enemy / foe

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).

complete verse (Esther 9:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Esther 9:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “They ate/celebrated that feast remembering the day that Haman who was (an) enemy of all the Jews made a plot to kill the Jews totally. Lots were cast (which were called Purim) in order to know the day it would happen like that.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Haman, the enemy of the Jews [and] the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, cast lots to determine just the right day to annihilate the Jews. This was called "Pur" (or lots).” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Haman the son of Hamedata the Agagnon, the enemy of all the Jews, plotted to kill the Jews. He had-cast-lots so that he will-know when he is going to destroy them. The thing that was-used to cast-lots was called ‘pur.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru: “Haman, the son of Hammedatha of the clan of Agag, the person who was against the Jews, he cast lots for a day to kill the Jews. (The thing they used to cast lots, they called ‘Purim’) He looked for a way to kill in one instant all the Jewish people.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • English: “They would remember how Haman, son of Hammedatha, a descendant of King Agag, became an enemy of all the Jews. They would remember how he had made an evil plan to kill the Jews, and that he had cast lots/thrown small marked stones to choose the day to kill them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Esther 9:24   

The words of verses 24 and 25 are possibly intended to be part of the letter mentioned in verse 20; Bible en français courant introduces verse 24 with the words “Mordecai recalled this” (so also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente places 9.24-26a within quotation marks, clearly indicating that these words are part of the letter.

However, it is more likely that verses 24-25 recall the reason that the Jews followed Mordecai’s instructions (so Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible). Verse 24 in Revised English Bible begins “This they did because Haman….” Good News Translation presents the verse as a kind of editorial comment by the author.

On the Agagite see 3.1. Whereas elsewhere in the Book of Esther Haman has been called “the enemy of the Jews” (3.10; 8.1; 9.10), here he is called the enemy of all the Jews. Good News Translation says in all of these verses “the enemy of the Jewish people,” omitting the word “all” in verse 24. Since verses 20 and 30 of chapter 9 state that letters were sent “to all the Jews,” the presence of the word “all” in 9.24 should not be overlooked. On this long designation of Haman, see the comment on 3.1.

On cast Pur, see the comment on 3.7. This clause and the appositional that is the lot is a repetition from 3.7. For purposes of clarity Good News Translation expands by adding “to determine the day.” In 3.7 Haman himself did not cast lots, but in this verse he does appear to be the one who cast the lots.

Within the verse there is also repetition and expansion for increased emphasis and drama. Revised Standard Version translates to destroy them and to crush and destroy them. The first verb here is the same that was translated in 3.13 as “annihilate.” The verb translated to crush, hamam, is similar to the sound of the name Haman.

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 9:24

9:24a

For: This introduces a summary of the first eight chapters of Esther. It gives once more the reason for the festival of Purim and why it had that name. It may be what Mordecai wrote in his account (see 9:20).

Agagite: See note on 3:1a.

9:24b

Pur: See note on 3:7b.

© 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.