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New Living Translation

Esther 9:20

Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Month;   Purim;   Thompson Chain Reference - Mordecai;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Feast of Purim, or Lots, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Purim;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Feasts;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Day;   Feasts and Festivals of Israel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Esther;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Apocrypha;   Esther;   Festivals;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Purim;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Lots;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Feasts;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Festivals;   Lysim'achus,;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Book;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Purim;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Esther, Apocryphal Book of;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for June 25;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all of King Ahasuerus’s provinces, both near and far.
Hebrew Names Version
Mordekhai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Yehudim who were in all the provinces of the king Achashverosh, both near and far,
King James Version
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
English Standard Version
And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
New Century Version
Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to all the Jewish people in all the empire of King Xerxes, far and near.
New English Translation
Mordecai wrote these matters down and sent letters to all the Jews who were throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
Amplified Bible
Now Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who lived in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
New American Standard Bible
Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
World English Bible
Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both near and far,
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Mordecai wrote these words, and sent letters vnto all the Iewes that were through all the prouinces of the King Ahashuerosh, both neere and farre,
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Mordecai wrote down these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
Berean Standard Bible
Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far,
Contemporary English Version
Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces
Complete Jewish Bible
Mordekhai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Achashverosh, both near and far,
Darby Translation
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews near and far that were in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus,
Easy-to-Read Version
Mordecai wrote everything down that had happened, and then he sent letters to all the Jews in all of King Xerxes' provinces. He sent letters far and near.
George Lamsa Translation
And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Akhshirash, both near and far.
Good News Translation
Mordecai had these events written down and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, throughout the Persian Empire,
Lexham English Bible
Mordecai wrote down these things and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all of the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
Literal Translation
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, near and far,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Mardocheus wrote these actes, and sent the writinges vnto all the Iewes yt were in all ye londes of kynge Ahasuerus, both nye and farre,
American Standard Version
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
Bible in Basic English
And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in every division of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, near and far,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Mardocheus wrote these wordes, and sent letters vnto all the Iewes that were in all the prouinces of king Ahasuerus, both nie and farre:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
King James Version (1611)
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters vnto all the Iewes, that were in all the prouinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh & farre,
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Mardochaeus wrote these things in a book, and sent them to the Jews, as many as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off,
English Revised Version
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Mardochee wroot alle these thingis, and sente these thingis comprehendid bi lettris to the Jewis, that dwelliden in alle prouynces of the kyng, as wel to Jewis set nyy as fer,
Update Bible Version
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both near and far,
Webster's Bible Translation
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews that [were] in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, [both] nigh and far,
New King James Version
And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,
New Life Bible
Mordecai wrote down these things. And he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the nation of King Ahasuerus, both near and far.
New Revised Standard
Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Mordecai wrote these things, - and sent letters unto all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, near, and far off;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Mardochai wrote all these things, and sent them comprised in letters to the Jews that abode in all the king’s provinces, both those that lay near and those afar off,
Revised Standard Version
And Mor'decai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasu-e'rus, both near and far,
Young's Literal Translation
And Mordecai writeth these things, and sendeth letters unto all the Jews who [are] in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus, who are near and who are far off,
THE MESSAGE
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New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

Contextual Overview

20 Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes, 21 calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days. 22 He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy. 23 So the Jews accepted Mordecai's proposal and adopted this annual custom. 24 Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to crush and destroy them on the date determined by casting lots (the lots were called purim). 25 But when Esther came before the king, he issued a decree causing Haman's evil plot to backfire, and Haman and his sons were impaled on a sharpened pole. 26 That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots. So because of Mordecai's letter and because of what they had experienced, 27 the Jews throughout the realm agreed to inaugurate this tradition and to pass it on to their descendants and to all who became Jews. They declared they would never fail to celebrate these two prescribed days at the appointed time each year. 28 These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants. 29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote another letter putting the queen's full authority behind Mordecai's letter to establish the Festival of Purim.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Mordecai: That is, as the words imply, the history contained in this book; and not merely the letters afterwards mentioned, as some understand it.

wrote these: Exodus 17:14, Deuteronomy 31:19-22, 1 Chronicles 16:12, Psalms 124:1-3, Psalms 145:4-12, 2 Corinthians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 1:11

in all the provinces: Esther 1:1, Esther 1:22, Esther 3:12, Esther 8:9

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 30:5 - established Esther 9:26 - letter Esther 9:29 - confirm Jeremiah 29:1 - of the letter

Cross-References

Genesis 3:23
So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.
Genesis 4:2
Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.
Genesis 5:29
Lamech named his son Noah, for he said, "May he bring us relief from our work and the painful labor of farming this ground that the Lord has cursed."
Genesis 9:18
The sons of Noah who came out of the boat with their father were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham is the father of Canaan.)
Genesis 9:19
From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth.
Genesis 9:24
When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done.
Genesis 9:26
Then Noah said, "May the Lord , the God of Shem, be blessed, and may Canaan be his servant!
Deuteronomy 20:6
Has anyone here just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, you may go home! You might die in battle, and someone else would eat the first fruit.
Deuteronomy 28:30
"You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit.
Proverbs 10:11
The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain; the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Mordecai wrote these things,.... The transactions of those two days, and the causes of them, as well as the following letter; some conclude from hence that he was the penman of the book; and so he might be, but it does not necessarily follow from hence:

and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus, both nigh and far; such as were near the city Shushan, and those that were at the greatest distance from it; these were more especially the things he wrote.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Esther 9:20. Mordecai wrote these things — It has been supposed that thus far that part of the book of Esther, which was written by Mordecai extends: what follows to the end, was probably added either by Ezra, or the men of the Great Synagogue; though what is said here may refer only to the letters sent by Mordecai to the Jews of the provinces. From this to the end of the chapter is nothing else than a recapitulation of the chief heads of the preceding history, and an account of the appointment of an annual feast, called the feast of Purim, in commemoration of their providential deliverance from the malice of Haman.


 
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