Esther 9:16
What does Esther 9:16 mean?
A plain-English look at Esther 9:16 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Esther 9:16 means
Beyond Shushan, the other Jews assemble to defend their lives, gaining rest from their enemies after killing seventy-five thousand of those who hated them. As in the capital, they do not take the spoil. The scale is immense, reflecting the reach of the original threat and the seriousness of the response. Yet the refrain about plunder highlights integrity: the purpose was to remove imminent danger, not to profit. The result is “rest,” a cessation of attacks. The phrase “stood for their lives” captures both necessity and courage—this was self-preservation under lawful cover, not aggressive expansion.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of them that hated them seventy and five thousand; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
KJV
King James Version · 1611But the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of them that hated them seventy and five thousand; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And the other Jews in every division of the kingdom came together, fighting for their lives, and got salvation from their haters and put seventy-five thousand of them to death; but they did not put a hand on their goods.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And the rest of the Jews, who <FI>are<Fi> in the provinces of the king, have been assembled, even to stand for their life, and to rest from their enemies, and to slay among those hating them five and seventy thousand, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Moreover through all the provinces which were subject to the king's dominion the Jews stood for their lives, and slew their enemies and persecutors: insomuch that the number of them that were killed amounted to seventy-five thousand, and no man took any of their goods.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their life, and had rest from their enemies; and they slew of them that hated them seventy-five thousand (but they laid not their hand on the prey),
Context
Verse 16 provides the empire-wide summary to complement Shushan’s account (vv. 6, 15). Its numbers explain why the king in verse 12 assumed even more had happened outside the capital. With the fighting concluded, verses 17–19 will describe the distinct days on which communities rested and celebrated—fourteenth for most, fifteenth for Shushan—leading naturally into Mordecai’s letters (vv. 20–22) that institutionalize these dates as annual feasts. The repeated refusal to plunder links the military deliverance to moral restraint, a key note in the chapter’s portrayal of justice.
v.15And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
v.16This passage
v.17This was doneon the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Esther 8:11
wherein the king granted the Jews that were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
- Leviticus 26:7
And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
- Esther 9:2
the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them was fallen upon all the peoples.