Ester 1:3

1:3 in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Ester 1:14

1:14 Those who were closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. These men were the seven officials of Persia and Media who saw the king on a regular basis ⁵  and had the most prominent offices ⁶  in the kingdom.

Ester 5:8

5:8 If I have found favor in the king’s sight and if the king is inclined ⁷  to grant my request and perform my petition, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them. At that time ⁸  I will do as the king wishes. ⁹ 

Ester 8:10

8:10 Mordecai ¹⁰  wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift.

Ester 9:31

9:31 to establish these days of Purim in their proper times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as they had established both for themselves and their descendants, matters pertaining to fasting and lamentation.

[1:3]  ¹ sn The third year of Xerxes’ reign would be ca. 483 b.c.

[1:3]  ² tc Due to the large numbers of people implied, some scholars suggest that the original text may have read “leaders of the army” (cf. NAB “Persian and Median aristocracy”; NASB “the army officers”; NIV “the military leaders”). However, there is no textual evidence for this emendation, and the large numbers are not necessarily improbable.

[1:3]  ³ sn Unlike the Book of Daniel, the usual order for this expression in Esther is “Persia and Media” (cf. vv. 14, 18, 19). In Daniel the order is “Media and Persia,” indicating a time in their history when Media was in the ascendancy.

[1:3]  ⁴ sn The size of the banquet described here, the number of its invited guests, and the length of its duration, although certainly immense by any standard, are not without precedent in the ancient world. C. A. Moore documents a Persian banquet for 15,000 people and an Assyrian celebration with 69,574 guests (Esther [AB], 6).

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “seers of the face of the king”; NASB “who had access to the king’s presence.”

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “were sitting first”; NAB “held first rank in the realm.”

[5:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “if upon the king it is good.” Cf. the similar expression in v. 4, which also occurs in 7:3; 8:5; 9:13.

[5:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and tomorrow” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “and then.”

[5:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will do according to the word of the king,” i.e., answer the question that he has posed. Cf. NCV “Then I will answer your question about what I want.”

[8:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.