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Easy-to-Read Version

Esther 9:23

So the Jews agreed to do what Mordecai had written to them. And they agreed to continue the celebration they had begun.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Month;   Purim;  

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 - Festivals;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Calitas;   Colius;   Eliezer;   Jonas;   Jozabad;   Jozabdus;   Judah;   Judas;   Kelaiah;   Patheus;   Pethahiah;   Purim;   Semeis;   Shimei, Shimeites;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Lots;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for June 23;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So the Jews agreed to continue the practice they had begun, as Mordecai had written them to do.
Hebrew Names Version
The Yehudim undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordekhai had written to them;
King James Version
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
English Standard Version
So the Jews accepted what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.
New Century Version
So the Jewish people agreed to do what Mordecai had written to them, and they agreed to hold the celebration every year.
New English Translation
So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them.
Amplified Bible
So the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.
New American Standard Bible
So the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.
World English Bible
The Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them;
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Iewes promised to do as they had begun, & as Mordecai had written vnto them,
Legacy Standard Bible
Thus the Jews fully accepted what they had started to do and what Mordecai had written to them.
Berean Standard Bible
So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them.
Contemporary English Version
They followed Mordecai's instructions and set aside these two days every year as a time of celebration.
Complete Jewish Bible
So the Jews took it upon themselves to continue what they had already begun to do, and as Mordekhai had written to them;
Darby Translation
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them.
George Lamsa Translation
And the Jews took upon them selves to do as they had begun and as Mordecai had written them;
Good News Translation
So the Jews followed Mordecai's instructions, and the celebration became an annual custom.
Lexham English Bible
And the Jews adopted what they had begun to do and what Mordecai had written to them.
Literal Translation
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the Iewes receaued it that they had begonne to do, and that Mardocheus wrote vnto them:
American Standard Version
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
Bible in Basic English
And the Jews gave their word to go on as they had been doing and as Mordecai had given them orders in writing;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Iewes promised to do as they had begunne, and as Mardocheus had written vnto them:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the Jews took upon them to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
King James Version (1611)
And the Iewes vndertooke to doe, as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written vnto them:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Jews consented to this accordingly as Mardochaeus wrote to them,
English Revised Version
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe the Jewis resseyueden in to solempne custom alle thingis, whiche thei bigunnen to do in that tyme, and whiche thingis Mardochee hadde comaundid bi lettris to be doon.
Update Bible Version
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them;
Webster's Bible Translation
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them;
New King James Version
So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them,
New Living Translation
So the Jews accepted Mordecai's proposal and adopted this annual custom.
New Life Bible
So the Jews agreed to do what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.
New Revised Standard
So the Jews adopted as a custom what they had begun to do, as Mordecai had written to them.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the Jews took upon them that which they had begun to do, - and that which Mordecai had written unto them;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Jews undertook to observe with solemnity all they had begun to do at that time, which Mardochai by letters had commanded to be done.
Revised Standard Version
So the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mor'decai had written to them.
Young's Literal Translation
And the Jews have received that which they had begun to do, and that which Mordecai hath written unto them,
THE MESSAGE
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New American Standard Bible (1995)
Thus the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

Contextual Overview

20 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. 21 He did this to tell the Jews to celebrate Purim every year on the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar. 22 They were to celebrate those days because on those days the Jews got rid of their enemies. And they were also to celebrate that month as the month when their sadness was turned into joy. It was a month when their crying was changed into a day of celebration. Mordecai wrote letters to all the Jews and told them to celebrate those days as a happy day of feasting. They should have parties, give gifts to each other, and give presents to the poor. 23 So the Jews agreed to do what Mordecai had written to them. And they agreed to continue the celebration they had begun. 24 Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite was the enemy of all the Jews. He had made an evil plan against the Jews to destroy them. And Haman had thrown the lot to choose a day to ruin and to destroy the Jews. At that time the lot was called a "pur." 25 Haman did this, but Esther went to talk to the king. So he sent out new commands. These commands not only ruined Haman's plans, but these commands caused those bad things to happen to Haman and his family! So Haman and his sons were hanged on the posts. 26At this time lots were called "purim." So this festival is called "Purim." Mordecai wrote a letter and told the Jews to celebrate this festival. And so the Jews started the custom of celebrating these two days every year. 28 They do this to help them remember what they had seen happen to them. The Jews and all the people who join them celebrate these two days every year at the right time in just the right way. Every generation and every family remembers these two days. They celebrate this festival in each and every province and in each and every town. And the Jews will never stop celebrating the days of Purim. Their descendants will always remember this festival. 29 So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote an official letter about Purim. They wrote with full authority of the king to prove that the second letter was true. 30 So Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of King Xerxes' kingdom. He told the people that the festival should bring peace and make people trust each other.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Exodus 20:12
"You must honor and respect your father and your mother. Do this so that you will have a full life in the land that the Lord your God gives you.
Leviticus 19:32
"Show honor to old people. Stand up when they come into the room. And show respect to your leaders. I am the Lord .
Romans 13:7
Give everyone what you owe them. If you owe them any kind of tax, then pay it. Show respect to those you should respect. And show honor to those you should honor.
Galatians 6:1
Brothers and sisters, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are following the Spirit should go to the one who is sinning. Help make that person right again, and do it in a gentle way. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin too.
1 Timothy 5:1
Don't speak angrily to an older man. But talk to him as if he were your father. Treat the younger men like brothers.
1 Timothy 5:17
The elders who lead the church in a good way should receive double honor—in particular, those who do the work of counseling and teaching.
1 Timothy 5:19
Don't listen to someone who accuses an elder. You should listen to them only if there are two or three others who can say what the elder did wrong.
1 Peter 2:17
Show respect for all people. Love your brothers and sisters in God's family. Respect God, and honor the king.
1 Peter 4:8
Most important of all, love each other deeply, because love makes you willing to forgive many sins.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them. They engaged to keep these two days as festivals annually, as they had at this time done; not in a religious but in a civil way, not as parts of religious worship, and as additions to and innovations of the law, but by way of commemoration of a civil benefit which they had received; and yet we find in later times that this was scrupled by some as an innovation; for we are told r that there were eighty five elders, and more than thirty of them prophets, who were distressed about this matter, fearing it was an innovation.

r T. Hieros. Megillah. fol. 70. 4.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Esther 9:23. The Jews undertook to do as they had begun — They had already kept the fifteenth day, and some of them in the country the fourteenth also, as a day of rejoicing: Mordecai wrote to them to bind themselves and their successors, and all their proselytes, to celebrate this as an annual feast throughout all their generations; and this they undertook to do. And it has been observed among them, in all places of their dispersion, from that day to the present time, without any interruption.


 
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