Esther 9:31
in Esther 9in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had ordained for themselves and for their seed, in the matter of the fastings and their cry.
KJV
To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
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This verse in Esther 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The matters of the fastings and their cry - The Jews of the provinces had added to the form of commemoration proposed by Mordecai certain observances with respect to fasting and wailing, and Mordecai’s second letter sanctioned these.
This 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
in order to confirm these days of Purim
Adam Clarke notes that no high priest's approval is recorded, only the authority of Mordecai and Esther. The king had no part in a Jewish feast. Albert Barnes reads the fasting and lamentation as observances the provincial Jews had added, which the second letter now sanctioned.
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 Awakening4 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
But that refers to what was in the day of their distress ( ch. iv. 3, 16 ), which was not to be continued when God had turned their fasts into joy and gladness, Zech. viii. How it was called-- The feast of Purim (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed,....
The more cries we have offered up in our trouble, and the more prayers for deliverance, the more we are obliged to be thankful to God for deliverance. Call upon me in the time of trouble, and then offer to God thanksgiving. How it was to be observed.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
As they had decreed for themselves and for their seed - There is no mention of their receiving the approbation of any high priest, nor of any authority beyond that of Mordecai and Esther; the king could not join in such a business, as he had nothing to do with the Jewish religion, that not being the religion of the country.
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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְקַיֵּ֡ם | lekaiyem | to confirm | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֵת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְמֵי֩ | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַפֻּרִ֨ים | hapurim | the Purim | H6332 → | 8 times |
| הָאֵ֜לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| בִּזְמַנֵּיהֶ֗ם | bizmaneihem | at appointed times their | H2165 → | |
| כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| קִיַּ֨ם | kiyam | he had imposed | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֜ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מָרְדֳּכַ֤י | maredokhai | Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִי֙ | haiyehudi | the Jew | H3064 → | 75 times |
| וְאֶסְתֵּ֣ר | veester | and Esther | H635 → | 55 times |
| הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה | hamalkah | the queen | H4436 → | 35 times |
| וְכַאֲשֶׁ֛ר | vekhaasher | and just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| קִיְּמ֥וּ | kiyemu | they had imposed | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| נַפְשָׁ֖ם | nafsham | self their | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| זַרְעָ֑ם | zaram | offspring their | H2233 → | 229 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֥י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַצֹּמ֖וֹת | hatzomot | the fasts | H6685 → | |
| וְזַעֲקָתָֽם׃ | vezaakatam | and cry of distress their | H2201 → |
לְקַיֵּ֡םto confirm
lekaiyemH6965 →628 times
אֵת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְמֵי֩[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
הַפֻּרִ֨יםthe Purim
hapurimH6332 →8 times
הָאֵ֜לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
בִּזְמַנֵּיהֶ֗םat appointed times their
bizmaneihemH2165 →
כַּאֲשֶׁר֩just as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
קִיַּ֨םhe had imposed
kiyamH6965 →628 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֜םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
מָרְדֳּכַ֤יMordecai
maredokhaiH4782 →60 times
הַיְּהוּדִי֙the Jew
haiyehudiH3064 →75 times
וְאֶסְתֵּ֣רand Esther
veesterH635 →55 times
הַמַּלְכָּ֔הthe queen
hamalkahH4436 →35 times
וְכַאֲשֶׁ֛רand just as
vekhaasherH834 →5497 times
קִיְּמ֥וּthey had imposed
kiyemuH6965 →628 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
נַפְשָׁ֖םself their
nafshamH5315 →754 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
זַרְעָ֑םoffspring their
zaramH2233 →229 times
דִּבְרֵ֥י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
הַצֹּמ֖וֹתthe fasts
hatzomotH6685 →
וְזַעֲקָתָֽם׃and cry of distress their
vezaakatamH2201 →
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 4:16“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast…
it leads to
- Acts 20:24
But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good…
- 2 Chronicles 20:3
Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
- Joel 2:12–17
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
- Luke 9:24
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
- Genesis 18:19
For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that…
- Acts 20:24
Through
Esther 4:3In every province to which the king’s command and edict came, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
it leads to
- Isaiah 22:12
On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
- Daniel 9:3
So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
- Esther 3:12
On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of…
- Isaiah 22:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPersian periodEstherHadassah, the orphan exile who became queen of Persia and, at the risk of "if I perish, I perish," stood between her people and Ha…
- PersonPersian periodMordecaiEsther's cousin and guardian at the gate of Susa, who refused to bow to Haman, uncovered the plot against the king, and was raised…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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).