complete verse (Esther 1:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Esther 1:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “That feast/celebration went on/continued for six months, and for all that period of time, that ruler was showing off his wealth which was not small and he boasted of the (great) size of the country he was ruling.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “For 180 days the great king displayed the great and splendid wealth and grandeur of his royal palace.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The feast lasted for six months; and during these months Ahasuerus showed how rich/wealthy his kingdom was, and how powerful and great he was.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru: “For six months King Xerxes showed all his wealth and all his authority and all the beautiful things in his house for the people that he had invited to see.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • English: “The celebration lasted for six months. During that time the king showed his guests all his wealth and other things that showed how great his kingdom was (OR, how great a king he was).” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Esther 1:4   

The riches of his royal glory is literally “the wealth of the glory of his kingdom.” Glory here has the sense of “dazzling”; Revised English Bible says “the dazzling wealth of his kingdom,” and Moffatt (Moffatt) says “his royal treasures in their splendour.” Since the display of the wealth of the kingdom is focused in the royal court, Good News Translation reads “the riches of the imperial court.” According to one modern historian, when Alexander the Great captured the Persian cities of Susa and Persepolis in 331 B.C., he found treasures that were the equivalent of 836 tons of gold (Olmstead, pages 518, 520).

The splendor and pomp of his majesty: these words are literally “the costly splendor of his [or, its] greatness.” The Hebrew pronoun attached to the word “greatness” may refer to the imperial court (so Good News Translation), but it is equally possible that it refers to the king (Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible). The word splendor sometimes means “ornament” and may refer to clothing (Isa 52.1) or to jewels (Ezek 16.17, 39). Moffatt renders these words “his rare kingly robes.” If the reference is to the king, then the meaning may be the glorious appearance and majesty of the king himself.

A hundred and eighty days was the length of time that the banquet continued, and this detail gives emphasis to the claim that the king showed his majesty for many days. Though most translations keep a literal rendering, some modern versions give the equivalent time in months, since it is more natural in those languages to speak of six months than of 180 days (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bible en français courant). In other languages it may be more acceptable to speak of “nights” or “markets,” that is, weeks, or even “half a year.” If days are converted to weeks, the total time specified should still be equal to 180 days.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on Esther (The Hebrew Text). (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .