InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEUT JOB YEHO (JOS) HERO (JDG) RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG YOEL (JOEL) MIC ISA ZEP HAB YIR (JER) LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBAD DAN EZEK EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL 2 PS WIS TOB MAN BAR G DAN G ESD L ESD ESG JDT 3 MAC SIR 1 MAC 2 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL LAOD PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
InterlinearVerse Est C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C10
Est 9 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V30 V31 V32
People tagged in the matching LV passage: Abihail (EST 2:15) · Esther · Mordecai (EST 2:5)
OET-LV And_ ʼEştēr the_queen the_daughter_of ʼAⱱīhayil and_Mordəkay the_Jew _she_wrote with all_of authority to_confirm DOM the_letter_of the_Purim (the)_this the_second(fs).
OET (OET-RV) Then Queen Ester (the daughter of Avihayil), with help from Mordekai the Yehudi (Jew), wrote a second letter about ‘Purim’.
Mordecai sent out letters to tell the Jews to hold a celebration each year to remember the victory of the Jews over their enemies. This annual festival was called Purim because Haman had cast lots called purim to choose the best day to kill the Jews. Jews still celebrate this festival today.
So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim.
¶ Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, used her authority as queen and wrote another letter, helped by Mordecai the Jew. In it, she confirmed what Mordecai had written earlier about the festival of Purim.
There are many problems in this verse, and if you compare different English versions you will see that they differ from each other in many ways. These Notes give some of the reasons for the differences.
along with Mordecai the Jew: Some commentators and English versions change the place of this phrase in the verse (see, for example, NJPS, CEV, REB) or omit it altogether (JB, which follows the LXX). However, it is recommended that you follow the BSB, which is the majority view and the clearest way of understanding the Hebrew text.
with full authority: The Hebrew word which the BSB translates “authority” literally means “strength, power.” Here it is referring to the authority Esther had as queen.
to confirm this second letter: This is a very difficult expression to understand. It seems clear from the context that this second letter refers to the letter Esther (and Mordecai) were now writing. The first letter was, then, the letter Mordecai wrote in 9:20. This is the view of most commentators. It is difficult, however, to understand how a letter can confirm itself. It would make more sense if this letter was written to confirm the letter which Mordecai had written (in 9:20). This is how a number of versions have translated it (GNT, NCV, NJPS). If a literal translation of this phrase would be difficult to understand in your language, you could follow one of these versions. See, for example, the NCV:
they wrote to prove the first letter was true
Purim: See note on 3:7b.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / distinguish
בַת־אֲבִיחַ֛יִל
daughter_of ʼAⱱīhayil
This information reminds the reader who Esther was.
Note 2 topic: translate-names
אֲבִיחַ֛יִל
ʼAⱱīhayil
This man was Esther’s father and Mordecai’s uncle. See how you translated his name in 2:15.
וּמָרְדֳּכַ֥י
(Some words not found in UHB: and,she_wrote ʼEştēr the,queen daughter_of ʼAⱱīhayil and,Mordecai the,Jew DOM all/each/any/every authority to,confirm DOM letter_of of,the_Purim (the),this the=second(fs) )
Since the Hebrew verb wrote is feminine singular, it means that the letter was from Esther. The mention of Mordecai here probably means that Mordecai helped her to write the letter. Alternate translation: [with Mordecai]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / distinguish
הַיְּהוּדִ֖י
(Some words not found in UHB: and,she_wrote ʼEştēr the,queen daughter_of ʼAⱱīhayil and,Mordecai the,Jew DOM all/each/any/every authority to,confirm DOM letter_of of,the_Purim (the),this the=second(fs) )
This phrase gives information about Mordecai to remind the reader.
וַ֠תִּכְתֹּב & אֶת־כָּל־תֹּ֑קֶף
(Some words not found in UHB: and,she_wrote ʼEştēr the,queen daughter_of ʼAⱱīhayil and,Mordecai the,Jew DOM all/each/any/every authority to,confirm DOM letter_of of,the_Purim (the),this the=second(fs) )
Alternate translation: [using her royal authority] or [using the authority that she had as queen]
Note 4 topic: translate-numbers
לְקַיֵּ֗ם אֵ֣ת אִגֶּ֧רֶת הַפּוּרִ֛ים הַזֹּ֖את הַשֵּׁנִֽית
(Some words not found in UHB: and,she_wrote ʼEştēr the,queen daughter_of ʼAⱱīhayil and,Mordecai the,Jew DOM all/each/any/every authority to,confirm DOM letter_of of,the_Purim (the),this the=second(fs) )
This second letter of Purim could refer to: (1) this letter that Esther is writing, which is the second letter that the Jews will receive about the festival of Purim. Alternate translation: [an additional letter about Purim with her authority] or (2) the second letter that Mordecai wrote (See: verses 20–22), creating the festival of Purim. Alternate translation: [to confirm what Mordecai had written about Purim in his second letter] In either case, this letter from Esther is to add her royal authority to what Mordecai had already written.
OET-LV And_ ʼEştēr the_queen the_daughter_of ʼAⱱīhayil and_Mordəkay the_Jew _she_wrote with all_of authority to_confirm DOM the_letter_of the_Purim (the)_this the_second(fs).
OET (OET-RV) Then Queen Ester (the daughter of Avihayil), with help from Mordekai the Yehudi (Jew), wrote a second letter about ‘Purim’.
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.
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