Esther 9 · WEB
The Jews Triumph; Purim Established
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the month, when the king's commandment and his decree came near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to conquer them (but it was turned to the contrary, so that the Jews conquered those who hated them),
2the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, to lay hands on those who wanted to harm them. No one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen on all the peoples.
3All the princes of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and those who did the king's business helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.
4For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai grew greater and greater.
5The Jews struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they wanted to those who hated them.
6In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.
7They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha,
10the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews' enemy; but they didn't plunder the spoil.
11On that day, the number of those who were slain in the citadel of Susa was brought before the king.
12The king said to Esther the queen, "The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in the citadel of Susa, and the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your further request? It shall be done."
13Then Esther said, "If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do tomorrow also according to today's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows."
14The king commanded this to be done. A decree was given out in Susa; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
15The Jews who were in Susa gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa; but they didn't plunder the spoil.
16The other Jews who were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, defended their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they didn't plunder the spoil.
17This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
18But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
19Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, a good day, and a day of sending presents of food to one another.
20Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, both near and far,
21to establish among them that they should keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar yearly,
22as the days in which the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
23The Jews accepted the custom that they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them;
24because Haman the 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 consume them and to destroy them;
25but when she came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device which he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26Therefore they called these days Purim, from the word Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come to them,
27the Jews established and imposed on themselves and on their offspring and on all those who joined themselves to them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to what was written, and according to its appointed time, every year;
28and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memory of them perish from their offspring.
29Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim.
30He sent letters to all the Jews, to the hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
31to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had established, and as they had imposed on themselves and on their offspring, with the matter of the fastings and their cry.
32The commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
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Summary
The 13th of Adar arrives — the day both decrees take effect simultaneously. Throughout the empire, the Jews arm themselves and their enemies are defeated. In Susa they fight two days; in the provinces, one day. Notably, the Jews do not take any plunder — three times this is mentioned, distinguishing their defense from greed. Mordecai and Esther institute the festival of Purim — named after the "Pur" (lot) Haman cast to destroy them — a two-day celebration every year with feasting, joy, gift-giving to one another, and gifts to the poor, remembering how "sorrow was turned to joy."
Themes
- The complete reversal of intended destruction into deliverance
- Remembrance as an act of faith — celebrating what God has done
- Generosity (giving to the poor) as an integral part of celebrating salvation
Key verses
- Esther 9:1 — “It was turned to the contrary, so that the Jews conquered those who hated them.”
- Esther 9:22 — “The month which was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day.”
- Esther 9:28 — “These days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memory of them perish from their offspring.”
Context & background
Purim is still celebrated by Jewish communities worldwide today — typically in late February or March — making it one of the longest continuously observed celebrations in human history. The celebration involves reading the book of Esther publicly, feasting, sending gifts of food (mishloach manot) to friends, and giving charity (matanot la'evyonim) to the poor — all rooted in these verses. The emphasis that the Jews "did not plunder" (vv. 10, 15, 16) deliberately echoes and corrects Saul's failure to follow instructions about Amalek in 1 Samuel 15, where Saul kept the plunder. Mordecai's descendants complete what Saul failed to finish. The name "Purim" (plural of "Pur") comes from the lot Haman cast — the very instrument of intended destruction gives the festival its name.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 15:9 — Saul took the plunder from Agag; Mordecai's restraint corrects this failure
- Deuteronomy 16:14 — "Rejoice in your feast... you, your son, your daughter... and the stranger" — the spirit of Purim
- Luke 15:24 — "He was lost, and is found" — the joy of restoration celebrated in community
- Psalm 30:11 — "You have turned my mourning into dancing" — exactly what Esther 9:22 declares
- Revelation 19:1-9 — The great celebration when salvation, honor, and power belong to God; Purim anticipates this