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

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.

Esther 9:21

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

Esther 3:12

3:12 So the royal scribes ¹  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ²  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 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ³  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ⁴  They wrote out ⁵  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ⁶  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

[3:12]  ¹ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[3:12]  ² tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

[8:9]  ³ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

[8:9]  ⁴ sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

[8:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”