[Today’s English Version D.10; Revised Standard Version 15.10]

You shall not die: since Esther could be put to death for coming before the king without being summoned by him (see 4.11), the sense of these words is that Esther will not be “condemned to death” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

Our law applies only to the people is literally “our law is a common one.” The meaning is not entirely clear. Our law refers to the specific Persian law which said that anyone who approached the king without being called was to be put to death. The word used for law here is not the standard Greek term nomos but prostagma (see 2.8, 20). The people means the “ordinary people” (Today’s English Version; so also New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), assuming that this is the meaning of “a common one.” The members of royalty are excluded from the law.

Come near: Revised Standard Version follows Rahlfs’ text in keeping these words as a part of verse 10. The Göttingen text places these words (one word in Greek) alone as a single verse (verse 11). Many translations follow the Göttingen text (Today’s English Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Translators may choose either form of the division.

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 .