Esther 2:17

2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval ¹  more than all the other young women. ²  So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen ³  in place of Vashti.

Esther 4:13

4:13 he ⁴  said to take back this answer to Esther:

Esther 3:8

3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people ⁵  that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants ⁶  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. ⁷ 

Esther 9:16

9:16 The rest of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king assembled in order to stand up for themselves and to have rest from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand ⁸  of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property.

Esther 5:11

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ⁹  his many sons, ¹⁰  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Esther 1:7

1:7 Drinks ¹¹  were served in golden containers, all of which differed from one another. Royal wine was available in abundance at the king’s expense.

Esther 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ¹²  King Ahasuerus promoted ¹³  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ¹⁴  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Esther 9:19

9:19 This is why the Jews who are in the rural country – those who live in rural cities – set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

Esther 1:6

1:6 The furnishings included linen and purple curtains hung by cords of the finest linen ¹⁵  and purple wool on silver rings, alabaster columns, gold and silver couches ¹⁶  displayed on a floor made of valuable stones of alabaster, mother-of-pearl, and mineral stone.

Esther 4:14

4:14 “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew ¹⁷  who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear ¹⁸  from another source, ¹⁹  while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be ²⁰  that you have achieved royal status ²¹  for such a time as this!”

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.”

Esther 2:6

2:6 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem ²²  with the captives who had been carried into exile with Jeconiah ²³  king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile.

Esther 9:2

9:2 The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples.

Esther 2:8

2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known ²⁴  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 ²⁵  to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.

Esther 2:12

2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, ²⁶  when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus – for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women –

Esther 2:15

2:15 When it became the turn of Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai (who had raised her as if she were his own daughter ²⁷ ) to go to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who was overseer of the women, had recommended. Yet Esther met with the approval of all who saw her.

Esther 8:17

8:17 Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king’s edict and his law arrived, the Jews experienced happiness and joy, banquets and holidays. Many of the resident peoples ²⁸  pretended ²⁹  to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had overcome them. ³⁰ 

Esther 9:22

9:22 as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies – the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.

[2:17]  ¹ tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.

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

[2:17]  ³ tn Heb “caused her to rule.”

[4:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.

[3:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.

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

[3:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”

[9:16]  ¹⁰ tc For this number much of the Greek MS tradition reads “fifteen thousand.” The Lucianic Greek recension reads “70,100.”

[5:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ¹⁴ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[1:7]  ¹⁶ 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.

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

[3:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.”

[3:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

[1:6]  ²² sn The finest linen was byssus, a fine, costly, white fabric made in Egypt, Palestine, and Edom, and imported into Persia (BDB 101 s.v. בּוּץ; HALOT 115-16 s.v. בּוּץ).

[1:6]  ²³ tn The Hebrew noun מִטָּה (mittah) refers to a reclining couch (cf. KJV “beds”) spread with covers, cloth and pillow for feasting and carousing (Ezek 23:41; Amos 3:12; 6:4; Esth 1:6; 7:8). See BDB 641-42 s.v.; HALOT 573 s.v.

[4:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from all the Jews”; KJV “more than all the Jews”; NIV “you alone of all the Jews.”

[4:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “stand”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT “arise.”

[4:14]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “And who knows whether” (so NASB). The question is one of hope, but free of presumption. Cf. Jonah 3:9.

[4:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “have come to the kingdom”; NRSV “to royal dignity”; NIV “to royal position”; NLT “have been elevated to the palace.”

[2:6]  ²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:6]  ²⁹ sn Jeconiah is an alternative name for Jehoiachin. A number of modern English versions use the latter name to avoid confusion (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[2:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”

[2:8]  ³² tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”

[2:12]  ³⁴ tc The LXX does not include the words “that were required for the women.”

[2:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “who had taken her to him as a daughter”; NRSV “who had adopted her as his own daughter.”

[8:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “peoples of the land” (so NASB); NIV “people of other nationalities”; NRSV “peoples of the country.”

[8:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “were becoming Jews”; NAB “embraced Judaism.” However, the Hitpael stem of the verb is sometimes used of a feigning action rather than a genuine one (see, e.g., 2 Sam 13:5, 6), which is the way the present translation understands the use of the word here (cf. NEB “professed themselves Jews”; NRSV “professed to be Jews”). This is the only occurrence of this verb in the Hebrew Bible, so there are no exact parallels. However, in the context of v. 17 the motivation of their conversion (Heb “the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them”) should not be overlooked. The LXX apparently understood the conversion described here to be genuine, since it adds the words “they were being circumcised and” before “they became Jews.”

[8:17]  ⁴² tn Heb “had fallen upon them” (so NRSV); NIV “had seized them.”