Translations
For Mordecai the Judean was second only to King Xerxes, and great among the Judeans and beloved by the multitude of his kindred — seeking the welfare of his people and speaking peace to all his offspring.
For Mordecai the Yehudi was second only to King Achashverosh, and great among the Yehudim, and accepted by the multitude of his kinsmen—seeking the good of his people and speaking shalom to all his seed.
For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews and highly favored by his many kinsmen, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.
Footnotes
This closing verse is dense with covenantal resonance. *Doresh tov le-ammo* ('seeking the good of his people') uses *darash*, a word of active, intentional pursuit — the same root used of seeking YHWH Himself (Deut. 4:29; Ps. 34:4). Mordecai does not merely benefit his people; he actively pursues their flourishing, a quality of covenantal leadership. *Davar shalom le-kol zar'o* ('speaking peace to all his seed/offspring') echoes both the priestly benediction's *shalom* (Num. 6:26) and the Abrahamic promise's *zera* ('seed/descendants', Gen. 22:17–18) — the story of one Jew's survival is quietly placed within the frame of the whole covenant people's future. The Joseph typology reaches its climax here: as Joseph was second to Pharaoh yet saved his people (Gen. 41:40–44), Mordecai is second to Xerxes yet secures the survival of Israel in exile. FOG preserves *shalom* untranslated to honor its irreducible wholeness; FOG Message renders it 'peace' to keep the benedictory cadence accessible, drawing out the liturgical echo of the Aaronic blessing.
