¹tn Heb “the house of the king.”
²tn Heb “the house of the king.” 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.
³tn Heb “entrance of the house.”
⁴tn Heb “she obtained grace in his eyes.”
⁵tn Heb “What to you?”
⁶tn Heb “If upon the king it is good.”
⁷sn As much as half the kingdom. Such a statement would no doubt have been understood for the exaggeration that it clearly was. Cf. the similar NT scene recorded in Mark 6:23, where Herod makes a similar promise to the daughter of Herodias. In that case she asked for the head of John the Baptist, which is a far cry from half the kingdom.
⁸tn Heb “answered and said.”
⁹tn Heb “if upon the king it is good.” So also in 7:3; 8:5; 9:13.
¹⁰tn Heb “and tomorrow.”
¹¹tn Heb “I will do according to the word of the king,” i.e., answer the question that he has posed.
¹²tn Heb “happy and good of heart.”
¹³tn Heb “tremble from before him.”
¹⁴tn Heb “sent and brought.” The expression may be a hendiadys, in which case the two verbs could be translated simply as “summoned.”
¹⁵tn Heb “the glory of his riches.”
¹⁶sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.
¹⁷tn Heb “caused to come.”
¹⁸tn Heb “called to her.”
¹⁹tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
²⁰tn 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 natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller.
²¹tn Or “joyful.”