Esther 3
New Catholic Bible
Haman’s Plot To Destroy the Jews
Chapter 3
Mordecai Refuses To Honor Haman.[a] 1 Sometime later, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, giving him a higher rank and seating him above all his royal nobles. 2 All the royal officials who were at the king’s gate would kneel down and render homage to Haman, for that is what the king had ordered to be done toward him. But Mordecai refused to kneel and bow down to him.
3 The other officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you fail to obey the king’s command?” 4 Day after day they spoke to him about this, but he did not listen to them. So they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s explanation was acceptable, for he had informed them that he was a Jew.
5 When Haman realized that Mordecai was not going to kneel down or pay him homage, he became enraged. 6 Moreover, he decided that it would not be enough to kill only Mordecai; having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he sought to destroy all the Jews—Mordecai’s people—in the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
Edict against the Jews.[b] 7 In the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, in the first month, Nisan, they cast the pur,[c] (that is, the lot) in the presence of Haman. And the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.
8 Then Haman said to Ahasuerus, “There is a certain race of people scattered among the nations all over your empire who keep themselves separate. They observe customs that are not like those of any other people. Moreover, they do not obey the king’s laws, and it is not in the king’s best interests to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, issue a decree to put them all to death, and I will deposit ten thousand talents into the royal treasury for those who bring it to pass.”
10 Therefore, the king removed the signet ring[d] from his finger and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 The king told him, “Keep the money, and do whatever you want with this race of people.”
12 So on the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal secretaries were summoned, and at the dictation of Haman they wrote out—in the script of each province and in the language of each people[e]—an order to the king’s satraps, the governors of every province, and the nobles of the various peoples. This order was written in the name of King Ahasuerus himself and sealed with the royal signet ring. 13 This order was sent by couriers[f] to all the provinces to the effect that all Jews, young and old, including women and children, should be put to death, destroyed, wiped out in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, and their goods seized as spoil.
Chapter B
A Copy of the Edict.[g]1 This is the copy of the edict:
“King Ahasuerus the Great writes the following to the governors of the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces extending from India to Ethiopia and to their subordinate officials:2 Having been established as the ruler of many nations and master of the entire world, it has always been my policy never to be overwhelmed with the arrogance of power but always to rule with fairness and kindness, so as to ensure for my subjects a life of tranquillity in this kingdom, with the assurance of safe passage for everyone within its borders and the restoration of the peace desired by all.
3 “When I sought the counsel of my advisors as to how this goal might be achieved, Haman, whose sound judgment, unfailing devotion, and steadfast loyalty have enabled him to achieve a rank second only to mine in the kingdom, spoke up.4 He informed us that, mingled among all the races of the world, there is one hostile people whose laws are opposed to those of all other nations and who continually act in defiance of royal ordinances, so that the unification of the empire that we envision cannot be accomplished.
5 “In the realization that this people stands uniquely alone in its continual hostility to all other nations, observes laws that are at complete variance with ours, and commits the most grievous of crimes, thereby undermining the stability of our government,6 we hereby decree that all the persons designated to you in the letters written by Haman, who was appointed to safeguard our interests and who is a second father to us, shall, with their wives and children, be totally destroyed by the swords of their enemies, without any sign of mercy or pardon, on the fourteenth day[h] of the twelfth month, Adar, of the present year.7 In this way, when these people, whose treacherous opposition to us has been of long duration, have descended into the netherworld by a violent death in a single day, our kingdom will once again enjoy perpetual stability and peace.”
(Chapter 3)
14 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 they might be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went quickly by order of the king, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to feast, but the city of Susa was perplexed.
Footnotes
- Esther 3:1 Refusing to render to a minister the honors prescribed by the king, Mordecai exemplifies Jewish pride to the court mentality. In fact, such practices were normal in the East and even in Israel (1 Ki 1:23; 2 Ki 4:37). The Greek text will attach an idolatrous sense to this reverence requested before Haman (Est C:5-7), while the Hebrew text does not go this far.
- Esther 3:7 The text mentions pur, a word that is Babylonian. Importance is attributed to it in order to make the connection with the Jewish Feast of Purim (Est 9:24-26).
- Esther 3:7 Pur: Assyro-Babylonian term; the lot was used to establish the days that were auspicious (see Est 9:20ff). The month of Adar corresponds to February–March.
- Esther 3:10 Signet ring: a ring with a seal that was impressed on documents in order to give them authenticity.
- Esther 3:12 In the script of each province and in the language of each people: omitted in the Greek. Ordinarily such official correspondence was written in Aramaic.
- Esther 3:13 Couriers: created by Cyrus, galloped on the best steeds in Media. Haman hastens to send out the edict almost a year beforehand, since he knows the changeable character of the king; once sent out, the edict is immutable.
- Esther 3:14 The Greek text opts to give this edict in full. It shows the official style but also the common accusations made by persecutors of the Jews (see Est 3:8; 4:12f; Jud 12:2; Wis 2:14-15; Dan 3:8-12).
- Esther 3:14 Fourteenth day: the Hebrew text (Est 2:13) and the Greek text here do not agree on the day of the month specified by the king. In Est 9:15, 18 a two-day celebration is decreed, and the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days of Adar are all mentioned.
以斯帖記 3
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
哈曼圖謀滅絕猶太人
3 後來，亞哈隨魯王擢升亞甲人哈米大他的兒子哈曼，使他的權位高過他所有的同僚。 2 王命令所有在宮門供職的臣僕都要向哈曼跪拜，但末底改不肯跪拜。 3 在宮門供職的臣僕問末底改：「你為何違抗王的命令？」 4 他們天天勸他，他卻不聽。他們便把這件事告訴哈曼，想看看末底改這樣做是否能站得住，因為末底改已告訴他們自己是猶太人。 5 哈曼見末底改不肯向他跪拜，就怒氣填胸。 6 他得知末底改是猶太人後，便不屑於只害末底改一人，而是要剷除亞哈隨魯王國內所有的猶太人，即末底改的同胞。
7 亞哈隨魯王十二年一月，即尼散月，有人在哈曼面前抽普珥，也就是抽籤，來決定哪月哪日下手，結果抽中十二月，即亞達月。
8 哈曼對亞哈隨魯王說：「有一個民族散居在王境內各省的眾民族中，他們的律例與各族的律例不同，他們不遵守王的律例，所以容忍他們對王不利。 9 王若願意，就請降旨消滅他們。我願捐三百四十五噸銀子交給管理國事的人，納入王的庫房。」 10 於是，王摘下手上的戒指，交給猶太人的仇敵——亞甲人哈米大他的兒子哈曼， 11 對他說：「這些銀子歸你，這個民族也交給你，隨你處置。」
12 一月十三日，王的書記被召來，他們以亞哈隨魯王的名義，照哈曼的吩咐，用各省的文字和各族的語言寫諭旨，用王的戒指蓋印，送交各總督、各省省長和各族首領。 13 諭旨由信差送到王的各省，限令在一天之內，即十二月，也就是亞達月十三日，把猶太人的男女老少全部剷除、殺光、滅盡，並奪取他們的財物。 14 諭旨的抄本作為法令頒佈到各省，通知各族為那天做好準備。 15 信差奉王的命令急忙上路，諭旨也在書珊城裡頒佈了。王和哈曼坐下飲酒，書珊城一片慌亂。
