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Esther 9 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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The Victory of the Jews
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:1 - So on March 7[fn] the two decrees of the king were put into effect. On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:2 - The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the king’s provinces to attack anyone who tried to harm them. But no one could make a stand against them, for everyone was afraid of them.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:3 - And all the nobles of the provinces, the highest officers, the governors, and the royal officials helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:4 - For Mordecai had been promoted in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as he became more and more powerful.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:5 - So the Jews went ahead on the appointed day and struck down their enemies with the sword. They killed and annihilated their enemies and did as they pleased with those who hated them.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:6 - In the fortress of Susa itself, the Jews killed 500 men.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:7 - They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:8 - Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:9 - Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha—
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:10 - the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not take any plunder.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:11 - That very day, when the king was informed of the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa,
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:12 - he called for Queen Esther. He said, “The Jews have killed 500 men in the fortress of Susa alone, as well as Haman’s ten sons. If they have done that here, what has happened in the rest of the provinces? But now, what more do you want? It will be granted to you; tell me and I will do it.”
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:13 - Esther responded, “If it please the king, give the Jews in Susa permission to do again tomorrow as they have done today, and let the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be impaled on a pole.”
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:14 - So the king agreed, and the decree was announced in Susa. And they impaled the bodies of Haman’s ten sons.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:15 - Then the Jews at Susa gathered together on March 8[fn] and killed 300 more men, and again they took no plunder.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:16 - Meanwhile, the other Jews throughout the king’s provinces had gathered together to defend their lives. They gained relief from all their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not take any plunder.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:17 - This was done throughout the provinces on March 7, and on March 8 they rested,[fn] celebrating their victory with a day of feasting and gladness.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:18 - (The Jews at Susa killed their enemies on March 7 and again on March 8, then rested on March 9,[fn] making that their day of feasting and gladness.)
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:19 - So to this day, rural Jews living in remote villages celebrate an annual festival and holiday on the appointed day in late winter,[fn] when they rejoice and send gifts of food to each other.
The Festival of Purim
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:20 - Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes,
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:21 - calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:22 - He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:23 - So the Jews accepted Mordecai’s proposal and adopted this annual custom.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:24 - Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to crush and destroy them on the date determined by casting lots (the lots were called purim).
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:25 - But when Esther came before the king, he issued a decree causing Haman’s evil plot to backfire, and Haman and his sons were impaled on a sharpened pole.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:26 - That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots.
So because of Mordecai’s letter and because of what they had experienced,
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:27 - the Jews throughout the realm agreed to inaugurate this tradition and to pass it on to their descendants and to all who became Jews. They declared they would never fail to celebrate these two prescribed days at the appointed time each year.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:28 - These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:29 - Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote another letter putting the queen’s full authority behind Mordecai’s letter to establish the Festival of Purim.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:30 - Letters wishing peace and security were sent to the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of the empire of Xerxes.
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:31 - These letters established the Festival of Purim—an annual celebration of these days at the appointed time, decreed by both Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther. (The people decided to observe this festival, just as they had decided for themselves and their descendants to establish the times of fasting and mourning.)
Unchecked Copy BoxEst 9:32 - So the command of Esther confirmed the practices of Purim, and it was all written down in the records.
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was March 7, 473 B.C.; also see note on 2:16.
Hebrew the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, of the Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was March 8, 473 B.C.; also see note on 2:16.
Hebrew on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested. These days were March 7 and 8, 473 B.C.; also see note on 2:16.
Hebrew killed their enemies on the thirteenth day and the fourteenth day, and then rested on the fifteenth day, of the Hebrew month of Adar.
Hebrew on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar. This day of the Hebrew lunar calendar occurs in February or March.
Hebrew on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, of the Hebrew lunar calendar.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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