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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

Esther 9:20

Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces

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,
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 Living Translation
Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes,
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 wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces 21 and told them: Each year you must celebrate on both the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar, 22 the days when we Jews defeated our enemies. Remember this month as a time when our sorrow was turned to joy, and celebration took the place of crying. Celebrate by having parties and by giving to the poor and by sharing gifts of food with each other. 23 They followed Mordecai's instructions and set aside these two days every year as a time of celebration. 24 Haman was the son of Hammedatha and a descendant of Agag. He hated the Jews so much that he planned to destroy them, but he wanted to find out the best time to do it. So he cast lots. 25 Esther went to King Xerxes and asked him to save her people. Then the king gave written orders for Haman and his sons to be punished in the same terrible way that Haman had in mind for the Jews. So they were hanged. 26 Mordecai's letter had said that the Jews must celebrate for two days because of what had happened to them. This time of celebration is called Purim, which is the Hebrew word for the lots that were cast. 27 Now every year the Jews set aside these two days for having parties and celebrating, just as they were told to do. 28 From now on, all Jewish families must remember to celebrate Purim on these two days each year. 29 Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, wanted to give full authority to Mordecai's letter about the Festival of Purim, and with his help she wrote a letter about the feast.

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 sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made.
Genesis 4:2
Later she had another son and named him Abel. Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land.
Genesis 5:29
Lamech said, "I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort, as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the Lord has put under a curse."
Genesis 9:18
Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, came out of the boat. Ham later had a son named Canaan.
Genesis 9:19
All people on earth are descendants of Noah's three sons.
Genesis 9:24
When Noah woke up and learned what his youngest son had done,
Genesis 9:26
I ask the Lord my God to bless Shem and make Canaan his slave.
Deuteronomy 20:6
If any of you have planted a vineyard but haven't had your first grape harvest, you may go home. It isn't right for you to die in battle and for somebody else to enjoy your grapes.
Deuteronomy 28:30
A man will be engaged to a woman, but before they can get married, she will be raped by enemy soldiers. Some of you will build houses, but never get to live in them. If you plant a vineyard, you won't be around long enough to enjoy the first harvest.
Proverbs 10:11
The words of good people are a source of life, but evil hides behind the words of the wicked.

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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