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OET (OET-LV) And_he_wrote in/on_name_of the_king ʼAḩashvērōsh and_he_sealed_it with_the_signet-ring_of the_king and_he_sent letters by_the_hand_of (the)_runners on_horses who_rode_of the_steed[s] (the)_royal the_sons_of the_mares.
OET (OET-RV) The letters were written in King Ahasuerus’ name, and each one was sealed with the king’s signet ring. Then the letters were distributed by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.
After Haman’s death, the king gave Esther everything that had belonged to Haman and made Mordecai the chief official in the land. Esther asked the king to cancel Haman’s order to kill the Jews. The king instead permitted her and Mordecai to send letters in his name allowing the Jews to defend themselves and kill their enemies. The news of this order brought great joy to the Jews.
There are many similarities between this passage and the section about Haman’s plot to kill the Jews. You should compare this passage with 3:12–15.
Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes
Mordecai told them to write them with the authority of King Xerxes.
in the name of King Xerxes: See note on 3:12d. These letters had the same authority as Haman’s letters.
and sealed it with the royal signet ring.
Then he sealed the documents with wax and stamped them with the king’s ring.
sealed it with the royal signet ring: See note on 3:12e.
He sent the documents by mounted couriers
He gave the documents to messengers to deliver throughout the kingdom.
mounted couriers: This means messengers who rode on horses.
riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.
These men mounted on horses that could run fast, horses which people had bred especially for the king’s service, and left.
swift horses: The meaning of the word the BSB translates as “swift horses” is not certain. Most versions understand it to refer to horses which can run fast, and therefore the messengers could deliver messages throughout the kingdom as quickly as possible.
bred from the royal mares: This is another phrase which is difficult to understand in Hebrew. It probably refers to a group of horses which were specially bred not just for the king himself to ride, but also for officials to ride on state business.
וַיִּכְתֹּ֗ב & וַיַּחְתֹּ֖ם
and,he_wrote & and,he_sealed_[it]
He refers to Mordecai. If it would be helpful in your language, you can use his name here.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
בְּשֵׁם֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹ֔שׁ
in/on=name_of the=king ʼAḩashvērōsh
Here, name is a metaphor meaning authority. Alternate translation: [Mordecai wrote with the authority of King Ahasuerus]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
וַיַּחְתֹּ֖ם בְּטַבַּ֣עַת הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ
and,he_sealed_[it] with,the_signet-ring_of the=king
This means that Mordecai sealed the letters with this ring. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say that explicitly. Alternate translation: [and he sealed the letters with the ring that had the king’s official seal on it]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
בְּיַד֩ הָרָצִ֨ים בַּסּוּסִ֜ים
by,the_hand_of of_(the),runners on,horses
As in [3:13](../03/13.md), hand could mean two different things. (1) It could literally mean “hand,” meaning that the runners carried the letters in their hands. (2) It could also be a metaphor for power, control, or authority, meaning that runners were the ones who delivered the letters to all the provinces throughout the empire. Alternate translation: [couriers on horseback delivered the letters]
רֹכְבֵ֤י הָרֶ֨כֶשׁ֙ הָֽאֲחַשְׁתְּרָנִ֔ים בְּנֵ֖י הָֽרַמָּכִֽים
riding_of of,the_steed[s] (the),royal sons_of of,the_mares
Alternate translation: [They rose fast horses that were used in the king’s service. These horses had been bred in the king’s stables.]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
בְּנֵ֖י הָֽרַמָּכִֽים
sons_of of,the_mares
Here, sons is a metonym meaning the offspring of royal livestock. Alternate translation: [the offspring of the king’s horses]
OET (OET-LV) And_he_wrote in/on_name_of the_king ʼAḩashvērōsh and_he_sealed_it with_the_signet-ring_of the_king and_he_sent letters by_the_hand_of (the)_runners on_horses who_rode_of the_steed[s] (the)_royal the_sons_of the_mares.
OET (OET-RV) The letters were written in King Ahasuerus’ name, and each one was sealed with the king’s signet ring. Then the letters were distributed by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.
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.