OET interlinear EST 7:3

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys

וַ⁠תַּ֨עַן & וַ⁠תֹּאמַ֔ר

and,answered & and=she/it_said

Here a single idea is being expressed by using two words connected with “and.” Together the two words mean that Esther responded to the question that the king asked her. Alternate translation: “answered”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

אִם־מָצָ֨אתִי חֵ֤ן בְּ⁠עֵינֶ֨י⁠ךָ֙

if found graciousness/kindness/favour/beauty in/on/at/with,eyes,your

Favor means the approval or acceptance of another person. Alternate translation: “if you evaluate me and approve” or “if you are pleased with me”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

אִם־מָצָ֨אתִי חֵ֤ן בְּ⁠עֵינֶ֨י⁠ךָ֙

if found graciousness/kindness/favour/beauty in/on/at/with,eyes,your

Here, eyes represent seeing, and seeing is a metaphor for knowledge, notice, attention, or judgment. Alternate translation: “if you evaluate me and approve” or “if you are pleased with me”

הַ⁠מֶּ֔לֶךְ

the=king

In this case, Esther is addressing Ahasuerus directly as “O king”; she is not speaking about him in the third person as a sign of respect, as she and others usually do elsewhere in the story. This may indicate a special urgency to what she is saying, so it would be good to include this difference in your translation or indicate the urgency in some other way.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וְ⁠אִם־עַל־הַ⁠מֶּ֖לֶךְ ט֑וֹב

and=if on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the=king good

This is an idiom that also appears in 1:19, 3:9, 5:4, and 5:8. The suggested translation in those cases was, “If it seems like a good plan to you, O king.” That was suitable for the deferential tone the speakers were using. But here, Esther has just addressed the king directly with “O king” and she is pleading urgently for the survival of her whole people. So an alternate translation here could be something more like, “I hope you will be willing to do what I ask”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

תִּנָּֽתֶן־לִ֤⁠י נַפְשִׁ⁠י֙ בִּ⁠שְׁאֵ֣לָתִ֔⁠י וְ⁠עַמִּ֖⁠י בְּ⁠בַקָּשָׁתִֽ⁠י

given to=me life,my in/on/at/with,petition,my and,people,my in/on/at/with,request,my

The phrases at my petition and at my request mean the same thing. The repetition is used to emphasize the urgency of the request. If it would be more natural in your language, you could combine the two requests. Alternate translation: “please spare my life and save my people” or “my request is that you spare my life and the lives of my people”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

תִּנָּֽתֶן־לִ֤⁠י נַפְשִׁ⁠י֙

given to=me life,my

You can say this with an active form. Alternate translation: “please spare my life”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בִּ⁠שְׁאֵ֣לָתִ֔⁠י

in/on/at/with,petition,my

The abstract noun petition can be expressed with the verb “ask for.” Alternate translation: “that is what I am asking for” or “that is what I want”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וְ⁠עַמִּ֖⁠י

and,people,my

If this is unclear in your language, you can repeat from the previous clause the words that have been left out. Alternate translation: “and let my people be given to me”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בְּ⁠בַקָּשָׁתִֽ⁠י

in/on/at/with,request,my

The abstract noun request can be expressed with the verb “ask for.” Alternate translation: “rhat is what I am asking for” or “rhat is what I want”