13:6 Suppose your own full brother, 1 your son, your daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend should seduce you secretly and encourage you to go and serve other gods 2 that neither you nor your ancestors 3 have previously known, 4 13:7 the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth 5 to the other). 13:8 You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him. 13:9 Instead, you must kill him without fail! 6 Your own hand must be the first to strike him, 7 and then the hands of the whole community.
The king said, “Hang him on it!” 7:10 So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king’s rage then abated.
1 tn Heb “your brother, the son of your mother.” In a polygamous society it was not rare to have half brothers and sisters by way of a common father and different mothers.
2 tn In the Hebrew text these words are in the form of a brief quotation: “entice you secretly saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods.’”
3 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 17).
4 tn Heb “which you have not known, you or your fathers.” (cf. KJV, ASV; on “fathers” cf. v. 18).
5 tn Or “land” (so NIV, NCV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “land” or “earth.”
6 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail” (cf. NIV “you must certainly put him to death”).
7 tn Heb “to put him to death,” but this is misleading in English for such an action would leave nothing for the others to do.
8 tn Heb “men, sons of Belial.” The Hebrew term בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al) has the idea of worthlessness, without morals or scruples (HALOT 133-34 s.v.). Cf. NAB, NRSV “scoundrels”; TEV, CEV “worthless people”; NLT “worthless rabble.”
9 tc The LXX and Tg read “your” for the MT’s “their.”
10 tn The translation understands the relative clause as a statement by Moses, not as part of the quotation from the evildoers. See also v. 2.
11 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “by all means.” Cf. KJV, NASB “surely”; NIV “certainly.”
12 tn Or “put under divine judgment. The Hebrew word (חֵרֶם, kherem) refers to placing persons or things under God’s judgment, usually to the extent of their complete destruction.Though primarily applied against the heathen, this severe judgment could also fall upon unrepentant Israelites (cf. the story of Achan in Josh 7). See also the note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.
13 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by “make certain.”
14 tn Heb “hung,” but this could convey the wrong image in English (hanging with a rope as a means of execution). Cf. NCV “anyone whose body is displayed on a tree.”
15 sn The idea behind the phrase cursed by God seems to be not that the person was impaled because he was cursed but that to leave him exposed there was to invite the curse of God upon the whole land. Why this would be so is not clear, though the rabbinic idea that even a criminal is created in the image of God may give some clue (thus J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy [JPSTC], 198). Paul cites this text (see Gal 3:13) to make the point that Christ, suspended from a cross, thereby took upon himself the curse associated with such a display of divine wrath and judgment (T. George, Galatians [NAC], 238-39).
16 tn Heb “surrounding the slain [one].”
17 tn Heb “slain [one].”
18 tn Heb “wadi,” a seasonal watercourse through a valley.
19 tn Heb “in the eyes of” (so ASV, NASB, NIV).
20 sn Cf. 1:10, where Harbona is one of the seven eunuchs sent by the king to summon Queen Vashti to his banquet.
21 tn Heb “fifty cubits.” See the note on this expression in Esth 5:14.