Esther 4:5

4:5 So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been placed at her service, ¹  and instructed him to find out the cause and reason for Mordecai’s behavior. ² 

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 5:3

5:3 The king said to her, “What is on your mind, ⁵  Queen Esther? What is your request? Even as much as half the kingdom will be given to you!”

Esther 5:6

5:6 While at the banquet of wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your request? It shall be given to you. What is your petition? Ask for as much as half the kingdom, ⁶  and it shall be done!”

Esther 6:3

6:3 The king asked, “What great honor ⁷  was bestowed on Mordecai because of this?” The king’s attendants who served him responded, “Not a thing was done for him.”

Esther 6:6

6:6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman thought to himself, ⁸  “Who is it that the king would want to honor more than me?”

Esther 7:2

7:2 On the second day of the banquet of wine the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your petition? Ask up to half the kingdom, and it shall be done!”

Esther 8:1

The King Acts to Protect the Jews

8:1 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate ⁹  of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her.

Esther 9:12

9:12 Then the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman! What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? What is your request? It shall be given to you. What other petition do you have? It shall be done.”

¹ tn Heb “whom he caused to stand before her”; NASB “whom the king had appointed to attend her.”

² tn Heb “concerning Mordecai, to know what this was, and why this was.”

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 “What to you?”; NAB, NIV NRSV “What is it, Queen Esther?”

⁷ sn As much as half the kingdom. Such a statement would no doubt have been understood for the exaggeration that it clearly was. Cf. the similar NT scene recorded in Mark 6:23, where Herod makes a similar promise to the daughter of Herodias. In that case the request was for the head of John the Baptist, which is a lot less than half the kingdom.

⁹ tn Heb “honor and greatness.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).

¹¹ tn Heb “said in his heart” (so ASV); NASB, NRSV “said to himself.”

¹³ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV; also in vv. 2, 7). Cf. TEV “all the property.”