Bible Strands
Esther 9:1
On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records the execution of the royal decree on the thirteenth day of Adar, when the Jews in the Persian provinces mobilized to defend themselves against those who sought their destruction.
The words — חֹדֶשׁ (Cho.desh) translates literally to "month," and אֲדָר ('a.Dar) identifies the twelfth month when the king's command was set to take effect.
The thread — The appointed date fulfills the annihilation order in Esther 3:13 and the counter-edict in Esther 8:12, while the sudden reversal of fate echoes the pattern in Psalms 30:11.
Why it lands — The text states that a planned overpowering was overturned so the Jews overpowered their enemies, requiring the reader to acknowledge that human schemes for destruction are subject to historical reversal without glossing over the violence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)
Cross-references
- Esther 3:13 And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.
- Esther 8:12 The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
- Psalms 30:11 You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
- Revelation 11:18 The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
- 2 Samuel 22:41 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I destroyed those who hated me.
- Isaiah 14:1 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 32:36 For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- Esther 3:7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
- Esther 9:17 This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.