Esther 9:25

9:25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king ¹  gave written orders that Haman’s ²  evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Esther 9:1

The Jews Prevail over Their Enemies

9:1 In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies.

Esther 1:1

The King Throws a Lavish Party

1:1 ³ The following events happened ⁴  in the days of Ahasuerus. ⁵  (I am referring to ⁶  that Ahasuerus who used to rule over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces ⁷  extending all the way from India to Ethiopia. ⁸ )

Psalms 7:15-16

7:15 he digs a pit ⁹ 

and then falls into the hole he has made. ¹⁰ 

7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans ¹¹ 

and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. ¹² 

Psalms 9:15-16

9:15 The nations fell ¹³  into the pit they had made;

their feet were caught in the net they had hidden. ¹⁴ 

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ¹⁵  (Higgaion. ¹⁶  Selah)

Psalms 35:8

35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! ¹⁷ 

Let the net they hid catch them!

Let them fall into destruction! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 37:35-36

37:35 I have seen ruthless evil men ¹⁹ 

growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil. ²⁰ 

37:36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared! ²¹ 

I looked for them, but they could not be found.

Psalms 73:19

73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment!

Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! ²² 

Proverbs 11:5-6

11:5 The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, ²³ 

but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. ²⁴ 

11:6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, ²⁵ 

but the faithless will be captured ²⁶  by their own desires. ²⁷ 

Daniel 6:7

6:7 To all the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors it seemed like a good idea for a royal edict to be issued and an interdict to be enforced. For the next thirty days anyone who prays ²⁸  to any god or human other than you, O king, should be thrown into a den of lions.

Daniel 6:24

6:24 The king gave another order, ²⁹  and those men who had maliciously accused ³⁰  Daniel were brought and thrown ³¹  into the lions’ den – they, their children, and their wives. ³²  They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

[9:25]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:25]  ² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:1]  ³ sn In the English Bible Esther appears adjacent to Ezra-Nehemiah and with the historical books, but in the Hebrew Bible it is one of five short books (the so-called Megillot) that appear toward the end of the biblical writings. The canonicity of the book was questioned by some in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. It is one of five OT books that were at one time regarded as antilegomena (i.e., books “spoken against”). The problem with Esther was the absence of any direct mention of God. Some questioned whether a book that did not mention God could be considered sacred scripture. Attempts to resolve this by discovering the tetragrammaton (YHWH) encoded in the Hebrew text (e.g., in the initial letters of four consecutive words in the Hebrew text of Esth 5:4) are unconvincing, although they do illustrate how keenly the problem was felt by some. Martin Luther also questioned the canonicity of this book, objecting to certain parts of its content. Although no copy of Esther was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, this does not necessarily mean that the Qumran community did not regard it as canonical. It is possible that the absence of Esther from what has survived at Qumran is merely a coincidence. Although the book does not directly mention God, it would be difficult to read it without sensing the providence of God working in powerful, though at times subtle, ways to rescue his people from danger and possible extermination. The absence of mention of the name of God may be a deliberate part of the literary strategy of the writer.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “it came about”; KJV, ASV “Now it came to pass.”

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Where the Hebrew text has “Ahasuerus” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) in this book the LXX has “Artaxerxes.” The ruler mentioned in the Hebrew text is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.), and a number of modern English versions use “Xerxes” (e.g., NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the days of Ahasuerus, that Ahasuerus who used to rule…” The phrase “I am referring to” has been supplied to clarify the force of the third person masculine singular pronoun, which is functioning like a demonstrative pronoun.

[1:1]  ⁷ sn The geographical extent of the Persian empire was vast. The division of Xerxes’ empire into 127 smaller provinces was apparently done for purposes of administrative efficiency.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV, NCV; KJV “Ethiopia”) referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. India and Cush (i.e., Ethiopia) are both mentioned in a tablet taken from the foundation of Xerxes’ palace in Persepolis that describes the extent of this empire. See ANET 316-17.

[7:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.

[7:15]  ¹⁰ tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.

[7:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”

[7:16]  ¹² tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”

[9:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “sank down.”

[9:15]  ¹⁴ sn The hostility of the nations against God’s people is their downfall, for it prompts God to intervene and destroy them. See also Ps 7:15-16.

[9:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).

[9:16]  ¹⁶ tn This is probably a technical musical term.

[35:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.

[35:8]  ¹⁸ tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.

[37:35]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew uses the representative singular again here.

[37:35]  ²⁰ tn Heb “being exposed [?] like a native, luxuriant.” The Hebrew form מִתְעָרֶה (mit’areh) appears to be a Hitpael participle from עָרָה (’arah, “be exposed”), but this makes no sense in this context. Perhaps the form is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה (“giving oneself an air of importance”; see Jer 51:3), from עָלָה (’alah, “go up”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 296). The noun אֶזְרָח (’ezrakh, “native, full citizen”) refers elsewhere to people, but here, where it is collocated with “luxuriant, green,” it probably refers to a tree growing in native soil.

[37:36]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).

[73:19]  ²² tn Heb “they come to an end, they are finished, from terrors.”

[11:5]  ²³ tn Heb “his way.”

[11:5]  ²⁴ sn The righteous will enjoy security and serenity throughout life. Righteousness makes the path straight; wickedness destroys the wicked.

[11:6]  ²⁵ sn The contrast is between being rescued or delivered (נָצַל, natsal) and being captured (לָכַד, lakhad). Righteousness is freeing; [evil] desires are enslaving.

[11:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “taken captive” (so NRSV); NIV, TEV “are trapped.”

[11:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “but by the desire of the faithless are they taken captive.”

[6:7]  ²⁸ tn Aram “prays a prayer.”

[6:24]  ²⁹ tn Aram “said.”

[6:24]  ³⁰ tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.

[6:24]  ³¹ tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.

[6:24]  ³² tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.