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Est C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10

Est 4 V1 V2 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17

OET interlinear EST 4:3

◄ ← EST 4:3 ↓ → ► ║ ©

Hebrew word order

    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. וּ,בְ,כָל
    2. 331946,331947,331948
    3. And on/over all
    4. -
    5. 3605
    6. S-C,R,Ncmsc
    7. and=on/over=all
    8. S
    9. Y-453
    10. 229902
    2. 331949
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-maqqef
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 229903
    1. מְדִינָה
    2. 331950
    3. province
    4. province
    5. 4082
    6. S-Ncfsa
    7. province
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229904
    1. וּ,מְדִינָה
    2. 331951,331952
    3. and province
    4. -
    5. 4082
    6. S-C,Ncfsa
    7. and,province
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229905
    1. מְקוֹם
    2. 331953
    3. the place of
    4. -
    5. 4725
    6. S-Ncmsc
    7. the_place_of
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229906
    1. אֲשֶׁר
    2. 331954
    3. (of) where
    4. -
    6. S-Tr
    7. (of)_where
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229907
    1. דְּבַר
    2. 331955
    3. the message of
    4. -
    5. 1697
    6. S-Ncmsc
    7. the_word_of
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229908
    2. 331956
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-maqqef
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 229909
    1. הַ,מֶּלֶךְ
    2. 331957,331958
    3. the king
    4. -
    5. 4428
    6. S-Td,Ncmsa
    7. the=king
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229910
    1. וְ,דָת,וֹ
    2. 331959,331960,331961
    3. and law of his
    4. -
    5. 1881
    6. S-C,Ncfsc,Sp3ms
    7. and,law_of,his
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229911
    1. מַגִּיעַ
    2. 331962
    3. +was reaching
    4. -
    5. 5060
    6. V-Vhrmsa
    7. [was]_reaching
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229912
    1. אֵבֶל
    2. 331963
    3. mourning
    4. -
    5. 60
    6. S-Ncmsa
    7. mourning
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229913
    1. גָּדוֹל
    2. 331964
    3. great
    4. -
    6. S-Aamsa
    7. great
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229914
    1. לַ,יְּהוּדִים
    2. 331965,331966
    3. belonged to Yəhūdī/(Jews)
    4. -
    5. 3064
    6. P-Rd,Ngmpa
    7. [belonged]_to,Jews
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229915
    1. וְ,צוֹם
    2. 331967,331968
    3. and fasting
    4. -
    5. 6685
    6. S-C,Ncmsa
    7. and,fasting
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229916
    1. וּ,בְכִי
    2. 331969,331970
    3. and weeping
    4. -
    5. 1065
    6. S-C,Ncmsa
    7. and,weeping
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229917
    1. וּ,מִסְפֵּד
    2. 331971,331972
    3. and wailing
    4. -
    5. 4553
    6. S-C,Ncmsa
    7. and,wailing
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229918
    1. שַׂק
    2. 331973
    3. sackcloth
    4. sackcloth
    5. 8242
    6. S-Ncmsa
    7. sackcloth
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229919
    1. וָ,אֵפֶר
    2. 331974,331975
    3. and ash[es]
    4. ashes
    5. 665
    6. S-C,Ncmsa
    7. and,ash[es]
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229920
    1. יֻצַּע
    2. 331976
    3. it was spread as a bed
    4. it
    5. 3331
    6. V-VHi3ms
    7. it_was_spread_as_a_bed
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229921
    1. לָ,רַבִּים
    2. 331977,331978
    3. by (the) people
    4. -
    6. S-Rd,Aampa
    7. by_(the),[people]
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229922
    2. 331979
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-sof-pasuq
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 229923

OET (OET-LV) And_on/over_all province and_province the_place_of (of)_where the_message_of the_king and_law_of_his was_reaching mourning great belonged_to_Yəhūdī/(Jews) and_fasting and_weeping and_wailing sackcloth and_ash[es] it_was_spread_as_a_bed by_(the)_people.

OET (OET-RV) In every province of the empire, the letter that said to destroy the Jews was publicly displayed and when the Jews heard about it, they were incredibly upset. They skipped meals and wailed loudly, and many of them also wore sackcloth and threw ashes on themselves and lay on the ground.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–17: Mordecai asked Esther to beg the king to save the Jews

When Mordecai heard about the order to kill the Jews, he dressed in the sort of clothes he would wear to mourn someone who had died and walked around the city weeping loudly. Esther sent him other clothes but he refused to wear them. She then sent a messenger to find out why he was behaving in this way. Mordecai gave the messenger a copy of the decree to show to Esther, and he pleaded with her to go and ask the king not to destroy the Jews. Esther hesitated, but finally agreed, although it was dangerous for her to approach the king in this way and she might be killed.

4:3a

In every province to which the king’s command and edict came,

king’s command and edict: See note on 2:8a.

4:3b

there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and lamented,

They fasted: When people fasted, they chose not to eat food for a chosen length of time. They also usually prayed to God. In the book of Esther there is a sharp contrast between the king and his men who feasted (see 3:15), and the Jews who fasted (see 4:3, 16).

