Esther 2:18

2:18 Then the king prepared a large banquet for all his officials and his servants – it was actually Esther’s banquet. He also set aside a holiday for the provinces, and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense. ¹ 

Esther 9:4

9:4 Mordecai was of high rank ²  in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence ³  continued to become greater and greater.

Esther 4:3

4:3 Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced ⁴  there was considerable ⁵  mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. ⁶  Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic ⁷  of many.

¹ tc The LXX does not include the words “and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.”

² tn Heb “great”; NRSV “powerful”; NIV “prominent”; NCV “very important.”

³ tn Heb “the man Mordecai” (so NASB, NRSV).

³ tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”

⁴ tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”

⁵ sn Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.

⁶ tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”