Ester 1:8

1:8 There were no restrictions on the drinking, ¹  for the king had instructed all of his supervisors ²  that they should do as everyone so desired. ³ 

Ester 1:11

1:11 to bring Queen Vashti into the king’s presence wearing her royal high turban. He wanted to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was very attractive. ⁴ 

Ester 1:17

1:17 For the matter concerning the queen will spread to all the women, leading them to treat their husbands with contempt, saying, ‘When King Ahasuerus gave orders to bring Queen Vashti into his presence, she would not come.’

Ester 2:16

2:16 Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth ⁵  month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh ⁶  year of his reign.

Ester 2:18

2:18 Then the king prepared a large banquet for all his officials and his servants – it was actually Esther’s banquet. He also set aside a holiday for the provinces, and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense. ⁷ 

Ester 2:20

2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, ⁸  just as Mordecai had instructed her. ⁹  Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

Ester 4:5

4:5 So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been placed at her service, ¹⁰  and instructed him to find out the cause and reason for Mordecai’s behavior. ¹¹ 

Ester 6:6

6:6 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, ¹²  “Who is it that the king would want to honor more than me?”

Ester 9:17

9:17 All of this happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They then rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day for banqueting and happiness.

Ester 9:26

9:26 For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur.

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the drinking was according to law; there was no one compelling.”

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “every chief of his house”; KJV “all the officers of his house”; NLT “his staff.”

[1:8]  ³ tn Heb “according to the desire of man and man.”

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “was good of appearance”; KJV “was fair to look on”; NAB “was lovely to behold.”

[2:16]  ⁵ tc The Greek MSS Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Vaticanus (B) read “twelfth” here.

[2:16]  ⁶ tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “fourth” here.

[2:18]  ⁷ tc The LXX does not include the words “and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.”

[2:20]  ⁸ sn That Esther was able so effectively to conceal her Jewish heritage suggests that she was not consistently observing Jewish dietary and religious requirements. As C. A. Moore observes, “In order for Esther to have concealed her ethnic and religious identity…in the harem, she must have eaten…, dressed, and lived like a Persian rather than an observant Jewess” (Esther [AB], 28.) In this regard her public behavior stands in contrast to that of Daniel, for example.

[2:20]  ⁹ tc The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”

[4:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “whom he caused to stand before her”; NASB “whom the king had appointed to attend her.”

[4:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “concerning Mordecai, to know what this was, and why this was.”

[6:6]  ¹² tn Heb “said in his heart” (so ASV); NASB, NRSV “said to himself.”