Ester 9:28

9:28 These days were to be remembered and to be celebrated in every generation and in every family, every province, and every city. The Jews were not to fail to observe these days of Purim; the remembrance of them was not to cease among their descendants.

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.

Ester 9:27

9:27 Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis.

Ester 10:3

10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ¹  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ²  He worked enthusiastically ³  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ⁴  all his descendants. ⁵ 

Ester 2:10

2:10 Now Esther had not disclosed her people or her lineage, ⁶  for Mordecai had instructed her not to do so. ⁷ 

Ester 2:20

2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, ⁸  just as Mordecai had instructed her. ⁹  Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

Ester 2:5

2:5 Now there happened to be a Jewish man in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai. ¹⁰  He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

Ester 3:5

3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he ¹¹  was filled with rage.

Ester 5:1

Esther Appeals to the King for Help

5:1 It so happened that on the third day Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court of the palace, ¹²  opposite the king’s quarters. ¹³  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ¹⁴ 

Ester 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ¹⁵  King Ahasuerus promoted ¹⁶  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ¹⁷  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Ester 8:10

8:10 Mordecai ¹⁸  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 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ¹⁹  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ²⁰  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ²¹  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Ester 6:13

6:13 Haman then related to his wife Zeresh and to all his friends everything that had happened to him. These wise men, ²²  along with his wife Zeresh, said to him, “If indeed this Mordecai before whom you have begun to fall is Jewish, ²³  you will not prevail against him. No, you will surely fall before him!”

Ester 9:24

9:24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them.

[10:3]  ¹ tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”

[10:3]  ² tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”

[10:3]  ³ tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”

[10:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”

[10:3]  ⁵ sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Cf. v. 20, where the same phrase occurs but with the word order reversed.

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “that she not tell” (NRSV similar); NASB “that she should not make them known.”

[2:20]  ⁸ sn That Esther was able so effectively to conceal her Jewish heritage suggests that she was not consistently observing Jewish dietary and religious requirements. As C. A. Moore observes, “In order for Esther to have concealed her ethnic and religious identity…in the harem, she must have eaten…, dressed, and lived like a Persian rather than an observant Jewess” (Esther [AB], 28.) In this regard her public behavior stands in contrast to that of Daniel, for example.

[2:20]  ⁹ tc The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”

[2:5]  ¹⁰ 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.

[3:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Haman.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. Repeating the proper name here is redundant according to contemporary English style, although the name is repeated in NASB and NRSV.

[5:1]  ¹² tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “the house of the king”; NASB “the king’s rooms”; NIV, NLT “the king’s hall.” This expression is used twice in this verse. In the first instance, it is apparently the larger palace complex that is in view, whereas in the second instance the expression seems to refer specifically to the quarters from which the king governed.

[5:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

[3:1]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

[8:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ¹⁹ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

[3:13]  ²¹ tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”

[6:13]  ²² tc Part of the Greek tradition and the Syriac Peshitta understand this word as “friends,” probably reading the Hebrew term רֲכָמָיו (rakhamayv, “his friends”) rather than the reading of the MT חֲכָמָיו (hakhamayv, “his wise men”). Cf. NLT “all his friends”; the two readings appear to be conflated by TEV as “those wise friends of his.”

[6:13]  ²³ tn Heb “from the seed of the Jews”; KJV, ASV similar.