SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2000 – Page 8

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 4:1

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.

Paragraph 4:1–3

4:1b

tore his clothes: This was one way Jews showed that something terrible had happened to them.

put on sackcloth: Sackcloth was coarse cloth usually made from goat’s hair and black in color. The Jews dressed in sackcloth to mourn for the dead or at times of great personal or national disaster.

put on…ashes: This was yet another way to show deep grief. A person would usually sprinkle the ashes on his head.

You may need to find some way of informing your readers that all these actions were a sign of being very unhappy about something. The Display shows one way. Another way would be to explain the actions in a footnote.

4:1c

wailing loudly and bitterly: Use the natural expression in your language for expressing great sorrow.

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 4:2

4:2a

the king’s gate: See note on 2:19b. Here however it refers literally to the palace entrance.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 4:3

4:3a

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

4:3b

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

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 New Century Version has:

many of them lay down on rough cloth and ashes

(Berean Standard Bible, New Century Version, Revised English Bible)

(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 God’s Word has:

Many put on sackcloth and ashes

(God’s Word)

(3) lay in sackcloth means to lie down wearing sackcloth. However lay in…ashes means to lie down on ashes. For example, the Good News Translation has:

most of them put on sackcloth and lay in ashes

(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version)

It is recommended that you follow the first option.

Paragraph 4:4–5

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 4:4

-5

4:4a

Esther’s maidens and eunuchs: These were Esther’s female and male servants. For more on “eunuch” see the note on 1:10b.

Paragraph 4:6–8

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 4:6

4:6

the city square: This was an open area where there were no buildings.

the king’s gate: See note on 4:2a. Here too it refers literally to the palace entrance.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 4:7

4:7b

the royal treasury: See note on 3:9b.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 4:8

4:8a

a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews: That is, a copy of the document which ordered people to kill the Jews.

4:8c

for her people: Mordecai was reminding Esther that she too was a Jew. If there is no distinction between “his” and “her” in your language, you must take care that it is referring clearly to Esther’s people, not the king’s or Hathach’s.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 4:9

-10

Paragraph 4:9–11

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 2000