4:3c

and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

many lay in sackcloth and ashes: Literally “sackcloth and ashes were spread to many.” This phrase is ambiguous in many English versions. There are three possibilities:

  1. lay in sackcloth and ashes means that people spread ashes on the ground, put sackcloth on top of the ashes, and then they lay on the sackcloth. For example, the NCV has:

    many of them lay down on rough cloth and ashes (BSB, NCV, REB)

  2. The expression means to “put on,” in the same way as Mordecai did in 4:1b. So the people acted in the same way as Mordecai. For example, the GW has:

    Many put on sackcloth and ashes (GW)

  3. lay in sackcloth means to lie down wearing sackcloth. However lay in…ashes means to lie down on ashes. For example, the GNT has:

    most of them put on sackcloth and lay in ashes (GNT, CEV)

It is recommended that you follow the first option.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וּ⁠בְ⁠כָל־מְדִינָ֣ה וּ⁠מְדִינָ֗ה

and=on/over=all province and,province

This expression means in every single province. See how you translated the term “province” in 1:1. Alternate translation: [in each and every province] or [in every province of the empire]

מְקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר דְּבַר־הַ⁠מֶּ֤לֶךְ וְ⁠דָת⁠וֹ֙ מַגִּ֔יעַ

place/spot which/who message/matter_of the=king and,law_of,his came

Alternate translation: [anywhere that the letter that said to destroy the Jews was announced in public]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

דְּבַר־הַ⁠מֶּ֤לֶךְ וְ⁠דָת⁠וֹ֙

message/matter_of the=king and,law_of,his

These two phrases are referring to the same thing, that is, the information that the letter conveyed. The repetition is used to emphasize how serious a situation this was. Alternate translation: [the letter from the king] or [the law that said to destroy the Jews]

אֵ֤בֶל גָּדוֹל֙ לַ⁠יְּהוּדִ֔ים

mourning big/great [belonged]_to,Jews

Alternate translation: [the Jews mourned greatly] or [when the Jews heard about it, they mourned greatly]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠צ֥וֹם

and,fasting

Fasting is a sign of mourning. If your readers would not understand this, you could state it explicitly. Alternate translation: [they went without food because they were so upset]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

וּ⁠בְכִ֖י וּ⁠מִסְפֵּ֑ד

and,weeping and,wailing

These two words mean basically the same thing. The repetition is used to emphasize how distressed the Jews were. Alternate translation: [wailed loudly]

Note 5 topic: translate-symaction

שַׂ֣ק וָ⁠אֵ֔פֶר יֻצַּ֖ע לָֽ⁠רַבִּֽים

sackcloth and,ash[es] lay_in by_(the),[people]

These were actions that demonstrated deep grief. “Many of them lay on the ground, dressed in sackcloth and sitting in ashes”

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 on/over all
    2. -
    3. 1987,846,3671
    5. 331946,331947,331948
    6. S-C,R,Ncmsc
    8. S
    9. Y-453
    10. 229902
    1. province
    2. province
    3. 3886
    5. 331950
    6. S-Ncfsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229904
    1. and province
    2. -
    3. 1987,3886
    5. 331951,331952
    6. S-C,Ncfsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229905
    1. the place of
    2. -
    3. 4742
    5. 331953
    6. S-Ncmsc
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229906
    1. (of) where
    2. -
    3. 238
    5. 331954
    6. S-Tr
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229907
    1. the message of
    2. -
    3. 1726
    5. 331955
    6. S-Ncmsc
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229908
    1. the king
    2. -
    3. 1893,4308
    5. 331957,331958
    6. S-Td,Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229910
    1. and law of his
    2. -
    3. 1987,1776,1978
    5. 331959,331960,331961
    6. S-C,Ncfsc,Sp3ms
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229911
    1. +was reaching
    2. -
    3. 5124
    5. 331962
    6. V-Vhrmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229912
    1. mourning
    2. -
    3. 294
    5. 331963
    6. S-Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229913
    1. great
    2. -
    3. 1513
    5. 331964
    6. S-Aamsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229914
    1. belonged to Yəhūdī/(Jews)
    2. -
    3. 3705,2922
    5. 331965,331966
    6. P-Rd,Ngmpa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229915
    1. and fasting
    2. -
    3. 1987,6717
    5. 331967,331968
    6. S-C,Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229916
    1. and weeping
    2. -
    3. 1987,874
    5. 331969,331970
    6. S-C,Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229917
    1. and wailing
    2. -
    3. 1987,4147
    5. 331971,331972
    6. S-C,Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229918
    1. sackcloth
    2. sackcloth
    3. 8067
    5. 331973
    6. S-Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229919
    1. and ash[es]
    2. ashes
    3. 1987,340
    5. 331974,331975
    6. S-C,Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229920
    1. it was spread as a bed
    2. it
    3. 3274
    5. 331976
    6. V-VHi3ms
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229921
    1. by (the) people
    2. -
    3. 3705,7191
    5. 331977,331978
    6. S-Rd,Aampa
    8. -
    9. Y-453
    10. 229922

OET (OET-LV) And_on/over_all province and_province the_place_of (of)_where the_message_of the_king and_law_of_his was_reaching mourning great belonged_to_Yəhūdī/(Jews) and_fasting and_weeping and_wailing sackcloth and_ash[es] it_was_spread_as_a_bed by_(the)_people.

OET (OET-RV) In every province of the empire, the letter that said to destroy the Jews was publicly displayed and when the Jews heard about it, they were incredibly upset. They skipped meals and wailed loudly, and many of them also wore sackcloth and threw ashes on themselves and lay on the ground.

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.OET logo mark

◄ ← EST 4:3 ↑ → ► ║ ©