CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Esther 9 ISV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/esther/9.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/esther/9-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">ISV</a> > Esther 9</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../esther/8.htm" title="Esther 8">◄</a> Esther 9 <a href="../esther/10.htm" title="Esther 10">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">International Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/isv/esv/esther/9.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="heading">The Jewish People Defeat Their Enemies</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>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.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>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.<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:2 Lit. them">a</a></span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>All the provincial officials, the regional authorities,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:3 Lit. satraps; Persian government officials similar in authority to a governor">b</a></span> the governors, and those doing the king’s work supported the Jewish people because the fear of Mordecai had come over<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:3 Lit. fallen on">c</a></span> them. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Indeed, Mordecai was a powerful<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:4 Or great">d</a></span> official in the palace and his fame spread throughout the provinces. Indeed, the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:4 Or greater and greater">e</a></span> </p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>The Jewish people struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did with their enemies as they pleased. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>In Susa the capital the Jewish people killed and destroyed 500 people. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>the ten sons of Hammedatha’s son Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people, but they did not lay their hands on the spoils.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>On that day the number of those slain in Susa the capital was reported to the king. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>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.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>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,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:13 Lit. according to today’s edict">f</a></span> and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:13 Or impaled">g</a></span> on poles.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>The king said, “Let this be done.” So an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:14 Or impaled">h</a></span> on poles. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>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.</p> <p class="heading">The Festival of Purim is Celebrated</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>The rest of the Jewish people in the king’s provinces assembled to defend<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:16 Lit. stand; or their lives">i</a></span> 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>They did this on the thirteenth day of Adar and rested on the fourteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>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<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:19 Or portions of food">j</a></span> to one another.</p> <p class="heading">Official Instructions for Celebrating Purim</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Mordecai wrote these instructions and sent letters to all the Jewish people in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>establishing that they should celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar every year, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>as the days on which the Jewish people enjoyed relief<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:22 Or the Jews rested">k</a></span> 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<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:22 Or portions of food">l</a></span> to one another and gifts to the poor. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>So the Jewish people made a tradition<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:23 Lit. the Jews accepted">m</a></span> out of what they had begun to do and of what Mordecai had written to them, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>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<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:24 The Heb. lacks to determine when">n</a></span> to confuse and destroy them.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>But when Esther came before the king, he ordered through a letter that the evil plot that Haman<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:25 Lit. he">o</a></span> had devised against the Jewish people be rescinded,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:25 Lit. be turned back on his own head">p</a></span> and that he and his sons be hanged on poles. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>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, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>the Jewish people established this celebration, making it a tradition<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:27 Lit. people accepted it">q</a></span> for themselves, for their descendants, and for all who joined with them<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:27 i.e. those who became Jews">r</a></span> that they should not fail to observe these two days each year, based on the written instructions, and at the prescribed time. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>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<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:28 Lit. should not pass by">s</a></span> the Jewish people, and that they should not be forgotten by their descendants.</p> <p class="heading">Queen Esther Confirms the Instructions for Purim</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority confirming this second letter about Purim. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Letters containing wishes for peace and stability were sent to all the Jewish people, to the 127 provinces of Ahasuerus’ kingdom, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>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<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:31 Lit. they">t</a></span> had established for themselves and for their descendants. The letter included instructions for their fasting<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:31 Lit. descendants, instructions for their fasting">u</a></span> and lamentations. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/9-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>The order of Esther established these instructions for Purim, and it was officially recorded.<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="9:32 Lit. recorded in a record">v</a></span> </p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="ftn"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn1"><span class="fnb">a</span> 9:2 Lit. <i>them</i><br /><span class="fnb">b</span> 9:3 Lit. <i>satraps</i>; Persian government officials similar in authority to a governor<br /><span class="fnb">c</span> 9:3 Lit. <i>fallen on</i><br /><span class="fnb">d</span> 9:4 Or <i>great</i><br /><span class="fnb">e</span> 9:4 Or <i>greater and greater</i><br /><span class="fnb">f</span> 9:13 Lit. <i>according to today’s edict</i><br /><span class="fnb">g</span> 9:13 Or <i>impaled</i><br /><span class="fnb">h</span> 9:14 Or <i>impaled</i><br /><span class="fnb">i</span> 9:16 Lit. <i>stand; or their lives</i><br /><span class="fnb">j</span> 9:19 Or <i>portions of food</i><br /><span class="fnb">k</span> 9:22 Or <i>the Jews rested</i><br /><span class="fnb">l</span> 9:22 Or <i>portions of food</i><br /><span class="fnb">m</span> 9:23 Lit. <i>the Jews accepted</i><br /><span class="fnb">n</span> 9:24 The Heb. lacks <i>to determine when</i><br /><span class="fnb">o</span> 9:25 Lit. <i>he</i><br /><span class="fnb">p</span> 9:25 Lit. <i>be turned back on his own head</i><br /><span class="fnb">q</span> 9:27 Lit. <i>people accepted it</i><br /><span class="fnb">r</span> 9:27 i.e. those who became Jews<br /><span class="fnb">s</span> 9:28 Lit. <i>should not pass by</i><br /><span class="fnb">t</span> 9:31 Lit. <i>they</i><br /><span class="fnb">u</span> 9:31 Lit. <i>descendants, instructions for their fasting</i><br /><span class="fnb">v</span> 9:32 Lit. <i>recorded in a record</i><br /></span><br><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><div align="center"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1<br />Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation<br />ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../esther/8.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Esther 8"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Esther 8" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../esther/10.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Esther 10"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Esther 10" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/esther/9-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><div align="center" style="background-color:#F2FAFF"><br /><br /><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /> </div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/botmenubhnm2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>