[Today’s English Version E.1; Revised Standard Version 16.1]
Compare the introduction of this letter with the king’s earlier letter (B.1). On the names Artaxerxes and “Xerxes,” see comments on A.1-3.
The one hundred and twenty-seven satrapies is in apposition to the provinces. That is, provinces and satrapies refer to the same thing. Some translations, however, suggest that the provinces are within the satrapies (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Indeed, the Hebrew text distinguishes between satrapies and provinces in 3.12; 8.9; 9.3, though the Greek text does not. In spite of the clear distinction in the Hebrew text between these two administrative units, the Greek text should not be harmonized to agree with the Hebrew. Many translations of this verse omit the word satrapies (Today’s English Version, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Since the writer seems to use these two nouns as synonyms, translators may wish to follow the model of New Revised Standard Version: “to the governors of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, and to those who are loyal.”
Addition B (13.1-7) was addressed to the government officials only. This letter (Addition E) is addressed both to the officials and to the rest of the citizens of the empire, that is, to those who are loyal to our government.
Loyal to our government: the text says “those who uphold [or, mind] our [things].” It is not made explicit what our describes. Therefore some translations interpret it to refer to the government (Revised Standard Version), others to the king’s interests or affairs (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous), and some say generally “loyal subjects” (Bible en français courant and New Jerusalem Bible). This may be simply stated “all those who stand behind us” or “who uphold our interests.”
Our government: the note in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible indicates that throughout Addition E the first person plural pronoun is a plural of majesty, which refers to the king himself (see verses 3, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15; and see also the comment on 13.1, which is B.1). It is in fact unclear whether all of these pronouns are a plural of majesty. Most translations maintain the plural of majesty, but Today’s English Version uses the first person singular in verses 8, 10, 13, 15, though not in verses 3 and 7. On the other hand, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente uses the first person singular in verses 7-11, 13-16. The translator should follow natural practice in receptor culture usage.
Greeting: following formal identification of the sender of the letter and of the intended recipients, the King expresses his official greetings. It may be helpful to restate this introduction in complete sentences; for example, “This letter is from … to… The King greets you.” Or if appropriate it may be stated in the first person: “It is I… I greet you.” In some languages it may be more natural to express the greeting before identifying the source of the letter (see Today’s English Version), but the translator should be careful not to change the author’s focus.
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 .