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Esther 9:25

in Esther 9

But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

but when the matter came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

KJV

But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

This verse in Esther 9

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Rabanus Maurus

EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 13 · Written before 856.

Very often people's evil schemes turn out differently than they had hoped and the trap they had placed to capture others ensnares them, as the Scripture confirms, "The wicked are ensnared in their traps. And whoever digs a pit will fall into it." Therefore also …

This site's exposition

had cast the Pur

on Esther 9:24-28

The feast takes its name from the plot's tool: Haman "had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them". The custom binds the Jews, their descendants "and all who join them," so the charter admits converts. Purim is still kept, with this book read aloud.

This site's exposition

But when it came before the king

The recap folds the story into one sentence, from the plot reaching the king to Haman and his sons hanged. Gill's text makes Esther the one who came before the king, and the Berean reads the plot as coming before him. Rabanus cites the pit that catches its own digger.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Rabanus Maurus

Commentary on Esther · Written before 856.

proposed

For wicked men often find that their desires are fulfilled in ways they had not expected to happen; and they are caught in the same traps they set to ensnare others, as the Scripture shows when it says: "The wicked are caught in their traps; …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Good deeds done for the Israel of God ought to be remembered, for the encouragement of others to do the like. God will not forget them, and therefore we must not. (3.) Their own prayers, and the answers given to them (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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

But when Esther came before the king,....

How the passage was read

On Esther 9:20-32

On 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

21 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וּבְבֹאָהּ֮and when came it

    uvevoahH935 →2568 times

  • לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הַמֶּלֶךְ֒the king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אָמַ֣רhe said

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • עִם־with

    ʾim-H5973 →1050 times

  • הַסֵּ֔פֶרthe letter

    haseferH5612 →186 times

  • יָשׁ֞וּבlet it return

    yashuvH7725 →1056 times

  • מַחֲשַׁבְתּ֧וֹplan his

    machashavtoH4284 →56 times

  • הָרָעָ֛ה<the> evil

    haraahH7451 →662 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • חָשַׁ֥בhe had planned

    chashavH2803 →124 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַיְּהוּדִ֖יםthe Jews

    haiyehudimH3064 →75 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • רֹאשׁ֑וֹown head his

    roshoH7218 →599 times

  • וְתָל֥וּand people will hang

    vetaluH8518 →27 times

  • אֹת֛וֹ<obj.> him

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • בָּנָ֖יוsons his

    banavH1121 →4930 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הָעֵֽץ׃the gallows

    haetzH6086 →328 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Matthew 21:44

    He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 8:14–15

      And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.

    • 1 Peter 2:8

      and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.

    • Daniel 2:34–35

      As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

    • Daniel 2:44–45

      In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms…

    • Romans 9:33

      as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”

  • Through

    Psalms 7:16

    His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 37:12–13

      The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,

    • 1 Kings 2:32

      The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to…

  • Through

    Psalms 140:9

    May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 7:16

      His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

Where this verse is studied

About Esther

Esther Before the King, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Esther Before the King, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 13 and Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther.