1
In the twelfth month—that is, the month of Adar—on the thirteenth day, when the king’s command and decree were to be carried out, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to overpower them, the opposite happened: the Jews overpowered those who hated them.
2
So the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to strike those who sought their harm; and no one could stand against them, for fear of the Jews had fallen on all the peoples.
3
And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the royal administrators supported the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.
4
For Mordecai was powerful in the king’s palace, and his fame spread through all the provinces, for Mordecai grew greater and greater.
5
Thus the Jews struck all their enemies: they struck them with the sword, killing and destroying them; they did as they pleased to those who hated them.
6
In the fortress of Susa alone the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.
7
Also Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
8
Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
9
Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha,
10
the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, they killed; but they did not lay hands on the plunder.
11
On that same day the number of those killed in the fortress of Susa was brought before the king.
12
Then the king said to Esther the queen: “In the fortress of Susa alone the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, together with the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your request? It shall be granted. And what is your further desire? It shall be done.”
13
Then Esther answered: “If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to the decree for today, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.”
14
So the king commanded that it be done; and the decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.
15
So the Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred men in Susa; but they did not lay hands on the plunder.
16
The rest of the Jews, who were in the king’s provinces, gathered and defended their lives and gained relief from their enemies; they killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they did not lay hands on the plunder.
17
This took place on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. On the fourteenth day they rested, and they made that day a day of feasting and gladness.
18
But the Jews who were in Susa gathered together on the thirteenth day and also on the fourteenth day of that month. Then they rested on the fifteenth day, and they made that day a day of feasting and gladness.
19
Therefore the Jews of the villages, that is, those who lived in the settlements, keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of gladness and feasting, and as a day of joy for sending portions of food to one another.
20
Then Mordecai wrote down these events and sent letters to all the Jews throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
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to obligate them to keep the fourteenth day and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar every year,
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because on those days the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and in that month their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of gladness; and that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and days for sending portions of food to one another and for giving to the poor.
23
So the Jews accepted as a custom what they had already begun to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.
24
For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted to destroy the Jews, and had cast Pur — that is, the lot — to crush and destroy them,
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but when the matter came before the king, he ordered by letter that the evil plan Haman had devised against the Jews should return upon his own head. So Haman and his sons were hanged on the gallows.
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Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur. For this reason, because of all that was written in that letter and because of what they had seen in this matter and what had happened to them,
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the Jews established and accepted as a binding custom for themselves and their descendants, and for all who would join them, that they would not fail to observe these two days every year, according to what was written concerning them and at the appointed time,
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and that these days should be remembered and kept in every generation, in every family, in every province, and in every city, so that these days of Purim would not pass away from among the Jews, nor would their remembrance cease among their descendants.
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Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, wrote with Mordecai the Jew; and she wrote with all authority this second letter concerning Purim, to confirm it.
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And letters were sent to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and faithfulness,
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that these days of Purim should be kept at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had established for themselves and for their descendants, concerning the matters of fasting and lamentation.
32
Thus the command of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.
🛡️🎉🩸 Summary of Esther 9 – The Great Victory and the Birth of the Feast of Purim
Esther 9 records the day when the plan to destroy the Jews turned into a day of victory and retribution. God’s people, who had earlier been in danger, were now allowed to defend themselves and overcome their enemies. That day became a national celebration called Purim, as a memorial of God’s remarkable intervention in turning the situation around.
📌 1. The Day of Doom Turned into a Day of Victory (verses 1–5)
➡️ On the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews prepared to defend themselves against those who sought to kill them
➡️ Fear of Mordecai caused many officials to support the Jews
➡️ They defeated all their enemies decisively, without mercy
🎯 The day appointed by the devil for your ruin, God can turn into your day of victory.
📌 2. Retribution Against the Enemies and Haman’s Sons (verses 6–10)
➡️ In Susa, the royal city, 500 enemies were killed
➡️ 10 of Haman’s sons were also killed and hanged on the gallows
➡️ Yet the Jews did not take the plunder — showing that their purpose was justice, not personal gain
🎯 True victory is being freed from threat, not retaliating greedily.
📌 3. Extension of the Defense in Susa (verses 11–17)
➡️ Esther again pleaded with the king that the Jews in Susa be given one additional day to defend themselves
➡️ The king granted it, and 300 more enemies were killed the next day
➡️ In all the other provinces, the total of 75,000 enemies of the Jews were killed
➡️ Yet no plunder was taken
🎯 The Lord gave full protection, even when the threat had not yet completely ended.
📌 4. The Establishment of the Feast of Purim (verses 18–32)
➡️ That day of victory was made a day of feasting, joy, exchanging food, and giving to the poor
➡️ Mordecai and Esther established that the 14th and 15th of Adar would be observed every year by all the Jews
➡️ That day was called Purim, from the word “pur” (lot), recalling that Haman used lots to choose the day of slaughter
🎯 The day the enemy planned for your downfall can become a day of feasting over victory from God.
📖 Main Teaching
- God is able to turn the fate of His people completely and in full victory
- Self-defense is the right of God’s people when facing destruction that has been systematically planned
- God works through courage and wise leadership, as shown by Esther and Mordecai
- The day of victory must not be forgotten — the remembrance of God’s work must be passed on
- Victory must be accompanied by generosity — sharing with others and celebrating together with others
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
➡️ The Jewish people prevailed because God was on their side.
“Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in his triumph.”
➡️ Every believer today is called to live in victory as in Purim.
“The devil goes about… resist him with steadfast faith.”
➡️ The Jews resisted with faith and courage, not yielding to death.
“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us…”
➡️ As with the Jewish people, we are saved because God stands on our side.
🕊️ “That day turned from sorrow into joy, from mourning into a day of celebration.” – Esther 9:22
🕊️ “They established that every year it should be observed… as the Feast of Purim.” – Esther 9:27
🕊️ “The Jews did not lay hands on the plunder.” – Esther 9:10
🕊️ “Because the lot (pur) had been cast…” – Esther 9:24
