Ester 1:8

1:8 There were no restrictions on the drinking, ¹  for the king had instructed all of his supervisors ²  that they should do as everyone so desired. ³ 

Ester 2:1

Esther Becomes Queen in Vashti’s Place

2:1 When these things had been accomplished ⁴  and the rage of King Ahasuerus had diminished, he remembered ⁵  Vashti and what she had done and what had been decided ⁶  against her.

Ester 2:20

2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, ⁷  just as Mordecai had instructed her. ⁸  Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

Ester 4:4

4:4 When Esther’s female attendants and her eunuchs came and informed her about Mordecai’s behavior, ⁹  the queen was overcome with anguish. Although she sent garments for Mordecai to put on so that he could remove his sackcloth, he would not accept them.

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the drinking was according to law; there was no one compelling.”

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “every chief of his house”; KJV “all the officers of his house”; NLT “his staff.”

[1:8]  ³ tn Heb “according to the desire of man and man.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The expression is very vague from a temporal standpoint, not indicating precisely just how much time might have elapsed. Cf. v. 21.

[2:1]  ⁵ sn There may be a tinge of regret expressed in the king’s remembrance of Vashti. There is perhaps a hint that he wished for her presence once again, although that was not feasible from a practical standpoint. The suggestions by the king’s attendants concerning a replacement seem to be an effort to overcome this nostalgia. Certainly it was to their advantage to seek the betterment of the king’s outlook. Those around him the most were probably the most likely to suffer the effects of his ire.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Or “decreed” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “and about his proclamation against her.”

[2:20]  ⁷ sn That Esther was able so effectively to conceal her Jewish heritage suggests that she was not consistently observing Jewish dietary and religious requirements. As C. A. Moore observes, “In order for Esther to have concealed her ethnic and religious identity…in the harem, she must have eaten…, dressed, and lived like a Persian rather than an observant Jewess” (Esther [AB], 28.) In this regard her public behavior stands in contrast to that of Daniel, for example.

[2:20]  ⁸ tc The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”

[4:4]  ⁹ tn The words “about Mordecai’s behavior” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NIV, NLT “about Mordecai”; TEV, CEV “what Mordecai was doing.”