Esther 5:10

5:10 But Haman restrained himself and went on to his home.

He then sent for his friends to join him, ¹  along with his wife Zeresh.

Esther 9:26

9:26 For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur.

Esther 4:5

4:5 So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been placed at her service, ²  and instructed him to find out the cause and reason for Mordecai’s behavior. ³ 

Esther 4:11

4:11 “All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable ⁴  to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court – that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared. ⁵  Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!”

Esther 2:14

2:14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to a separate part ⁶  of the harem, to the authority of Shaashgaz the king’s eunuch who was overseeing the concubines. She would not go back to the king unless the king was pleased with her ⁷  and she was requested by name.

Esther 3:12

3:12 So the royal scribes ⁸  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ⁹  and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

Esther 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ¹⁰  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ¹¹  They wrote out ¹²  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ¹³  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

Esther 2:6

2:6 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem ¹⁴  with the captives who had been carried into exile with Jeconiah ¹⁵  king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile.

Esther 3:14

3:14 A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, ¹⁶  so that they would be prepared for this day.

Esther 2:21

2:21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan ¹⁷  and Teresh, ¹⁸  two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance, ¹⁹  became angry and plotted to assassinate ²⁰  King Ahasuerus.

Esther 6:2

6:2 it was found written that Mordecai had disclosed that Bigthana ²¹  and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted to assassinate ²²  King Ahasuerus.

Esther 6:11

6:11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”

Esther 9:24

9:24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them.

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 ²³  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ²⁴ 

Esther 2:7

2:7 Now he was acting as the guardian ²⁵  of Hadassah ²⁶  (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive. ²⁷  This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure. ²⁸  When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her ²⁹  as if she were his own daughter.

Esther 3:7

3:7 In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year ³⁰  of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur ³¹  (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month. ³²  It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). ³³ 

Esther 4:8

4:8 He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated ³⁴  in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people.

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 6:9

6:9 Then let this clothing and this horse be given to one of the king’s noble officials. Let him ³⁵  then clothe the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him lead him about through the plaza of the city on the horse, calling ³⁶  before him, ‘So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!’”

[5:10]  ¹ tn Heb “sent and brought.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (a figure of speech in which a single idea is expressed through two words or phrases), in which case the two verbs could be translated simply as “summoned” (so NAB) or “sent for” (NASB).

[4:5]  ² tn Heb “whom he caused to stand before her”; NASB “whom the king had appointed to attend her.”

[4:5]  ³ tn Heb “concerning Mordecai, to know what this was, and why this was.”

[4:11]  ³ tn Heb “one is his law”; NASB “he (the king NIV) has but one law”

[4:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he will live”; KJV, ASV “that he may live”; NIV “and spare his life.”

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “second.” The numerical adjective שֵׁנִי (sheniy, “second”) is difficult here. As a modifier for “house” in v. 14 the word would presumably refer to a second part of the harem, one which was under the supervision of a separate official. But in this case the definite article would be expected before “second” (cf. LXX τὸν δεύτερον, ton deuteron). Some scholars emend the text to שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”), but this does not completely resolve the difficulty since the meaning remains unclear. The translation adopted above follows the LXX and understands the word to refer to a separate group of women in the king’s harem, a group housed apparently in a distinct part of the residence complex.

[2:14]  ⁵ tc The LXX does not include the words “was pleased with her.”

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[3:12]  ⁶ tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

[8:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

[8:9]  ⁷ sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

[8:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”

[2:6]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:6]  ⁸ 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).

[3:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).

[2:21]  ⁹ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthana,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 6:2.

[2:21]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX does not include the names “Bigthan and Teresh” here.

[2:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “guarders of the threshold”; NIV “who guarded the doorway.”

[2:21]  ¹² tn Heb “sought to send a hand against”; CEV “decided to kill.”

[6:2]  ¹⁰ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthan,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 2:21.

[6:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; NASB “had sought to lay hands on.”

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

[2:3]  ¹² tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

[2:7]  ¹² tn According to HALOT 64 s.v. II אמן the term אֹמֵן (’omen) means: (1) “attendant” of children (Num 11:12; Isa 49:23); (2) “guardian” (2 Kgs 10:1, 5; Esth 2:7); (3) “nurse-maid” (2 Sam 4:4; Ruth 4:16); and (4) “to look after” (Isa 60:4; Lam 4:5). Older lexicons did not distinguish this root from the homonym I אָמַן (’aman, “to support; to confirm”; cf. BDB 52 s.v. אָמַן). This is reflected in a number of translations by use of a phrase like “brought up” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NIV) or “bringing up” (NASB).

[2:7]  ¹³ sn Hadassah is a Jewish name that probably means “myrtle”; the name Esther probably derives from the Persian word for “star,” although some scholars derive it from the name of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. Esther is not the only biblical character for whom two different names were used. Daniel (renamed Belteshazzar) and his three friends Hananiah (renamed Shadrach), Mishael (renamed Meshach), and Azariah (renamed Abednego) were also given different names by their captors.

[2:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for there was not to her father or mother.” This is universally understood to mean Esther’s father and mother were no longer alive.

[2:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “beautiful of form.” The Hebrew noun תֹּאַר (to’ar, “form; shape”) is used elsewhere to describe the physical bodily shape of a beautiful woman (Gen 29:17; Deut 21:11; 1 Sam 25:3); see BDB 1061 s.v. Cf. TEV “had a good figure.”

[2:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “had taken her to him.” The Hebrew verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) describes Mordecai adopting Esther and treating her like his own daughter: “to take as one’s own property” as a daughter (HALOT 534 s.v. I לקח 6).

[3:7]  ¹³ sn This year would be ca. 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.

[3:7]  ¹⁴ tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).

[3:7]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.

[3:7]  ¹⁶ tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.

[4:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “given” (so KJV); NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “issued”; NIV “published”; NAB “promulgated.”

[6:9]  ¹⁵ tc The present translation reads with the LXX וְהִלְבִּישׁוֹ (vÿhilbisho, “and he will clothe him”) rather than the reading of the MT וְהִלְבִּישׁוּ (vÿhilbishu, “and they will clothe”). The reading of the LXX is also followed by NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, and NLT. Likewise, the later verbs in this verse (“cause him to ride” and “call”) are better taken as singulars rather than plurals.

[6:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and let them call” (see the previous note).