Esther 9:5-14

9:5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies. 9:6 In Susa the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 9:7 In addition, they also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 9:8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9:9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 9:10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property.

9:11 On that same day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was brought to the king’s attention. 9:12 Then the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman! What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? What is your request? It shall be given to you. What other petition do you have? It shall be done.”

9:13 Esther replied, “If the king is so inclined, let the Jews who are in Susa be permitted to act tomorrow also according to today’s law, and let them hang the ten sons of Haman on the gallows.”

9:14 So the king issued orders for this to be done. A law was passed in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.

Esther 9:24-25

9:24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them. 9:25 But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king ¹  gave written orders that Haman’s ²  evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Psalms 52:5

52:5 Yet ³  God will make you a permanent heap of ruins. ⁴ 

He will scoop you up ⁵  and remove you from your home; ⁶ 

he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)

Psalms 146:3

146:3 Do not trust in princes,

or in human beings, who cannot deliver! ⁷ 

Jeremiah 17:5-6

Individuals Are Challenged to Put Their Trust in the Lord ⁸ 

17:5 The Lord says,

“I will put a curse on people

who trust in mere human beings,

who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength, ⁹ 

and whose hearts ¹⁰  have turned away from the Lord.

17:6 They will be like a shrub ¹¹  in the desert.

They will not experience good things even when they happen.

It will be as though they were growing in the desert,

in a salt land where no one can live.

[9:25]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:25]  ² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[52:5]  ³ tn The adverb גַּם (gam, “also; even”) is translated here in an adversative sense (“yet”). It highlights the contrastive correspondence between the evildoer’s behavior and God’s response.

[52:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “will tear you down forever.”

[52:5]  ⁵ tn This rare verb (חָתָה, khatah) occurs only here and in Prov 6:27; 25:22; Isa 30:14.

[52:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from [your] tent.”

[146:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”

[17:5]  ⁸ sn Verses 5-11 are a collection of wisdom-like sayings (cf. Ps 1) which set forth the theme of the two ways and their consequences. It has as its background the blessings and the curses of Deut 28 and the challenge to faith in Deut 29-30 which climaxes in Deut 30:15-20. The nation is sinful and God is weary of showing them patience. However, there is hope for individuals within the nation if they will trust in him.

[17:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “who make flesh their arm.” The “arm” is the symbol of strength and the flesh is the symbol of mortal man in relation to the omnipotent God. The translation “mere flesh and blood” reflects this.

[17:5]  ¹⁰ sn In the psychology of ancient Hebrew thought the heart was the center not only of the emotions but of the thoughts and motivations. It was also the seat of moral conduct (cf. its placement in the middle of the discussion of moral conduct in Prov 4:20-27, i.e., in v. 23).

[17:6]  ¹¹ tn This word occurs only here and in Jer 48:6. It has been identified as a kind of juniper, which is a short shrub with minute leaves that look like scales. For a picture and more discussion see Fauna and Flora of the Bible, 131.