Esther 1:5

1:5 When those days ¹  were completed, the king then provided a seven-day ²  banquet for all the people who were present ³  in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. ⁴  It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

Esther 1:10

Queen Vashti is Removed from Her Royal Position

1:10 On the seventh day, as King Ahasuerus was feeling the effects of the wine, ⁵  he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who attended him, ⁶ 

Esther 2:3

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 ⁷  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ⁸ 

Esther 2:8

2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known ⁹  many young women were taken to Susa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the royal palace ¹⁰  to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.

Esther 2:21

2:21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan ¹¹  and Teresh, ¹²  two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance, ¹³  became angry and plotted to assassinate ¹⁴  King Ahasuerus.

Esther 3:9

3:9 If the king is so inclined, ¹⁵  let an edict be issued ¹⁶  to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver ¹⁷  to be conveyed to the king’s treasuries for the officials who carry out this business.”

Esther 5:1-2

Esther Appeals to the King for Help

5:1 It so happened that on the third day Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court of the palace, ¹⁸  opposite the king’s quarters. ¹⁹  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ²⁰  5:2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she met with his approval. ²¹  The king extended to Esther the gold scepter that was in his hand, and Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.

Esther 5:11-12

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ²²  his many sons, ²³  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants. 5:12 Haman said, “Furthermore, Queen Esther invited ²⁴  only me to accompany the king to the banquet that she prepared! And also tomorrow I am invited ²⁵  along with the king.

Esther 6:4

6:4 Then the king said, “Who is that in the courtyard?” Now Haman had come to the outer courtyard of the palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had constructed for him.

Esther 6:10

6:10 The king then said to Haman, “Go quickly! Take the clothing and the horse, just as you have described, and do as you just indicated to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Don’t neglect ²⁶  a single thing of all that you have said.”

Esther 7:3

7:3 Queen Esther replied, “If I have met with your approval, ²⁷  O king, and if the king is so inclined, grant me my life as my request, and my people as my petition.

Esther 7:8

7:8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet of wine, Haman was throwing himself down ²⁸  on the couch where Esther was lying. ²⁹  The king exclaimed, “Will he also attempt to rape the queen while I am still in the building!”

As these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Esther 8:1

The King Acts to Protect the Jews

8:1 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate ³⁰  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.”

[1:5]  ¹ tc The Hebrew text of Esther does not indicate why this elaborate show of wealth and power was undertaken. According to the LXX these were “the days of the wedding” (αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ γάμου, Jai Jhmerai tou gamou), presumably the king’s wedding. However, a number of scholars have called attention to the fact that this celebration takes place just shortly before Xerxes’ invasion of Greece. It is possible that the banquet was a rallying for the up-coming military effort. See Herodotus, Histories 7.8. There is no reason to adopt the longer reading of the LXX here.

[1:5]  ² tc The LXX has ἕξ ({ex, “six”) instead of “seven.” Virtually all English versions follow the reading of the MT here, “seven.”

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “were found.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the great and unto the small.”

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “as the heart of the king was good with the wine.” Here the proper name (King Ahasuerus) has been substituted for the title in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “King Ahasuerus”; here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons. Cf. similarly NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT “King Xerxes.”

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

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

[2:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”

[2:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”

[2:21]  ¹⁷ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthana,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 6:2.

[2:21]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX does not include the names “Bigthan and Teresh” here.

[2:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “guarders of the threshold”; NIV “who guarded the doorway.”

[2:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “sought to send a hand against”; CEV “decided to kill.”

[3:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.”

[3:9]  ²² tn Heb “let it be written” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “let it be decreed.”

[3:9]  ²³ sn The enormity of the monetary sum referred to here can be grasped by comparing this amount (10,000 talents of silver) to the annual income of the empire, which according to Herodotus (Histories 3.95) was 14,500 Euboic talents. In other words Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money was to come (in large measure) from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.

[5:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”

[5:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the house of the king”; NASB “the king’s rooms”; NIV, NLT “the king’s hall.” This expression is used twice in this verse. In the first instance, it is apparently the larger palace complex that is in view, whereas in the second instance the expression seems to refer specifically to the quarters from which the king governed.

[5:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).

[5:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “she obtained grace in his eyes”; NASB “she obtained favor in his sight”; NIV “he was pleased with her”; NLT “he welcomed her.”

[5:11]  ³³ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ³⁴ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[5:12]  ³⁷ tn Heb “caused to come”; KJV “did let no man come in…but myself.”

[5:12]  ³⁸ tn Heb “called to her”; KJV “invited unto her”; NAB “I am to be her guest.”

[6:10]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “do not let fall”; NASB “do not fall short.”

[7:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “If I have found grace in your eyes” (so also in 8:5); TEV “If it please Your Majesty.”

[7:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “falling”; NAB, NRSV “had (+ just TEV) thrown himself (+ down TEV).”

[7:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “where Esther was” (so KJV, NASB). The term “lying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “was reclining.”

[8:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV; also in vv. 2, 7). Cf. TEV “all the property.”