Ester 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 ¹  – a hundred and eighty days, to be exact! ² 

Ester 2:19

Mordecai Learns of a Plot against the King

2:19 Now when the young women were being gathered again, ³  Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. ⁴ 

Ester 3:14

3:14 A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, ⁵  so that they would be prepared for this day.

Ester 6:5

6:5 The king’s attendants said to him, “It is Haman who is standing in the courtyard.” The king said, “Let him enter.”

Ester 9:21

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

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

[1:4]  ² 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.”

[2:19]  ³ tc The LXX does not include the words “Now when the young women were being gathered again.” The Hebrew word שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) is difficult in v. 19, but apparently it refers to a subsequent regathering of the women to the harem.

[2:19]  ⁴ sn That Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate apparently means that he was a high-ranking government official. It was at the city gate where important business was transacted. Being in this position afforded Mordecai an opportunity to become aware of the plot against the king’s life, although the author does not include the particular details of how this information first came to Mordecai’s attention.

[3:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).