This verse is complementary to the preceding two verses. This relationship is made clear in the original text by the repetition of key elements. Gathered here means, as in 9.16, “gathered to defend their lives.” Making that a day of feasting and gladness here refers to the fifteenth of Adar.

Although Good News Translation‘s restructuring may provide greater clarity than Revised Standard Version‘s more literal translation, it may not be entirely fair to the author’s style of repetition and parallelism. Another way to achieve the same clarity is to say “But the Jews who were in Susa had gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth day, and they [for their part] rested on the fifteenth day, and they made that a day of feasting and gladness.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on Esther (The Hebrew Text). (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .