וּבִשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ הוּא־חֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר בִּשְׁלֹושָׁה עָשָׂר יֹום בֹּו אֲשֶׁר הִגִּיעַ דְּבַר־הַמֶּלֶךְ וְדָתֹו 9:1
לְהֵעָשֹׂות בַּיֹּום אֲשֶׁר שִׂבְּרוּ אֹיְבֵי הַיְּהוּדִים לִשְׁלֹוט בָּהֶם וְנַהֲפֹוךְ הוּא אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁלְטוּ הַיְּהוּדִים הֵמָּה
בְּשֹׂנְאֵיהֶם׃
Esth. 9:1 So in the twelfth month -- that is the month of Adar -- on its thirteenth day, when the word of the king, with its decree, drew near to being executed on the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to exercise power on them, but it was turned about, that the Jews should have power over those hating them,
נִקְהֲלוּ הַיְּהוּדִים בְּעָרֵיהֶם בְּכָל־מְדִינֹות הַמֶּלֶךְ אֳחַשְׁוֵרֹושׁ לִשְׁלֹחַ יָד בִּמְבַקְשֵׁי רָעָתָם וְאִישׁ לֹא־עָמַד 9:2
לִפְנֵיהֶם כִּי־נָפַל פַּחְדָּם עַל־כָּל־הָעַמִּים׃
Esth. 9:2 the Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king, Ahasuerus, to extend a hand toward the seekers of harm to them, and not one stood in their presence, because dread of them had fallen upon all the peoples.
וְכָל־שָׂרֵי הַמְּדִינֹות וְהָאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנִים וְהַפַּחֹות וְעֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה אֲשֶׁר לַמֶּלֶךְ מְנַשְּׂאִים אֶת־הַיְּהוּדִים 9:3
כִּי־נָפַל פַּחַד־מָרְדֳּכַי עֲלֵיהֶם׃
Esth. 9:3 And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and the producers of the work that was the king's, were supporting the Jews; dread of Mordecai had fallen upon them.
כִּי־גָדֹול מָרְדֳּכַי בְּבֵית הַמֶּלֶךְ וְשָׁמְעֹו הֹולֵךְ בְּכָל־הַמְּדִינֹות כִּי־הָאִישׁ מָרְדֳּכַי הֹולֵךְ וְגָדֹול׃ 9:4
Esth. 9:4 For Mordecai was great in the house of the king, as his fame had gone throughout all the provinces that the man Mordecai had gone, and he became greater.
וַיַּכּוּ הַיְּהוּדִים בְּכָל־אֹיְבֵיהֶם מַכַּת־חֶרֶב וְהֶרֶג וְאַבְדָן וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בְשֹׂנְאֵיהֶם כִּרְצֹונָם׃ 9:5
Esth. 9:5 And the Jews struck a sword blow and slaughter and destruction at all their enemies, and wrought on their enemies as had been their desire.
וּבְשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה הָרְגוּ הַיְּהוּדִים וְאַבֵּד חֲמֵשׁ מֵאֹות אִישׁ׃ 9:6
Esth. 9:6 and in Shushan the castle the Jews slew, and five hundred men perished,
וְאֵת ׀ פַּרְשַׁנְדָּתָא וְאֵת ׀ דַּלְפֹון וְאֵת ׀ אַסְפָּתָא׃ 9:7
Esth. 9:7 And
Parshandatha, and
Dalphon, and
Aspatha,
In this verse and the next two, the names of Haman’s ten sons are vertically spaced on each line of the scroll, one under the other, as indicated by the vertical lines in the midst of the Hebrew. Each name is at the beginning (right edge) of each line and the וְאֵת is at the end (left edge) of the line (of course, in the English right and left are reversed). It is thought that this indicates that they were hanged on a tall gallows one beneath the other.
וְאֵת ׀ פֹּורָתָא וְאֵת ׀ אֲדַלְיָא וְאֵת ׀ אֲרִידָתָא׃ 9:8
Esth. 9:8 and
Poratha, and
Adalia, and
Aridatha,
וְאֵת ׀ פַּרְמַשְׁתָּא וְאֵת ׀ אֲרִיסַי וְאֵת ׀ אֲרִדַי וְאֵת ׀ וַיְזָתָא׃ 9:9
Esth. 9:9 and
Parmashta, and
Arisai, and
Aridai, and
Vaizatha,
עֲשֶׂרֶת בְּנֵי הָמָן בֶּן־הַמְּדָתָא צֹרֵר הַיְּהוּדִים הָרָגוּ וּבַבִּזָּה לֹא שָׁלְחוּ אֶת־יָדָם׃ 9:10
Esth. 9:10 the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, enemy of the Jews, they slew, but they did not extend their hand onto the spoil.
