Restored from the Septuagint
Esther
The MT removes God entirely from the Book of Esther.
References to God
The Masoretic version of Esther does not mention God a single time. It is the only book in the Protestant Bible with this distinction.
270
Verses in LXX
167
Verses in MT
107 verses missing
What Changed
The Septuagint version of Esther contains 107 additional verses organized into six major additions (traditionally labeled A through F). These additions include prayers to God, divine dreams and their interpretations, royal decrees mentioning God's providence, and explicit theological framing of the entire narrative as God's deliverance of His people. The Masoretic version strips all of this out, leaving a book that famously never mentions God, prayer, or divine intervention. It is the only book in the Protestant Bible with this distinction.
Theological Impact
The MT transforms Esther from a story of God's faithful deliverance into a secular tale of political maneuvering. Mordecai's trust in God becomes mere ethnic loyalty. Esther's desperate prayer and fasting before approaching the king, one of the most powerful prayers in scripture, simply vanishes. The theological message that God works through history to preserve His covenant people is entirely erased.
Sections Removed in the Masoretic Text
Mordecai's Dream
Addition A (before 1:1)
Mordecai receives a prophetic dream of two great dragons (himself and Haman), a tiny spring becoming a river (Esther), and the nations gathering against God's people. God hears their cry.
Text of the King's First Decree
Addition B (after 3:13)
The full text of Haman's decree ordering the destruction of the Jews, revealing the anti-God rhetoric behind the genocide.
Prayers of Mordecai and Esther
Addition C (after 4:17)
Mordecai's prayer invoking God as Lord of all and creator of heaven and earth. Esther's agonized prayer: she fasts, covers herself in ashes, and pleads with God for courage. She declares her hatred of her crown and her faithfulness to God's law.
Esther Before the King
Addition D (replacing 5:1-2)
An expanded account of Esther approaching the king. She faints in terror, and God turns the king's heart to gentleness. The king says: "the law is not for you, but for the common people."
Text of the King's Second Decree
Addition E (after 8:12)
The counter-decree explicitly credits "the living God" and "the most high God" for preserving the Jews. The king acknowledges that Haman opposed God's purposes.
Interpretation of Mordecai's Dream
Addition F (after 10:3)
Mordecai interprets his dream from Addition A, confirming that everything happened according to God's plan. Closes with: "God remembered his people, and justified his inheritance."
What You're Missing
“O Lord, Lord, King ruling over all, all things are in thy power, and there is no one who shall oppose thee.”
Addition C, 14:3 (LXX)
Mordecai's prayer, entirely absent from the MT, establishes God's absolute sovereignty over the events of the book.
“O God, who hast power over all, hear the voice of the despairing, and deliver us from the hand of evil-doers.”
Addition C, 14:19 (LXX)
Esther's prayer before approaching the king. In the MT, she simply puts on her royal robes. In the LXX, she first puts on ashes and prays this desperate prayer to God.
“For the Jews, who were appointed to destruction by that thrice-accursed man, are not malefactors, but are governed by most righteous laws, and are the sons of the living God, the most high.”
Addition E, 16:16 (LXX)
The king's own decree calls the Jews "sons of the living God," language completely absent from the MT version.
“God remembered his people, and justified his inheritance.”
Addition F, 10:4 (LXX)
The concluding theological summary of the entire book. The MT ends with a description of Mordecai's political achievements.
New Testament Connections
These NT passages reference or echo the Septuagint version: