Esther 9:18-32
Holman Christian Standard Bible
18 But the Jews in Susa had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. They rested on the fifteenth day of the month, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing.(A) 19 This explains why the rural Jews who live in villages observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a time of rejoicing and feasting. It is a holiday when they send gifts to one another.(B)
20 Mordecai(C) recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all of King Ahasuerus’s provinces, both near and far. 21 He ordered(D) them to celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar every year 22 because during those days the Jews got rid of[a](E) their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday.(F) They were to be days of feasting,(G) rejoicing, and of sending gifts to one another and the poor.
23 So the Jews agreed to continue the practice they had begun, as Mordecai had written them to do. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews,(H) had plotted against the Jews to destroy them. He cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.(I) 25 But when the matter was brought before the king,(J) he commanded by letter that the evil plan Haman had devised against the Jews return on his own head(K) and that he should be hanged with his sons on the gallows.(L) 26 For this reason these days are called Purim, from the word Pur.(M)
Because of all the instructions in this letter as well as what they had witnessed and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews bound themselves, their descendants, and all who joined(N) with them to a commitment that they would not fail to celebrate these two days each and every year according to the written instructions and according to the time appointed. 28 These days are remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim will not lose their significance in Jewish life[b] and their memory will not fade from their descendants.(O)
29 Queen Esther daughter of Abihail,(P) along with Mordecai the Jew,(Q) wrote this second letter with full authority(R) to confirm the letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters with messages of peace and faithfulness to all the Jews who were in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, 31 in order to confirm these days of Purim at their proper time just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and just as they had committed themselves and their descendants to the practices of fasting(S) and lamentation.(T) 32 So Esther’s command confirmed these customs of Purim, which were then written into the record.
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- Esther 9:22 Lit Jews gained relief from
- Esther 9:28 LXX reads will be celebrated into all times
Esther 9:18-32
Lexham English Bible
18 But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth day, and rested on the fifteenth day. And they made it a day of feasting and joy. 19 Therefore the Jews in the rural areas, living in the rural towns, made the fourteenth month of Adar a day of joy and feasting, a festive day of giving gifts to each other.
The Feast of Purim
20 Mordecai wrote down these things and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all of the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 to impose on them to keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day, every year,[a] 22 as the day that the Jews found relief[b] from their enemies, and the month which changed for them from sorrow to joy, and from a mourning ceremony to a festive day;[c] to make them days of feasting and joy, and giving gifts to each other and to the poor. 23 And the Jews adopted what they had begun to do and what Mordecai had written to them.
24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and he had cast pur, that is the lot, to rout them out and destroy them. 25 But when it came[d] to the attention of[e] the king, he gave orders in writing[f] that his evil plot that he had devised against the Jews should return on his head, and they hung him and his sons on the gallows. 26 Therefore they called these days Purim, because of the name Pur. Thus because of all the words of this letter, and of what they faced concerning this, and of what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established and adopted it for themselves and for their offspring, and for all who joined them. They did not neglect to observe[g] these two days every year as it was written and appointed to them. 28 These days are to be remembered and are to be kept in every generation, and in family, province, and city; and these days of Purim are not to be neglected among the Jews, and their memory shall not come to an end among their offspring.
29 So Queen Esther the daughter of Abihail and Mordecai the Jew wrote in full authority to confirm this second letter of Purim. 30 He sent letters of words of peace and truth to all the Jews, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces[h] of Ahasuerus’ kingdom, 31 to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had imposed, and just as they had imposed on themselves and their offspring regulations of the fast and their lament. 32 And the command of Esther established these practices of Purim, and it was written on the scroll.
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- Esther 9:21 Literally “and every year and year”
- Esther 9:22 Literally “rested”
- Esther 9:22 Literally “a day of good”
- Esther 9:25 Or “she came”
- Esther 9:25 Literally “before”
- Esther 9:25 Literally “said with a scroll”
- Esther 9:27 Literally “to be doing”
- Esther 9:30 Hebrew “province”
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