Ester 5:1-2

Esther Appeals to the King for Help

5:1 It so happened that on the third day Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court of the palace, ¹  opposite the king’s quarters. ²  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ³  5:2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she met with his approval. ⁴  The king extended to Esther the gold scepter that was in his hand, and Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.

Ester 8:4

8:4 When the king extended to Esther the gold scepter, she ⁵  arose and stood before the king.

Mazmur 125:3

125:3 Indeed, ⁶  the scepter of a wicked king ⁷  will not settle ⁸ 

upon the allotted land of the godly.

Otherwise the godly might

do what is wrong. ⁹ 

[5:1]  ¹ tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”

[5:1]  ² tn Heb “the house of the king”; NASB “the king’s rooms”; NIV, NLT “the king’s hall.” This expression is used twice in this verse. In the first instance, it is apparently the larger palace complex that is in view, whereas in the second instance the expression seems to refer specifically to the quarters from which the king governed.

[5:1]  ³ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).

[5:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “she obtained grace in his eyes”; NASB “she obtained favor in his sight”; NIV “he was pleased with her”; NLT “he welcomed her.”

[8:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Esther.” The pronoun (“she”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name is redundant here in terms of contemporary English style.

[125:3]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[125:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “a scepter of wickedness.” The “scepter” symbolizes royal authority; when collocated with “wickedness” the phrase refers to an oppressive foreign conqueror.

[125:3]  ⁸ tn Or “rest.”

[125:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “so that the godly might not stretch out their hands in wrongdoing.” A wicked king who sets a sinful example can have an adverse moral and ethical effect on the people he rules.