complete verse (Esther 9:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Esther 9:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then the king agreed and passed/decided that it should be done as Esther requested. That information was spread/announced in Susa and the corpses of the sons Haman were hanged.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then the king gave the order that it be done like that. The king’s order produced uproar in Susa and the corpses of all Haman’s ten sons were hung on pillars.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So the king commanded to do what Ester had-requested. The decree of the king was-proclaimed in Susa, and were-caused-to-be-hanged the corpses of Haman’s ten children.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru: “Then the king ordered them to do what she had said, and to take the proclamation into the town of Susa. The bodies of Haman’s ten sons they took and hanged at the place where they customarily hang people.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • English: “So the king commanded that the Jews be permitted to kill more of their enemies the next day. After he issued another order in Susa, the bodies of Haman’s ten sons were hanged.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

king

Click here to view graphically

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:

(Click or tap here to see details)

  • 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).

Translation commentary on Esther 9:14   

Revised Standard Version indicates the relationship of this verse to the preceding verse by translating the Hebrew conjunction as So.

Most translations understand the words the king commanded this to be done to refer to both requests of verse 13 (so apparently Revised Standard Version). It is possible that the word this refers only to the first request (so Anchor Bible: “So the king commanded this to be done: a decree was issued in Susa; and Haman’s ten sons were exposed”).

A decree was issued repeats Esther’s vocabulary of the preceding verse, where she uses dat (see comments above). It may be necessary to change from passive voice to active, perhaps using an indefinite third person plural, “they issued a decree.”

The ten sons of Haman were hanged: lest one think that the ten sons were alive at the time that they were hanged, Good News Translation says “the bodies … were publicly displayed.” This translation conveys the negative connotations associated with hanging, while not specifying how the bodies were displayed.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 9:14

9:14b

edict: See note on 1:20a.

© 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.