Esther 2:11

2:11 And day after day Mordecai used to walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem in order to learn how Esther was doing ¹  and what might happen to her.

Esther 3:15

3:15 The messengers ²  scurried forth ³  with the king’s order. ⁴  The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar! ⁵ 

Esther 9:24

9:24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them.

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¹ tn Heb “to know the peace of Esther.”

² tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”

³ tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).

⁴ tn Heb “with the word of the king.”

⁵ sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.