That the Jews took no spoil is assumed to indicate their sole purpose was to defend and protect themselves.
בַּיֹּום הַהוּא בָּא מִסְפַּר הַהֲרוּגִים בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ 9:11
Esth. 9:11 On that day the number slain came in Shushan the castle before the king.
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה הָרְגוּ הַיְּהוּדִים וְאַבֵּד חֲמֵשׁ מֵאֹות אִישׁ וְאֵת 9:12
עֲשֶׂרֶת בְּנֵי־הָמָן בִּשְׁאָר מְדִינֹות הַמֶּלֶךְ מֶה עָשׂוּ וּמַה־שְּׁאֵלָתֵךְ וְיִנָּתֵן לָךְ וּמַה־בַּקָּשָׁתֵךְ עֹוד וְתֵעָשׂ׃
Esth. 9:12 And the king said to Esther, the queen, “In Shushan the castle the Jews slew, and five hundred men perished, and the ten sons of Haman. In the rest of the provinces what did they do! Now whatever your demand, then it is granted to you, and whatever your additional request, then it is done.”
וַתֹּאמֶר אֶסְתֵּר אִם־עַל־הַמֶּלֶךְ טֹוב יִנָּתֵן גַּם־מָחָר לַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר בְּשׁוּשָׁן לַעֲשֹׂות כְּדָת הַיֹּום וְאֵת 9:13
עֲשֶׂרֶת בְּנֵי־הָמָן יִתְלוּ עַל־הָעֵץ׃
Esth. 9:13 And Esther said, “If it is according to the good king, let be granted also tomorrow to the Jews who are in Shushan to do according to the decree of today and let them hang up the ten sons of Haman on a gallows.
וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְהֵעָשֹׂות כֵּן וַתִּנָּתֵן דָּת בְּשׁוּשָׁן וְאֵת עֲשֶׂרֶת בְּנֵי־הָמָן תָּלוּ׃ 9:14
Esth. 9:14 And the king said for it to be done so, and an edict was given in Shushan, and they hung up the ten sons of Haman.
To hang bodies for display was considered a great degradation.
וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ [הַיְּהוּדִיִּים) [הַיְּהוּדִים] אֲשֶׁר־בְּשׁוּשָׁן גַּם בְּיֹום אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר וַיַּהַרְגוּ בְשׁוּשָׁן 9:15
שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאֹות אִישׁ וּבַבִּזָּה לֹא שָׁלְחוּ אֶת־יָדָם׃
Esth. 9:15 Then the Jews who were in Shushan assembled also on the fourteenth day in the month of Adar and slew in Shushan three hundred men, but to the spoil they did not extend their hand.
Here we have the next-to-last of the misspelled words identified earlier in Esth. 4:7.
וּשְׁאָר הַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר בִּמְדִינֹות הַמֶּלֶךְ נִקְהֲלוּ וְעָמֹד עַל־נַפְשָׁם וְנֹוחַ מֵאֹיְבֵיהֶם וְהָרֹג בְּשֹׂנְאֵיהֶם 9:16
חֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים אָלֶף וּבַבִּזָּה לֹא שָׁלְחוּ אֶת־יָדָם׃
Esth. 9:16 And the remainder of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king formed an assembly that would stand for their life so it could have rest from their enemies, and it would slay among those hating them seventy-five thousand -- but to the spoil they did not extend their hand
בְּיֹום־שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר וְנֹוחַ בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר בֹּו וְעָשֹׂה אֹתֹו יֹום מִשְׁתֶּה וְשִׂמְחָה׃ 9:17
Esth. 9:17 -- on the thirteenth day in the month of Adar. Then it could have rest on the fourteenth because of it and could make it a day of feast and gladness.
