Ester 6:3

6:3 The king asked, “What great honor ¹  was bestowed on Mordecai because of this?” The king’s attendants who served him responded, “Not a thing was done for him.”

Ester 2:18

2:18 Then the king prepared a large banquet for all his officials and his servants – it was actually Esther’s banquet. He also set aside a holiday for the provinces, and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense. ² 

Ester 8:16

8:16 For the Jews there was radiant happiness and joyous honor. ³ 

Ester 6:6

6:6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman thought to himself, ⁴  “Who is it that the king would want to honor more than me?”

Ester 1:20

1:20 And let the king’s decision which he will enact be disseminated ⁵  throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is. ⁶  Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the most prominent to the lowly.”

Ester 6:9

6:9 Then let this clothing and this horse be given to one of the king’s noble officials. Let him ⁷  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 ⁸  before him, ‘So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!’”

Ester 6:7

6:7 So Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king wishes to honor,

Ester 6:11

6:11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”

Ester 5:9

Haman Expresses His Hatred of Mordecai

5:9 Now Haman went forth that day pleased and very much encouraged. ⁹  But when Haman saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, and he did not rise nor tremble in his presence, ¹⁰  Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

Ester 10:3

10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ¹¹  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ¹²  He worked enthusiastically ¹³  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ¹⁴  all his descendants. ¹⁵ 

Ester 3:5

3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he ¹⁶  was filled with rage.

Ester 5:13

5:13 Yet all of this fails to satisfy me so long as I have to see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

Ester 4:17

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

Ester 3:2

3:2 As a result, ¹⁷  all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, ¹⁸  nor did he pay him homage.

Ester 5:11

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ¹⁹  his many sons, ²⁰  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants.

Ester 10:2

10:2 Now all the actions carried out under his authority and his great achievements, along with an exact statement concerning the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

Ester 8:12

8:12 This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus – namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).

Ester 6:10

6:10 The king then said to Haman, “Go quickly! Take the clothing and the horse, just as you have described, and do as you just indicated to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Don’t neglect ²¹  a single thing of all that you have said.”

[6:3]  ¹ tn Heb “honor and greatness.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).

[2:18]  ² tc The LXX does not include the words “and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.”

[8:16]  ³ tn Heb “light and gladness and joy and honor” (so NASB). The present translation understands the four terms to be a double hendiadys.

[6:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “said in his heart” (so ASV); NASB, NRSV “said to himself.”

[1:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “heard”; KJV, NAB, NLT “published”; NIV, NRSV “proclaimed.”

[1:20]  ⁶ tc The phrase “vast though it is” is not included in the LXX, although it is retained by almost all English versions.

[6:9]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “and let them call” (see the previous note).

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “happy and good of heart”; NASB “glad and pleased of heart”; NIV “happy and in high spirits.”

[5:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “tremble from before him”; NIV “nor showed fear in his presence”; TEV “or show any sign of respect as he passed.”

[10:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”

[10:3]  ¹² tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”

[10:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”

[10:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”

[10:3]  ¹⁵ sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).

[3:5]  ¹⁶ 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.

[3:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). Other modern English versions leave the conjunction untranslated here (NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[3:2]  ¹⁸ sn Mordecai did not bow. The reason for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman is not clearly stated here. Certainly the Jews did not refuse to bow as a matter of principle, as though such an action somehow violated the second command of the Decalogue. Many biblical texts bear witness to their practice of falling prostrate before people of power and influence (e.g., 1 Sam 24:8; 2 Sam 14:4; 1 Kgs 1:16). Perhaps the issue here was that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, a people who had attacked Israel in an earlier age (see Exod 17:8-16; 1 Sam 15:17-20; Deut 25:17-19).

[5:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ²⁰ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[6:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “do not let fall”; NASB “do not fall short.”