Ester 1:3

1:3 in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Ester 1:16

1:16 Memucan then replied to the king and the officials, “The wrong of Queen Vashti is not against the king alone, but against all the officials and all the people who are throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

Ester 2:8

2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known ⁵  many young women were taken to Susa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the royal palace ⁶  to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.

Ester 2:17

2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval ⁷  more than all the other young women. ⁸  So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen ⁹  in place of Vashti.

Ester 4:4

4:4 When Esther’s female attendants and her eunuchs came and informed her about Mordecai’s behavior, ¹⁰  the queen was overcome with anguish. Although she sent garments for Mordecai to put on so that he could remove his sackcloth, he would not accept them.

[1:3]  ¹ sn The third year of Xerxes’ reign would be ca. 483 b.c.

[1:3]  ² tc Due to the large numbers of people implied, some scholars suggest that the original text may have read “leaders of the army” (cf. NAB “Persian and Median aristocracy”; NASB “the army officers”; NIV “the military leaders”). However, there is no textual evidence for this emendation, and the large numbers are not necessarily improbable.

[1:3]  ³ sn Unlike the Book of Daniel, the usual order for this expression in Esther is “Persia and Media” (cf. vv. 14, 18, 19). In Daniel the order is “Media and Persia,” indicating a time in their history when Media was in the ascendancy.

[1:3]  ⁴ sn The size of the banquet described here, the number of its invited guests, and the length of its duration, although certainly immense by any standard, are not without precedent in the ancient world. C. A. Moore documents a Persian banquet for 15,000 people and an Assyrian celebration with 69,574 guests (Esther [AB], 6).

[2:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”

[2:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”

[2:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.

[2:17]  ⁸ tc The LXX does not include the words “more than all the other young women.”

[2:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “caused her to rule.”

[4:4]  ¹⁰ tn The words “about Mordecai’s behavior” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NIV, NLT “about Mordecai”; TEV, CEV “what Mordecai was doing.”