Esther 1:3

1:3 in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Esther 1:21

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

Esther 1:16

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.

Esther 1:11

1:11 to bring Queen Vashti into the king’s presence wearing her royal high turban. He wanted to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was very attractive. ⁵ 

Esther 1:18

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!

Esther 2:18

2:18 Then the king prepared a large banquet for all his officials and his servants – it was actually Esther’s banquet. He also set aside a holiday for the provinces, and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense. ⁶ 

Esther 9:3

9:3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who performed the king’s business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.

Esther 1:14

1:14 Those who were closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. These men were the seven officials of Persia and Media who saw the king on a regular basis ⁷  and had the most prominent offices ⁸  in the kingdom.

Esther 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ⁹  King Ahasuerus promoted ¹⁰  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ¹¹  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Esther 5:11

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ¹²  his many sons, ¹³  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Esther 6:9

6:9 Then let this clothing and this horse be given to one of the king’s noble officials. Let him ¹⁴  then clothe the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him lead him about through the plaza of the city on the horse, calling ¹⁵  before him, ‘So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!’”

Esther 3:12

3:12 So the royal scribes ¹⁶  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ¹⁷  and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

Esther 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ¹⁸  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ¹⁹  They wrote out ²⁰  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ²¹  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

[1:3]  ¹ sn The third year of Xerxes’ reign would be ca. 483 b.c.

[1:3]  ² tc Due to the large numbers of people implied, some scholars suggest that the original text may have read “leaders of the army” (cf. NAB “Persian and Median aristocracy”; NASB “the army officers”; NIV “the military leaders”). However, there is no textual evidence for this emendation, and the large numbers are not necessarily improbable.

[1:3]  ³ sn Unlike the Book of Daniel, the usual order for this expression in Esther is “Persia and Media” (cf. vv. 14, 18, 19). In Daniel the order is “Media and Persia,” indicating a time in their history when Media was in the ascendancy.

[1:3]  ⁴ sn The size of the banquet described here, the number of its invited guests, and the length of its duration, although certainly immense by any standard, are not without precedent in the ancient world. C. A. Moore documents a Persian banquet for 15,000 people and an Assyrian celebration with 69,574 guests (Esther [AB], 6).

[1:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “was good of appearance”; KJV “was fair to look on”; NAB “was lovely to behold.”

[2:18]  ⁹ tc The LXX does not include the words “and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.”

[1:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “seers of the face of the king”; NASB “who had access to the king’s presence.”

[1:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “were sitting first”; NAB “held first rank in the realm.”

[3:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

[3:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.”

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

[5:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ²² sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[6:9]  ²⁵ tc The present translation reads with the LXX וְהִלְבִּישׁוֹ (vÿhilbisho, “and he will clothe him”) rather than the reading of the MT וְהִלְבִּישׁוּ (vÿhilbishu, “and they will clothe”). The reading of the LXX is also followed by NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, and NLT. Likewise, the later verbs in this verse (“cause him to ride” and “call”) are better taken as singulars rather than plurals.

[6:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and let them call” (see the previous note).

[3:12]  ²⁹ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[3:12]  ³⁰ tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

[8:9]  ³³ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

[8:9]  ³⁴ sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

[8:9]  ³⁵ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”