TRV
Translation
King James Version
The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Complete Jewish Bible
A copy of the edict was to be issued as a decree in every province and proclaimed to all the peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance against their enemies.
Berean Standard Bible
A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
American Standard Version
A copy of the writing, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published unto all the peoples, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
World English Bible Messianic
A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that the Jews should be ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Geneva Bible (1599)
The copie of the writing was, howe there should be a commandement giuen in all and euery prouince, published among all the people, and that the Iewes should be ready against that day to auenge themselues on their enemies.
Young's Literal Translation
a copy of the writing to be made law in every province and province is revealed to all the peoples, and for the Jews being ready at this day to be avenged of their enemies.
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In the KJVVerse 12,831 of 31,102
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Commentary on Esther 8 verses 3–14
3 ¶ And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
4 Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,
5 And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces:
6 For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
7 Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.
8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.
9 Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.
10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:
11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which 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, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
12 Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
13 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.
Haman, the chief enemy of the Jews, was hanged, Mordecai and Esther, their chief friends, were sufficiently protected; but many others there were in the king's dominions that hated the Jews and desired their ruin, and to their rage and malice all the rest of that people lay exposed; for the edict against them was still in force, and, in pursuance of it, their enemies would on the day appointed fall upon them, and they would be deemed as rebels against the king and his government if they should offer to resist and take up arms in their own defence. For the preventing of this,
I. The queen here makes intercession with much affection and importunity. She came, a second time, uncalled into the king's presence (Est 8:3), and was as before encouraged to present her petition, by the king's holding out the golden sceptre to her, Est 8:4. Her petition is that the king, having put away Haman, would put away the mischief of Haman and his device against the Jews, that that might not take place now that he was taken off. Many a man's mischief survives him, and the wickedness he devised operates when he is gone. What men project and write may, after their death, be either very profitable or very pernicious. It was therefore requisite in this case that, for the defeating of Haman's plot, they should apply to the king for a further act of grace, that by another edict he would reverse the letters devised by Haman, and which he wrote (she does not say which the king consented to and confirmed with his own seal; she leaves it to his own conscience to say that), by which he took an effectual course to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces, Est 8:5. If the king were indeed, as he seemed to be, troubled that such a decree was made, he could not do less than revoke it; for what is repentance, but undoing, to the utmost of our power, what we have done amiss? 1. This petition Esther presents with much affection: She fell down at the king's feet and besought him with tears (Est 8:3), every tear as precious as any of the pearls with which she was adorned. It was time to be earnest when the church of God lay at stake. Let none be so great as to be unwilling to stoop, none so merry as to be unwilling to weep, when thereby they may do any service to God's church and people. Esther, though safe herself, fell down, and begged with tears for the deliverance of her people. 2. She expresses it with great submission, and a profound deference to the king and his wisdom and will (Est 8:5): If it please the king and if I have found favour in his sightand again, "If the thing itself seem right and reasonable before the king, and if I that ask it be pleasing in his eyes, let the decree be reversed." Even when we have the utmost reason and justice on our side, and have the clearest cause to plead, yet it becomes us to speak to our superiors with humility and modesty, and all possible expressions of respect, and not to talk like demandants when we are supplicants. There is nothing lost be decency and good breeding. As soft answers turn away wrath, so soft askings obtain favour. 3. She enforces her petition with a pathetic plea: "For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come upon my people? Little comfort can I have of my own life if I cannot prevail for theirs: as good share in the evil myself as see it come upon them; for how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred, that are dear to me?" Esther, a queen, owns her poor kindred, and speaks of them with a very tender concern. Now it was that she mingled her tears with her words, that she wept and made supplication; we read of no tears when she begged for her own life, but, now that she was sure of that, she wept for her people. Tears of pity and tenderness are the most Christ-like. Those that are truly concerned for the public would rather die in the last ditch than live to see the desolations of the church of God and the ruin of their country. Tender spirits cannot bear to think of the destruction of their people and kindred, and therefore dare not omit any opportunity of giving them relief.
