Esther 1:13

1:13 The king then inquired of the wise men who were discerners of the times – for it was the royal custom to confer with all those who were proficient in laws and legalities. ¹ 

Esther 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ²  King Ahasuerus promoted ³  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ⁴  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Esther 3:14

3:14 A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, ⁵  so that they would be prepared for this day.

Esther 4:13

4:13 he ⁶  said to take back this answer to Esther:

Esther 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).

Esther 9:5

9:5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies.

Esther 9:30

9:30 Letters were sent ⁷  to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus – words of true peace ⁸  –

¹ tn Heb “judgment” (so KJV); NASB, NIV “justice”; NRSV “custom.”

² tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

³ tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.”

⁴ tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

³ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).

⁴ tn Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.

⁵ tc The present translation is based on the Niphal form וַיּשָּׁלַח (vayyishalakh, “were sent”; so also NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) rather than the reading of the MT וַיּשְׁלַח (vayyishlakh, Qal, “and he sent”). The subject of the MT verb would have to be Mordecai (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV), but this is problematic in light of v. 29, where both Esther and Mordecai are responsible for the letters.

⁶ tn Heb “peace and truth.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).