Ester 2:3

2:3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem ¹  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ² 

Ester 4:3

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

Ester 6:4

6:4 Then the king said, “Who is that in the courtyard?” Now Haman had come to the outer courtyard of the palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had constructed for him.

Ester 9:12

9:12 Then the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman! What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? What is your request? It shall be given to you. What other petition do you have? It shall be done.”

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

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

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

[4:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”