II. The king here takes a course for the preventing of the mischief that Haman had designed. 1. The king knew, and informed the queen, that, according to the constitution of the Persian government, the former edict could not be revoked (Est 8:8): What is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may not, under any pretence whatsoever, be reversed. This was a fundamental article of their magna charta, that no law or decree, when once it had passed the royal assent, could be repealed or recalled, no judgment vacated, no attainder reversed, Dan 6:15. This is so far from bespeaking the wisdom and honour of the Medes and Persians that really it bespeaks their pride and folly, and consequently their shame. It is ridiculous in itself for any man, or company of men, to pretend to such an infallibility of wisdom as to foresee all the consequences of what they decree; and therefore it is unjust, and injurious to mankind, to claim such a supremacy of power as to make their decrees irrevocable, whether the consequences prove good or bad. This savours of that old presumption which ruined us all: We will be as gods. Much more prudent is that proviso of our constitution, that no law can, by any words or sanctions whatsoever, be made unrepealable, any more than any estate unalienable. Cujus est instruere, ejus est destruere - the right to enact implies the right to repeal. It is God's prerogative not to repent, and to say what can never be altered or unsaid. 2. Yet he found an expedient to undo the devices of Haman, and defeat his design, by signing and publishing another decree to authorize the Jews to stand upon their defence, vim vi repellere, et invasorem occidere - to oppose force to force, and destroy the assailant. This would be their effectual security. The king shows them that he had done enough already to convince them that he had a concern for the Jewish nation, for he had ordered his favourite to be hanged because he laid his hand upon the Jews (Est 8:7), and he therefore would d the utmost he could to protect them; and he leaves it as fully with Esther and Mordecai to use his name and power for their deliverance as before he had left it with Haman to use his name and power for their destruction: "Write for the Jews as it liketh you (Est 8:8), saving only the honour of our constitution. Let the mischief be put away as effectually as may be without reversing the letters." The secretaries of state were ordered to attend to draw up this edict on the twenty-third day of the third month (Est 8:9), about two months after the promulgation of the former, but nine months before the time set for its execution: it was to be drawn up and published in the respective languages of all the provinces. Shall the subjects of an earthly prince have his decrees in a language they understand? and shall God's oracles and laws be locked up from his servants in an unknown tongue? It was to be directed to the proper officers of every province, both to the justices of peace and to the deputy-lieutenants. It was to be carefully dispersed throughout all the king's dominions, and true copies sent by expresses to all the provinces. The purport of this decree was to commission the Jews, upon the day which was appointed for their destruction, to draw together in a body for their own defence. And, (1.) To stand for their life, that, whoever assaulted them, it might be at their peril. (2.) They might not only act defensively, but might destroy, and slay, and cause to perish, all the power of the people that would assault them, men, women, and children (Est 8:11), and thus to avenge themselves on their enemies (Est 8:13), and, if they pleased, to enrich themselves by their enemies, for they were empowered to take the spoil of them for a prey. Now, [1.] This showed his kindness to the Jews, and sufficiently provided for their safety; for he latter decree would be looked upon as a tacit revocation of the former, though not in expression. But, [2.] It shows the absurdity of that branch of their constitution that none of the king's edicts might be repealed; for it laid the king here under a necessity of enacting a civil war in his own dominions, between the Jews and their enemies, so that both sides took up arms by his authority, and yet against his authority. No better could come of men's pretending to be wise above what is given them. Great expedition was used in dispersing this decree, the king himself being in pain lest it should come too late and any mischief should be done to the Jews by virtue of the former decree before the notice of this arrived. It was therefore by the king's commandment, as well as Mordecai's, that the messengers were hastened and pressed on (Est 8:14), and had swift beasts provided them, Est 8:10. It was not a time to trifle when so many lives were in danger.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 3–14. Public domain.
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Rabanus MaurusAD 856
EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 11
The fact that this earthly king sends his couriers to gather the Jews in each place and to assemble them in a single location so that they may fight for their lives and destroy all their enemies with their children and women and houses signifies that through his preachers our king, the absolute ruler of heaven and earth, orders the true Jews and his confessors among all the Gentiles, after they have gathered in the unity of society and peace, to fight for the salvation of their souls and to condemn their enemies both visible and invisible, namely the false Jews, who belong to the synagogue of Satan, and the unredeemed pagan and heretics, and the unclean spirits with all their impieties.
Rabanus MaurusAD 856
Commentary on Esther
So when this earthly king orders his couriers to gather the Jews in each place, and to command them to assemble so that they might fight for their lives and kill all their enemies together with their wives and children and all their houses, this can only mean that our king, who rules over all of Heaven and earth, is—through his preachers—ordering the true Jews and their adherents throughout the nations to assemble as a union of fellowship and peace; and to fight for the salvation of their souls; and to condemn all their enemies both visible and invisible, i.e. the false Jews who are the synagogue of Satan and the incorrigible pagans and heretics, as well as the impure spirits with all their impieties and perverse notions. Nor should they permit any remnant of these to survive, or even their wives and children, i.e. they should wipe out completely the carnal desires and the works of sinners together with their houses, namely with their worldly ambitions; or allow to remain any offshoot of these things that could pose a threat to them. So it is that in the Law, the Lord commanded the Israelites to kill and to wipe out those nations in the Promised Land that were antagonistic to them; so too he afterward commanded them to destroy the Amalekites until they were all slaughtered, because he wanted to deprive them of any occasion for misbehavior. This is what the prophet is thinking of when he says in the Psalms: “In the mornings I was killing all the sinners of the land, to wipe out from the city of the Lord all the evildoers” (Psalms 101).
Furthermore, the time at which this slaughter of enemies was ordered to take place accords very well with the mystery of this spiritual slaughter, since the twelfth Hebrew month, which is Adar, can only symbolize the last age of our world when this spiritual war is being waged above all by the soldiers of Christ. And in the same way, the thirteenth day symbolizes the faith in the holy Trinity through the observing the commands of God, which is the basis upon which all our adversaries are effectively subdued.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Esther 8:13 details the crucial dissemination of King Ahasuerus's second decree throughout the vast Persian Empire, a counter-edict meticulously crafted by Mordecai and Esther to neutralize Haman's genocidal plot. This pivotal communication ensured that all subjects, particularly the Jewish people, were fully informed of the updated royal mandate, which granted them the unprecedented right to assemble, defend themselves, and exact judicial retribution upon any who dared to attack them on the previously appointed day of destruction.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The narrative of Esther 8:13 effectively employs several literary devices to heighten its impact. Most prominently, there is profound Irony at play. The very system of unchangeable Persian law, which Haman exploited to seal the Jews' doom, is now ingeniously used to secure their salvation. The king's authority, once wielded against them, is now the instrument of their deliverance. This creates a powerful sense of Dramatic Reversal, transforming a narrative of impending genocide into one of empowered self-defense and triumph. Furthermore, the verse serves as significant Foreshadowing, directly setting the stage for the violent but ultimately victorious confrontations detailed in Esther chapter 9. The careful preparation and widespread publication described here build suspense and anticipation for the climactic events that will unfold on the appointed day.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Esther 8:13 stands as a powerful testament to God's providential care for His people, even when His name is conspicuously absent from the text. The intricate web of events—Esther's courage, Mordecai's wisdom, and the king's changing favor—culminates in this decree, demonstrating that God is actively working behind the scenes, orchestrating circumstances to bring about His purposes. This verse reflects a divine principle of justice where the wicked's schemes are turned back upon their own heads, and the innocent are vindicated. It underscores that God's covenant faithfulness ensures the preservation of His people, even in the face of existential threats, and that His justice will ultimately prevail.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Esther 8:13 offers profound lessons for believers facing adversity. It reminds us that even when circumstances seem dire and God's presence feels hidden, His sovereign hand is at work, orchestrating events for the good of His people. The readiness of the Jews against "that day" teaches us the importance of spiritual preparedness and vigilance in the face of spiritual opposition. We are called to be courageous in our faith, like Esther and Mordecai, trusting that our actions, guided by divine wisdom, can be instruments of God's deliverance and justice in a fallen world. This passage encourages us to look beyond immediate threats and recognize that God can turn the very instruments of our intended destruction into means of our triumph, transforming days of dread into days of celebration.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why couldn't the first decree simply be revoked, and what does this tell us about the nature of the new decree?
Answer: The first decree, issued by King Ahasuerus and sealed with his signet ring, could not be revoked because Persian law, once written and enacted, was considered unchangeable and irrevocable, as explicitly stated in Esther 8:8. This legal rigidity presented a unique challenge for Esther and Mordecai. Instead of revocation, the new decree served as a counter-edict. It didn't nullify the original command for the destruction of the Jews, but rather granted the Jews the legal right to assemble, defend themselves, and destroy those who attacked them on the very day the original decree was to be executed. This ingenious solution demonstrates a profound understanding of the legal system and highlights the extraordinary divine providence at work, turning a seemingly insurmountable legal barrier into an opportunity for deliverance.
Was the "avenging themselves" in Esther 8:13 an act of personal revenge, or did it have a different meaning?
Answer: The phrase "to avenge themselves" (Hebrew: nâqam) in Esther 8:13 should not be understood as personal, malicious revenge. Instead, it carries the connotation of judicial retribution, vindication, or the execution of justice. The Jews were granted a legal and divinely sanctioned right to defend their lives against those who would attack them in accordance with Haman's original, still-valid decree. This was a defensive measure against an existential threat, a just recompense against those who had plotted their annihilation. It was a legal authorization to engage in self-preservation and to exact consequences upon those who had sought to carry out a genocidal agenda, aligning with the principle of righteous judgment rather than individual vengeance.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Esther 8:13, with its dramatic reversal and the empowerment of God's people to overcome their enemies, powerfully foreshadows the ultimate deliverance accomplished through Jesus Christ. The decree granted the Jews the right to "avenge themselves" against those who sought their destruction, a legal authorization for self-defense and judicial retribution. In Christ, we see the ultimate "avenging" of God's justice against sin, death, and the powers of darkness. Just as the Jews were given a new decree to stand against their adversaries, believers are given a new covenant in Christ, empowering them to overcome the spiritual enemies that seek to destroy them. Jesus, the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, disarmed the spiritual forces of evil, triumphing over them by His cross, as described in Colossians 2:14-15. He delivered those who were held in slavery by the fear of death, destroying the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14-15). The victory of the Jews in Esther prefigures the decisive victory secured by Christ, who, through His suffering and resurrection, reversed humanity's condemnation and empowered His people to live in freedom and triumph over all spiritual opposition, ultimately casting down the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10-11).