Esther 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ¹  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ²  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ³  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Esther 4:8

4:8 He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated ⁴  in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people.

Esther 5:14

5:14 Haman’s ⁵  wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet ⁶  high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” ⁷ 

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

Esther 8:11

8:11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves – to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children, ⁸  and to confiscate their property.

Esther 9:25

9:25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king ⁹  gave written orders that Haman’s ¹⁰  evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Esther 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.

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¹ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

³ tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”

⁴ tn Heb “given” (so KJV); NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “issued”; NIV “published”; NAB “promulgated.”

⁵ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”

⁷ tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”

⁸ tn Heb “children and women.” As in 3:13, the translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

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

¹⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.