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.

Ester 9:3

9:3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who performed the king’s business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.

Ester 3:12

3:12 So the royal scribes ¹  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ²  and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

Ester 1:18

1:18 And this very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard the matter concerning the queen will respond in the same way to all the royal officials, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger!

Ester 1:11

1:11 to bring Queen Vashti into the king’s presence wearing her royal high turban. He wanted to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was very attractive. ³ 

Ester 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ⁴  King Ahasuerus promoted ⁵  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ⁶  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Ester 5:11

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ⁷  his many sons, ⁸  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Ester 1:3

1:3 in the third ⁹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ¹⁰  of Persia and Media ¹¹  was present, ¹²  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Ester 1:16

1:16 Memucan then replied to the king and the officials, “The wrong of Queen Vashti is not against the king alone, but against all the officials and all the people who are throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

Ester 1:22

1:22 He sent letters throughout all the royal provinces, to each province according to its own script and to each people according to its own language, ¹³  that every man should be ruling his family ¹⁴  and should be speaking the language of his own people. ¹⁵ 

Ester 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ¹⁶  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ¹⁷  They wrote out ¹⁸  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ¹⁹  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

Ester 8:12

8:12 This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus – namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).

Ester 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ²⁰  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ²¹  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ²²  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Ester 8:2

8:2 The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.

Ester 4:17

4:17 So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.

[3:12]  ¹ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[3:12]  ² tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

[1:11]  ³ tn Heb “was good of appearance”; KJV “was fair to look on”; NAB “was lovely to behold.”

[3:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

[3:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.”

[3:1]  sn The promotion of Haman in 3:1 for reasons unexplained contrasts noticeably with 2:19-23, where Mordecai’s contribution to saving the king’s life goes unnoticed. The irony is striking.

[3:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

[5:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ⁸ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[1:3]  ⁹ sn The third year of Xerxes’ reign would be ca. 483 b.c.

[1:3]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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).

[1:22]  ¹³ sn For purposes of diplomacy and governmental communication throughout the far-flung regions of the Persian empire the Aramaic language was normally used. Educated people throughout the kingdom could be expected to have competence in this language. But in the situation described in v. 22 a variety of local languages are to be used, and not just Aramaic, so as to make the king’s edict understandable to the largest possible number of people.

[1:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in his house”; NIV “over his own household.”

[1:22]  ¹⁵ tc The final prepositional phrase is not included in the LXX, and this shorter reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT). Some scholars suggest the phrase may be the result of dittography from the earlier phrase “to each people according to its language,” but this is not a necessary conclusion. The edict was apparently intended to reassert male prerogative with regard to two things (and not just one): sovereign and unquestioned leadership within the family unit, and the right of deciding which language was to be used in the home when a bilingual situation existed.

[8:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

[8:9]  ¹⁷ sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

[8:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”

[3:13]  ²⁰ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

[3:13]  ²² tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”