
This means that the guards will not kill this person and he can proceed to speak to the king. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this explicitly. Alternate translation: “then the guards will not kill him and he can speak to the king”
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
וַאֲנִ֗י לֹ֤א נִקְרֵ֨אתי֙ לָב֣וֹא אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ זֶ֖ה שְׁלוֹשִׁ֥ים יֽוֹם
and,I not called to,come to/towards the=king this thirty day
Esther is saying by implication that she cannot speak to the king as Mordecai has requested because the king has not been calling for her, which would have given her an opportunity to speak to him. If she goes without being summoned, she could be put to death. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this explicitly, as in the UST.
Note 9 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast
וַאֲנִ֗י
and,I
This expression indicates a contrast between Esther’s present situation and the situation she has just described.
זֶ֖ה שְׁלוֹשִׁ֥ים יֽוֹם
this thirty day
The phrase means that Esther has not been called in the king’s presence for a period of at least 30 days. You could use an equivalent expression in your language that would indicate this is a long enough time that Esther has reason to believe the king is not interested in seeing her. Alternate translation: “in over a month”
Note 10 topic: translate-numbers
זֶ֖ה שְׁלוֹשִׁ֥ים יֽוֹם
this thirty day
Alternate translation: “thirty days”
4:11 anyone who appears . . . without being invited is doomed to die: Access to the king was strictly controlled by his guards to prevent unwanted guests from wasting the king’s time with petty requests. Since these were the official rules of the court, the danger to Esther’s life was enormous. Apparently she ruled out requesting an audience with the king through a messenger, possibly because she would have to tell the messenger why she wanted to talk to the king.
• has not called for me to come to him for thirty days: Esther had no guarantee of the king’s favorable response.
OET (OET-LV) All the_servants the_king and_people of_the_provinces the_king [are]_knowing (cmp) every man and_woman who he_goes to the_king into the_court the_inner who not he_is_summoned [is]_one law_he to_put_to_death to/for_except to_if he_holds_out to_him/it the_king DOM the_scepter the_gold and_live and_I not I_have_been_summoned[fn][fn][fn] to_come to the_king this thirty day[s].
OET (OET-RV) “There’s a law about going to the king that applies to everyone in the kingdom, both men and women. If anyone goes into the inner courtyard of the palace, where the king can see them, and the king has not summoned them, that person will be executed. Only if the king holds out his golden scepter to them, then they will live. (Everyone in the whole empire knows this law.) The king hasn’t called for me in over a month, and if I go in without being summoned, I could be put to death.”
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.