[Today’s English Version F.6; Revised Standard Version 10.9]

In striking contrast to the “nations” of verse 8 above, this verse speaks of my nation, using the same Greek word ethnos. The emphasis of the original text is partly conveyed by the literal translation of Revised Standard Version. Israel is, of course, the people of Israel, “the ones who called upon God [for help] and who were saved.” This nation is then identified as his people (laos) by means of an expression of praise, The Lord has saved his people.

Saved … delivered: near synonyms are a common feature in the Hebrew version of Esther. This is an example of near synonyms in the Greek. Both words have been used a number of times throughout the Greek text. The idea of being safe, of being spared, of being saved, occurs in 4.11, 13; 13.9 (C.2); and here. The idea of rescuing or delivering from something occurs in 4.8; 14.14, 19 (C.25, 30); and here. These concepts are important because they refer to a major theme of the story of Esther, and they are both brought together here, namely, The Lord has saved his people and the Lord has delivered us.

In the Greek the parallel lines and the word order give emphasis to the things that God has done. A literal translation reads as follows: “And saved the Lord his people, and delivered the Lord us … and did God great signs….” The focus develops as one concept builds upon another, from the Lord saving his people, to the Lord delivering us, to God doing great signs and wonders. In some languages a similar emphasis may be reflected as follows: “As for saving his people, the Lord saved them; as for delivering us from all these bad things, the Lord delivered us; as for doing great signs and wonders, God did them that have not happened among the nations.”

The great signs and wonders that God had done probably refers to the events in the book of Esther. All these evils, or “all these bad things,” are those that had nearly befallen the Jews and that are recorded in the book. Signs and wonders occur frequently together in the Old Testament (for example, Exo 7.3; Deut 4.34; 6.22; 26.8; Psa 135.9; Dan 4.2) and are acts of God that have a miraculous character. The word translated signs is often used to point to a truth beyond itself. Wonders suggests events that evoke a sense of awe or astonishment among the observers. Since these two terms are often a fixed phrase in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, it is not possible to establish any significant difference between the two words. They may therefore sometimes be translated together as “wonderful miracles” (so Anchor Bible), or perhaps “miraculous signs.” However, since the two terms may occur separately, not in a fixed phrase—for example, in Dan 4.3—it is preferable to translate both words individually. “Sign” may be literally “something that shows something,” but often it is translated “miracle” (Today’s English Version, Bible en français courant). “Wonder” may be a “marvel,” “something that causes wonder [or, awe].” It should be noted that in this context the signs and wonders are described as being great. This is a repetition of a theme that has occurred earlier in the Greek version of Esther (see comments A.7).

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 .