Esther 3:2

3:2 As a result, ¹  all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, ²  nor did he pay him homage.

Esther 4:5

4:5 So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been placed at her service, ³  and instructed him to find out the cause and reason for Mordecai’s behavior. ⁴ 

Esther 5:11

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ⁵  his many sons, ⁶  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Esther 6:2

6:2 it was found written that Mordecai had disclosed that Bigthana ⁷  and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted to assassinate ⁸  King Ahasuerus.

[3:2]  ¹ tn Heb “and” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). Other modern English versions leave the conjunction untranslated here (NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[3:2]  ² sn Mordecai did not bow. The reason for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman is not clearly stated here. Certainly the Jews did not refuse to bow as a matter of principle, as though such an action somehow violated the second command of the Decalogue. Many biblical texts bear witness to their practice of falling prostrate before people of power and influence (e.g., 1 Sam 24:8; 2 Sam 14:4; 1 Kgs 1:16). Perhaps the issue here was that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, a people who had attacked Israel in an earlier age (see Exod 17:8-16; 1 Sam 15:17-20; Deut 25:17-19).

[4:5]  ³ tn Heb “whom he caused to stand before her”; NASB “whom the king had appointed to attend her.”

[4:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “concerning Mordecai, to know what this was, and why this was.”

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

[5:11]  ⁶ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[6:2]  ⁷ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthan,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 2:21.

[6:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; NASB “had sought to lay hands on.”