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Esther Chapter
Nine
New King James Version
(NKJV)
Esther 9:1. Now in the
twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the
time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day
that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite
occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.
YLT 1And in the twelfth month --
it [is] the month of Adar -- on the thirteenth day of it, in which the word of the
king, even his law, hath come to be done, in the day that the enemies of the
Jews had hoped to rule over them, and it is turned that the Jews rule over
those hating them –
Now in the
twelfth month, that is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same,....
Of which see Esther 3:13,
when the king's
commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution;
even both his commandments
and decrees, the one empowering the enemies of the Jews on that day to destroy
them, and the other empowering the Jews to act both defensively and offensively
against their enemies:
in the day that
the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them;
by virtue of the first
decree of the king; and notwithstanding the second, they might hope to have it
because of their superior numbers:
though it was
turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;
it proved the reverse,
partly through the second decree in favour of the Jews, and partly through the
fear of them that fell upon their enemies; because the court was on their side,
and the officers everywhere, and especially their God filled them with courage,
and their enemies with terror.
Esther 9:2. 2 The
Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King
Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand
them, because fear of them fell upon all people.
YLT 2the Jews have been
assembled in their cities, in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to put forth
a hand on those seeking their evil, and no man hath stood in their presence,
for their fear hath fallen on all the peoples.
The Jews
gathered themselves together in their cities, throughout all the provinces of
King Ahasuerus,....
Wherever they lived:
to lay hand on
such as sought their hurt;
who not only threatened
them what they would do on this day, but were risen up in arms in quest of
them:
and no man
could withstand them, for the fear of them fell upon all people;
when they understood that
Haman was hanged, and Mordecai the Jew advanced, and that the queen herself was
a Jew, and that the Jews had the royal grant to act both defensively and
offensively; and no doubt but the panic was of God.
Esther 9:3. 3 And
all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those
doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon
them.
YLT 3And all heads of the
provinces, and the lieutenants, and the governors, and those doing the work
that the king hath, are lifting up the Jews, for a fear of Mordecai hath fallen
upon them;
And all the
rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of
the king, blessed the Jews,....
Countenanced them and
encouraged them, and gave them all assistance in their power; extolled them, as
the word signifies, lifted them up, and spoke well of them, or praised them, as
the Targum:
because the
fear of Mordecai was upon them;
he being now chief
minister, they might fear, if they took part with the enemies of the Jews
against them, they might be turned out of their places.
Esther 9:4. 4 For
Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout
all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent.
YLT 4for great [is] Mordecai in
the house of the king, and his fame is going into all the provinces, for the
man Mordecai is going on and becoming great.
For Mordecai
was great in the king's house,....
Not only over Esther's
affairs, but was one of the king's counsellors, and was the chief minister of
state:
and his fame
went out throughout all the provinces;
what a favourite he was of
the king, as well as a relation of the queen, and how wise and just his
administrations were:
for this man
Mordecai waxed greater and greater,
was more and more in the
king's favour, and had offices of honour and trust heaped upon him, and
increased both in wealth and power.
Esther 9:5. 5 Thus
the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with
slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.
YLT 5And the Jews smite among
all their enemies -- a smiting of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction --
and do with those hating them according to their pleasure,
Thus the Jews
smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and
destruction,....
Some with swords, and
others with clubs, and staves; as the Targum; and such like slaughtering
weapons of destruction:
and did what
they would unto those that hated them;
being then entirely at
their will, and under their power.
Esther 9:6. 6 And
in Shushan the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.
YLT 6and in Shushan the palace
have the Jews slain and destroyed five hundred men;
And in Shushan
the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.
Not in the royal palace,
where it cannot be thought the Jews had so many enemies, or such a bloody
slaughter of them should be made there; but in the city, where the palace was:
and this may seem somewhat wonderful, that there should so many rise there
against the Jews, so near the court, now altogether in the interest of the
Jews; but these were men no doubt of Haman's faction, and enraged at his
disgrace and death, and headed by his ten sons, who took the advantage of the
decree to avenge his death; the Targum says, these were princes of the house of
Amalek.
Esther 9:7. 7 Also
Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
YLT 7and Parshandatha, and
Dalphon, and Aspatha,
Verses
7-10
And
Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha, and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha, the ten sons of Haman the
son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they,....
Along with the five
hundred men, at the head of which they were:
Esther 9:8. 8 Poratha,
Adalia, Aridatha,
YLT 8and Poratha, and Adalia,
and Aridatha,
Esther 9:9. 9 Parmashta,
Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha—
YLT 9and Parmashta, and Arisai,
and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
Esther 9:10. 10 the
ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews—they killed; but
they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
YLT 10ten sons of Haman son of
Hammedatha, adversary of the Jews, they have slain, and on the prey they have
not put forth their hand.
but on the
spoil laid they not their hands;
though they were allowed
by the edict to do it, Esther 8:11, but
this they did not, that it might appear that they did not take away their lives
from a covetous desire of their estates, but purely in self-defence; and they
might do this, the more to ingratiate themselves to the king, to whom the goods
and estates of those men would be confiscated.
Esther 9:11. 11 On
that day the number of those who were killed in Shushan the citadel was brought
to the king.
YLT 11On that day hath come the
number of the slain in Shushan the palace before the king,
On that day the
number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the
king.
Either by order of the
king, that he might know how many enemies the Jews had in the city, and how
many of subjects had been slain; or officiously by others, with an intention to
irritate the king against the Jews.
Esther 9:12. 12 And
the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred
men in Shushan the citadel, 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 to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done.”
YLT 12and the king saith to
Esther the queen, `In Shushan the palace have the Jews slain and destroyed five
hundred men, and the ten sons of Haman; in the rest of the provinces of the
king what have they done? and what [is] thy petition? and it is given to thee;
and what thy request again? and it is done.'
And the king
said unto Esther the queen,....
After the account had been
brought in to him:
the Jews have
slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace;
the Targum adds, of the
seed of Amalek:
and the ten
sons of Haman:
which very probably were
all he had; though the Targum, in Esther 9:14, makes
mention of seventy sons that Zeresh his wife fled with:
what have they
done in the rest of the king's provinces?
that could not be said;
but it might be concluded, that if so many were slain in Shushan, the number
must be great in all the provinces:
now what is thy
petition and it shall be granted thee:
or "what is thy
request further? and it shall be done"; if this was not sufficient and
satisfactory, whatever else she should ask for should be granted.
Esther 9:13. 13 Then
Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are
in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s
ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”
YLT 13And Esther saith, `If to
the king [it be] good, let it be given also to-morrow, to the Jews who [are] in
Shushan, to do according to the law of to-day; and the ten sons of Haman they
hang on the tree.'
Then said
Esther, if it please the king,....
For she was all submission
to his will:
let it be
granted to the Jews which are in Shushan;
for no further did she
desire the grant to be extended:
to do tomorrow
also according to this days decree;
one Targum makes the
request only that they might keep the morrow as a festival, but the other, more
rightly, to do according to the decree of this day; which was, to slay as many
of their enemies as rose up against them; and whereas many might flee and hide
themselves, who were implacable enemies of the Jews, Esther moves for a grant
that the decree might be continued for the next day, that these might be found
out and slain; in which she sought the glory of divine justice, in their
righteous destruction, and the peace of the people of God, and not private
revenge, or to indulge malice:
and let Haman's
ten sons be hanged upon the gallows;
on which their father was;
this was deferred, though they were already slain, for their greater reproach,
and for a terror to others not to injure the people of God; and it was usual
with the Persians to hang persons on a gallows, or fix them to a cross, after
they were dead; as Polycrates was by OroitesF9Herodot. Thalia, sive,
l. 3. c. 125. , and Bagspates by ParysatisF11Ctesias in Persicis, c.
58. .
Esther 9:14. 14 So
the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they
hanged Haman’s ten sons.
YLT 14And the king saith -- `to
be done so;' and a law is given in Shushan, and the ten sons of Haman they have
hanged.
And the king
commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan,....
That the Jews might have
leave to seek out and slay the rest of their enemies in Shushan, on the
fourteenth day, in like manner as they had on the thirteenth:
and they hanged
Haman's ten sons;
on the same gallows very
probably their father was hanged; the Targum gives us the distance between each
person hanged thereon.
