[Today’s English Version E.18; Revised Standard Version 16.18]
The man himself who did these things: the emphatic form of this reference to Haman highlights the irony of the situation. The letters that had been sent out did not need to be obeyed because their author had been executed. The translation should try to make the reversal of the situation clear to the reader.
Has been hanged is literally “has been crucified.” In the context of Esther most translations interpret the verb to refer to hanging (see also comments on “hanged” in LXX 7.9). The hanging took place at the gate of Susa, or “at the entrance to the city” (Bible en français courant). The word gate is plural in Greek. Some translations use the singular (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible), perhaps because archaeological excavations indicate that there was only one huge city gate, thirty-six meters by eighteen meters, leading into the royal city. However, since the writer uses the plural, the plural should be retained in translation.
With all his household: literally “with all [his] house.” Not only was Haman hanged, so also was “his entire family” (Today’s English Version). This is the meaning that should be translated, even though the text only specifically cites the names of his ten sons. It says nothing about other persons who may have been members of his household.
The account of events given here contradicts the account given in the Hebrew version and in the parallel Septuagint version. According to the Hebrew text Haman was hanged at his own home, not at the city gate, and the reference is to Haman alone, not to his household (see 7.9-10). Since this Addition is placed in the Septuagint before chapter 9, it contradicts later events in the story. It is only during the events recorded in 9.1-10 that Haman’s sons are killed. This is on the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month (9.1), which was eleven months after this letter was written in Nisan, the first month. Their hanging is recorded in 9.13-14. Nevertheless, the duty of translators is to translate the text, not to attempt to harmonize apparent discrepancies.
God, who rules over all things: earlier the king had said that he ruled over the entire inhabited earth (13.2 [B.2]), but here he acknowledges that God is the one who “has power [or, who rules] over all things.” Bible en français courant says “God who is the master over everything that exists,” while Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates “God who is sovereign over all things.” New Jerusalem Bible shortens this to “Master of the universe.”
According to Revised Standard Version and most translations, God did not wait long to punish Haman, and this seems to be the sense of the Greek. Today’s English Version, however, appears to suggest that speedily means that the punishment itself was not long and drawn out. The idea of the verse is “For God … did not let much time pass before he punished Haman as he deserved to be punished.”
The punishment he deserved is a “fitting punishment” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “the punishment that was right for 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 .