Esther 8:11

⁹ At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan ), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush —writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

¹⁰ Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.

By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions.

¹² The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

¹³ A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions.
KJV: Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
WEB: In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together and to defend their lives—to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish all the power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to plunder their possessions,
ASV: wherein the king granted the Jews that were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, [their] little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
DARBY: [stating] that the king granted the Jews that were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that might assault them, [their] little ones and women, and to [take] the spoil of them for a prey,
BLB: that the king gave to the Jews who [were] in every city and city, to gather together and to stand for their soul, to destroy, and to kill, and to exterminate all of the strength of the people and province that would assault them, little children and women, and to plunder their spoil,

ÅB: og i dem sto at kongen gav jødene i hver by lov til å slå seg sammen og verge sitt liv og i hvert folk og landskap å ødelegge, drepe og utrydde alle væbnede skarer som angrep dem, endog små barn og kvinner, og plyndre deres gods,
OTB: Kongens edikt ga jødene i hver by rett til å samle seg og forsvare seg, til å ødelegge, drepe og tilintetgjøre enhver væpnet styrke av hvilken som helst nasjonalitet eller provins som måtte angripe dem, inkludert deres kvinner og barn, og å plyndre deres eiendeler.
B1930: og i dem stod at kongen gav jødene i hver by lov til å slå sig sammen og verge sitt liv og i hvert folk og landskap å ødelegge, drepe og utrydde alle væbnede skarer som angrep dem, endog små barn og kvinner, og plyndre deres gods,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Esther 3:13
And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.
Read in context
Psalms 37:14–15
The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.
Read in context
Ezekiel 39:10
They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it from the forests, for they will use the weapons for fuel. They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD.
Read in context
Psalms 146:6–9
the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.
Read in context
Psalms 137:8
O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.
Read in context
Esther 9:2–16
In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.
Read in context
Psalms 68:3
But the righteous will be glad and rejoice before God; they will celebrate with joy.
Read in context
Isaiah 10:6
I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.
Read in context