Esther 4:12

4:12 When Esther’s reply ¹  was conveyed to Mordecai,

Esther 9:32

9:32 Esther’s command established these matters of Purim, and the matter was officially recorded. ² 

Esther 7:10

7:10 So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king’s rage then abated.

Esther 2:23

2:23 The king then had the matter investigated and, finding it to be so, had the two conspirators ³  hanged on a gallows. ⁴  It was then recorded in the daily chronicles in the king’s presence.

Esther 3:15

3:15 The messengers ⁵  scurried forth ⁶  with the king’s order. ⁷  The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar! ⁸ 

Esther 8:2

8:2 The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.

Esther 8:14

8:14 The couriers who were riding the royal horses went forth with the king’s edict without delay. ⁹  And the law was presented in Susa the citadel as well.

Esther 9:4

9:4 Mordecai was of high rank ¹⁰  in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence ¹¹  continued to become greater and greater.

Esther 1:22

1:22 He sent letters throughout all the royal provinces, to each province according to its own script and to each people according to its own language, ¹²  that every man should be ruling his family ¹³  and should be speaking the language of his own people. ¹⁴ 

Esther 5:14

5:14 Haman’s ¹⁵  wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet ¹⁶  high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” ¹⁷ 

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

Esther 9:19

9:19 This is why the Jews who are in the rural country – those who live in rural cities – set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

¹ tn Heb “the words of Esther”; TEV, NLT “Esther’s message.”

² tn Heb “written in the book” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “written down in the records”; NRSV “recorded in writing.”

³ tn Heb “they both were hanged.” The referent (the two eunuchs who conspired against the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Or “on a pole”; KJV, ASV “on a tree.”

⁴ tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”

⁵ tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).

⁶ tn Heb “with the word of the king.”

⁷ sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.

⁵ tn Heb “making haste and hurrying”; KJV, ASV “being hastened and pressed.”

⁶ tn Heb “great”; NRSV “powerful”; NIV “prominent”; NCV “very important.”

⁷ tn Heb “the man Mordecai” (so NASB, NRSV).

⁷ sn For purposes of diplomacy and governmental communication throughout the far-flung regions of the Persian empire the Aramaic language was normally used. Educated people throughout the kingdom could be expected to have competence in this language. But in the situation described in v. 22 a variety of local languages are to be used, and not just Aramaic, so as to make the king’s edict understandable to the largest possible number of people.

⁸ tn Heb “in his house”; NIV “over his own household.”

⁹ tc The final prepositional phrase is not included in the LXX, and this shorter reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT). Some scholars suggest the phrase may be the result of dittography from the earlier phrase “to each people according to its language,” but this is not a necessary conclusion. The edict was apparently intended to reassert male prerogative with regard to two things (and not just one): sovereign and unquestioned leadership within the family unit, and the right of deciding which language was to be used in the home when a bilingual situation existed.

⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”

¹⁰ tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”