Esther 1:22

1:22 He sent letters throughout all the royal provinces, to each province according to its own script and to each people according to its own language, ¹  that every man should be ruling his family ²  and should be speaking the language of his own people. ³ 

Esther 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ⁴  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ⁵  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ⁶  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Esther 4:4

4:4 When Esther’s female attendants and her eunuchs came and informed her about Mordecai’s behavior, ⁷  the queen was overcome with anguish. Although she sent garments for Mordecai to put on so that he could remove his sackcloth, he would not accept them.

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¹ sn For purposes of diplomacy and governmental communication throughout the far-flung regions of the Persian empire the Aramaic language was normally used. Educated people throughout the kingdom could be expected to have competence in this language. But in the situation described in v. 22 a variety of local languages are to be used, and not just Aramaic, so as to make the king’s edict understandable to the largest possible number of people.

² tn Heb “in his house”; NIV “over his own household.”

³ tc The final prepositional phrase is not included in the LXX, and this shorter reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT). Some scholars suggest the phrase may be the result of dittography from the earlier phrase “to each people according to its language,” but this is not a necessary conclusion. The edict was apparently intended to reassert male prerogative with regard to two things (and not just one): sovereign and unquestioned leadership within the family unit, and the right of deciding which language was to be used in the home when a bilingual situation existed.

⁴ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

⁶ tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”

⁷ tn The words “about Mordecai’s behavior” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NIV, NLT “about Mordecai”; TEV, CEV “what Mordecai was doing.”