[Today’s English Version F.2; Revised Standard Version 10.5]

The word For at the beginning of verse 5 introduces the reason why Mordecai is sure that “all these things are the work of God” (Bible en français courant).

The dream that Mordecai had is Addition A.1-17 (11.2–12.6) at the beginning of the Greek text of Esther. Now Mordecai “remembers” it or is “reminded” of it, a theme that has occurred repeatedly throughout the book. In some languages it will be necessary to translate “Because I do not forget.”

These matters, literally “these words,” refer to the events narrated in the book of Esther, called “These things” in 10.4 (F.1). New American Bible makes the connection to F.1 clear by saying “I recall the dream I had about these very things.” Other possible renderings are “For I remember dreaming that these very things would happen” or “Now I remember the dream that I had, and it was referring to these things” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). In some languages there may be a special word or particle like “then, before” to refer back to the dream that was mentioned before; for example, “the dream that I dreamed before there that told me about these things that would arrive, all of them arrived, not one fell down.”

Different languages will express the main point of this verse differently. The Greek is literally “for no word [matter] of them has passed by.” That is, nothing of the dream has failed to occur, or “everything has come true” (Today’s English Version). This may also be said idiomatically as “everything has arrived, nothing has fallen down” or “all those things [told about in the dream] have become seed [or, bone],” that is, “have become real.”

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 .