Esther 9:7-17

7 and also slew Par-shan-da'tha and Dalphon and Aspa'tha

8 and Pora'tha and Ada'lia and Arida'tha

9 and Parmash'ta and Ar'isai and Ar'idai and Vaiza'tha,

10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammeda'tha, the enemy of the Jews; but they laid no hand on the plunder.

11 That very day the number of those slain in Susa the capital was reported to the king.

12 And the king said to Queen Esther, "In Susa the capital the Jews have slain five hundred men and also the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled."

13 And Esther said, "If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day's edict. And let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows."

14 So the king commanded this to be done; a decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.

15 The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they slew three hundred men in Susa; but they laid no hands on the plunder.

16 Now the other Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies, and slew seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they laid no hands on the plunder.

17 This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.

Esther 9:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 9

In this chapter we have an account of the Jews gathering together, on the day fixed for their destruction, to defend themselves, which they did in all the provinces, and smote their enemies; Es 9:1-5. In Shushan the palace they slew the ten sons of Haman and five hundred men on that day, Es 9:6-11 and at the request of the queen they were allowed the next day to hang up his sons, when they slew three hundred men more, Es 9:12-15, in the provinces they slew 75,000 and those in one day only, and the following days they kept as a festival, but they in Shushan kept the two days following, Es 9:16-19, and which two days were established by Esther and Mordecai as festivals, to be observed as such in future ages, by the name of the days of Purim, Es 9:20-32.