Esther 5:3

5:3 The king said to her, “What is on your mind, ¹  Queen Esther? What is your request? Even as much as half the kingdom will be given to you!”

Esther 3:11

3:11 The king replied to Haman, “Keep your money, ²  and do with those people whatever you wish.” ³ 

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, ⁴  and it shall be done!”

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!”

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 4:16

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ⁵  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ⁶  If I perish, I perish!”

[5:3]  ¹ tn Heb “What to you?”; NAB, NIV NRSV “What is it, Queen Esther?”

[3:11]  ² tn Heb “the silver is given to you”; NRSV “the money is given to you”; CEV “You can keep their money.” C. A. Moore (Esther [AB], 40) understands these words somewhat differently, taking them to imply acceptance of the money on Xerxes’ part. He translates, “Well, it’s your money.”

[3:11]  ³ tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes”; NASB “do with them as you please.”

[5:6]  ³ 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.

[4:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”