He went up to means that he went as far as the gate. FOX says “he came up to the King’s Gate but no farther.” The Hebrew is literally “until the face of the gate,” meaning he stopped in front of the gate. Mordecai stopped at the palace entrance, because no one dressed in sackcloth was allowed to enter the palace. Wearing sackcloth within the palace was prohibited, not merely because of the crude appearance of sackcloth, but because it symbolized mourning and death.

While some translations like Revised Standard Version and New International Version use the verb he went, others like Good News Translation and FOX say “he came.” The difference in the two verbs is in the perspective of the author, who sees Mordecai going toward the palace, and therefore away from the one telling the story, or who sees Mordecai coming toward the palace and therefore toward the one telling the story. This difference is not specified in the Hebrew verb, but it is made explicit in the English went and “came.” Translators will need to choose a word in their language that is consistent with the way the story is being told.

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 .