Esther 9:15. 15 And
the Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again on the fourteenth
day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; but they did
not lay a hand on the plunder.
YLT 15And the Jews who [are] in
Shushan are assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they
slay in Shushan three hundred men, and on the prey they have not put forth
their hand.
For the Jews
that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of
the month Adar,....
As they had on the
thirteenth:
and slew three
hundred men at Shushan;
the Targum adds, of the
family of Amalek: but there is no reason to confine it to them; it respects all
such as were the enemies of the Jews, and rose up against them; so that the
whole number slain in Shushan were eight hundred persons, besides the sons of
Human:
but on the prey
they laid not their hand;
See Gill on Esther 9:7.
Esther 9:16. 16 The
remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces gathered together and protected
their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of
their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
YLT 16And the rest of the Jews,
who [are] in the provinces of the king, have been assembled, even to stand for
their life, and to rest from their enemies, and to slay among those hating them
five and seventy thousand, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand;
But the other
Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together,....
In a body, in their
respective provinces and cities:
and stood for
their lives;
defended themselves
against those that attacked them:
and had rest
from their enemies;
that selfsame day; all
being destroyed by them, and none daring to appear against them:
and slew of
their foes 75,000 men;
that is, in all the
provinces put together:
but they laid
not their hands on the prey;
See Gill on Esther 9:7.
Esther 9:17. 17 This was on the thirteenth day of
the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of the month[a] they
rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
YLT 17on the thirteenth day of
the month of Adar, even to rest on the fourteenth of it, and to make it a day
of banquet and of joy.
On the
thirteenth day of the month Adar,....
This belongs to the
preceding verse; and the meaning is, that on this day the Jews gathered
together and slew so many thousand of their enemies as before related:
and on the
fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a feast of gladness:
rejoicing that they were
delivered out of the hand of their enemies, who hoped and expected on that day
to have made an utter end of them; according to the Jewish canonsF12Lebush,
c. 697. Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. c. 697. , mourning and fasting on this day
were forbidden, but feasting and gladness were to be multiplied.
Esther 9:18. 18 But
the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day,
as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month[b] they
rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
YLT 18And the Jews who [are] in
Shushan have been assembled, on the thirteenth day of it, and on the fourteenth
of it, even to rest on the fifteenth of it, and to make it a day of banquet and
of joy.
But the Jews
that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on
the fourteenth day thereof,....
Of the month Adar; that
is, they gathered together to defend themselves, and destroy their enemies, on
both these days, having the decree renewed for the fourteenth as they had for
the thirteenth:
and on the
fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and
gladness;
as the Jews in the
provinces did on the fourteenth.
Esther 9:19. 19 Therefore
the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the
fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a
holiday, and for sending presents to one another.
YLT 19Therefore the Jews of the
villages, who are dwelling in cities of the villages, are making the fourteenth
day of the month of Adar -- joy and banquet, and a good day, and of sending
portions one to another.
Therefore the
Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day
of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting,....
Jarchi observes that those
in the villages, who are they that do not dwell in walled towns, observed the
fourteenth, and they in towns surrounded with walls the fifteenth, as Shushan;
and this circumvallation, he says, must be what was from the days of Joshua;
according to the Jewish canons, every place that was walled from the days of
Joshua the son of Nun, whether in the land of Israel or out of it, though not
now walled they read (i.e. the book of Esther) on the fifteenth of Adar, and
this is called a walled town; but a place which was not walled in the days of
Joshua, though now walled, they read in the fourteenth, and this is called a
city; but the city Shushan, though it was not walled in the days of Joshua,
they read on the fifteenth, because in it was done a miracleF13Maimon.
Hilchot. Megillah, c. 1. sect. 4. 5. T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 2. 2. and each of
these was kept as a day of public rejoicing for their great deliverance and
freedom from their enemies:
and a good day:
as the Jews usually call
the several days of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles:
and of sending
portions one to another:
expressive of mutual joy,
and congratulating one another upon the happiness they shared in; see Revelation 11:10,
and particularly this may respect sending gifts to the poor, who had not that
to rejoice and make merry with others had; see Nehemiah 8:10,
though these seem to be distinct from them, Esther 9:22.
