Esther 2:19

Mordecai Learns of a Plot against the King

2:19 Now when the young women were being gathered again, ¹  Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. ² 

Esther 2:1

Esther Becomes Queen in Vashti’s Place

2:1 When these things had been accomplished ³  and the rage of King Ahasuerus had diminished, he remembered ⁴  Vashti and what she had done and what had been decided ⁵  against her.

Esther 3:15

3:15 The messengers ⁶  scurried forth ⁷  with the king’s order. ⁸  The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar! ⁹ 

Psalms 131:1-2

Psalm 131 ¹⁰ 

A song of ascents, ¹¹  by David.

131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,

nor do I have a haughty look. ¹² 

I do not have great aspirations,

or concern myself with things that are beyond me. ¹³ 

131:2 Indeed ¹⁴  I am composed and quiet, ¹⁵ 

like a young child carried by its mother; ¹⁶ 

I am content like the young child I carry. ¹⁷ 

[2:19]  ¹ tc The LXX does not include the words “Now when the young women were being gathered again.” The Hebrew word שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) is difficult in v. 19, but apparently it refers to a subsequent regathering of the women to the harem.

[2:19]  ² sn That Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate apparently means that he was a high-ranking government official. It was at the city gate where important business was transacted. Being in this position afforded Mordecai an opportunity to become aware of the plot against the king’s life, although the author does not include the particular details of how this information first came to Mordecai’s attention.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The expression is very vague from a temporal standpoint, not indicating precisely just how much time might have elapsed. Cf. v. 21.

[2:1]  ⁴ sn There may be a tinge of regret expressed in the king’s remembrance of Vashti. There is perhaps a hint that he wished for her presence once again, although that was not feasible from a practical standpoint. The suggestions by the king’s attendants concerning a replacement seem to be an effort to overcome this nostalgia. Certainly it was to their advantage to seek the betterment of the king’s outlook. Those around him the most were probably the most likely to suffer the effects of his ire.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Or “decreed” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “and about his proclamation against her.”

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).

[3:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “with the word of the king.”

[3:15]  ⁹ sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.

[131:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.

[131:1]  ¹¹ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[131:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”

[131:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”

[131:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “but.”

[131:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I make level and make quiet my soul.”

[131:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like a weaned [one] upon his mother.”

[131:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “like the weaned [one] upon me, my soul.”