Esther 9:24
What does Esther 9:24 mean?
A plain-English look at Esther 9:24 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Esther 9:24 means
Here the reason is restated: Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, plotted to destroy them and cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume and annihilate them. The verse recalls both the malice and the method—chance was invoked to time their destruction. By naming Haman and his lineage, the writer ties the threat to a particular adversary whose fall has been recorded. Remembering the casting of lots will soon explain the feast’s name. The point is clear: Purim commemorates deliverance from a genocidal scheme rooted in hatred and planned with cold calculation.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the hater of all the Jews, had made designs for their destruction, attempting to get a decision by Pur (that is, chance) with a view to putting an end to them and cutting them off;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862because Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of all the Jews, had devised concerning the Jews to destroy them, and had caused to fall Pur--that <FI>is<Fi> the lot--to crush them and to destroy them;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752For Aman, the son of Amadathi of the race of Agag, the enemy and adversary of the Jews, had devised evil against them, to kill them and destroy them; and had cast Phur, that is, the lot.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890For Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the oppressor of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them and to destroy them;
Context
Verses 24–25 provide the historical rationale for the observance endorsed in verse 23. First, verse 24 rehearses Haman’s plot and the lot-casting that set the fateful date. Next, verse 25 will recall how the matter reached the king and how the wicked plan turned back on Haman and his sons. This pair of verses links the feast directly to the narrative’s turning points. They prepare for verse 26, where the name Purim is derived from Pur, and for the binding adoption of the observance across generations in verses 27–28.
v.23And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
v.24This passage
v.25but when the matter came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Esther 9:10
the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
- Esther 3:5
And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.