Esther 9:20. 20 And
Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who
were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,
YLT 20And Mordecai writeth these
things, and sendeth letters unto all the Jews who [are] in all provinces of the
king Ahasuerus, who are near and who are far off,
And Mordecai
wrote these things,....
The transactions of those
two days, and the causes of them, as well as the following letter; some
conclude from hence that he was the penman of the book; and so he might be, but
it does not necessarily follow from hence:
and sent
letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus,
both nigh and far;
such as were near the city
Shushan, and those that were at the greatest distance from it; these were more
especially the things he wrote.
Esther 9:21. 21 to
establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and
fifteenth days of the month of Adar,
YLT 21to establish on them, to be
keeping the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of it,
in every year and year,
To stablish
this among them,....
That it might be a settled
thing, and annually observed in all future generations, what they had now done:
that they
should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the
same, yearly;
as the former had been
observed by the Jews in the provinces, and both by those in Shushan, Esther 9:17 as
festivals in commemoration of their great deliverance; hence the fourteenth of
Adar is called the day of Mordecai, being established by him;"And they
ordained all with a common decree in no case to let that day pass without
solemnity, but to celebrate the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, which in
the Syrian tongue is called Adar, the day before Mardocheus' day.' (2 Maccabees 15:36)
Esther 9:22. 22 as
the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was
turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they
should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another
and gifts to the poor.
YLT 22as days on which the Jews
have rested from their enemies, and the month that hath been turned to them
from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to a good day, to make them days of
banquet and of joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the
needy.
As the days
wherein the Jews rested from their enemies,....
Having slain all those
that rose up against them, and assaulted them:
and the month
which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning unto a good
day;
for in this month Adar, on
the thirteenth day of it, they expected to have been all destroyed, which had
occasioned great sorrow and mourning in them; but beyond their expectation, in
the same month, and on the selfsame day of the month, they had deliverance and
freedom from their enemies; which was matter of joy, and made this day a good
day to them:
that they
should make them days of feasting and joy;
keep both the fourteenth
and fifteenth days of the month as festivals, eating and drinking, and making
all tokens of joy and gladness, though not in the Bacchanalian way in which
they now observe them; for they sayF14T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 7. 2.
Lebush, par. 1. c. 695. sect. 2. Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. c. 695. sect. 2. , a
man is bound at the feast of Purim to exhilarate or inebriate himself until he
does not know the difference between `cursed be Haman' and `blessed be
Mordecai:'
and of sending
portions one to another;
and these now consist of
eatables and drinkables; and according to the Jewish canonsF15Lebush
& Schulchan, ib. sect. 4. , a man must send two gifts to his friend, at
least; and they that multiply them are most commendable; and those are sent by
men to men, and by women to women, and not on the contrary:
and gifts to
the poor;
alms money, as the Targum,
to purchase food and drink with, nor may they use it to any other purpose;
though some say they may do what they will with itF16Ib. c. 694.
sect. 1. 2. ; and a man must not give less than two gifts to the poor; these
are called the monies of PurimF17Ib. sect. 2. 3. .
Esther 9:23. 23 So
the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to
them,
YLT 23And the Jews have received
that which they had begun to do, and that which Mordecai hath written unto
them,
And the Jews
undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them.
They engaged to keep these
two days as festivals annually, as they had at this time done; not in a
religious but in a civil way, not as parts of religious worship, and as
additions to and innovations of the law, but by way of commemoration of a civil
benefit which they had received; and yet we find in later times that this was
scrupled by some as an innovation; for we are toldF18T. Hieros.
Megillah. fol. 70. 4. that there were eighty five elders, and more than thirty
of them prophets, who were distressed about this matter, fearing it was an innovation.
Esther 9:24. 24 because
Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had
plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is,
the lot), to consume them and destroy them;
YLT 24because Haman son of
Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of all the Jews, had devised concerning the
Jews to destroy them, and had caused to fall Pur -- that [is] the lot -- to
crush them and to destroy them;
Because Haman
the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised
against the Jews to destroy them,....
Had formed a design to
exterminate them from the whole Persian empire in one day:
and had cast
Pur, (that is, the lot,) to consume them, and to destroy them;
had cast lots to find out
what would be the most lucky day in the year for him to do it on, and the most
unlucky and unfortunate to the Jews; and, according to the lot, the thirteenth
of Adar was pitched upon; this and the following verse give the reasons for
observing the above two days as festivals.
