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Esther 9


Esther 9 - 1

On the thirteenth ... day - - of the twelfth ... month , ... the month of Adar , the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day - the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower but (their plan) was overturned ... ... (and) the Jews overpowered those who hated them.

Esther 9 - 2

In each of the provinces of King Xerxes , the Jews assembled in their cities to attack ... those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them , because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.

Esther 9 - 3

And all the officials of the provinces , the satraps , the governors , and the king’s administrators ... - helped - the Jews , because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.

Esther 9 - 4

For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace ... , and his fame spread throughout the provinces as ... he became more and more powerful.

Esther 9 - 5

The Jews put ... all their enemies to the sword , killing and destroying them , and they did as they pleased to those who hated them.

Esther 9 - 6

In the citadel of Susa , the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men ,

Esther 9 - 7

- including Parshandatha , - Dalphon , - Aspatha ,

Esther 9 - 8

- Poratha , - Adalia , - Aridatha ,

Esther 9 - 9

- Parmashta , - Arisai , - Aridai , - and Vaizatha.

Esther 9 - 10

They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha , the enemy of the Jews , but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

Esther 9 - 11

On that ... day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king ,

Esther 9 - 12

who said to Queen Esther - , “ In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men , - including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces ? Now what (is) your petition ? It will be given And what further do you request ? It will be fulfilled. ”

Esther 9 - 13

Esther - replied , “ If it pleases ... ... the king , may the Jews - in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s - edict , and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows. ”

Esther 9 - 14

So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa , - and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.

Esther 9 - 15

On the fourteenth ... day of the month of Adar , the Jews - in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men (there) , but they did not lay - a hand on the plunder.

Esther 9 - 16

The rest of the Jews - in the royal provinces also assembled to defend ... themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 {} ... ... who hated them , but they did not lay - a hand on the plunder.

Esther 9 - 17

This was done on the thirteenth ... day of the month of Adar , and on the fourteenth day ... they rested , making it - a day of feasting and joy.

Esther 9 - 18

The Jews - in Susa, however , had assembled on the thirteenth ... and the fourteenth days of the month So they rested on the fifteenth day making it a day of feasting and joy.

Esther 9 - 19

This is why ... the rural Jews , who live in the villages ... , observe - the fourteenth day ... of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday ... for sending gifts to one another.

Esther 9 - 20

Mordecai - recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews - in all the provinces of King Xerxes , both near and far ,

Esther 9 - 21

to establish among them an annual ... ... vvv celebration - on the fourteenth ... and fifteenth ... days of the month of Adar - -

Esther 9 - 22

as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday .... (He wrote) that these were to be - days of feasting and joy , of sending gifts to one another (and) to the poor.

Esther 9 - 23

So the Jews agreed to continue the custom - they had started , as Mordecai had written to them.

Esther 9 - 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 the Pur (that is , the lot ) to crush and destroy them.

Esther 9 - 25

But when it came before the king , he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head , and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Esther 9 - 26

Therefore ... these days are called Purim , from the word Pur. Because of ... ... all the instructions in this letter , and because of all ... ... they had seen and experienced ... ... ,

Esther 9 - 27

the Jews bound themselves to establish the custom that they ... and their descendants ... and all who join them should not fail ... to celebrate - these two days at the (appointed) time each and every year ... , according to their regulation.

Esther 9 - 28

These days (should be) remembered and celebrated by every generation ... , family ... , province ... , and city ... , so that these days of Purim should not fail (to be observed) among the Jews , nor should the memory of them ... fade from their descendants.

Esther 9 - 29

So Queen Esther - daughter of Abihail , along with Mordecai the Jew , - wrote with full authority to confirm this second - letter concerning Purim.

Esther 9 - 30

And (Mordecai) sent letters (with) words of peace and tRuth - to all the Jews in the 127 ... ... provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes ,

Esther 9 - 31

in order to confirm - these days of Purim at their (appointed) time , just as - Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther - had established them (and) had committed ... themselves ... and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation.

Esther 9 - 32

So Esther -’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim , which were written into the record.