Esther 9:21

9:21 to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year

Esther 1:4

1:4 He displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his majestic greatness for a lengthy period of time ¹  – a hundred and eighty days, to be exact! ² 

Esther 2:11

2:11 And day after day Mordecai used to walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem in order to learn how Esther was doing ³  and what might happen to her.

Esther 9:17

9:17 All of this happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They then rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day for banqueting and happiness.

Esther 3:4

3:4 And after they had spoken to him day after day ⁴  without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. ⁵  Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew. ⁶ 

Esther 9:1

The Jews Prevail over Their Enemies

9:1 In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies.

Esther 9:18-19

The Origins of the Feast of Purim

9:18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and rested on the fifteenth, making it a day for banqueting and happiness. 9:19 This is why the Jews who are in the rural country – those who live in rural cities – set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

Esther 3:12

3:12 So the royal scribes ⁷  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ⁸  and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

Esther 4:11

4:11 “All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable ⁹  to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court – that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared. ¹⁰  Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!”

¹ tn Heb “many days” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “for many days.”

² tn The words “to be exact!” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation to bring out the clarifying nuance of the time period mentioned. Cf. KJV “even an hundred and fourscore days.”

¹ tn Heb “to know the peace of Esther.”

¹ sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.

² tn Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; NASB “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”

³ sn This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 1:10, 20.

¹ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

² tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

¹ tn Heb “one is his law”; NASB “he (the king NIV) has but one law”

² tn Heb “and he will live”; KJV, ASV “that he may live”; NIV “and spare his life.”