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On that day hath the king Ahasuerus given to Esther the queen the house of Haman, adversary of the Jews, and Mordecai hath come in before the king, for Esther hath declared what he [is] to her,

and the king turneth aside his signet, that he hath caused to pass away from Haman, and giveth it to Mordecai, and Esther setteth Mordecai over the house of Haman.

And Esther addeth, and speaketh before the king, and falleth before his feet, and weepeth, and maketh supplication to him, to cause the evil of Haman the Agagite to pass away, and his device that he had devised against the Jews;

and the king holdeth out to Esther the golden sceptre, and Esther riseth, and standeth before the king,

and saith, `If to the king [it be] good, and if I have found grace before him, and the thing hath been right before the king, and I [be] good in his eyes, let it be written to bring back the letters -- a device of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite -- that he wrote to destroy the Jews who [are] in all provinces of the king,

for how do I endure when I have looked on the evil that doth find my people? and how do I endure when I have looked on the destruction of my kindred?'

And the king Ahasuerus saith to Esther the queen, and to Mordecai the Jew, `Lo, the house of Haman I have given to Esther, and him they have hanged on the tree, because that he put forth his hand on the Jews,

and ye, write ye for the Jews, as [it is] good in your eyes, in the name of the king, and seal with the signet of the king -- for the writing that is written in the name of the king, and sealed with the signet of the king, there is none to turn back.'

And the scribes of the king are called, at that time, in the third month -- it [is] the month of Sivan -- in the three and twentieth of it, and it is written, according to all that Mordecai hath commanded, unto the Jews, and unto the lieutenants, and the governors, and the heads of the provinces, that [are] from Hodu even unto Cush, seven and twenty and a hundred provinces -- province and province according to its writing, and people and people according to its tongue, and unto the Jews according to their writing, and according to their tongue.

10 And he writeth in the name of the king Ahasuerus, and sealeth with the signet of the king, and sendeth letters by the hand of the runners with horses, riders of the dromedary, the mules, the young mares,

11 that the king hath given to the Jews who [are] in every city and city, to be assembled, and to stand for their life, to cut off, to slay, and to destroy the whole force of the people and province who are distressing them, infants and women, and their spoil to seize.

12 In one day, in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month -- it [is] the month of Adar --

13 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.

14 The runners, riding on the dromedary, [and] the mules, have gone out, hastened and pressed by the word of the king, and the law hath been given in Shushan the palace.

15 And Mordecai went out from before the king, in royal clothing of blue and white, and a great crown of gold, and a garment of fine linen and purple, and the city of Shushan hath rejoiced and been glad;

16 to the Jews hath been light, and gladness, and joy, and honour,

17 and in every province and province, and in every city and city, the place where the word of the king, even his law, is coming, gladness and joy [are] to the Jews, a banquet, and a good day; and many of the peoples of the land are becoming Jews, for a fear of the Jews hath fallen upon them.

And in the twelfth month -- it [is] the month of Adar -- on the thirteenth day of it, in which the word of the king, even his law, hath come to be done, in the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to rule over them, and it is turned that the Jews rule over those hating them --

the Jews have been assembled in their cities, in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to put forth a hand on those seeking their evil, and no man hath stood in their presence, for their fear hath fallen on all the peoples.

And all heads of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the governors, and those doing the work that the king hath, are lifting up the Jews, for a fear of Mordecai hath fallen upon them;

for great [is] Mordecai in the house of the king, and his fame is going into all the provinces, for the man Mordecai is going on and becoming great.

And the Jews smite among all their enemies -- a smiting of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction -- and do with those hating them according to their pleasure,

and in Shushan the palace have the Jews slain and destroyed five hundred men;

and Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,

and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,

10 ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, adversary of the Jews, they have slain, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand.

11 On that day hath come the number of the slain in Shushan the palace before the king,

12 and the king saith to Esther the queen, `In Shushan the palace have the Jews slain and destroyed five hundred men, and the ten sons of Haman; in the rest of the provinces of the king what have they done? and what [is] thy petition? and it is given to thee; and what thy request again? and it is done.'

13 And Esther saith, `If to the king [it be] good, let it be given also to-morrow, to the Jews who [are] in Shushan, to do according to the law of to-day; and the ten sons of Haman they hang on the tree.'

14 And the king saith -- `to be done so;' and a law is given in Shushan, and the ten sons of Haman they have hanged.

15 And the Jews who [are] in Shushan are assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they slay in Shushan three hundred men, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand.

16 And the rest of the Jews, who [are] in the provinces of the king, have been assembled, even to stand for their life, and to rest from their enemies, and to slay among those hating them five and seventy thousand, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand;

17 on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, even to rest on the fourteenth of it, and to make it a day of banquet and of joy.

18 And the Jews who [are] in Shushan have been assembled, on the thirteenth day of it, and on the fourteenth of it, even to rest on the fifteenth of it, and to make it a day of banquet and of joy.

