Esther 9:12

12 And he said to the queen, The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city of Susa, and the ten sons of Haman; how great slaying guessest thou, that they haunt in all (the) provinces? what askest thou more? and what wilt thou, that I command to be done? (And he said to the queen, The Jews have killed five hundred men here in the capital city of Susa, and the ten sons of Haman as well; how great a slaughter thinkest thou that they have done in all the provinces? what more askest thou for? and what wilt thou, that I command to be done?)

Esther 9:12 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 9:12

And the king said unto Esther the queen
After the account had been brought in to him:

the Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the
palace;
the Targum adds, of the seed of Amalek:

and the ten sons of Haman:
which very probably were all he had; though the Targum, in ( Esther 9:14 ) , makes mention of seventy sons that Zeresh his wife fled with:

what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces?
that could not be said; but it might be concluded, that if so many were slain in Shushan, the number must be great in all the provinces:

now what is thy petition and it shall be granted thee:
or "what is thy request further? and it shall be done"; if this was not sufficient and satisfactory, whatever else she should ask for should be granted.

Esther 9:12 In-Context

10 And when the Jews had slain the sons of Haman, they would not touch the preys of the chattels, or substance, of them. (And after the Jews had killed Haman's sons, they did not take away any of the spoils of their chattel, or their possessions.)
11 And anon the number of them, that were slain in the city of Susa, was told to the king. (And that same day, the number of people killed in the capital city of Susa, was told to the king.)
12 And he said to the queen, The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city of Susa, and the ten sons of Haman; how great slaying guessest thou, that they haunt in all (the) provinces? what askest thou more? and what wilt thou, that I command to be done? (And he said to the queen, The Jews have killed five hundred men here in the capital city of Susa, and the ten sons of Haman as well; how great a slaughter thinkest thou that they have done in all the provinces? what more askest thou for? and what wilt thou, that I command to be done?)
13 To whom Esther answered, If it pleaseth the king, (let) power be given to the Jews, that as they have done today in Susa, so do they also tomorrow, and (also) that the (bodies of the) ten sons of Haman be hanged up in gibbets. (To whom Esther answered, If it please the king, let power be given to the Jews, so that as they have done today in Susa, let them do here also tomorrow, and let the bodies of the ten sons of Haman be hung up on the gallows.)
14 And the king commanded, that it should be done so; and anon the behest of the king hanged in Susa, and the (bodies of the) ten sons of Haman were hanged (up). (And the king commanded, that it be done so; and at once the king's order was hung up in Susa, and the bodies of Haman's ten sons were hung up as well.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.