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 2:20

2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, ⁴  just as Mordecai had instructed her. ⁵  Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

Ester 9:5

9:5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies.

[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.”

[2:20]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tc The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”