וְהַיְּהוּדִיִּים) [וְהַיְּהוּדִים] אֲשֶׁר־בְּשׁוּשָׁן נִקְהֲלוּ בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר בֹּו וּבְאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר בֹּו וְנֹוחַ 9:18
בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בֹּו וְעָשֹׂה אֹתֹו יֹום מִשְׁתֶּה וְשִׂמְחָה׃
Esth. 9:18 But the Jews who were in Shushan had formed an assembly on the thirteenth because of it and on the fourteenth because of it so it would have rest on the fifteenth because of it, and could make it a day of feast and gladness.
Finally! The last of the misspelled words identified earlier in Esth. 4:7.
עַל־כֵּן הַיְּהוּדִים (הַפְּרֹוזִים) [הַפְּרָזִים] הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּעָרֵי הַפְּרָזֹות עֹשִׂים אֵת יֹום אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר 9:19
לְחֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר שִׂמְחָה וּמִשְׁתֶּה וְיֹום טֹוב וּמִשְׁלֹוחַ מָנֹות אִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ׃
Esth. 9:19 Therefore the village Jews dwelling in the towns of the open country are making the fourteenth in the month of Adar a day of gladness and feast, and a holiday, and are sending portions one to another.
The portions were of foods, typically of two different varieties. Also, the word in the parentheses is spelled with an unnecessary vav. The correction is in the brackets.
וַיִּכְתֹּב מָרְדֳּכַי אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיִּשְׁלַח סְפָרִים אֶל־כָּל־הַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר בְּכָל־מְדִינֹות הַמֶּלֶךְ 9:20
אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹושׁ הַקְּרֹובִים וְהָרְחֹוקִים׃
Esth. 9:20 And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of the king, Ahasuerus, those near and those remote,
לְקַיֵּם עֲלֵיהֶם לִהְיֹות עֹשִׂים אֵת יֹום אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר וְאֵת יֹום־חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בֹּו בְּכָל־שָׁנָהְ 9:21
וְשָׁנָה׃
Esth. 9:21 to impose upon them to be making the fourteenth day in the month of Adar and the fifteenth day in it in one year after another
כַּיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר־נָחוּ בָהֶם הַיְּהוּדִים מֵאֹויְבֵיהֶם וְהַחֹדֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר נֶהְפַּךְ לָהֶם מִיָּגֹון לְשִׂמְחָה וּמֵאֵבֶל לְיֹוםְ 9:22
טֹוב לַעֲשֹׂות אֹותָם יְמֵי מִשְׁתֶּה וְשִׂמְחָה וּמִשְׁלֹוחַ מָנֹות אִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ וּמַתָּנֹות לָאֶבְיֹונִים׃
Esth. 9:22 as days on which the Jews rest from their enemies and the month, which was changed for them from grief to gladness and from mourning to a time of goodness, to make them days of feast and gladness and of the sending of portions, one to another, and gifts to the needy.
This verse is difficult to understand. Did Mordecai designate the entire month of Adar as days of feast and gladness, only the fourteenth and fifteenth, or only the fourteenth? Jews celebrate the feast of Purim only on the fourteenth day of Adar (and many fast on the thirteenth). The customs to be observed from then forward were to feast, to give gifts of food to their Jewish neighbors, and to give charity to the poor.
וְקִבֵּל הַיְּהוּדִים אֵת אֲשֶׁר־הֵחֵלּוּ לַעֲשֹׂות וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר־כָּתַב מָרְדֳּכַי אֲלֵיהֶם׃ 9:23
Esth. 9:23 And one to the other of the Jews would receive what they had begun to do, and that which Mordecai had written to them.
