[Today’s English Version E.11; Revised Standard Version 16.11]
[He] so far enjoyed: this may need to be restated to make the king the subject of an active verb; for example, “We did so much kindness toward him like the kindness we do toward every nation….”
We have: Today’s English Version understands the plural pronoun as a plural of majesty (see verse 8).
That he was called our father: that Haman was called father serves to illustrate the extent to which the king’s good will was extended toward Haman (see comments on B.6). Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “he benefitted from the good will that we show toward every nation, up to the point of being called ‘Father’ and of seeing everyone bow down before him.”
Haman was called our father. If the word “we” spoken by the king in Addition E is the plural of majesty, that is, referring to the speaker, then “our father” may mean “father of the king” (so New American Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Most translations, however, keep the words “our father,” since the end of this verse indicates the high respect the people had for Haman.
That Haman was bowed down to by all as the person second to the royal throne means that the people of the Persian empire honored Haman more than anyone else except the king himself.
The text says literally that Haman was continually bowed down to by all. Since Haman had such a high position in the royal court, people prostrated themselves before him in the oriental fashion as they did before the king. Today’s English Version‘s “received more honor” is not as specific as the Greek in indicating how in the Persian culture people paid honor to Haman. Revised English Bible is more specific: “used to receive obeisance from everyone.” New Jerusalem Bible says “being accorded … the prostration of respect.”
In the second part of the verse, as in the first, it may be necessary to use active verbs; for example, “people proclaimed him ‘Father’ … and they all continually bowed down to him….”
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 .