Esther 9:25. 25 but
when Esther[c] came
before the king, he commanded by letter that this[d] wicked
plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own
head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
YLT 25and in her coming in before
the king, he said with the letter, `Let his evil device that he devised against
the Jews turn back upon his own head,' and they have hanged him and his sons on
the tree,
But when Esther
came before the king,....
To request of him her
life, and the life of her people:
he commanded by
letters, that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should
return upon his own head;
that whereas his wicked
scheme was to destroy all the Jews, the king, by his second letter, gave orders
that the Jews should have liberty to defend themselves, and destroy their enemies
which rose up against them; and the friends and party of Haman were entirely
cut off:
and that he and
his sons should be hanged on the gallows;
which he had prepared for
Mordecai; not that they were ordered to be hanged together, nor were they; Haman
was hanged before on the twenty third day of the month, but his sons not till
the fourteenth day of the twelfth month; Esther 7:10.
Esther 9:26. 26 So
they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the
words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had
happened to them,
YLT 26therefore they have called
these days Purim -- by the name of the lot -- therefore, because of all the
words of this letter, and what they have seen concerning this, and what hath
come unto them,
Wherefore they
called these days Purim, after the name of Pur,....
The lot; because of the
lots cast by Haman; see Esther 3:7,
therefore for
all the words of this letter;
in obedience to what
Mordecai wrote in his letter to the Jews, and because of the things contained
in it:
and of that
which they had seen concerning this matter;
with their own eyes, in
the several provinces where their enemies rose up to assault them, but were
destroyed by them:
and what had
come unto them:
by report; as the fall of
Haman, and advancement of Mordecai, and the favours shown to Esther and her
people; all this belongs to the following verse, containing the reasons of the
Jews' appointment and engagement to observe the days of Purim.
Esther 9:27. 27 the
Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all
who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days
every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed
time,
YLT 27the Jews have established
and received upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all those joined unto
them, and it doth not pass away, to be keeping these two days according to
their writing, and according to their season, in every year and year;
The Jews
ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such that
joined themselves unto them,....
Who became proselytes to
their religion; that is, they appointed the above two days as festivals, and
engaged for themselves, for their children, and all proselytes, to observe them
as such; and one of their canonsF19Lebush & Schulchan, ib. (par.
1.) c. 689. sect. 1. runs thus,"all are obliged to read the Megillah (the
book of Esther, which they always read on those days), priests, Levites,
Nethinims, Israelites, men, women, and proselytes, and servants made free, and
they train up little ones to read it:"
so as it should
not fail;
of being observed, so as
no man should transgress it, or pass it over:
that they
should keep these two days;
the fourteenth and
fifteenth of the month Adar or February:
according to
their writing;
in this book, the book of
Esther, which was to be read, as Aben Ezra; written in the Hebrew character, as
the Targum; that is, in the Assyrian character, as Jarchi; the square
character, as they call it:
and according
to their appointed time every year;
whether simple or
intercalated, as Aben Ezra observes: in an intercalary year the Jews have two
Adars, and, though they keep the feast of Purim on the fourteenth of the first
Adar, yet not with so much mirth, and call it the lesser Purim; but in the
second Adar they observe it with all its ceremoniesF20Vid. Buxtorf.
Synagog. Jud. c. 29. p. 563. ; so, in their canon, they do not keep Purim but
in Adar that is next to Nisan or March, that redemption might be near
redemption; the redemption of Mordecai near the redemption of MosesF21Lebush,
par. 1. c. 6,7. sect. 1. .
Esther 9:28. 28 that these days should be
remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province,
and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed
among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among
their descendants.
YLT 28and these days are
remembered and kept in every generation and generation, family and family,
province and province, and city and city, and these days of Purim do not pass
away from the midst of the Jews, and their memorial is not ended from their
seed.
And that these
days should be remembered, and kept throughout every generation, every family,
every province, and every city,....