כִּי הָמָן בֶּן־הַמְּדָתָא הָאֲגָגִי צֹרֵר כָּל־הַיְּהוּדִים חָשַׁב עַל־הַיְּהוּדִים לְאַבְּדָם וְהִפִּיל פּוּר הוּא הַגֹּורָלְ 9:24
לְהֻמָּם וּלְאַבְּדָם׃
Esth. 9:24 Because Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, enemy of all the Jews, had planned against the Jews, to destroy them, and would cast Pur – that is the lot -- to trouble them and to destroy them,
וּבְבֹאָהּ לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אָמַר עִם־הַסֵּפֶר יָשׁוּב מַחֲשַׁבְתֹּו הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר־חָשַׁב עַל־הַיְּהוּדִים עַל־רֹאשֹׁוְ 9:25
וְתָלוּ אֹתֹו וְאֶת־בָּנָיו עַל־הָעֵץ׃
Esth. 9:25 but by her coming before the king, he said in the document his purpose of evil that he had planned against the Jews should return upon his own head, that they hang him and his sons on the gallows,
עַל־כֵּן קָרְאוּ לַיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה פוּרִים עַל־שֵׁם הַפּוּר עַל־כֵּן עַל־כָּל־דִּבְרֵי הָאִגֶּרֶת הַזֹּאת וּמָה־רָאוְּ 9:26
עַל־כָּכָה וּמָה הִגִּיעַ אֲלֵיהֶם׃
Esth. 9:26 therefore they gave the name of Purim to these days, for a memorial of the pur. Therefore, because of all the words of that letter, and what they had seen concerning this, and what had almost happened to them,
קִיְּמוּ (וְקִבֵּל) [וְקִבְּלוּ] הַיְּהוּדִים עֲלֵיהֶם וְעַל־זַרְעָם וְעַל כָּל־הַנִּלְוִים עֲלֵיהֶם וְלֹא יַעֲבֹור לִהְיֹותְ 9:27
עֹשִׂים אֵת שְׁנֵי הַיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה כִּכְתָבָם וְכִזְמַנָּם בְּכָל־שָׁנָה וְשָׁנָה׃
Esth. 9:27 the Jews established that it shall be accepted by them and by their seed and by all joining onto them, so it would not pass away to be celebrating these two days according to their edict and at their appointed time in one year after another,
Maybe another non-error! The word in the parentheses that I translate as that it shall be accepted is singular and should be singular, but it is corrected to plural. The correction in the brackets adds the inappropriate vav suffix. Of course, to be fair, once corrected, the word can be translated as that they shall be accepted, the pronoun they referencing the noun words of the previous verse. As you should have found out by now, I prefer to make as few necessary corrections as possible. However, the pronoun it in so it would not pass away in this verse seems to support my guess that the second word in the verse is not in error.
וְהַיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה נִזְכָּרִים וְנַעֲשִׂים בְּכָל־דֹּור וָדֹור מִשְׁפָּחָה וּמִשְׁפָּחָה מְדִינָה וּמְדִינָה וְעִיר וָעִירְ 9:28
וִימֵי הַפּוּרִים הָאֵלֶּה לֹא יַעַבְרוּ מִתֹּוךְ הַיְּהוּדִים וְזִכְרָם לֹא־יָסוּף מִזַּרְעָם׃
Esth. 9:28 and these days were to be remembered and celebrated in one generation after another, family after family, province after province, and city after city, that these days of Purim would not pass from among the Jews, and their memory would not cease from their seed.
וַתִּכְתֹּב אֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה בַת־אֲבִיחַיִל וּמָרְדֳּכַי הַיְּהוּדִי אֶת־כָּל־תֹּקֶף לְקַיֵּם אֵת אִגֶּרֶת הַפּוּרִיםְ 9:29
הַזֹּאת הַשֵּׁנִית׃
Esth. 9:29 Esther, the queen, daughter of Abihai, with Mordecai, the Jew, also wrote with forcefulness to confirm this second letter of Purim.
וַיִּשְׁלַח סְפָרִים אֶל־כָּל־הַיְּהוּדִים אֶל־שֶׁבַע וְעֶשְׂרִים וּמֵאָה מְדִינָה מַלְכוּת אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹושׁ דִּבְרֵי שָׁלֹוםְ 9:30
וֶאֱמֶת׃
Esth. 9:30 And he sent documents to all the Jews, to the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, words of peace and truth,
לְקַיֵּם אֵת־יְמֵי הַפֻּרִים הָאֵלֶּה בִּזְמַנֵּיהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר קִיַּם עֲלֵיהֶם מָרְדֳּכַי הַיְּהוּדִי וְאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה 9:31
וְכַאֲשֶׁר קִיְּמוּ עַל־נַפְשָׁם וְעַל־זַרְעָם דִּבְרֵי הַצֹּמֹות וְזַעֲקָתָם׃
Esth. 9:31 to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed times, as Mordecai, the Jew, had imposed upon them, with Esther, the queen, and as they had established on their persons and on their seed the matters of fasts and their cry.
וּמַאֲמַר אֶסְתֵּר קִיַּם דִּבְרֵי הַפֻּרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְנִכְתָּב בַּסֵּפֶר׃ 9:32
Esth. 9:32 And the command of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in a book.
[Return to Esther Chapters] [Prev.: Esth. 8] [Next: Esth. 10]