Esther 1:8

1:8 There were no restrictions on the drinking, ¹  for the king had instructed all of his supervisors ²  that they should do as everyone so desired. ³ 

Esther 1:15

1:15 The king asked, ⁴  “By law, ⁵  what should be done to Queen Vashti in light of the fact that she has not obeyed the instructions of King Ahasuerus conveyed through the eunuchs?”

Esther 5:5

5:5 The king replied, “Find Haman quickly so that we can do as Esther requests.”

So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Esther 7:5

7:5 Then King Ahasuerus responded ⁶  to Queen Esther, “Who is this individual? Where is this person to be found who is presumptuous enough ⁷  to act in this way?”

¹ tn Heb “the drinking was according to law; there was no one compelling.”

² tn Heb “every chief of his house”; KJV “all the officers of his house”; NLT “his staff.”

³ tn Heb “according to the desire of man and man.”

⁴ tn These words are not present in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT, all of which supply similar phrases).

⁵ tc The location of the prepositional phrase “according to law” is somewhat unusual in the Hebrew text, but not so much so as to require emendation. Some scholars suggest deleting the phrase as an instance of dittography from the final part of the immediately preceding word in v. 14. Others suggest taking the phrase with the end of v. 14 rather than with v. 15. Both proposals, however, lack adequate justification.

⁷ tc The second occurrence of the Hebrew verb וַיּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”) in the MT should probably be disregarded. The repetition is unnecessary in the context and may be the result of dittography in the MT.

⁸ tn Heb “has so filled his heart”; NAB “who has dared to do this.”