Esther 9:20

Ahasuerus Mordecai

¹⁸ The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy.

¹⁹ This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another.

Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far,

²¹ to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar

²² as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.

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: Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far,
KJV: And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
WEB: Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
ASV: And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
DARBY: And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews near and far that were in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus,
BLB: And Mordecai wrote these words, and he sent letters to all the Jews who [were] in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, those near and those far away,

ÅB: Mordekai skrev opp disse hendelser og sendte brev til alle jødene i alle kong Ahasverus' landskaper, nær og fjern,
OTB: Mordekai nedtegnet disse hendelsene og sendte brev til alle jødene i alle provinsene til kong Xerxes, både nær og fjern,
B1930: Mordekai skrev op disse hendelser og sendte brev til alle jødene i alle kong Ahasverus' landskaper, nær og fjern,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Psalms 145:4–12
One generation will commend Your works to the next, and will proclaim Your mighty acts—
Read in context
Esther 3:12
On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.
Read in context
Esther 1:22
He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be master of his own household.
Read in context
Exodus 17:14
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
Read in context
Psalms 124:1–3
If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel now declare—
Read in context
2 Corinthians 1:10–11
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
Read in context
Deuteronomy 31:19–22
Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.
Read in context
Esther 1:1
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
Read in context