2 Chronicles 22:4-5

22:4 He did evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord like Ahab’s dynasty because, after his father’s death, they ²  gave him advice that led to his destruction. 22:5 He followed their advice and joined Ahab’s son King Joram ³  of Israel in a battle against King Hazael of Syria ⁴  at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram.

Esther 1:16-21

1:16 Memucan then replied to the king and the officials, “The wrong of Queen Vashti is not against the king alone, but against all the officials and all the people who are throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 1:17 For the matter concerning the queen will spread to all the women, leading them to treat their husbands with contempt, saying, ‘When King Ahasuerus gave orders to bring Queen Vashti into his presence, she would not come.’ 1:18 And this very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard the matter concerning the queen will respond in the same way to all the royal officials, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger! 1:19 If the king is so inclined, ⁵  let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed, ⁶  that Vashti ⁷  may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another ⁸  who is more deserving than she. ⁹  1:20 And let the king’s decision which he will enact be disseminated ¹⁰  throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is. ¹¹  Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the most prominent to the lowly.”

1:21 The matter seemed appropriate to the king and the officials. So the king acted on the advice of Memucan.

Esther 2:2-4

2:2 The king’s servants who attended him said, “Let a search be conducted in the king’s behalf for attractive young women. ¹²  2:3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem ¹³  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ¹⁴  2:4 Let the young woman whom the king finds most attractive ¹⁵  become queen in place of Vashti.” This seemed like a good idea to the king, ¹⁶  so he acted accordingly.

Proverbs 12:5

12:5 The plans ¹⁷  of the righteous are just;

the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 19:11-13

19:11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; ¹⁹ 

Pharaoh’s wise advisers give stupid advice.

How dare you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one of the sages,

one well-versed in the writings of the ancient kings?” ²⁰ 

19:12 But where, oh where, are your wise men? ²¹ 

Let them tell you, let them find out

what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

19:13 The officials of Zoan are fools,

the officials of Memphis ²²  are misled;

the rulers ²³  of her tribes lead Egypt astray.

Daniel 6:7

6:7 To all the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors it seemed like a good idea for a royal edict to be issued and an interdict to be enforced. For the next thirty days anyone who prays ²⁴  to any god or human other than you, O king, should be thrown into a den of lions.

[22:4]  ¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[22:4]  ² tn That is, the members of Ahab’s royal house.

[22:5]  ³ sn Jehoram and Joram are alternate spellings of the Israelite king’s name (also in vv. 6-7). The shorter form is used in these verse to avoid confusion with King Jehoram of Judah, father of Azariah.

[22:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “Aram” (also in v. 6).

[1:19]  ⁵ sn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.” Deferential language was common in ancient Near Eastern court language addressing a despot; it occurs often in Esther.

[1:19]  ⁶ sn Laws…that cannot be repealed. On the permanence of the laws of Media and Persia see also Esth 8:8 and Dan 6:8, 12, 15.

[1:19]  ⁷ sn Previously in this chapter the word “queen” accompanies Vashti’s name (cf. vv. 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17). But here, in anticipation of her demotion, the title is dropped.

[1:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “her neighbor”; NIV “someone else.”

[1:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “who is better than she.” The reference is apparently to worthiness of the royal position as demonstrated by compliance with the king’s wishes, although the word טוֹב (tob, “good”) can also be used of physical beauty. Cf. NAB, NASB, NLT “more worthy than she.”

[1:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “heard”; KJV, NAB, NLT “published”; NIV, NRSV “proclaimed.”

[1:20]  ¹¹ tc The phrase “vast though it is” is not included in the LXX, although it is retained by almost all English versions.

[2:2]  ¹² tn Heb “young women, virgins, good of form.” The same phrase also occurs in v. 3.

[2:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

[2:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

[2:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “who is good in the eyes of the king.”

[2:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the matter was good in the eyes of the king.” Cf. TEV “The king thought this was good advice.”

[12:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “thoughts.” This term refers not just to random thoughts, however, but to what is planned or devised.

[12:5]  ¹⁸ sn The plans of good people are directed toward what is right. Advice from the wicked, however, is deceitful and can only lead to trouble.

[19:11]  ¹⁹ tn Or “certainly the officials of Zoan are fools.” אַךְ (’akh) can carry the sense, “only, nothing but,” or “certainly, surely.”

[19:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “A son of wise men am I, a son of ancient kings.” The term בֶּן (ben, “son of”) could refer to literal descent, but many understand the word, at least in the first line, in its idiomatic sense of “member [of a guild].” See HALOT 138 s.v. בֶּן and J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:371. If this is the case, then one can take the word in a figurative sense in the second line as well, the “son of ancient kings” being one devoted to their memory as preserved in their literature.

[19:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “Where are they? Where are your wise men?” The juxtaposition of the interrogative pronouns is emphatic. See HALOT 38 s.v. אֶי.

[19:13]  ²² tn Heb “Noph” (so KJV); most recent English versions substitute the more familiar “Memphis.”

[19:13]  ²³ tn Heb “the cornerstone.” The singular form should be emended to a plural.

[6:7]  ²⁴ tn Aram “prays a prayer.”