← All Chapters The Book of Esther · Chapter 9

Esther 9: Sorrow Turned to Gladness

On the appointed day the Jews prevail over their enemies, and the rescue is established forever as the joyful feast of Purim.

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Esther 9 (WEB)

1 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the month, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to conquer them, (but it was turned out the opposite happened, that the Jews conquered those who hated them),

2 the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus, to lay hands on those who wanted to harm them. No one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen on all the people.

3 All the princes of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and those who did the king’s business helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.

4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai grew greater and greater.

5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they wanted to those who hated them.

6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.

7 They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha,

10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jew’s enemy, but they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder.

11 On that day, the number of those who were slain in the citadel of Susa was brought before the king.

12 The king said to Esther the queen, “The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in the citadel of Susa, including 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. What is your further request? It shall be done.”

13 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according to this day’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

14 The king commanded this to be done. A decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.

15 The Jews who were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and killed three hundred men in Shushan; but they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder.

16 The other Jews who were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, defended their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder.

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

18 But the Jews who were in Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth days of the month; and on the fifteenth day of that month, they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, a good day, and a day of sending presents of food to one another.

20 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,

21 to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar yearly,

22 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 good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy.

23 The Jews accepted the custom that they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them;

24 because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast “Pur”, that is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;

25 but when this became known to the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

26 Therefore they called these days “Purim”, from the word “Pur.” Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come to them,

27 the Jews established, and imposed on themselves, and on their descendants, and on all those who joined themselves to them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to what was written, and according to its appointed time, every year;

28 and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor their memory perish from their seed.

29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim.

30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,

31 to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had decreed, and as they had imposed upon themselves and their descendants, in the matter of the fastings and their cry.

32 The commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.

Summary

The fateful thirteenth of Adar arrives—the day the enemies of the Jews hoped to overpower them—but the opposite happens, and the Jews prevail over those who hated them. Throughout the provinces they gather to defend themselves, and no one can stand against them, for the fear of them and of Mordecai, now great in the king's house, has fallen on all. In Susa the Jews kill five hundred men along with the ten sons of Haman, though they refuse to lay a hand on the plunder. When the king tells Esther of this and asks her further request, she asks that the Jews of Susa be allowed a second day and that Haman's sons be hanged. Across the provinces the Jews kill seventy-five thousand of their enemies but again take no plunder. They rest on the following day and make it a day of feasting and gladness. Mordecai writes to all the Jews to establish the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar as yearly days of remembrance—days when their sorrow was turned to gladness and mourning to a good day—to be kept with feasting, joy, sending gifts of food to one another, and gifts to the poor. They call these days Purim, after the Pur Haman had cast, and Esther and Mordecai write with full authority to confirm the festival for every generation, that the memory of their deliverance might never perish.

Main Characters

  • Mordecai — Now great in the king's house, whose fame protects the Jews and who writes to establish the days of Purim as a lasting memorial of their deliverance.
  • Esther (Hadassah) — The queen who makes a further request to secure her people in Susa and writes with full authority to confirm the festival of Purim.
  • The Jews — God's scattered people who defend their lives, prevail over their enemies, refuse the plunder, and turn their day of dread into a feast of joy.

Key Verse

Esther 9:22 (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 good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy.

Lessons Learned

  • God can turn the very day meant for our destruction into a day of deliverance.
  • Restraint—taking no plunder—shows that God's people seek safety, not selfish gain.
  • Deliverance is meant to overflow in generosity toward one another and the poor.
  • Remembering and retelling God's rescue keeps faith alive across the generations.
  • God reverses the day of disaster. On the day the enemies hoped to win, “it was turned out the opposite” (Esther 9:1, WEB). God overturns the very plans set against his people.
  • God's people seek deliverance, not gain. Three times we read “they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder” (Esther 9:10, 15, 16, WEB). Their aim was safety, not selfish spoil.
  • Joy overflows in generosity. The days are marked by “sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy” (Esther 9:22, WEB). Deliverance bears fruit in love.
  • Remembrance preserves faith. These days were “remembered and kept throughout every generation” (Esther 9:28, WEB), so the memory of God's rescue would never perish.
  1. How is the day of intended destruction transformed, and what does this reveal about God's providence?
  2. Why is it repeatedly emphasized that the Jews did not take any plunder?
  3. What are the marks of the Purim celebration, and what do they teach about the proper response to deliverance?
  4. Why was it so important to establish a yearly feast to remember these events?
  5. What deliverances of God do you tend to forget, and how might you build remembrance and gratitude into your life?
  1. The day appointed for the Jews' destruction becomes the day they are delivered and their enemies fall (9:1). The complete reversal showcases God's providence, turning intended catastrophe into rescue exactly on the day the lot had chosen.
  2. Three times the text notes that the Jews took no plunder (9:10, 15, 16), even though the decree permitted it. Their restraint shows that they fought for survival, not gain, distinguishing their cause from Haman's greed and setting them apart in conduct.
  3. Purim is marked by feasting, gladness, gifts of food to one another, and gifts to the poor (9:22). The celebration teaches that deliverance should overflow in joyful generosity and care for the needy, not merely private relief.
  4. Mordecai and Esther establish Purim so the deliverance would be remembered and retold in every generation (9:27-28). A yearly feast embeds the memory of God's rescue in the community, guarding future generations against forgetting his faithfulness.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name God's deliverances they have let slip from memory, and to consider practices—journaling, testimony, shared meals—that cultivate remembrance. As leader, encourage building gratitude into ordinary rhythms of life.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.