A new scene begins with verse 3. Some translations make this explicit: “In another audience with the king” (New American Bible); “Esther again went to speak to the king” (New Jerusalem Bible).
The Hebrew is literally “And she added and said.” This is idiomatic Hebrew and means that Esther spoke again. The Anchor Bible translation does not begin a new paragraph with verse 3, since the Hebrew does not say that Esther “came again,” only that she “spoke again.” Though it is possible that verse 3 continues the same scene as in verses 1-2 (so Anchor Bible), the fact that the king extended his scepter to Esther in verse 4 seems to indicate that Esther had come into the king’s presence on another occasion, as New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible state (but see comments on verse 7).
Through a sequence of six verbs, each prefaced by the connective waw, “and,” the author builds up the drama of the action to the high point of her plea: “and she added … and she spoke … and she fell … and she wept … and she implored….” Her request is that the king “cause the evil [wickedness] of Haman to go by” and “his project that he devised against the Jews.” The same basic word “evil [wickedness]” is used here that occurred in 7.6, 7 (see comments on “evil” in 7.7). In parallel phrases the author uses near synonyms to describe Haman’s intention, namely, evil design and plot.
On she fell at his feet, see the first paragraph of comments on 7.8. Like Today’s English Version, which uses a common English equivalent, “throwing herself at his feet,” the translator will need to select an appropriate verb to express Esther’s gesture of supplication in pleading for the king’s mercy for her people.
With tears is literally “and she wept.” Hebrew uses three verbs: “she fell … and she wept, and she pleaded [or, begged].” She wanted the king to avert the evil plot. To avert is literally “to cause to pass over.” In certain contexts, as here, the meaning is “to do away with,” “to get rid of.”
Haman the Agagite: see comments on 3.1.
Which he had devised against the Jews: it may be necessary to restate this to say “the plan [or thought, or design] that he had intended to carry out against [or, on] the Jews.”
Septuagint 8.3
Septuagint translates literally the beginning of the verse, which in Hebrew says that Esther “added and said,” which means that she spoke … again. The Greek does not mention Esther by name in this verse, but most translations begin a new paragraph here and use the proper noun rather than the pronoun she (Today’s English Version, Revised English Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
The Greek itself reflects the Hebrew, and both New Revised Standard Version and Today’s English Version shorten and combine it into a single plea (see comments in the paragraph above). According to the text, Esther “begged him to remove [avert] the evil of Haman and all that he did [planned] against the Jews.”
The Septuagint does not state that Esther “besought him with tears,” and it omits the words “the Agagite” after Haman’s name.
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 .