Discovery BoxEsther 6:6-12
Context6:6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman thought to himself, 1 “Who is it that the king would want to honor more than me?” 6:7 So Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king wishes to honor, 6:8 let them bring royal attire which the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden – one bearing the royal insignia! 2 6:9 Then let this clothing and this horse be given to one of the king’s noble officials. Let him 3 then clothe the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him lead him about through the plaza of the city on the horse, calling 4 before him, ‘So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!’”
6:10 The king then said to Haman, “Go quickly! Take the clothing and the horse, just as you have described, and do as you just indicated to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Don’t neglect 5 a single thing of all that you have said.”
6:11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”
6:12 Then Mordecai again sat at the king’s gate, while Haman hurried away to his home, mournful and with a veil over his head.
Proverbs 3:35
Context3:35 The wise inherit honor,
but he holds fools up 6 to public contempt. 7
Proverbs 11:2
Context11:2 When pride 8 comes, 9 then comes disgrace, 10
but with humility 11 comes 12 wisdom.
Proverbs 16:18
Context16:18 Pride 13 goes 14 before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall. 15
Ezekiel 28:2-10
Context28:2 “Son of man, say to the prince 16 of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Your heart is proud 17 and you said, “I am a god; 18
I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” –
yet you are a man and not a god,
though you think you are godlike. 19
28:3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; 20
no secret is hidden from you. 21
28:4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself;
you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.
28:5 By your great skill 22 in trade you have increased your wealth,
and your heart is proud because of your wealth.
28:6 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says:
Because you think you are godlike, 23
28:7 I am about to bring foreigners 24 against you, the most terrifying of nations.
They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, 25
and they will defile your splendor.
28:8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die violently 26 in the heart of the seas.
28:9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you –
though you are a man and not a god –
when you are in the power of those who wound you?
28:10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised 27 by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
Daniel 4:30-34
Context4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence 28 by my own mighty strength 29 and for my majestic honor?” 4:31 While these words were still on the king’s lips, 30 a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, 31 King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you! 4:32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before 32 you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”
4:33 Now in that very moment 33 this pronouncement about 34 Nebuchadnezzar came true. 35 He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails like a bird’s claws. 36
4:34 But at the end of the appointed time 37 I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up 38 toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.
I extolled the Most High,
and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.
For his authority is an everlasting authority,
and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.
[6:6] 1 tn Heb “said in his heart” (so ASV); NASB, NRSV “said to himself.”
[6:8] 2 tc The final comment (“one on whose head the royal crown has been”) is not included in the LXX.
[6:9] 3 tc The present translation reads with the LXX וְהִלְבִּישׁוֹ (vÿhilbisho, “and he will clothe him”) rather than the reading of the MT וְהִלְבִּישׁוּ (vÿhilbishu, “and they will clothe”). The reading of the LXX is also followed by NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, and NLT. Likewise, the later verbs in this verse (“cause him to ride” and “call”) are better taken as singulars rather than plurals.
[6:9] 4 tn Heb “and let them call” (see the previous note).
[6:10] 5 tn Heb “do not let fall”; NASB “do not fall short.”
[3:35] 6 tc MT reads מֵרִים (merim, “he lifts up”): singular Hiphil participle of רוּם (rum, “to rise; to exalt”), functioning verbally with the
[3:35] 7 tn The noun קָלוֹן (qalon, “ignominy; dishonor; contempt”) is from קָלָה (qalah) which is an alternate form of קָלַל (qalal) which means (1) “to treat something lightly,” (2) “to treat with contempt [or, with little esteem]” or (3) “to curse.” The noun refers to personal disgrace or shame. While the wise will inherit honor, fools will be made a public display of dishonor. God lets fools entangle themselves in their folly in a way for all to see.
[11:2] 8 tn Heb “presumptuousness.” This term is from the root זִיד, zid (or זוּד, zud) which means “to boil; to seethe; to act proudly; to act presumptuously.” The idea is that of boiling over the edge of the pot, signifying overstepping the boundaries (e.g., Gen 25:29).
[11:2] 9 tn The verbs show both the sequence and the correlation. The first is the perfect tense of בּוֹא (bo’, “to enter; to come”); it is followed by the preterite with vav consecutive from the same verb, showing that one follows or comes with the other. Because the second verb in the colon is sequential to the first, the first may be subordinated as a temporal clause.
[11:2] 10 sn This proverb does not state how the disgrace will come, but affirms that it will follow pride. The proud will be brought down.
[11:2] 11 tn Heb “modesty”; KJV, ASV “the lowly.” The adjective צְנוּעִים (tsÿnu’im, “modest”) is used as a noun; this is an example of antimeria in which one part of speech is used in the place of another (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 491-506), e.g., “Let the dry [adjective] appear!” = dry land (Gen 1:9). The root צָנַע (tsana’, “to be modest; to be humble”) describes those who are reserved, retiring, modest. The plural form is used for the abstract idea of humility.
[11:2] 12 tn The term “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation from parallelism.
[16:18] 13 sn The two lines of this proverb are synonymous parallelism, and so there are parasynonyms. “Pride” is paired with “haughty spirit” (“spirit” being a genitive of specification); and “destruction” is matched with “a tottering, falling.”
[16:18] 14 tn Heb “[is] before destruction.”
[16:18] 15 sn Many proverbs have been written in a similar way to warn against the inevitable disintegration and downfall of pride. W. McKane records an Arabic proverb: “The nose is in the heavens, the seat is in the mire” (Proverbs [OTL], 490).
[28:2] 16 tn Or “ruler” (NIV, NCV).
[28:2] 18 tn Or “I am divine.”
[28:2] 19 tn Heb “and you made your heart (mind) like the heart (mind) of gods.”
[28:3] 20 sn Or perhaps “Danel” (so TEV), referring to a ruler known from Canaanite legend. See the note on “Daniel” in 14:14. A reference to Danel (preserved in legend at Ugarit, near the northern end of the Phoenician coast) makes more sense here when addressing Tyre than in 14:14.
[28:3] 21 sn The tone here is sarcastic, reflecting the ruler’s view of himself.
[28:6] 23 tn Heb “because of your making your heart like the heart of gods.”
[28:7] 24 sn This is probably a reference to the Babylonians.
[28:7] 25 tn Heb “they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom.”
[28:8] 26 tn Heb “you will die the death of the slain.”
[28:10] 27 sn The Phoenicians practiced circumcision, so the language here must be figurative, indicating that they would be treated in a disgraceful manner. Uncircumcised peoples were viewed as inferior, unclean, and perhaps even sub-human. See 31:18 and 32:17-32, as well as the discussion in D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:99.
[4:30] 29 tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”
[4:31] 30 tn Aram “in the mouth of the king.”
[4:31] 31 tn Aram “to you they say.”
[4:33] 35 tn Aram “was fulfilled.”
[4:33] 36 tn The words “feathers” and “claws” are not present in the Aramaic text, but have been added in the translation for clarity.
