complete verse (Esther 6:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Esther 6:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then Haman got up and brought that cloth and brought the horse. He then dressed Mordecai in those clothes and made him climb on that horse and took him round the whole town while announcing that, ‘One does like this to/for a person whom the king has decided to honor.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Like that Haman honored him by clothing him. Then taking a horse and causing him to ride, he went in front of him from city square to city square proclaiming "Look, this is what is done for the person the king wishes to honor."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So Haman took the garment/clothes and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai and caused- him to-ride on the horse. Then he led- him -around city while he is-shouting, ‘This is is-done to the person whom the king is-pleased to honor.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru: “So Haman took the cloak and horse, and put the cloak on Mordecai. Then he let the horse and announced all over the town letting all the common people know: "Look here! Like this the king does to the person he wants to honor."” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • English: “So Haman did what the king said. He got the robe and the horse. He put the robe on Mordecai, and as Mordecai sat on the horse, Haman led the horse through the city streets proclaiming ‘This is what the king does/is doing for the man whom the king wants to honor!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“think/consider/will”)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, omow-are-ru (思われる) or “think/consider/will” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Esther 6:11   

This verse repeats much of verse 9 above, including the proclamation, which is repeated word-for-word. Repetition is a common stylistic feature of the book of Esther and should be retained in translation wherever possible.

As noted for 6.9, some interpreters understand the words and made him ride through to be incorrectly translated. They argue that the verb here as in verse 9 means “and he caused Mordecai to be mounted on the horse,” with no reference to moving through the city square. This interpretation is almost universally rejected in modern translations. The translator should follow the widely accepted interpretation, namely, that Haman “led” or “paraded” Mordecai through the city center.

Proclaiming: see comments for verse 9 above. It is important that the language and style of this announcement be appropriate in the context.

Thus shall it be done: see the comments on verse 9 above.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on Esther (The Hebrew Text). (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .