Esther 8:11

11 [In them] the king allowed the Jews who [were] in every city to assemble and {defend their lives}, to destroy and kill and annihilate any army of any people or province attacking them, including women and children, and to plunder their spoil,

Esther 8:11 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 8:11

Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to
gather themselves together
In some part of the city they should choose, and remain in a body, being sufficiently armed:

and to stand for their life;
to defend themselves, and fight for their life, should any attack them, or attempt to take it away; in such case they might act offensively,

so as to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the
people and province that would assault them;
every army of them, or as many as should join in a body to attack them, any mighty or powerful mob; and not men only,

but both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a
prey;
the same words are used, and the same power is given them as were to their enemies, ( Esther 3:13 ) , not that they made use of it to the utmost extremity, it is certain they did not in one point, in taking the spoil, ( Esther 9:10 Esther 9:15 Esther 9:16 ) , and, since they spared that, it is highly probable they spared women and children.

Esther 8:11 In-Context

9 And the secretaries of the king were summoned at that time, in the third month, which [is] in the month of Sivan on the twenty-third [day], and [an edict] was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the governors and satraps and officials of the provinces from India to Cush--one hundred and twenty-seven provinces--each province according to its own script and to every people in their own {language}, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

10 And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and he sealed [the letters] with the king's signet ring and sent them by couriers on horses, riding on royal horses {bred by} racing mares.

11 [In them] the king allowed the Jews who [were] in every city to assemble and {defend their lives}, to destroy and kill and annihilate any army of any people or province attacking them, including women and children, and to plunder their spoil,

12 in one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

13 A copy of the {edict} [was] to be given [as] law in each province to inform all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves from their enemies.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "to stand for their live[s]"