5She said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favor, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way to do this is through the usage #of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “judge,” “suppose,” “wish,” or “care” in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-omoi (お思い), combining the verb “think” (okuri) with the respectful prefix o-.
Other uses of honorifics in this verse include:
The usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) by using –sama. This title is distinct from nominal titles such as “teacher” or “king.” Here, ō-sama (王様) “king” is a combination of the nominal title ō “king” and the suffix title –sama.
The choice of an honorific prefix. Here, o-kini mesu (お気に召す) is used, combining “please” or “do me a favor” (kini mesu) with the respectful prefix o-. Also, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) is used, as in go-kōi (ご好意), a combination of “favor” (kōi) and go-.
The choice of an imperative construction. Here, the honorific form kudasai (ください) reflects that the action is called for as a favor for the sake of the beneficiary. This polite kudasai imperative form is often translated as “please” in English. While English employs pure imperatives in most imperative constructions (“Do this!”), Japanese chooses the polite kudasai (“Do this, please.”).
The choice of a benefactive construction. Here, dashite (出して) or “send” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Haman” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign for “stuck up,” exemplified in Esther 5:11. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Esther 8:5:
Kupsabiny: “and he handed (it) to Esther to show that he had listened/accepted her words. Then Esther rose up and said, ‘King, do you know that/are you aware that Haman already wrote letters telling out that all the Jews in your country are to be destroyed? So, if you love me and it looks good to you, I request you to write letters which say that it should not be done as Haman had planned.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Esther said, "[Oh] Great King, if it is true that you love me, if it is true that you will fulfill my request, and if my request is pleasing to you, write another letter, Your Honor, cancelling the letter [in which] the plan was written by the Agagite, Haman son of Hammedatha to carry out the annihilation of all the Jews in all the king’s provinces.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘If (it is) true that you (sing.) are nice to me, Beloved King, and you (sing.) are pleased with me, do this if you (sing.) like/want and if (it is) seemed right to you (sing.): [You (sing.)] cause-to-write a decree/command that the command of Haman the child of Hamedata the Agagnon no-longer be-executed/continued. This decree that Haman had-caused-to-be-written states to kill the Jews throughout the whole kingdom.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Eastern Bru: “And queen Esther said: "Honored king! If you feel pleased and have favor toward me, and if you feel it is right, then please ask them to write blocking so they won’t follow the words that Haman, the son of Hammedatha of the clan of Agag, had written. Because he wrote a proclamation to destroy all the Jewish people in all the countries that the king rules.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
English: “She said, ‘Your majesty, if you are pleased with me, and if you think that it is the right thing to do, make a new law to cancel what Haman decreed, that all the Jews in all the provinces in your empire should be killed.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
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 Good News Translation: “[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.
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 .
This part of the verse contains four main clauses:
1. If it pleases the king
2. and if I have found favor in his sight
3. and the matter seems proper to the king
4. and I am pleasing in his sight
Clause 1, If it pleases the king, is similar in meaning to clause 3, and the matter seems proper to the king, and clause 2, and if I have found favor in his sight, is similar in meaning to clause 4, and I am pleasing in his sight.
You need to decide in your translation whether you should translate each clause separately or whether you should combine clauses. Any of these ways is acceptable, so you can choose the one that can be most easily translated into your language. Good News Translation has translated clauses 1 and 3 separately but combined 2 and 4. You could also combine 1 and 3, then combine 2 and 4, as in the Contemporary English Version:
I know you will do the right thing, and that you really love me
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