And accordingly these days
are commemorated by them now, and by all their families, and all in their
families capable of it; and these words, "every province", and
"every city", are used, as Aben Ezra observes, lest a man should
think he was not bound to keep this feast where there were no Jews; for, let
him be where he may, he is obliged to keep it:
and that these
days of Purim should not fail among the Jews;
or the observance of them
be neglected and cease:
nor the
memorial of them perish from their seed;
neither the memorial of
them, nor of the reason of keeping them; wherefore on those days they read the
whole book of Esther, fairly written on a roll of parchment, and are careful
that none omit the reading of it; rather, they sayF23Lebush &
Schulchan, ib. (par. 1.) c. 687. sect. 2. , the reading and learning the law
should be omitted, and all commands and service, than the reading this volume,
that so all might be acquainted with this wonderful deliverance, and keep it in
mind.
Esther 9:29. 29 Then
Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full
authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.
YLT 29And Esther the queen,
daughter of Abihail, writeth, and Mordecai the Jew, with all might, to
establish this second letter of Purim,
Then Esther the
queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority,....
Strongly pressing the
observance of this festival; before, Mordecai only recommended it, but now the
queen gave a sanction to it, and laid her obligation on the Jews to observe it;
perhaps some of the Jews were backward to it, or neglected to observe it, and
therefore Esther and Mordecai joined in a letter to them, to press them to it;
the Jewish chronologerF24Seder Olam Rabba, c. 29. p. 87. says, this
was written the year following; the former Targum is, they wrote this whole
volume, and the strength of the miracle, or set the miraculous deliverance in
the strongest light, with this view:
to confirm this
second letter of Purim;
that it might have its
weight and influence upon them, to engage them to keep it, as the latter Targum
adds; that when it was an intercalary year, they might not read the Megillah
(or book of Esther) in the first Adar, but in the second Adar.
Esther 9:30. 30 And
Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred and
twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace
and truth,
YLT 30and he sendeth letters unto
all the Jews, unto the seven and twenty and a hundred provinces of the kingdom
of Ahasuerus -- words of peace and truth –
And he sent letters
unto all the Jews,....
That is, Mordecai did,
signed in the queen's name, and his own:
to the hundred
twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus;
among which was Judea,
that was become a province, first of the Chaldean, now of the Persian empire,
see Ezra 5:8 to whom
also these letters were sent, directing and ordering the Jews there to observe
these days, who were also concerned in the deliverance wrought:
with words of
peace and truth
exhorting them to live in
peace with one another, and their neighbours, and to constancy in the true
religion; or wishing them all peace and prosperity in the most loving and
sincere manner.
Esther 9:31. 31 to
confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew
and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for
themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and
lamenting.
YLT 31to establish these days of
Purim, in their seasons, as Mordecai the Jew hath established on them, and
Esther the queen, and as they had established on themselves, and on their seed --
matters of the fastings, and of their cry.
To confirm
these days of Purim in their times appointed,....
The fourteenth and
fifteenth of Adar:
according as
Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them;
in the letters written and
signed by them both:
and as they had
decreed for themselves, and for their seed; see Esther 9:27,
the matters of
their fastings and their cry;
in commemoration of their
deliverance from those distresses and calamities which occasioned fastings and
prayers during the time of them; and to this sense is the former Targum; though
it is certain the Jews observe the thirteenth day, the day before the two days,
as a fast, and which they call the fast of EstherF25Lebush &
Schulchan, ut supra, (par. 1.) c. 686. sect. 1. , and have prayers on the
festival days peculiar to them; but the sense Aben Ezra gives seems best, that
as the Jews had decreed to keep the fasts, mentioned in Zechariah 7:5, so
they now decreed to rejoice in the days of Purim.
Esther 9:32. 32 So
the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in
the book.
YLT 32And a saying of Esther hath
established these matters of Purim, and it is written in the Book.
And the decree
of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim,....
As a festival to be
observed by the Jews in future generations:
and it was
written in the book;
either in this book of
Esther; or in the public acts and chronicles of the kings of Persia; or in a
book by itself, now lost, as Aben Ezra thinks, as many others are we read of in
Scripture, as the books of the chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah,
&c.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Esther 9:17
Literally it
b.
Esther 9:18
Literally it
c.Esther 9:25
Literally she or it
d.
Esther 9:25
Literally his