1
Es 8:1-6.
英文原文
Es 8:1-6.
MORDECAI ADVANCED.
1. On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman . . . unto Esther--His property was confiscated, and everything belonging to him, as some compensation for the peril to which she had been exposed.
Mordecai came before the king--that is, was introduced at court and appointed one of the seven counsellors. Esther displayed great prudence and address in acknowledging Mordecai's relation to her at the moment most fitted to be of eminent service to him.
2
無標題
2. 王摘下戒指……交給末底改——藉此一舉動，把戒指所象徵的一切權柄都轉讓給他，並將他擢升至哈曼從前所任的崇高職位。
以斯帖派末底改管理哈曼的家——作為她的管家或代理，替她管理那已歸給她的一份龐大而富足的家業。
英文原文
2. the king took off his ring, . . . and gave it unto Mordecai--By that act transferring to him all the power and authority which the ring symbolized, and promoting him to the high dignity which Haman had formerly filled.
Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman--as her steward or factor, to manage that large and opulent estate which had been assigned to her.
3
無標題
3. 以斯帖又對王說話，俯伏在他腳前——那時王並非斜倚在席上，而是坐在榻上，很可能是波斯的坐姿，倚靠在軟墊上，一腳盤在身下。
流淚哀求他除掉哈曼所設的惡謀——即廢除那最近在哈曼暗中慫恿之下所通過的血腥諭旨
(斯 3:12)。
英文原文
3. Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet--The king was then not reclining at table, but sitting on a divan, most probably in the Persian attitude, leaning back against the cushions, and one foot under him.
besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman--that is, to repeal the sanguinary edict which, at the secret instigation of Haman, had been recently passed
(Es 3:12).
4
無標題
4. 王向以斯帖伸出金杖——表示她的請求已被悅納，她無需再繼續保持懇求者那卑微的姿態。
英文原文
4. Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther--in token that her request was accepted, and that she needed no longer to maintain the humble attitude of a suppliant.
5
無標題
5、6. 除掉哈曼……要滅猶太人所設的詔書——以斯帖在這事上的一舉一動都顯出極高的手腕；她用種種說法表達自己對身為君王的丈夫甘心順服，又巧妙地將那圖謀大屠殺的全部惡名歸在哈曼身上，並據王的批准乃是被人矇騙而得為由，力主諭旨當立即廢除——這一切都表明王后的智慧與技巧，她在這一點上也成功了。
英文原文
5, 6. reverse the letters devised by Haman . . . to destroy the Jews--The whole conduct of Esther in this matter is characterized by great tact, and the variety of expressions by which she describes her willing submission to her royal husband, the address with which she rolls the whole infamy of the meditated massacre on Haman, and the argument she draws from the king's sanction being surreptitiously obtained, that the decree should be immediately reversed--all indicate the queen's wisdom and skill, and she succeeded in this point also.
7
Es 8:7-14.
斯 8:7-14。
亞哈隨魯王准猶太人自衛。
英文原文
Es 8:7-14.
AHASUERUS GRANTS TO THE JEWS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.
8
無標題
8. ……可以奉王的名寫，用王的戒指蓋印——由此可見，王的戒指上顯然帶有印，將這印蓋在任何文件上，便蓋上了王權的印記，使其生效。
……無人能廢除——這話是作為他不能應王后之請、直接廢除或收回哈曼信件的理由而加上的；即瑪代和波斯的律法一經通過，便不可撤回。
英文原文
8. Write . . . in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring--Hence it is evident that the royal ring had a seal in it, which, being affixed to any document, authenticated it with the stamp of royal authority.
which . . . may no man reverse--This is added as the reason why he could not comply with the queen's request for a direct reversal or recall of Haman's letters; namely, that the laws of the Medes and Persians, once passed, were irrevocable.
