Esther 2:3

2:3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem ¹  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ² 

Esther 2:17

2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval ³  more than all the other young women. ⁴  So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen ⁵  in place of Vashti.

Esther 3:6

3:6 But the thought of striking out against ⁶  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ⁷  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ⁸  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ⁹  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Esther 3:8

3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people ¹⁰  that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants ¹¹  throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them. ¹² 

Esther 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ¹³  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ¹⁴  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ¹⁵  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Esther 9:2

9:2 The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples.

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¹ tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

² tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

³ tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.

⁴ tc The LXX does not include the words “more than all the other young women.”

⁵ tn Heb “caused her to rule.”

⁶ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

⁷ tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

⁸ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

⁹ tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.

¹⁰ tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.

¹¹ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”

¹² tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”

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

¹⁴ tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

¹⁵ tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”