Esther 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Destruction of the Enemies of the Jews
9 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over them but that had been changed to a day when the Jews would gain power over their foes,(A) 2 the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to kill[a] those who had sought their ruin, and no one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.(B) 3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps and the governors, and the royal officials were supporting the Jews because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.(C) 4 For Mordecai was powerful in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, because the man Mordecai was growing more and more powerful.(D) 5 So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred people. 7 They 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 touch the plunder.(E)
11 That very day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred people and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.”(F) 13 Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict, and let the ten sons of Haman be hung on the pole.”(G) 14 So the king commanded this to be done; a decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hung. 15 The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred persons in Susa, but they did not touch the plunder.(H)
16 Now the other Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives and gained relief from their enemies and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they laid no hands on the plunder.(I) 17 This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.(J)
The Feast of Purim Inaugurated
18 But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth and rested on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness.(K) 19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the open towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, a holiday on which they send gifts of food to one another.(L)
20 Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, 22 as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.(M) 23 So the Jews adopted as a custom what they had begun to do, as Mordecai had written to them.
24 For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur—that is, “the lot”—to crush and to destroy them,(N) 25 but when Esther[b] came before the king, he gave orders in writing that the wicked plot that he had devised against the Jews should come upon his own head and that he and his sons should be hung on the pole.(O) 26 Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Thus because of all that was written in this letter and of what they had faced in this matter and of what had happened to them,(P) 27 the Jews established and accepted as a custom for themselves and their descendants and all who joined them that without fail they would continue to observe these two days every year, as it was written and at the time appointed.(Q) 28 These days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every family, province, and city, and these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.
29 Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, gave full written authority confirming this second letter about Purim.(R) 30 Letters were sent wishing peace and security to all the Jews, to the one hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus,(S) 31 and giving orders that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther enjoined on the Jews, just as they had laid down for themselves and for their descendants regulations concerning their fasts and their lamentations.(T) 32 The command of Esther fixed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.(U)
Esther 9
International Standard Version
The Jewish People Defeat Their Enemies
9 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, when the king’s order and edict was about to be carried out, on the day when the enemies of the Jewish people expected to prevail over them, things were turned around so that the Jewish people themselves prevailed over those who hated them.
2 The Jewish people assembled in their towns throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who intended to harm them, and no one could oppose them because all the people had come to fear the Jews.[a] 3 All the provincial officials, the regional authorities,[b] the governors, and those doing the king’s work supported the Jewish people because the fear of Mordecai had come over[c] them. 4 Indeed, Mordecai was a powerful[d] official in the palace and his fame spread throughout the provinces. Indeed, the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.[e]
5 The Jewish people struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did with their enemies as they pleased. 6 In Susa the capital the Jewish people killed and destroyed 500 people. 7 They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Hammedatha’s son Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people, but they did not lay their hands on the spoils.
11 On that day the number of those slain in Susa the capital was reported to the king. 12 The king told Queen Esther, “In Susa the capital the Jewish people have killed and destroyed 500 people, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what’s your petition? It will be given to you. What’s your further request? It will be done.”
13 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it also be granted to the Jewish people in Susa to do tomorrow what the edict allowed them to do today,[f] and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged[g] on poles.”
14 The king said, “Let this be done.” So an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged[h] on poles. 15 The Jewish people in Susa assembled again on that day, the fourteenth of Adar, and they killed 300 people in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the spoils.
The Festival of Purim is Celebrated
16 The rest of the Jewish people in the king’s provinces assembled to defend[i] themselves, and they gained relief from their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not lay their hands on the spoils. 17 They did this on the thirteenth day of Adar and rested on the fourteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy. 18 The Jewish people in Susa assembled on the thirteenth day and again on the fourteenth, and then rested on the fifteenth day and made it a day of feasting and joy. 19 Therefore the Jewish people in the rural areas who live in unwalled towns make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a holiday for joy and feasting, and people send presents[j] to one another.
Official Instructions for Celebrating Purim
20 Mordecai wrote these instructions and sent letters to all the Jewish people in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 establishing that they should celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar every year, 22 as the days on which the Jewish people enjoyed relief[k] from their enemies. It was a month when things turned around for them, from sorrow to joy and from mourning to a holiday. They were to celebrate these days as days of feasting and joy, and they were to send presents[l] to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jewish people made a tradition[m] out of what they had begun to do and of what Mordecai had written to them, 24 since Hammedatha’s son Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people, had plotted against the Jewish people to destroy them, and he had cast the pur (that is, the lot) to determine when[n] to confuse and destroy them.
25 But when Esther came before the king, he ordered through a letter that the evil plot that Haman[o] had devised against the Jewish people be rescinded,[p] and that he and his sons be hanged on poles. 26 Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur. Because of all that was written in this letter, because of what they experienced in this matter, and because of what happened to them, 27 the Jewish people established this celebration, making it a tradition[q] for themselves, for their descendants, and for all who joined with them[r] that they should not fail to observe these two days each year, based on the written instructions, and at the prescribed time. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by each family in every province and town. These days of Purim should not be neglected by[s] the Jewish people, and that they should not be forgotten by their descendants.
Queen Esther Confirms the Instructions for Purim
29 Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority confirming this second letter about Purim. 30 Letters containing wishes for peace and stability were sent to all the Jewish people, to the 127 provinces of Ahasuerus’ kingdom, 31 establishing these days of Purim at the prescribed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as the Jewish people[t] had established for themselves and for their descendants. The letter included instructions for their fasting[u] and lamentations. 32 The order of Esther established these instructions for Purim, and it was officially recorded.[v]
Footnotes
- Esther 9:2 Lit. them
- Esther 9:3 Lit. satraps; Persian government officials similar in authority to a governor
- Esther 9:3 Lit. fallen on
- Esther 9:4 Or great
- Esther 9:4 Or greater and greater
- Esther 9:13 Lit. according to today’s edict
- Esther 9:13 Or impaled
- Esther 9:14 Or impaled
- Esther 9:16 Lit. stand; or their lives
- Esther 9:19 Or portions of food
- Esther 9:22 Or the Jews rested
- Esther 9:22 Or portions of food
- Esther 9:23 Lit. the Jews accepted
- Esther 9:24 The Heb. lacks to determine when
- Esther 9:25 Lit. he
- Esther 9:25 Lit. be turned back on his own head
- Esther 9:27 Lit. people accepted it
- Esther 9:27 I.e. those who became Jews
- Esther 9:28 Lit. should not pass by
- Esther 9:31 Lit. they
- Esther 9:31 Lit. descendants, instructions for their fasting
- Esther 9:32 Lit. recorded in a record
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