Discovery BoxEsther 1:13 
Context1:13 The king then inquired of the wise men who were discerners of the times – for it was the royal custom to confer with all those who were proficient in laws and legalities. 1
Esther 4:3
Context4:3 Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced 2 there was considerable 3 mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. 4 Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic 5 of many.
1 tn Heb “judgment” (so KJV); NASB, NIV “justice”; NRSV “custom.”
2 tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”
3 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”
4 sn Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.
5 tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”