19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, who are dwelling in cities of the villages, are making the fourteenth day of the month of Adar -- joy and banquet, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

20 And Mordecai writeth these things, and sendeth letters unto all the Jews who [are] in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus, who are near and who are far off,

21 to establish on them, to be keeping the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of it, in every year and year,

22 as days on which the Jews have rested from their enemies, and the month that hath been turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to a good day, to make them days of banquet and of joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the needy.

23 And the Jews have received that which they had begun to do, and that which Mordecai hath written unto them,

24 because Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of all the Jews, had devised concerning the Jews to destroy them, and had caused to fall Pur -- that [is] the lot -- to crush them and to destroy them;

25 and in her coming in before the king, he said with the letter, `Let his evil device that he devised against the Jews turn back upon his own head,' and they have hanged him and his sons on the tree,

26 therefore they have called these days Purim -- by the name of the lot -- therefore, because of all the words of this letter, and what they have seen concerning this, and what hath come unto them,

27 the Jews have established and received upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all those joined unto them, and it doth not pass away, to be keeping these two days according to their writing, and according to their season, in every year and year;

28 and these days are remembered and kept in every generation and generation, family and family, province and province, and city and city, and these days of Purim do not pass away from the midst of the Jews, and their memorial is not ended from their seed.

29 And Esther the queen, daughter of Abihail, writeth, and Mordecai the Jew, with all might, to establish this second letter of Purim,

30 and he sendeth letters unto all the Jews, unto the seven and twenty and a hundred provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus -- words of peace and truth --

31 to establish these days of Purim, in their seasons, as Mordecai the Jew hath established on them, and Esther the queen, and as they had established on themselves, and on their seed -- matters of the fastings, and of their cry.

32 And a saying of Esther hath established these matters of Purim, and it is written in the Book.

10 And the king Ahasuerus setteth a tribute on the land and the isles of the sea;

and all the work of his strength, and his might, and the explanation of the greatness of Mordecai with which the king made him great, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of Media and Persia?

For Mordecai the Jew [is] second to king Ahasuerus, and a great man of the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking good for his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

The King’s Edict in Behalf of the Jews

That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman,(A) the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. The king took off his signet ring,(B) which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.(C)

Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite,(D) which he had devised against the Jews. Then the king extended the gold scepter(E) to Esther and she arose and stood before him.

“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor(F) and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”(G)

King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled(H) him on the pole he set up. Now write another decree(I) in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal(J) it with the king’s signet ring(K)—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”(L)

At once the royal secretaries were summoned—on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush.[a](M) These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language.(N) 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.

11 The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children,[b] and to plunder(O) the property of their enemies. 12 The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.(P) 13 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day(Q) to avenge themselves on their enemies.

14 The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.(R)

The Triumph of the Jews

15 When Mordecai(S) left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold(T) and a purple robe of fine linen.(U) And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration.(V) 16 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy,(W) gladness and honor.(X) 17 In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy(Y) and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear(Z) of the Jews had seized them.(AA)

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,(AB) the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand(AC) over those who hated them.(AD) The Jews assembled in their cities(AE) in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them,(AF) because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews,(AG) because fear of Mordecai had seized them.(AH) Mordecai(AI) was prominent(AJ) in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.(AK)

The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them,(AL) and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons(AM) of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews.(AN) But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.(AO)

11 The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.”(AP)

13 “If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons(AQ) be impaled(AR) on poles.”

14 So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled(AS) the ten sons of Haman. 15 The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.(AT)

16 Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief(AU) from their enemies.(AV) They killed seventy-five thousand of them(AW) but did not lay their hands on the plunder.(AX) 17 This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting(AY) and joy.

18 The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.

19 That is why rural Jews—those living in villages—observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar(AZ) as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.(BA)

Purim Established

20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief(BB) from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.(BC) He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food(BD) to one another and gifts to the poor.(BE)

23 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,(BF) the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur(BG) (that is, the lot(BH)) for their ruin and destruction.(BI) 25 But when the plot came to the king’s attention,[c] he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head,(BJ) and that he and his sons should be impaled(BK) on poles.(BL) 26 (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.(BM)) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.

29 So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail,(BN) along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces(BO) of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance— 31 to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting(BP) and lamentation.(BQ) 32 Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.

The Greatness of Mordecai

10 King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores.(BR) And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai,(BS) whom the king had promoted,(BT) are they not written in the book of the annals(BU) of the kings of Media and Persia? Mordecai the Jew was second(BV) in rank(BW) to King Xerxes,(BX) preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.(BY)

Footnotes

  1. Esther 8:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  2. Esther 8:11 Or province, together with their women and children, who might attack them;
  3. Esther 9:25 Or when Esther came before the king