Ester 1:19

1:19 If the king is so inclined, ¹  let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed, ²  that Vashti ³  may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another ⁴  who is more deserving than she. ⁵ 

Ester 2:17

2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval ⁶  more than all the other young women. ⁷  So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen ⁸  in place of Vashti.

Ester 3:6

3:6 But the thought of striking out against ⁹  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ¹⁰  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ¹¹  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ¹²  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Ester 5:1

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, ¹³  opposite the king’s quarters. ¹⁴  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ¹⁵ 

[1:19]  ¹ sn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.” Deferential language was common in ancient Near Eastern court language addressing a despot; it occurs often in Esther.

[1:19]  ² sn Laws…that cannot be repealed. On the permanence of the laws of Media and Persia see also Esth 8:8 and Dan 6:8, 12, 15.

[1:19]  ³ sn Previously in this chapter the word “queen” accompanies Vashti’s name (cf. vv. 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17). But here, in anticipation of her demotion, the title is dropped.

[1:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “her neighbor”; NIV “someone else.”

[1:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “who is better than she.” The reference is apparently to worthiness of the royal position as demonstrated by compliance with the king’s wishes, although the word טוֹב (tob, “good”) can also be used of physical beauty. Cf. NAB, NASB, NLT “more worthy than she.”

[2:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.

[2:17]  ⁷ tc The LXX does not include the words “more than all the other young women.”

[2:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “caused her to rule.”

[3:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

[3:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

[3:6]  ¹¹ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

[3:6]  ¹² 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.

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”

[5:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).