Ester 4:5

4:5 So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been placed at her service, ¹  and instructed him to find out the cause and reason for Mordecai’s behavior. ² 

Ester 2:2

2:2 The king’s servants who attended him said, “Let a search be conducted in the king’s behalf for attractive young women. ³ 

Ester 1:10

Queen Vashti is Removed from Her Royal Position

1:10 On the seventh day, as King Ahasuerus was feeling the effects of the wine, ⁴  he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who attended him, ⁵ 

Ester 1:8

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

Ester 6:3

6:3 The king asked, “What great honor ⁹  was bestowed on Mordecai because of this?” The king’s attendants who served him responded, “Not a thing was done for him.”

Ester 1:12

1:12 But Queen Vashti refused ¹⁰  to come at the king’s bidding ¹¹  conveyed through the eunuchs. Then the king became extremely angry, and his rage consumed ¹²  him.

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 2:9

2:9 This young woman pleased him, ¹³  and she found favor with him. He quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her rations; he also provided her with the seven specially chosen ¹⁴  young women who were from the palace. He then transferred her and her young women to the best quarters in the harem. ¹⁵ 

Ester 1:15

1:15 The king asked, ¹⁶  “By law, ¹⁷  what should be done to Queen Vashti in light of the fact that she has not obeyed the instructions of King Ahasuerus conveyed through the eunuchs?”

Ester 4:4

4:4 When Esther’s female attendants and her eunuchs came and informed her about Mordecai’s behavior, ¹⁸  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.

Ester 4:16

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ¹⁹  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ²⁰  If I perish, I perish!”

[4:5]  ¹ tn Heb “whom he caused to stand before her”; NASB “whom the king had appointed to attend her.”

[4:5]  ² tn Heb “concerning Mordecai, to know what this was, and why this was.”

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “young women, virgins, good of form.” The same phrase also occurs in v. 3.

[1:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “as the heart of the king was good with the wine.” Here the proper name (King Ahasuerus) has been substituted for the title in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “King Ahasuerus”; here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons. Cf. similarly NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT “King Xerxes.”

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “the drinking was according to law; there was no one compelling.”

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “every chief of his house”; KJV “all the officers of his house”; NLT “his staff.”

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

[6:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “honor and greatness.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).

[1:12]  ¹⁰ sn Refusal to obey the king was risky even for a queen in the ancient world. It is not clear why Vashti behaved so rashly and put herself in such danger. Apparently she anticipated humiliation of some kind and was unwilling to subject herself to it, in spite of the obvious dangers. There is no justification in the biblical text for an ancient Jewish targumic tradition that the king told her to appear before his guests dressed in nothing but her royal high turban, that is, essentially naked.

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “at the word of the king”; NASB “at the king’s command.”

[1:12]  ¹² tn Heb “burned in him” (so KJV).

[2:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “was good in his eyes”; NLT “Hegai was very impressed with Esther.”

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “being looked at (with favor).”

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “of the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 11, 13, 14.

[1:15]  ¹⁶ tn These words are not present in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT, all of which supply similar phrases).

[1:15]  ¹⁷ tc The location of the prepositional phrase “according to law” is somewhat unusual in the Hebrew text, but not so much so as to require emendation. Some scholars suggest deleting the phrase as an instance of dittography from the final part of the immediately preceding word in v. 14. Others suggest taking the phrase with the end of v. 14 rather than with v. 15. Both proposals, however, lack adequate justification.

[4:4]  ¹⁸ 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.”

[4:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”