Esther 9:22

Joy Generosity Grief Poverty and the vulnerable

²⁰ 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

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.

²³ So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them.

²⁴ For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: 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.
KJV: As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
WEB: as the days in which the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy.
ASV: as the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
DARBY: as the days on which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month that was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
BLB: as the days on which the Jews had rest on them from their enemies, and the month that was turned for them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to a good day, to make them days of feasting and joy, and [for] sending portions, each man to his neighbor, and gifts to the needy.

ÅB: fordi det var på de dager jødene hadde fatt ro for sine fiender, og fordi det var i den måned deres bedrøvelse hadde vendt seg til glede og deres sorg til høytid; derfor skulle de gjøre disse dager til gjestebuds- og gledesdager og sende mat til hverandre og gaver til de fattige.
OTB: som tiden da jødene fikk lettelse fra sine fiender, og måneden da deres sorg ble vendt til glede og deres sørging til en dag med feiring. De skulle observere dem som dager med fest og glede og gi gaver av mat til hverandre og gaver til de fattige.
B1930: fordi det var på de dager jødene hadde fatt ro for sine fiender, og fordi det var i den måned deres bedrøvelse hadde vendt sig til glede og deres sorg til høitid; derfor skulde de gjøre disse dager til gjestebuds- og gledesdager og sende mat til hverandre og gaver til de fattige.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Psalms 30:11
You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
Read in context
Isaiah 12:1–2
In that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me.
Read in context
Esther 9:19
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.
Read in context
Isaiah 14:3
On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced,
Read in context
Galatians 2:10
They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
Read in context
Esther 3:12–13
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
Nehemiah 8:10–12
Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Read in context
Acts 2:44–46
All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Read in context