Ester 1:3

1:3 in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Ester 1:8

1:8 There were no restrictions on the drinking, ⁵  for the king had instructed all of his supervisors ⁶  that they should do as everyone so desired. ⁷ 

Ester 1:20

1:20 And let the king’s decision which he will enact be disseminated ⁸  throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is. ⁹  Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the most prominent to the lowly.”

Ester 2:1

Esther Becomes Queen in Vashti’s Place

2:1 When these things had been accomplished ¹⁰  and the rage of King Ahasuerus had diminished, he remembered ¹¹  Vashti and what she had done and what had been decided ¹²  against her.

Ester 2:4

2:4 Let the young woman whom the king finds most attractive ¹³  become queen in place of Vashti.” This seemed like a good idea to the king, ¹⁴  so he acted accordingly.

Ester 2:11

2:11 And day after day Mordecai used to walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem in order to learn how Esther was doing ¹⁵  and what might happen to her.

Ester 5:4

5:4 Esther replied, “If the king is so inclined, ¹⁶  let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

Ester 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, ¹⁷  and it shall be done!”

Ester 6:14

6:14 While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived. They quickly brought Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Ester 7:5

7:5 Then King Ahasuerus responded ¹⁸  to Queen Esther, “Who is this individual? Where is this person to be found who is presumptuous enough ¹⁹  to act in this way?”

Ester 9:3

9:3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who performed the king’s business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.

Ester 9:17

9:17 All of this happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They then rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day for banqueting and happiness.

Ester 9:21

9:21 to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year

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

[1:3]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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).

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “the drinking was according to law; there was no one compelling.”

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “every chief of his house”; KJV “all the officers of his house”; NLT “his staff.”

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “according to the desire of man and man.”

[1:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “heard”; KJV, NAB, NLT “published”; NIV, NRSV “proclaimed.”

[1:20]  ⁹ tc The phrase “vast though it is” is not included in the LXX, although it is retained by almost all English versions.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “decreed” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “and about his proclamation against her.”

[2:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “who is good in the eyes of the king.”

[2:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the matter was good in the eyes of the king.” Cf. TEV “The king thought this was good advice.”

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to know the peace of Esther.”

[5:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; NASB “If it please the king.”

[5:6]  ¹⁷ 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.

[7:5]  ¹⁸ tc The second occurrence of the Hebrew verb וַיּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”) in the MT should probably be disregarded. The repetition is unnecessary in the context and may be the result of dittography in the MT.

[7:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “has so filled his heart”; NAB “who has dared to do this.”