10
無標題
10. ……交騎驛馬……騎駱駝和快騾的少年人——這事非常緊急，便要用最快的駱駝，原文所用的字正是指「風駱駝」。年輕的快騾（dromedary）也用來傳遞信件，因牠的動作輕快敏捷而出名。這樣的牲畜能夠在亞哈隨魯的新詔書到達、解救那些陷入危難的猶太人之前，將其傳遍波斯帝國的遼闊疆域，使之及時生效。
英文原文
10. sent . . . by posts . . . and riders on . . . camels, and young dromedaries--The business being very urgent, the swiftest kind of camel would be employed, and so the word in the original denotes the wind-camel. Young dromedaries also are used to carry expresses, being remarkable for the nimbleness and ease of their movements. Animals of this description could convey the new rescript of Ahasuerus over the length and breadth of the Persian empire in time to relieve the unhappy Jews from the ban under which they lay.
11
無標題
11-13. 王准猶太人……為自己的性命聚集保護、自衛，……殺戮……一切要攻擊他們的人——波斯諭旨所宣稱的固定而不更改的性質，往往使王陷入十分尷尬的窘境；因為無論他多麼深切地懊悔一時倉促魯莽所行的事，甚至連他也沒有能力阻止其後果。這便是王之所以不能廢除原詔，只能另發一道相反諭旨的緣由；按照這道諭旨所定的，若有人根據第一道諭旨攻擊猶太人，猶太人便可憑第二道諭旨自衛，甚至殺滅他們的仇敵。這程序無論看來多麼奇怪、甚至可笑，卻是因著波斯朝廷禮节的特殊之處所能採用的唯一之法。在聖經歷史中
(但 6:14)，
正如在世俗歷史中一樣，這樣的事例屢見不鮮。聖經許多經文都印證了這一點，尤其是但以理被扔進獅子坑這一為人熟知的事件——那是按照大流士那草率的諭旨而行的，儘管後來顯明，乃是違背那王本人的意願。波斯律法在這方面並無改變，君王的權柄同樣不可更改，近代遊歷該國者的書中所記的許多軼事都可以為證。
英文原文
11-13. the king granted the Jews . . . to stand for their life . . . to slay . . . all . . . that would assault them--The fixed and unalterable character claimed for Persian edicts often placed the king in a very awkward dilemma; for, however bitterly he might regret things done in a moment of haste and thoughtlessness, it was beyond even his power to prevent the consequences. This was the reason on account of which the king was laid under a necessity not to reverse, but to issue a contradictory edict; according to which it was enacted that if, pursuant to the first decree, the Jews were assaulted, they might, by virtue of the second, defend themselves and even slay their enemies. However strange and even ridiculous this mode of procedure may appear, it was the only one which, from the peculiarities of court etiquette in Persia, could be adopted. Instances occur in sacred
(Da 6:14),
no less than profane, history. Many passages of the Bible attest the truth of this, particularly the well-known incident of Daniel's being cast into the den of lions, in conformity with the rash decree of Darius, though, as it afterwards appeared, contrary to the personal desire of that monarch. That the law of Persia has undergone no change in this respect, and the power of the monarch not less immutable, appear from many anecdotes related in the books of modern travellers through that country.
15
Es 8:15-17.
斯 8:15-17。
末底改的尊榮與猶太人的喜樂。
15. 末底改穿著朝服出來——他穿上了官職尊榮的賞服（khelaat）。在波斯人當中，藍白色的衣服極受尊重；所以王所喜悅尊榮的末底改，事實上是穿上了王的服飾與徽章。一位寵臣所佩戴的徽章的多樣與樣式，立即向眾人表明他所被擢升的特定尊位。
英文原文
Es 8:15-17.
MORDECAI'S HONORS, AND THE JEWS' JOY.
15. Mordecai went out . . . in royal apparel--He was invested with the khelaat of official honor. A dress of blue and white was held in great estimation among the Persians; so that Mordecai, whom the king delighted to honor, was in fact arrayed in the royal dress and insignia. The variety and the kind of insignia worn by a favorite at once makes known to the people the particular dignity to which he has been raised.
斯 8:1-6。
末底改被高舉。
1. 當日，亞哈隨魯王把哈曼的家產……賜給以斯帖——他的財產被沒收，凡他一切所有的，都賜給了以斯帖，作為她曾被置於險境的一點補償。
末底改來到王面前——即被引見入朝，並被任命為七位謀臣之一。以斯帖在最有利於末底改的時刻才說明自己與末底改的親屬關係，顯出極大的審慎與手腕。