The verse break in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia comes after stood before the king. It is therefore preferable to begin verse 5 with And she said, unless the translator wishes to restructure and incorporate verses 4 and 5 into one discourse unit.

If it please introduces four formulaic conditions offered by Esther instead of one as in 5.4, or two as in 5.8. In alternating succession the conditions refer to the king’s attitude toward Esther’s request (conditions one and three; see comments on 1.19), and to the king’s attitude toward Esther herself (conditions two and four; see comments on 2.9, 15, 17). Pleasing in his eyes means that she has the king’s approval (so New Revised Standard Version, “if … I have his approval”).

As in other passages in the book, the king is addressed in the third person: If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight. Some translations will need to change the pronoun to second person to avoid confusion for the reader (see comment on 1.19). The style of language is formal as in Esther’s earlier requests addressed to the king.

Let an order be written is in the passive, but the agent is made explicit in Today’s English Version: “[you] please issue a proclamation.” Although Revised Standard Version specifies that an order is requested by Esther, the Hebrew text merely says “Let it be written….” The formality of court language can be retained by restating the verb; “May the king write,” for example, or “May the king cause to be written.”

Revoke: literally “to cause to come back.” Esther’s request seems to be in direct contradiction to what was stated in 1.19 about the laws of the Persians and the Medes. The translator may use an equivalent verb such as “withdraw, call back, remove.”

Provinces: see comments on 1.1.

Septuagint 8.5

The Greek version of this verse is considerably shorter than the Hebrew. The four conditions by which Esther introduces her request are reduced to two. The words “the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha” are also omitted. However, one detail is added, namely, that the letters were sent.

In both verses 5 and 6, Esther speaks in the second person to the king, rather than in the third person as in the Hebrew and as she had done earlier in the Greek (see Septuagint 5.4, 8). Her request, however, is made in the formal style of the court, “may it be sent to rescind the letters….” Neither the sender nor what Esther wishes sent is specified. New Revised Standard Version and Today’s English Version make it explicit that Esther is asking the king to issue an order.

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 .