Ester 2:21

2:21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan ¹  and Teresh, ²  two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance, ³  became angry and plotted to assassinate ⁴  King Ahasuerus.

Ester 3:5-6

3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he ⁵  was filled with rage. 3:6 But the thought of striking out against ⁶  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ⁷  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ⁸  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ⁹  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Ester 3:9-10

3:9 If the king is so inclined, ¹⁰  let an edict be issued ¹¹  to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver ¹²  to be conveyed to the king’s treasuries for the officials who carry out this business.”

3:10 So the king removed his signet ring ¹³  from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who was hostile toward the Jews.

Ester 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ¹⁴  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ¹⁵  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ¹⁶  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Ester 4:8

4:8 He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated ¹⁷  in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people.

Ester 4:17

4:17 So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.

Ester 5:2

5:2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she met with his approval. ¹⁸  The king extended to Esther the gold scepter that was in his hand, and Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.

Ester 6:2

6:2 it was found written that Mordecai had disclosed that Bigthana ¹⁹  and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted to assassinate ²⁰  King Ahasuerus.

Ester 6:9

6:9 Then let this clothing and this horse be given to one of the king’s noble officials. Let him ²¹  then clothe the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him lead him about through the plaza of the city on the horse, calling ²²  before him, ‘So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!’”

Ester 8:7

8:7 King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action ²³  against the Jews.

Ester 8:10

8:10 Mordecai ²⁴  wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift.

Ester 9:2

9:2 The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples.

Ester 9:10

9:10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property.

Ester 9:15-16

9:15 The Jews who were in Susa then assembled on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred men in Susa. But they did not confiscate their property.

9:16 The rest of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king assembled in order to stand up for themselves and to have rest from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand ²⁵  of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property.

[2:21]  ¹ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthana,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 6:2.

[2:21]  ² tc The LXX does not include the names “Bigthan and Teresh” here.

[2:21]  ³ tn Heb “guarders of the threshold”; NIV “who guarded the doorway.”

[2:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “sought to send a hand against”; CEV “decided to kill.”

[3:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “Haman.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. Repeating the proper name here is redundant according to contemporary English style, although the name is repeated in NASB and NRSV.

[3:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

[3:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

[3:6]  ⁸ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

[3:6]  ⁹ tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.”

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “let it be written” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “let it be decreed.”

[3:9]  ¹² sn The enormity of the monetary sum referred to here can be grasped by comparing this amount (10,000 talents of silver) to the annual income of the empire, which according to Herodotus (Histories 3.95) was 14,500 Euboic talents. In other words Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money was to come (in large measure) from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.

[3:10]  ¹³ sn Possessing the king’s signet ring would enable Haman to act with full royal authority. The king’s ring would be used to impress the royal seal on edicts, making them as binding as if the king himself had enacted them.

[3:13]  ¹⁴ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

[3:13]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”

[4:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “given” (so KJV); NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “issued”; NIV “published”; NAB “promulgated.”

[5:2]  ¹⁸ 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.”

[6:2]  ¹⁹ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthan,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 2:21.

[6:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; NASB “had sought to lay hands on.”

[6:9]  ²¹ tc The present translation reads with the LXX וְהִלְבִּישׁוֹ (vÿhilbisho, “and he will clothe him”) rather than the reading of the MT וְהִלְבִּישׁוּ (vÿhilbishu, “and they will clothe”). The reading of the LXX is also followed by NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, and NLT. Likewise, the later verbs in this verse (“cause him to ride” and “call”) are better taken as singulars rather than plurals.

[6:9]  ²² tn Heb “and let them call” (see the previous note).

[8:7]  ²³ tn Heb “sent forth his hand”; NAB, NIV “attacked”; NLT “tried to destroy.” Cf. 9:2.

[8:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:16]  ²⁵ tc For this number much of the Greek MS tradition reads “fifteen thousand.” The Lucianic Greek recension reads “70,100.”