Esther 2:16

2:16 Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth ¹  month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh ²  year of his reign.

Esther 6:8

6:8 let them bring royal attire which the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden – one bearing the royal insignia! ³ 

Esther 5:1

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, ⁴  opposite the king’s quarters. ⁵  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ⁶ 

Esther 1:2

1:2 In those days, as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa ⁷  the citadel, ⁸ 

Esther 1:7

1:7 Drinks ⁹  were served in golden containers, all of which differed from one another. Royal wine was available in abundance at the king’s expense.

Esther 1:9

1:9 Queen Vashti ¹⁰  also gave a banquet for the women in King Ahasuerus’ royal palace.

Esther 1:19

1:19 If the king is so inclined, ¹¹  let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed, ¹²  that Vashti ¹³  may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another ¹⁴  who is more deserving than she. ¹⁵ 

Esther 1:4

1:4 He displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his majestic greatness for a lengthy period of time ¹⁶  – a hundred and eighty days, to be exact! ¹⁷ 

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. ¹⁸ 

Esther 1:20

1:20 And let the king’s decision which he will enact be disseminated ¹⁹  throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is. ²⁰  Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the most prominent to the lowly.”

Esther 5:3

5:3 The king said to her, “What is on your mind, ²¹  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, ²²  and it shall be done!”

Esther 8:15

8:15 Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in purple and white royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. The city of Susa shouted with joy. ²³ 

Esther 9:30

9:30 Letters were sent ²⁴  to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus – words of true peace ²⁵  –

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 ²⁶  and had the most prominent offices ²⁷  in the kingdom.

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 ²⁸  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ²⁹ 

Esther 2:17

2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval ³⁰  more than all the other young women. ³¹  So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen ³²  in place of Vashti.

Esther 3:6

3:6 But the thought of striking out against ³³  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ³⁴  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ³⁵  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ³⁶  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Esther 3:8

3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people ³⁷  that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants ³⁸  throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them. ³⁹ 

Esther 4:14

4:14 “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew ⁴⁰  who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear ⁴¹  from another source, ⁴²  while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be ⁴³  that you have achieved royal status ⁴⁴  for such a time as this!”

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!”

[2:16]  ¹ tc The Greek MSS Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Vaticanus (B) read “twelfth” here.

[2:16]  ² tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “fourth” here.

[6:8]  ³ tc The final comment (“one on whose head the royal crown has been”) is not included in the LXX.

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

[5:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “Shushan” (so KJV, ASV). Most recent English versions render this as “Susa.”

[1:2]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word בִּירָה (birah) can refer to a castle or palace or temple. Here it seems to have in mind that fortified part of the city that might be called an acropolis or citadel. Cf. KJV “palace”; NAB “stronghold”; NASB “capital”; NLT “fortress.”

[1:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “to cause to drink” (Hiphil infinitive construct of שָׁקָה, shaqah). As the etymology of the Hebrew word for “banquet” (מִשְׁתֶּה, mishteh, from שָׁתָה, shatah, “to drink”) hints, drinking was a prominent feature of ancient Near Eastern banquets.

[1:9]  ¹¹ sn Vashti is the name of Xerxes’ queen according to the Book of Esther. But in the Greek histories of this period the queen’s name is given as Amestris (e.g., Herodotus, Histories 9.108-13). The name Vashti does not seem to occur in the nonbiblical records from this period. Apparently the two women are not to be confused, but not enough is known about this period to reconcile completely the biblical and extrabiblical accounts.

[1:19]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “her neighbor”; NIV “someone else.”

[1:19]  ¹⁷ 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.”

[1:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “many days” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “for many days.”

[1:4]  ¹⁶ tn The words “to be exact!” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation to bring out the clarifying nuance of the time period mentioned. Cf. KJV “even an hundred and fourscore days.”

[1:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “was good of appearance”; KJV “was fair to look on”; NAB “was lovely to behold.”

[1:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “heard”; KJV, NAB, NLT “published”; NIV, NRSV “proclaimed.”

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

[5:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “What to you?”; NAB, NIV NRSV “What is it, Queen Esther?”

[5:6]  ²³ 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.

[8:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “shouted and rejoiced.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).

[9:30]  ²⁷ tc The present translation is based on the Niphal form וַיּשָּׁלַח (vayyishalakh, “were sent”; so also NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) rather than the reading of the MT וַיּשְׁלַח (vayyishlakh, Qal, “and he sent”). The subject of the MT verb would have to be Mordecai (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV), but this is problematic in light of v. 29, where both Esther and Mordecai are responsible for the letters.

[9:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “peace and truth.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).

[1:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “seers of the face of the king”; NASB “who had access to the king’s presence.”

[1:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “were sitting first”; NAB “held first rank in the realm.”

[2:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

[2:3]  ³² tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

[2:17]  ³³ tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.

[2:17]  ³⁴ tc The LXX does not include the words “more than all the other young women.”

[2:17]  ³⁵ tn Heb “caused her to rule.”

[3:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

[3:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

[3:6]  ³⁷ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

[3:6]  ³⁸ 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.

[3:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.

[3:8]  ³⁸ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”

[3:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”

[4:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “from all the Jews”; KJV “more than all the Jews”; NIV “you alone of all the Jews.”

[4:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “stand”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT “arise.”

[4:14]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “place” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); NRSV “from another quarter.” This is probably an oblique reference to help coming from God. D. J. A. Clines disagrees; in his view a contrast between deliverance by Esther and deliverance by God is inappropriate (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther [NCBC], 302). But Clines’ suggestion that perhaps the reference is to deliverance by Jewish officials or by armed Jewish revolt is less attractive than seeing this veiled reference as part of the literary strategy of the book, which deliberately keeps God’s providential dealings entirely in the background.

[4:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “And who knows whether” (so NASB). The question is one of hope, but free of presumption. Cf. Jonah 3:9.

[4:14]  ⁴³ tn Heb “have come to the kingdom”; NRSV “to royal dignity”; NIV “to royal position”; NLT “have been elevated to the palace.”