Esther 8:9-11

Common English Bible

⁹ So that was when the royal scribes were summoned—on the twenty-third day of the third month (that is, the month of Sivan).^[a] They wrote exactly what Mordecai ordered to the Jews, rulers, governors, and officials of the provinces from India to Cush—one hundred twenty-seven in all. They wrote in the alphabet of each province and in the language of each people. ¹⁰ They wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed the order with the king’s royal ring. He sent letters with riders mounted on royal horses bred from mares known to run fast.^{[b] 11} The order allowed Jews in each town to join together and defend their lives. The Jews were free to wipe out, kill, and destroy every army of any people and province that attacked them, along with their women and children. They could also take and keep anything their attackers owned.