9:16b

and rid themselves of their enemies: The main difficulty in translating this verse is to decide how to relate this clause to the rest of the verse. All five clauses in this verse are connected by the simple Hebrew conjunction translated as “and.” There is no further indication how rid themselves of their enemies is related to the clauses which precede it and the one which follows it. So different versions have chosen different grammatical structures and punctuation to show the relationship between the clauses. There are two main interpretations:

(1) Killing their enemies was the way in which the Jews got relief from their enemies, as in the Good News Translation:

They rid themselves of their enemies by killing seventy-five thousand people who hated them

(2) The Jews gathered together to protect themselves and to kill their enemies, as in the New Century Version:

the Jewish people in the king’s empire also met to protect themselves and get rid of their enemies

Both structures are possible from the Hebrew. The Display follows Good News Translation and is the recommended interpretation.

rid themselves of: The Hebrew verb which the Berean Standard Bible translates as rid themselves of could be translated “get rid of” or “free themselves from.”

9:16c

but they did not lay a hand on the plunder: This is again the same phrase as in 9:10b. See the notes for that verse.

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