Esther 9:21

21 Mordecai told them to celebrate the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar. He wanted them to do it every year.

Esther 9:21 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 9:21

To stablish this among them
That it might be a settled thing, and annually observed in all future generations, what they had now done:

that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the
fifteenth day of the same, yearly;
as the former had been observed by the Jews in the provinces, and both by those in Shushan, ( Esther 9:17-19 )

as festivals in commemoration of their great deliverance; hence the fourteenth of Adar is called the day of Mordecai, being established by him;

``And they ordained all with a common decree in no case to let that day pass without solemnity, but to celebrate the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, which in the Syrian tongue is called Adar, the day before Mardocheus' day.'' (2 Maccabees 15:36)

Esther 9:21 In-Context

19 That's why Jews who live out in the villages celebrate on the 14th of Adar. They celebrate that day with great joy. And they enjoy good food. They also give presents to each other on that day.

20 Mordecai wrote down those events. He sent letters to all of the Jews all through the territories of King Xerxes. It didn't matter whether the Jews lived nearby or far away.

21 Mordecai told them to celebrate the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar. He wanted them to do it every year.

22 Mordecai told the Jews to celebrate the time when they got rest from their enemies. That was the month when their sadness was turned into joy. It was when their sobbing turned into a day for celebrating. He wrote the letters to celebrate those days as times of joy. He wanted the people to enjoy good food. He told them to give presents of food to one another. He also wanted them to give gifts to those who were poor.

23 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebrating they had started. They kept doing what Mordecai had written to them.