Esther 9:21
What does Esther 9:21 mean?
A plain-English look at Esther 9:21 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Esther 9:21 means
Mordecai instructs that the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar be kept every year. By prescribing both dates, he honors the different experiences in the provinces and in Shushan. The yearly rhythm turns a once-in-history deliverance into a continual reminder. Memory needs repetition; annual observance keeps gratitude fresh across generations. The command is not burdensome but joyful, inviting the people to remember rest after danger. By making the practice universal and recurring, Mordecai ensures that no community, however distant or small, will forget the day sorrow became gladness.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
KJV
King James Version · 1611To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Ordering them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and the fifteenth day of the same month, every year,
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862to establish on them, to be keeping the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of it, in every year and year,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752That they should receive the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the month Adar for holy days, and always at the return of the year should celebrate them with solemn honour:
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890to establish [this] among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
Context
This verse gives the heart of Mordecai’s directive, which the next verse (v. 22) will fill with meaning and specific customs. The dual-date instruction explains and affirms the patterns described in verses 17–19. After the command, verses 23–28 will record the Jews’ acceptance and the reasoning behind it, including the story of Haman’s plot and its reversal. The flow is from decree (vv. 21–22), to reception (vv. 23–28), to further confirmation by Esther and Mordecai (vv. 29–32), cementing Purim in the life of the people.
v.20And 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,
v.21This passage
v.22as the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.