Esther 9:4

9:4 Mordecai was of high rank ¹  in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence ²  continued to become greater and greater.

Esther 10:2

10:2 Now all the actions carried out under his authority and his great achievements, along with an exact statement concerning the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

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 1:3

1:3 in the third ³  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ⁴  of Persia and Media ⁵  was present, ⁶  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Esther 9:29

9:29 So Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second ⁷  letter about Purim.

Esther 8:11

8:11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves – to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children, ⁸  and to confiscate their property.

Esther 1:4

1:4 He displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his majestic greatness for a lengthy period of time ⁹  – a hundred and eighty days, to be exact! ¹⁰ 

Esther 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ¹¹  King Ahasuerus promoted ¹²  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ¹³  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Esther 10:3

10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ¹⁴  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ¹⁵  He worked enthusiastically ¹⁶  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ¹⁷  all his descendants. ¹⁸ 

[9:4]  ¹ tn Heb “great”; NRSV “powerful”; NIV “prominent”; NCV “very important.”

[9:4]  ² tn Heb “the man Mordecai” (so NASB, NRSV).

[1:3]  ³ sn The third year of Xerxes’ reign would be ca. 483 b.c.

[1:3]  ⁴ tc Due to the large numbers of people implied, some scholars suggest that the original text may have read “leaders of the army” (cf. NAB “Persian and Median aristocracy”; NASB “the army officers”; NIV “the military leaders”). However, there is no textual evidence for this emendation, and the large numbers are not necessarily improbable.

[1:3]  ⁵ sn Unlike the Book of Daniel, the usual order for this expression in Esther is “Persia and Media” (cf. vv. 14, 18, 19). In Daniel the order is “Media and Persia,” indicating a time in their history when Media was in the ascendancy.

[1:3]  ⁶ sn The size of the banquet described here, the number of its invited guests, and the length of its duration, although certainly immense by any standard, are not without precedent in the ancient world. C. A. Moore documents a Persian banquet for 15,000 people and an Assyrian celebration with 69,574 guests (Esther [AB], 6).

[9:29]  ⁵ tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta omit the word “second.”

[8:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “children and women.” As in 3:13, the translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

[1:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “many days” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “for many days.”

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn The words “to be exact!” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation to bring out the clarifying nuance of the time period mentioned. Cf. KJV “even an hundred and fourscore days.”

[3:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

[3:1]  ¹² tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.”

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

[10:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”

[10:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”

[10:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”

[10:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”

[10:3]  ¹⁷ sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).