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 1:17

1:17 For the matter concerning the queen will spread to all the women, leading them to treat their husbands with contempt, saying, ‘When King Ahasuerus gave orders to bring Queen Vashti into his presence, she would not come.’

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 9:11

9:11 On that same day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was brought to the king’s attention.

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, ¹  opposite the king’s quarters. ²  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ³ 

Ester 9:4

9:4 Mordecai was of high rank ⁴  in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence ⁵  continued to become greater and greater.

Ester 10:3

10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ⁶  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ⁷  He worked enthusiastically ⁸  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ⁹  all his descendants. ¹⁰ 

Ester 1:18

1:18 And this very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard the matter concerning the queen will respond in the same way to all the royal officials, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger!

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 Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded.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 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ¹¹  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ¹²  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ¹³  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Ester 3:2

3:2 As a result, ¹⁴  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, ¹⁵  nor did he pay him homage.

Ester 4:7

4:7 Then Mordecai related to him everything that had happened to him, even the specific amount of money that Haman had offered to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews to be destroyed.

Ester 6:2

6:2 it was found written that Mordecai had disclosed that Bigthana ¹⁶  and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted to assassinate ¹⁷  King Ahasuerus.

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.

Ester 9:29

9:29 So Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second ¹⁸  letter about Purim.

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

[5:1]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).

[9:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “great”; NRSV “powerful”; NIV “prominent”; NCV “very important.”

[9:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “the man Mordecai” (so NASB, NRSV).

[10:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”

[10:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”

[10:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”

[10:3]  ¹⁰ 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).

[3:13]  ¹¹ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ¹² tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

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

[3:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). Other modern English versions leave the conjunction untranslated here (NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[3:2]  ¹⁵ 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).

[6:2]  ¹⁶ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthan,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 2:21.

[6:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; NASB “had sought to lay hands on.”

[9:29]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta omit the word “second.”