Ester 1:4-5

1:4 He displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his majestic greatness for a lengthy period of time ¹  – a hundred and eighty days, to be exact! ²  1:5 When those days ³  were completed, the king then provided a seven-day ⁴  banquet for all the people who were present ⁵  in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. ⁶  It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

Ester 2:12

2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, ⁷  when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus – for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women –

Ester 2:19

Mordecai Learns of a Plot against the King

2:19 Now when the young women were being gathered again, ⁸  Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. ⁹ 

Ester 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ¹⁰  King Ahasuerus promoted ¹¹  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ¹²  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Ester 4:11

4:11 “All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable ¹³  to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court – that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared. ¹⁴  Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!”

Ester 4:16-17

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ¹⁵  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ¹⁶  If I perish, I perish!”

4:17 So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.

Ester 5:13

5:13 Yet all of this fails to satisfy me so long as I have to see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

Ester 8:12

8:12 This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus – namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).

Ester 9:4

9:4 Mordecai was of high rank ¹⁷  in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence ¹⁸  continued to become greater and greater.

Ester 9:28

9:28 These days were to be remembered and to be celebrated in every generation and in every family, every province, and every city. The Jews were not to fail to observe these days of Purim; the remembrance of them was not to cease among their descendants.

Ester 9:30

9:30 Letters were sent ¹⁹  to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus – words of true peace ²⁰  –

Ester 10:3

10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ²¹  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ²²  He worked enthusiastically ²³  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ²⁴  all his descendants. ²⁵ 

[1:4]  ¹ tn Heb “many days” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “for many days.”

[1:4]  ² tn The words “to be exact!” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation to bring out the clarifying nuance of the time period mentioned. Cf. KJV “even an hundred and fourscore days.”

[1:5]  ³ tc The Hebrew text of Esther does not indicate why this elaborate show of wealth and power was undertaken. According to the LXX these were “the days of the wedding” (αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ γάμου, Jai Jhmerai tou gamou), presumably the king’s wedding. However, a number of scholars have called attention to the fact that this celebration takes place just shortly before Xerxes’ invasion of Greece. It is possible that the banquet was a rallying for the up-coming military effort. See Herodotus, Histories 7.8. There is no reason to adopt the longer reading of the LXX here.

[1:5]  ⁴ tc The LXX has ἕξ ({ex, “six”) instead of “seven.” Virtually all English versions follow the reading of the MT here, “seven.”

[1:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “were found.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the great and unto the small.”

[2:12]  ⁷ tc The LXX does not include the words “that were required for the women.”

[2:12]  tn Heb “to be to her according to the law of the women”; NASB “under the regulations for the women.”

[2:19]  ⁸ tc The LXX does not include the words “Now when the young women were being gathered again.” The Hebrew word שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) is difficult in v. 19, but apparently it refers to a subsequent regathering of the women to the harem.

[2:19]  ⁹ sn That Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate apparently means that he was a high-ranking government official. It was at the city gate where important business was transacted. Being in this position afforded Mordecai an opportunity to become aware of the plot against the king’s life, although the author does not include the particular details of how this information first came to Mordecai’s attention.

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.”

[3:1]  sn The promotion of Haman in 3:1 for reasons unexplained contrasts noticeably with 2:19-23, where Mordecai’s contribution to saving the king’s life goes unnoticed. The irony is striking.

[3:1]  ¹² tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

[4:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “one is his law”; NASB “he (the king NIV) has but one law”

[4:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he will live”; KJV, ASV “that he may live”; NIV “and spare his life.”

[4:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”

[9:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “great”; NRSV “powerful”; NIV “prominent”; NCV “very important.”

[9:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the man Mordecai” (so NASB, NRSV).

[9:30]  ¹⁹ tc The present translation is based on the Niphal form וַיּשָּׁלַח (vayyishalakh, “were sent”; so also NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) rather than the reading of the MT וַיּשְׁלַח (vayyishlakh, Qal, “and he sent”). The subject of the MT verb would have to be Mordecai (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV), but this is problematic in light of v. 29, where both Esther and Mordecai are responsible for the letters.

[9:30]  ²⁰ tn Heb “peace and truth.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).

[10:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”

[10:3]  ²² tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”

[10:3]  ²³ tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”

[10:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”

[10:3]  ²⁵ sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).