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Esther 9
New American Standard Bible

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

9 Now (A)in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on (B)the thirteenth [a]day, (C)when the king’s command and edict were to be put into effect, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it turned out to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained mastery over those who hated them. 2 (D)The Jews assembled in their cities throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus to [b]attack those who sought [c]to harm them; and no one could stand against them, (E)because the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples. 3 Even all the officials of the provinces, (F)the satraps, the governors, and those who were doing the king’s business were supporting the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. 4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and the news about him spread throughout the provinces; for the man Mordecai (G)became greater and greater. 5 So (H)the Jews struck all their enemies with [d]the sword, killing and destroying; and they did as they pleased to those who hated them. 6 At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and eliminated five hundred men, 7 and they killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 10 (I)the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy; but (J)they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

11 On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa [e]was reported to the king. 12 And the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and eliminated five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! (K)Now what is your request? It shall also be granted you. And what is your further wish? It shall also be done.” 13 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, (L)let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the wooden gallows.” 14 So the king commanded that it was to be done so; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged. 15 The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed (M)three hundred men in Susa, but (N)they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

16 Now (O)the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces (P)assembled, to defend their lives and [f]rid themselves of their enemies, and to kill seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 17 This was done on (Q)the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and (R)on the fourteenth [g]day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

18 But the Jews who were in Susa (S)assembled on the thirteenth and (T)the fourteenth [h]of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth [i]day and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. 19 Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in (U)the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a [j](V)holiday for rejoicing and feasting and (W)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 [k]of the same month, annually, 22 because on those days the Jews [l]rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was (X)turned for them from grief into joy, and from mourning into a [m]holiday; that they were to make them days of feasting and rejoicing, and (Y)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 (Z)had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and eliminate them. 25 But (AA)when it came [n]to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter (AB)that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews (AC)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 [o]Pur. [p]And (AD)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 [q]made a custom for themselves, their [r]descendants, and for (AE)all those who allied themselves with them, so that [s]they would not fail (AF)to celebrate these two days according to their [t]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 [u]be neglected by the Jews, or their memory [v]fade from their [w]descendants.

29 Then Queen Esther, (AG)daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm (AH)this second letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters to all the Jews, (AI)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 [x]descendants, with [y]instructions (AJ)for their times of fasting and their mourning. 32 The command of Esther established these [z]customs for (AK)Purim, and it was written in the book.

Footnotes

  1. Esther 9:1 Lit day in it
  2. Esther 9:2 Lit put out a hand against
  3. Esther 9:2 Lit their harm
  4. Esther 9:5 Lit the stroke of the
  5. Esther 9:11 Lit came before
  6. Esther 9:16 Lit have rest from
  7. Esther 9:17 Lit in it
  8. Esther 9:18 Lit in it
  9. Esther 9:18 Lit in it
  10. Esther 9:19 Lit rejoicing and feasting and a good day and sending
  11. Esther 9:21 Lit in it
  12. Esther 9:22 Lit had rest from
  13. Esther 9:22 Lit good day
  14. Esther 9:25 Lit before the king, he
  15. Esther 9:26 Akkadian for lot
  16. Esther 9:26 Lit Therefore because of all the words
  17. Esther 9:27 Lit received
  18. Esther 9:27 Lit seed
  19. Esther 9:27 Lit it would not pass away
  20. Esther 9:27 Lit writing
  21. Esther 9:28 Lit pass from the midst of
  22. Esther 9:28 Lit end
  23. Esther 9:28 Lit seed
  24. Esther 9:31 Lit seed
  25. Esther 9:31 Lit words
  26. Esther 9:32 Lit words
Close NLT

Esther 9
New Living Translation

The Victory of the Jews

9 So on March 7[a] the two decrees of the king were put into effect. On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies. 2 The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the king’s provinces to attack anyone who tried to harm them. But no one could make a stand against them, for everyone was afraid of them. 3 And all the nobles of the provinces, the highest officers, the governors, and the royal officials helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai. 4 For Mordecai had been promoted in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as he became more and more powerful.

5 So the Jews went ahead on the appointed day and struck down their enemies with the sword. They killed and annihilated their enemies and did as they pleased with those who hated them. 6 In the fortress of Susa itself, the Jews killed 500 men. 7 They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha— 10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not take any plunder.

11 That very day, when the king was informed of the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa, 12 he called for Queen Esther. He said, “The Jews have killed 500 men in the fortress of Susa alone, as well as Haman’s ten sons. If they have done that here, what has happened in the rest of the provinces? But now, what more do you want? It will be granted to you; tell me and I will do it.”

13 Esther responded, “If it please the king, give the Jews in Susa permission to do again tomorrow as they have done today, and let the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be impaled on a pole.”

14 So the king agreed, and the decree was announced in Susa. And they impaled the bodies of Haman’s ten sons. 15 Then the Jews at Susa gathered together on March 8[b] and killed 300 more men, and again they took no plunder.

16 Meanwhile, the other Jews throughout the king’s provinces had gathered together to defend their lives. They gained relief from all their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not take any plunder. 17 This was done throughout the provinces on March 7, and on March 8 they rested,[c] celebrating their victory with a day of feasting and gladness. 18 (The Jews at Susa killed their enemies on March 7 and again on March 8, then rested on March 9,[d] 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,[e] 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.[f] 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.

Footnotes

  1. 9:1 Hebrew on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was March 7, 473 B.c.; also see note on 2:16.
  2. 9:15 Hebrew the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was March 8, 473 B.c.; also see note on 2:16.
  3. 9:17 Hebrew on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested. These days were March 7 and 8, 473 B.c.; also see note on 2:16.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 9:21 Hebrew on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar.
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