Ester 1:9

1:9 Queen Vashti ¹  also gave a banquet for the women in King Ahasuerus’ royal palace.

Ester 1:12

1:12 But Queen Vashti refused ²  to come at the king’s bidding ³  conveyed through the eunuchs. Then the king became extremely angry, and his rage consumed ⁴  him.

Ester 2:5

2:5 Now there happened to be a Jewish man in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai. ⁵  He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

Ester 2:11

2:11 And day after day Mordecai used to walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem in order to learn how Esther was doing ⁶  and what might happen to her.

Ester 2:19

Mordecai Learns of a Plot against the King

2:19 Now when the young women were being gathered again, ⁷  Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. ⁸ 

Ester 3:11

3:11 The king replied to Haman, “Keep your money, ⁹  and do with those people whatever you wish.” ¹⁰ 

Ester 3:14

3:14 A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, ¹¹  so that they would be prepared for this day.

Ester 4:2

4:2 But he went no further than the king’s gate, for no one was permitted to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth.

Ester 5:4

5:4 Esther replied, “If the king is so inclined, ¹²  let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

Ester 5:10

5:10 But Haman restrained himself and went on to his home.

He then sent for his friends to join him, ¹³  along with his wife Zeresh.

Ester 6:14

6:14 While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived. They quickly brought Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Ester 9:30

9:30 Letters were sent ¹⁴  to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus – words of true peace ¹⁵  –

[1:9]  ¹ sn Vashti is the name of Xerxes’ queen according to the Book of Esther. But in the Greek histories of this period the queen’s name is given as Amestris (e.g., Herodotus, Histories 9.108-13). The name Vashti does not seem to occur in the nonbiblical records from this period. Apparently the two women are not to be confused, but not enough is known about this period to reconcile completely the biblical and extrabiblical accounts.

[1:12]  ² sn Refusal to obey the king was risky even for a queen in the ancient world. It is not clear why Vashti behaved so rashly and put herself in such danger. Apparently she anticipated humiliation of some kind and was unwilling to subject herself to it, in spite of the obvious dangers. There is no justification in the biblical text for an ancient Jewish targumic tradition that the king told her to appear before his guests dressed in nothing but her royal high turban, that is, essentially naked.

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “at the word of the king”; NASB “at the king’s command.”

[1:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “burned in him” (so KJV).

[2:5]  ⁵ sn Mordecai is a pagan name that reflects the name of the Babylonian deity Marduk. Probably many Jews of the period had two names, one for secular use and the other for use especially within the Jewish community. Mordecai’s Jewish name is not recorded in the biblical text.

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “to know the peace of Esther.”

[2:19]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.

[3:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “the silver is given to you”; NRSV “the money is given to you”; CEV “You can keep their money.” C. A. Moore (Esther [AB], 40) understands these words somewhat differently, taking them to imply acceptance of the money on Xerxes’ part. He translates, “Well, it’s your money.”

[3:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes”; NASB “do with them as you please.”

[3:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).

[5:4]  ¹² tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; NASB “If it please the king.”

[5:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “sent and brought.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (a figure of speech in which a single idea is expressed through two words or phrases), in which case the two verbs could be translated simply as “summoned” (so NAB) or “sent for” (NASB).

[9:30]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “peace and truth.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).