Esther 2:10

2:10 Now Esther had not disclosed her people or her lineage, ¹  for Mordecai had instructed her not to do so. ² 

Esther 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.

Esther 1:15

1:15 The king asked, ³  “By law, ⁴  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 6:3

6:3 The king asked, “What great honor ⁵  was bestowed on Mordecai because of this?” The king’s attendants who served him responded, “Not a thing was done for him.”

Esther 9:10

9:10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property.

Esther 4:11

4:11 “All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable ⁶  to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court – that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared. ⁷  Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!”

Esther 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.

Esther 1:19

1:19 If the king is so inclined, ⁸  let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed, ⁹  that Vashti ¹⁰  may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another ¹¹  who is more deserving than she. ¹² 

Esther 2:14

2:14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to a separate part ¹³  of the harem, to the authority of Shaashgaz the king’s eunuch who was overseeing the concubines. She would not go back to the king unless the king was pleased with her ¹⁴  and she was requested by name.

Esther 3:2

3:2 As a result, ¹⁵  all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, ¹⁶  nor did he pay him homage.

Esther 5:12

5:12 Haman said, “Furthermore, Queen Esther invited ¹⁷  only me to accompany the king to the banquet that she prepared! And also tomorrow I am invited ¹⁸  along with the king.

Esther 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, ¹⁹  along with his wife Zeresh, said to him, “If indeed this Mordecai before whom you have begun to fall is Jewish, ²⁰  you will not prevail against him. No, you will surely fall before him!”

Esther 9:2

9:2 The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples.

Esther 9:15-16

9:15 The Jews who were in Susa then assembled on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred men in Susa. But they did not confiscate their property.

9:16 The rest of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king assembled in order to stand up for themselves and to have rest from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand ²¹  of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property.

Esther 2:15

2:15 When it became the turn of Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai (who had raised her as if she were his own daughter ²² ) to go to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who was overseer of the women, had recommended. Yet Esther met with the approval of all who saw her.

Esther 4:16

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ²³  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ²⁴  If I perish, I perish!”

¹ tn Cf. v. 20, where the same phrase occurs but with the word order reversed.

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

³ 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).

⁴ 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.

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

⁷ tn Heb “one is his law”; NASB “he (the king NIV) has but one law”

⁸ tn Heb “and he will live”; KJV, ASV “that he may live”; NIV “and spare his life.”

⁹ sn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.” Deferential language was common in ancient Near Eastern court language addressing a despot; it occurs often in Esther.

¹⁰ sn Laws…that cannot be repealed. On the permanence of the laws of Media and Persia see also Esth 8:8 and Dan 6:8, 12, 15.

¹¹ sn Previously in this chapter the word “queen” accompanies Vashti’s name (cf. vv. 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17). But here, in anticipation of her demotion, the title is dropped.

¹² tn Heb “her neighbor”; NIV “someone else.”

¹³ tn Heb “who is better than she.” The reference is apparently to worthiness of the royal position as demonstrated by compliance with the king’s wishes, although the word טוֹב (tob, “good”) can also be used of physical beauty. Cf. NAB, NASB, NLT “more worthy than she.”

¹¹ tn Heb “second.” The numerical adjective שֵׁנִי (sheniy, “second”) is difficult here. As a modifier for “house” in v. 14 the word would presumably refer to a second part of the harem, one which was under the supervision of a separate official. But in this case the definite article would be expected before “second” (cf. LXX τὸν δεύτερον, ton deuteron). Some scholars emend the text to שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”), but this does not completely resolve the difficulty since the meaning remains unclear. The translation adopted above follows the LXX and understands the word to refer to a separate group of women in the king’s harem, a group housed apparently in a distinct part of the residence complex.

¹² tc The LXX does not include the words “was pleased with her.”

¹³ tn Heb “and” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). Other modern English versions leave the conjunction untranslated here (NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

¹⁴ sn Mordecai did not bow. The reason for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman is not clearly stated here. Certainly the Jews did not refuse to bow as a matter of principle, as though such an action somehow violated the second command of the Decalogue. Many biblical texts bear witness to their practice of falling prostrate before people of power and influence (e.g., 1 Sam 24:8; 2 Sam 14:4; 1 Kgs 1:16). Perhaps the issue here was that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, a people who had attacked Israel in an earlier age (see Exod 17:8-16; 1 Sam 15:17-20; Deut 25:17-19).

¹⁵ tn Heb “caused to come”; KJV “did let no man come in…but myself.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “called to her”; KJV “invited unto her”; NAB “I am to be her guest.”

¹⁷ 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.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “from the seed of the Jews”; KJV, ASV similar.

¹⁹ tc For this number much of the Greek MS tradition reads “fifteen thousand.” The Lucianic Greek recension reads “70,100.”

²¹ tn Heb “who had taken her to him as a daughter”; NRSV “who had adopted her as his own daughter.”

²³ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

²⁴ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”