Ester 3:7

3:7 In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year ¹  of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur ²  (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month. ³  It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). ⁴ 

Ester 4:3

4:3 Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced ⁵  there was considerable ⁶  mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. ⁷  Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic ⁸  of many.

Ester 4:16

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 ⁹  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ¹⁰  If I perish, I perish!”

Ester 6:10

6:10 The king then said to Haman, “Go quickly! Take the clothing and the horse, just as you have described, and do as you just indicated to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Don’t neglect ¹¹  a single thing of all that you have said.”

Ester 8:5

8:5 She said, “If the king is so inclined and if I have met with his approval and if the matter is agreeable to the king and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, ¹²  which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces.

Ester 9:1

The Jews Prevail over Their Enemies

9:1 In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies.

[3:7]  ¹ sn This year would be ca. 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.

[3:7]  ² tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).

[3:7]  ³ tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.

[3:7]  tn Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so KJV, NASB).

[3:7]  ⁴ tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.

[4:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”

[4:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”

[4:3]  ⁷ sn Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.

[4:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”

[4:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”

[6:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do not let fall”; NASB “do not fall short.”

[8:5]  ¹² tc The LXX does not include the expression “the Agagite.”