The riches of his royal glory is literally “the wealth of the glory of his kingdom.” Glory here has the sense of “dazzling”; Revised English Bible says “the dazzling wealth of his kingdom,” and Moffatt (Moffatt) says “his royal treasures in their splendour.” Since the display of the wealth of the kingdom is focused in the royal court, Good News Translation reads “the riches of the imperial court.” According to one modern historian, when Alexander the Great captured the Persian cities of Susa and Persepolis in 331 B.C., he found treasures that were the equivalent of 836 tons of gold (Olmstead, pages 518, 520).

The splendor and pomp of his majesty: these words are literally “the costly splendor of his [or, its] greatness.” The Hebrew pronoun attached to the word “greatness” may refer to the imperial court (so Good News Translation), but it is equally possible that it refers to the king (Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible). The word splendor sometimes means “ornament” and may refer to clothing (Isa 52.1) or to jewels (Ezek 16.17, 39). Moffatt renders these words “his rare kingly robes.” If the reference is to the king, then the meaning may be the glorious appearance and majesty of the king himself.

A hundred and eighty days was the length of time that the banquet continued, and this detail gives emphasis to the claim that the king showed his majesty for many days. Though most translations keep a literal rendering, some modern versions give the equivalent time in months, since it is more natural in those languages to speak of six months than of 180 days (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bible en français courant). In other languages it may be more acceptable to speak of “nights” or “markets,” that is, weeks, or even “half a year.” If days are converted to weeks, the total time specified should still be equal to 180 days.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on Esther (The Hebrew Text). (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .