Esther 9:18

Est 9:18 But the Jews that [were] at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth [day] thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth [day] of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

Ver. 18. On the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth] What they could not do on one day they did it on another. Men must be sedulous and strenuous in God’s work, doing it with all their might, and redeeming time for that purpose, Ecc 9:10.

On both these days they destroyed their enemies] They did their work thoroughly. Let us do so in slaying our spiritual enemies; not sparing any Agag, not reserving this Zoar or that Rimmon; but dealing by the whole body of sin as the king of Moab did with the king of Edom, Amo 2:1, burn the bones of it to lime; destroy it not to the halves, as Saul, but hew it in pieces before the Lord, as Samuel. As Joshua destroyed all the Canaanites he could lay hold on; as Asa spared not his own mother; as Solomon drew Joab from the altar to the slaughter; and put to death Adonijah, the darling, so must we deal with our corruptions, ferreting and fetching them out of their lurking holes, as these Jews did their enemies on the fourteenth day, that had escaped the day before. Since we must either kill them up all, or be killed by them; for as that one bastard Abimelech slew all Gideon’s sons upon one stone, so one lust left unmortified will undo the soul. And as one sinner, so one sin, may destroy much good, Ecc 9:18.

And on the fifteenth day of the month they rested] So shall the saints do after death, which will be the accomplishment of mortification, for he that is dead is freed from sin, Rom 6:7, and filled with joy, Isa 35:10. The ransomed of the Lord shall then return and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 18. The Jews - assembled - on the thirteenth - and on the fourteenth] These two days they were employed in slaying their enemies; and they rested on the fifteenth.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(18) On the fifteenth day . . . they rested.—Both the fourteenth and fifteenth days are now kept as the festival of Purim, the former day being the chief.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. The inability of the Jews dwelling in Shushan to make their festival synchronize with that of their countrymen elsewhere brought about the custom that both the fourteenth and the fifteenth days should be kept. Such is the habit of the Jews to this day, except that the former day is held to be the chief one in the observance (see note on Est_3:13). In 2Ma_15:36 the 14th of Adar is called ‘the day of Mordecai.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Mordecai wrote these things,.... The transactions of those two days, and the causes of them, as well as the following letter; some conclude from hence that he was the penman of the book; and so he might be, but it does not necessarily follow from hence:

and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus, both nigh and far; such as were near the city Shushan, and those that were at the greatest distance from it; these were more especially the things he wrote.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

See Est 3:13 note.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Jews which were at Shushan assembled together. i.e. "gathered themselves together to bathe." The verb is the same as that used in ver. 16 of this chapter; and in Est_8:11 Est_9:2.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Jews in Susa, on the other hand, who were both on the 13th and 14th Adar still fighting against their enemies, and did not rest till the 15th, made this latter their day of rejoicing. - In Est 9:19 it is again stated that the Jews in the country towns and villages made the 14th their day of gladness, and this statement is appended by על־כּן to make this appear the result of what precedes. The Chethiv הפּרוזים is perhaps an Aramaic expression for פּרזים, Deu 3:5 and Sa1 6:18. פּרוזי means the inhabitants of the open, i.e., unfortified, towns and villages of the plains in contrast to the fortified capital; see on Deu 3:5. On פּרזות, compare Eze 38:11; Zac 2:8. וגו מנות משׁלוח, and of mutual sending of gifts, i.e., portions of food; comp. Neh 8:10, Neh 8:12.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)