Esther 4:3

4:3 Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced ¹  there was considerable ²  mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. ³  Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic ⁴  of many.

Esther 3:6

3:6 But the thought of striking out against ⁵  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ⁶  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ⁷  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ⁸  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

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 9:10

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

Esther 2:21

2:21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan ⁹  and Teresh, ¹⁰  two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance, ¹¹  became angry and plotted to assassinate ¹²  King Ahasuerus.

Esther 6:2

6:2 it was found written that Mordecai had disclosed that Bigthana ¹³  and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted to assassinate ¹⁴  King Ahasuerus.

Esther 8:7

8:7 King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action ¹⁵  against the Jews.

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 ¹⁶  of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property.

¹ tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”

² tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”

⁵ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

⁶ tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

⁷ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

⁸ 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.

⁹ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthana,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 6:2.

¹⁰ tc The LXX does not include the names “Bigthan and Teresh” here.

¹¹ tn Heb “guarders of the threshold”; NIV “who guarded the doorway.”

¹² tn Heb “sought to send a hand against”; CEV “decided to kill.”

¹³ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthan,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 2:21.

¹⁴ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; NASB “had sought to lay hands on.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “sent forth his hand”; NAB, NIV “attacked”; NLT “tried to destroy.” Cf. 9:2.

²¹ tc For this number much of the Greek MS tradition reads “fifteen thousand.” The Lucianic Greek recension reads “70,100.”