Esther 3:6

3:6 But the thought of striking out against ¹  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ²  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ³  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ⁴  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Esther 4:8

4:8 He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated ⁵  in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people.

Esther 8:11

8:11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves – to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children, ⁶  and to confiscate their property.

¹ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

² tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

³ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

⁴ tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.

⁵ tn Heb “given” (so KJV); NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “issued”; NIV “published”; NAB “promulgated.”

⁹ tn Heb “children and women.” As in 3:13, the translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.