[Today’s English Version B.5; Revised Standard Version 13.5]

We understand is the royal “we” stating the king’s conclusions about the Jews, on the basis of which he has passed judgment and issued the sentence that will be stated in the next verse. Regarding this “royal we” or the “epistolary plural,” see the comments on the first person pronoun in verse 1. Bible en français courant and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente begin verse 5 this way: “I have learned that this people.”

The charges are repeated from the preceding verse, but they are expanded from two accusations to four accusations. First the Jews’ way of life is noted: (1) they follow strange customs and laws, and (2) they are opposed to the government. Then the effect of their behavior on the kingdom is described: (3) they do harm to the kingdom and (4) they make the kingdom politically unstable. Today’s English Version restructures the verse and reverses the order of the charges.

Not only are the Jewish people charged with being hostile to the other people of the empire, they are also charged with being alone in this opposition to “all men” (for all men see verse 2 above). The word alone is in the superlative form in Greek, meaning “the most alone.” Revised Standard Version attempts to capture this force of the word by using an emphatic construction, “and it alone.” Other translations include “this people, unique of its kind” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant) and “this most singular people” (New American Bible). Translators may wish to say “this people, they themselves alone,” or, “among all peoples there is no people like them who….”

Stands constantly in opposition to all men: the noun opposition comes from a verb meaning “to lead an army against [someone].” Here, however, the opposition is not by means of military attacks but simply by following strange customs and laws. Two models for translation are “always they never stand one with other people” and “always they do not want to have one heart [or, mind] with other people of the earth.”

Perversely following a strange manner of life and laws: this does not refer to moral perversion but emphasizes that the Jews are different, that they deviate from the norms of other people. According to Traduction œcuménique de la Bible this people “sets itself apart by conducting itself according to strange laws.” This people “differs by its outlandish laws” from all humanity (New Jerusalem Bible). A possible way to restructure this may be to say “The way of doing things of this people is not like the way of others; they do things according to laws that one does not understand [that one does not know the head of].”

Ill-disposed to our government: the verb has a rather general meaning of being “hostile toward” someone. The noun government may be understood in a general sense as “business” or “affairs” (see comments on verse 6). Some translations reflect this understanding: “hostile to our affairs” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) and “hostile to our interests” (New Jerusalem Bible, Nueva Biblia Española). But it sometimes has the more specific sense, as it seems to have here, of “state-affairs” or “government.” Revised English Bible expresses the sense well: “in disloyalty to our government.”

All the harm: literally “the worst evils” (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version use the general term harm, but the Greek word may also have the more specific sense of “crimes.” Compare “terrible crimes” (Today’s English Version), “the worst crimes” (New American Bible, Nueva Biblia Española), “the most heinous crimes” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “the most grave offenses” (Revised English Bible).

So that our kingdom may not attain stability: the Greek words rendered so that express purpose (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), not result. The king is claiming that these people are deliberately doing harm in order to upset the political stability of the kingdom. These words are better rendered “doing all the harm they can in order to prevent our kingdom from attaining stability.” Today’s English Version fails to express this relationship between the clauses. Receptor languages may have appropriate idioms to express stability: “to stand strong,” “to stand on good feet [or, foundations].” Some languages may express the idea of being stable with an ideophone.

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