1
Es 8:1-6.
简体中文
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
简体中文
2. 王摘下戒指……交给末底改——借此一举动，把戒指所象征的一切权柄都转让给他，并将他擢升至哈曼从前所任的崇高职位。
以斯帖派末底改管理哈曼的家——作为她的管家或代理，替她管理那已归给她的一份庞大而富足的家业。
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
简体中文
3. 以斯帖又对王说话，俯伏在他脚前——那时王并非斜倚在席上，而是坐在榻上，很可能是波斯的坐姿，倚靠在软垫上，一脚盘在身下。
流泪哀求他除掉哈曼所设的恶谋——即废除那最近在哈曼暗中怂恿之下所通过的血腥谕旨
(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
简体中文
4. 王向以斯帖伸出金杖——表示她的请求已被悦纳，她无需再继续保持恳求者那卑微的姿态。
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
简体中文
5、6. 除掉哈曼……要灭犹太人所设的诏书——以斯帖在这事上的一举一动都显出极高的手腕；她用种种说法表达自己对身为君王的丈夫甘心顺服，又巧妙地将那图谋大屠杀的全部恶名归在哈曼身上，并据王的批准乃是被人蒙骗而得为由，力主谕旨当立即废除——这一切都表明王后的智慧与技巧，她在这一点上也成功了。
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.
简体中文
斯 8:7-14。
亚哈随鲁王准犹太人自卫。
英文原文
Es 8:7-14.
AHASUERUS GRANTS TO THE JEWS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.
8
無標題
简体中文
8. ……可以奉王的名写，用王的戒指盖印——由此可见，王的戒指上显然带有印，将这印盖在任何文件上，便盖上了王权的印记，使其生效。
……无人能废除——这话是作为他不能应王后之请、直接废除或收回哈曼信件的理由而加上的；即玛代和波斯的律法一经通过，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
简体中文
10. ……交骑驿马……骑骆驼和快骡的少年人——这事非常紧急，便要用最快的骆驼，原文所用的字正是指“风骆驼”。年轻的快骡（dromedary）也用来传递信件，因它的动作轻快敏捷而出名。这样的牲畜能够在亚哈随鲁的新诏书到达、解救那些陷入危难的犹太人之前，将其传遍波斯帝国的辽阔疆域，使之及时生效。
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
简体中文
11-13. 王准犹太人……为自己的性命聚集保护、自卫，……杀戮……一切要攻击他们的人——波斯谕旨所宣称的固定而不更改的性质，往往使王陷入十分尴尬的窘境；因为无论他多么深切地懊悔一时仓促鲁莽所行的事，甚至连他也没有能力阻止其后果。这便是王之所以不能废除原诏，只能另发一道相反谕旨的缘由；按照这道谕旨所定的，若有人根据第一道谕旨攻击犹太人，犹太人便可凭第二道谕旨自卫，甚至杀灭他们的仇敌。这程序无论看来多么奇怪、甚至可笑，却是因着波斯朝廷礼节的特殊之处所能采用的唯一之法。在圣经历史中
(但 6:14)，
正如在世俗历史中一样，这样的事例屡见不鲜。圣经许多经文都印证了这一点，尤其是但以理被扔进狮子坑这一为人熟知的事件——那是按照大流士那草率的谕旨而行的，尽管后来显明，乃是违背那王本人的意愿。波斯律法在这方面并无改变，君王的权柄同样不可更改，近代游历该国者的书中所记的许多轶事都可以为证。
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.
简体中文
斯 8:15-17。
末底改的尊荣与犹太人的喜乐。
15. 末底改穿着朝服出来——他穿上了官职尊荣的赏服（khelaat）。在波斯人当中，蓝白色的衣服极受尊重；所以王所喜悦尊荣的末底改，事实上是穿上了王的服饰与徽章。一位宠臣所佩戴的徽章的多样与样式，立即向众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。
末底改被高举。
1. 当日，亚哈随鲁王把哈曼的家产……赐给以斯帖——他的财产被没收，凡他一切所有的，都赐给了以斯帖，作为她曾被置于险境的一点补偿。
末底改来到王面前——即被引见入朝，并被任命为七位谋臣之一。以斯帖在最有利于末底改的时刻才说明自己与末底改的亲属关系，显出极大的审慎与手腕。