Esther 9:30
in Esther 9And Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he sent letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
KJV
And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
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This verse in Esther 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail
on Esther 9:29-32
Esther writes "with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim," the orphan of 2:7 now giving law to the Jews of an empire. Mordecai's letters carry "words of peace and truth". The confirmation also fixes "the times of fasting and lamentation," so the feast keeps its fast.
This site's exposition
And Mordecai sent letters with words
Matthew Henry reads words of peace and truth as the tone of the letter. Esther and Mordecai wrote with authority and still wrote gently, as the council at Jerusalem did in Acts 15:29. The letters reached all 127 provinces.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
For we require this admonition so that we will have always in our hearts the peace of Christianity, and will adopt the truth of the Gospel itself; which will prevent us from inadvertently falling, through discord and disagreement, into the errors of the heretics from …
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
And he sent letters unto all the Jews,....
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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| סְפָרִ֜ים | sefarim | letters | H5612 → | 186 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֗ים | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שֶׁ֨בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֤ים | veesrim | and twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| וּמֵאָה֙ | umeah | and one hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| מְדִינָ֔ה | medinah | province[s] | H4082 → | 53 times |
| מַלְכ֖וּת | malkhut | [the] kingdom of | H4438 → | 91 times |
| אֲחַשְׁוֵר֑וֹשׁ | ʾachashveroosh | Ahasuerus | H325 → | 31 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֥י | divrei | words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| שָׁל֖וֹם | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| וֶאֱמֶֽת׃ | veemet | and truth | H571 → |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֨חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
סְפָרִ֜יםletters
sefarimH5612 →186 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֗יםthe Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שֶׁ֨בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
וְעֶשְׂרִ֤יםand twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
וּמֵאָה֙and one hundred
umeahH3967 →581 times
מְדִינָ֔הprovince[s]
medinahH4082 →53 times
מַלְכ֖וּת[the] kingdom of
malkhutH4438 →91 times
אֲחַשְׁוֵר֑וֹשׁAhasuerus
ʾachashverooshH325 →31 times
דִּבְרֵ֥יwords of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
שָׁל֖וֹםpeace
shalomH7965 →236 times
וֶאֱמֶֽת׃and truth
veemetH571 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Esther 8:9At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors,…
it leads to
- Esther 1:22
He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be master of his…
- Esther 1:1
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
- Esther 1:22
Through
Zechariah 8:19“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of…
it leads to
- Zechariah 8:16
These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,
- Jeremiah 39:2
And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.
- Zechariah 7:5
“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
- Zechariah 7:3
by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
- Zechariah 8:16
Through
Isaiah 39:8But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:26
Then Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart—he and the people of Jerusalem—so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.
- 2 Chronicles 32:26
Through
Esther 1:1This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
it leads to
- Daniel 9:1
In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—
- Daniel 9:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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, Commentary on Esther and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).
