Ester 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ¹  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ²  They wrote out ³  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ⁴  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

Ester 3:12

3:12 So the royal scribes ⁵  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ⁶  and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

Ester 9:29

9:29 So Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second ⁷  letter about Purim.

Ester 9:32

9:32 Esther’s command established these matters of Purim, and the matter was officially recorded. ⁸ 

Ester 8:8

8:8 Now you write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded.

Ester 9:23

9:23 So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them.

Ester 1:22

1:22 He sent letters throughout all the royal provinces, to each province according to its own script and to each people according to its own language, ⁹  that every man should be ruling his family ¹⁰  and should be speaking the language of his own people. ¹¹ 

Ester 2:23

2:23 The king then had the matter investigated and, finding it to be so, had the two conspirators ¹²  hanged on a gallows. ¹³  It was then recorded in the daily chronicles in the king’s presence.

Ester 8:10

8:10 Mordecai ¹⁴  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 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 8:5

8:5 She said, “If the king is so inclined and if I have met with his approval and if the matter is agreeable to the king and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, ¹⁵  which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces.

Ester 9:25

9:25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king ¹⁶  gave written orders that Haman’s ¹⁷  evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Ester 1:19

1:19 If the king is so inclined, ¹⁸  let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed, ¹⁹  that Vashti ²⁰  may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another ²¹  who is more deserving than she. ²² 

Ester 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ²³  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ²⁴  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ²⁵  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Ester 8:13

8:13 A copy of the edict was to be presented as law throughout each and every province and made known to all peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that ²⁶  day to avenge themselves from their enemies.

Ester 9:20

9:20 Mordecai wrote these matters down and sent letters to all the Jews who were throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

Ester 9:27

9:27 Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis.

[8:9]  ¹ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

[8:9]  ² sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

[8:9]  ³ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[3:12]  ⁶ tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

[9:29]  ⁷ tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta omit the word “second.”

[9:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “written in the book” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “written down in the records”; NRSV “recorded in writing.”

[1:22]  ⁹ sn For purposes of diplomacy and governmental communication throughout the far-flung regions of the Persian empire the Aramaic language was normally used. Educated people throughout the kingdom could be expected to have competence in this language. But in the situation described in v. 22 a variety of local languages are to be used, and not just Aramaic, so as to make the king’s edict understandable to the largest possible number of people.

[1:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in his house”; NIV “over his own household.”

[1:22]  ¹¹ tc The final prepositional phrase is not included in the LXX, and this shorter reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT). Some scholars suggest the phrase may be the result of dittography from the earlier phrase “to each people according to its language,” but this is not a necessary conclusion. The edict was apparently intended to reassert male prerogative with regard to two things (and not just one): sovereign and unquestioned leadership within the family unit, and the right of deciding which language was to be used in the home when a bilingual situation existed.

[2:23]  ¹² tn Heb “they both were hanged.” The referent (the two eunuchs who conspired against the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ¹³ tn Or “on a pole”; KJV, ASV “on a tree.”

[8:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:5]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX does not include the expression “the Agagite.”

[9:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “her neighbor”; NIV “someone else.”

[1:19]  ²² 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.”

[3:13]  ²³ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

[3:13]  ²⁵ tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”

[8:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “this” (so NASB); most English versions read “that” here for stylistic reasons.