Esther 9:21
in Esther 9to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
KJV
To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
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This verse in Esther 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseLet us not be niggardly in our returns of praise to him who bestows his favours so liberally upon us. Observe, They did not keep the day when they fought, but the days when they rested, and on the fifteenth those in Shushan, and both those days they kept. The sabbath was appointed not on the day that God finished his work, but on the day that he rested from it.
This site's exposition
Mordecai wrote these things
on Esther 9:20-23
The founding letters go to all the provinces, both nigh and far: keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar yearly, as the days the month was TURNED unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day. The feast's own statute builds charity into the celebration, sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor, joy that distributes itself as it did at Neh 8:10-12. The Jews undertook to do as they had begun: the practice precedes the statute, and the statute confirms the practice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
When the whole nation of Israel was about to perish, blessed Esther defeated the tyrant's anger simply by fasting and praying to God. By faith she changed the ruin of her people into safety. Those days are feast days for Israel; they used to call a feast when an enemy was slain or a conspiracy against the people was broken up and Israel was delivered. That is why Moses established the Feast of the Passover: because Pharaoh was killed and the people were delivered from bondage. So then, especially when tyrants were slain, temporal feasts and holidays were established in Judea. Now, however, the devil, that tyrant against the whole world, is slain. Therefore, our feast does not relate only to time but to eternity. It is a heavenly feast! We do not announce it as a shadow or a picture or a type but as the real thing.
In the face of all this, brothers and sisters, what should we do but give thanks to God, the king of all? Let us start by crying out the words of the psalm, "Blessed is the Lord, who has not let them eat us up." Let us keep the feast in that way that he has established for our salvation—the holy day of Easter—so that we, along with the angels, may celebrate the heavenly feast. Remember that Israel, coming out of affliction to a state of rest, sang a song of praise for the victory as they kept the feast.
The Medieval Church1 voice
For those who always faithfully perform pious labors, and good works, and who generously give charity, are fighting for this so that they will be worthy to win entry to eternal life in faith, hope and charity, in accordance with the teachings of the Gospels …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
To stablish this among them,....
How the passage was read
On Esther 9:20-32On Esther 9:20-32
The feast this book founds
These verses are the founding charter of Purim, the one feast instituted inside the canon's own narrative books. Its name comes from the “pur,” the lot Haman cast for Israel's destruction. The text itself names the three practices that still define the day: feasting and gladness, sending portions of food to one another, and gifts to the poor (9:22). To this day the whole book of Esther, called the Megillah (“scroll”), is read aloud in the synagogue, with the congregation drowning out Haman's name with noisemakers; the day is kept with costumes, feasting, food baskets to friends, and charity.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Megillah 1:1 (the scroll reading) · Esther 9:22 (the three practices, in the text itself)
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְקַיֵּם֮ | lekaiyem | to impose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶם֒ | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לִהְי֣וֹת | lihyot | to be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֹשִׂ֗ים | ʾosim | observing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵ֠ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| י֣וֹם | yom | day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אַרְבָּעָ֤ה | ʾarbaah | four- | H702 → | 318 times |
| עָשָׂר֙ | ʾasar | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| לְחֹ֣דֶשׁ | lechodesh | of [the] month | H2320 → | 284 times |
| אֲדָ֔ר | ʾadar | Adar | H143 → | 8 times |
| וְאֵ֛ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יוֹם־ | yom- | day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| חֲמִשָּׁ֥ה | chamishah | fif- | H2568 → | 343 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ר | ʾasar | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| בּ֑וֹ | bo | in it | ||
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שָׁנָ֖ה | shanah | year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| וְשָׁנָֽה׃ | veshanah | and year | H8141 → | 877 times |
לְקַיֵּם֮to impose
lekaiyemH6965 →628 times
עֲלֵיהֶם֒on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
לִהְי֣וֹתto be
lihyotH1961 →3559 times
עֹשִׂ֗יםobserving
ʾosimH6213 →2628 times
אֵ֠ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
י֣וֹםday
yomH3117 →2304 times
אַרְבָּעָ֤הfour-
ʾarbaahH702 →318 times
עָשָׂר֙teen
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
לְחֹ֣דֶשׁof [the] month
lechodeshH2320 →284 times
אֲדָ֔רAdar
ʾadarH143 →8 times
וְאֵ֛תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
יוֹם־day
yom-H3117 →2304 times
חֲמִשָּׁ֥הfif-
chamishahH2568 →343 times
עָשָׂ֖רteen
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
בּ֑וֹin it
bo
בְּכָל־in every
bekholH3605 →5413 times
שָׁנָ֖הyear
shanahH8141 →877 times
וְשָׁנָֽה׃and year
veshanahH8141 →877 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
This page draws on Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 4; Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).