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Esther 9:18-32
New American Standard Bible

18 But the Jews who were in Susa (A)assembled on the thirteenth and (B)the fourteenth [a]of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth [b]day and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. 19 Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in (C)the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a [c](D)holiday for rejoicing and feasting and (E)sending portions of food to one another.

The Feast of Purim Instituted

20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day [d]of the same month, annually, 22 because on those days the Jews [e]rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was (F)turned for them from grief into joy, and from mourning into a [f]holiday; that they were to make them days of feasting and rejoicing, and (G)sending portions of food to one another, and gifts to the poor.

23 So the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to eliminate them, and (H)had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and eliminate them. 25 But (I)when it came [g]to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter (J)that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews (K)was to return on his own head, and that he and his sons were to be hanged on the wooden gallows. 26 Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of [h]Pur. [i]And (L)because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established and [j]made a custom for themselves, their [k]descendants, and for (M)all those who allied themselves with them, so that [l]they would not fail (N)to celebrate these two days according to their [m]regulation and according to their appointed time annually. 28 So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and these days of Purim were not to [n]be neglected by the Jews, or their memory [o]fade from their [p]descendants.

29 Then Queen Esther, (O)daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm (P)this second letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters to all the Jews, (Q)to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, 31 to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their [q]descendants, with [r]instructions (R)for their times of fasting and their mourning. 32 The command of Esther established these [s]customs for (S)Purim, and it was written in the book.

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Footnotes

  1. Esther 9:18 Lit in it
  2. Esther 9:18 Lit in it
  3. Esther 9:19 Lit rejoicing and feasting and a good day and sending
  4. Esther 9:21 Lit in it
  5. Esther 9:22 Lit had rest from
  6. Esther 9:22 Lit good day
  7. Esther 9:25 Lit before the king, he
  8. Esther 9:26 Akkadian for lot
  9. Esther 9:26 Lit Therefore because of all the words
  10. Esther 9:27 Lit received
  11. Esther 9:27 Lit seed
  12. Esther 9:27 Lit it would not pass away
  13. Esther 9:27 Lit writing
  14. Esther 9:28 Lit pass from the midst of
  15. Esther 9:28 Lit end
  16. Esther 9:28 Lit seed
  17. Esther 9:31 Lit seed
  18. Esther 9:31 Lit words
  19. Esther 9:32 Lit words
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Esther 9:18-32
New Living Translation

18 (The Jews at Susa killed their enemies on March 7 and again on March 8, then rested on March 9,[a] making that their day of feasting and gladness.) 19 So to this day, rural Jews living in remote villages celebrate an annual festival and holiday on the appointed day in late winter,[b] when they rejoice and send gifts of food to each other.

The Festival of Purim

20 Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes, 21 calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days.[c] 22 He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy.

23 So the Jews accepted Mordecai’s proposal and adopted this annual custom. 24 Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to crush and destroy them on the date determined by casting lots (the lots were called purim). 25 But when Esther came before the king, he issued a decree causing Haman’s evil plot to backfire, and Haman and his sons were impaled on a sharpened pole. 26 That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots.

So because of Mordecai’s letter and because of what they had experienced, 27 the Jews throughout the realm agreed to inaugurate this tradition and to pass it on to their descendants and to all who became Jews. They declared they would never fail to celebrate these two prescribed days at the appointed time each year. 28 These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants.

29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote another letter putting the queen’s full authority behind Mordecai’s letter to establish the Festival of Purim. 30 Letters wishing peace and security were sent to the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of the empire of Xerxes. 31 These letters established the Festival of Purim—an annual celebration of these days at the appointed time, decreed by both Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther. (The people decided to observe this festival, just as they had decided for themselves and their descendants to establish the times of fasting and mourning.) 32 So the command of Esther confirmed the practices of Purim, and it was all written down in the records.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:18 Hebrew killed their enemies on the thirteenth day and the fourteenth day, and then rested on the fifteenth day, of the Hebrew month of Adar.
  2. 9:19 Hebrew on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar. This day of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurs in February or March.
  3. 9:21 Hebrew on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar.
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