Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews

3 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,^(A) elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. ² All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

³ Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”^{(B) 4} Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply.^(C) Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.^{(D) 6} Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way^(E) to destroy^(F) all Mordecai’s people, the Jews,^(G) throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

⁷ In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur^(H) (that is, the lot^(I)) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on^[a] the twelfth month, the month of Adar.^(J)

⁸ Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs^(K) are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey^(L) the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.^{(M) 9} If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents^[b] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”^(N)

¹⁰ So the king took his signet ring^(O) from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹ “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”

¹² Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language^(P) of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed^(Q) with his own ring. ¹³ Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews^(R)—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,^(S) and to plunder^(T) their goods. 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 they would be ready for that day.^(U)

¹⁵ The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.^(V) The king and Haman sat down to drink,^(W) but the city of Susa was bewildered.^(X)

Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help

4 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes,^(Y) put on sackcloth and ashes,^(Z) and went out into the city, wailing^(AA) loudly and bitterly. ² But he went only as far as the king’s gate,^(AB) because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. ³ In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. ⁵ Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.

⁶ So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. ⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.^{(AC) 8} He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.

⁹ Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰ Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, ¹¹ “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned^(AD) the king has but one law:^(AE) that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter^(AF) to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

¹² When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, ¹³ he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ For if you remain silent^(AG) at this time, relief^(AH) and deliverance^(AI) for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”^(AJ)

¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast^(AK) for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”^(AL)

¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

Jerusalem’s Enemies to Be Destroyed

12 A prophecy:^(A) The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens,^(B) who lays the foundation of the earth,^(C) and who forms the human spirit within a person,^(D) declares: ² “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup^(E) that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.^(F) Judah^(G) will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day, when all the nations^(H) of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock^(I) for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure^(J) themselves. ⁴ On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.^{(K) 5} Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong,^(L) because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

⁶ “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot^(M) in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume^(N) all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact^(O) in her place.

⁷ “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.^{(P) 8} On that day the Lord will shield^(Q) those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest^(R) among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God,^(S) like the angel of the Lord going before^(T) them. ⁹ On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations^(U) that attack Jerusalem.^(V)

Mourning for the One They Pierced

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit^[a](W) of grace and supplication.^(X) They will look on^[b] me, the one they have pierced,^(Y) and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,^(Z) and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.^{(AA) 11} On that day the weeping^(AB) in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.^{(AC) 12} The land will mourn,^(AD) each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³ the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the rest of the clans and their wives.^(AE)

Cleansing From Sin

13 “On that day a fountain^(AF) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse^(AG) them from sin and impurity.

² “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols^(AH) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”^(AI) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets^(AJ) and the spirit of impurity from the land. ³ And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies^(AK) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.^(AL)

⁴ “On that day every prophet will be ashamed^(AM) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment^(AN) of hair^(AO) in order to deceive.^{(AP) 5} Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.^[c]’^{(AQ) 6} If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body^[d]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

Seven Angels With Seven Plagues

15 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign:^(A) seven angels^(B) with the seven last plagues^(C)—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. ² And I saw what looked like a sea of glass^(D) glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious^(E) over the beast^(F) and its image^(G) and over the number of its name.^(H) They held harps^(I) given them by God ³ and sang the song of God’s servant^(J) Moses^(K) and of the Lamb:^(L)

⁵ After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple^(T)—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law^(U)—and it was opened.^{(V) 6} Out of the temple^(W) came the seven angels with the seven plagues.^(X) They were dressed in clean, shining linen^(Y) and wore golden sashes around their chests.^{(Z) 7} Then one of the four living creatures^(AA) gave to the seven angels^(AB) seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.^{(AC) 8} And the temple was filled with smoke^(AD) from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple^(AE) until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple^(AF) saying to the seven angels,^(AG) “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”^(AH)

² The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land,^(AI) and ugly, festering sores^(AJ) broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.^(AK)

³ The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.^(AL)

⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water,^(AM) and they became blood.^{(AN) 5} Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:

⁷ And I heard the altar^(AT) respond:

⁸ The fourth angel^(AW) poured out his bowl on the sun,^(AX) and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire.^{(AY) 9} They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God,^(AZ) who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent^(BA) and glorify him.^(BB)

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast,^(BC) and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.^(BD) People gnawed their tongues in agony ¹¹ and cursed^(BE) the God of heaven^(BF) because of their pains and their sores,^(BG) but they refused to repent of what they had done.^(BH)

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates,^(BI) and its water was dried up to prepare the way^(BJ) for the kings from the East.^{(BK) 13} Then I saw three impure spirits^(BL) that looked like frogs;^(BM) they came out of the mouth of the dragon,^(BN) out of the mouth of the beast^(BO) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.^{(BP) 14} They are demonic spirits^(BQ) that perform signs,^(BR) and they go out to the kings of the whole world,^(BS) to gather them for the battle^(BT) on the great day^(BU) of God Almighty.

¹⁶ Then they gathered the kings together^(BY) to the place that in Hebrew^(BZ) is called Armageddon.^(CA)

¹⁷ The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air,^(CB) and out of the temple^(CC) came a loud voice^(CD) from the throne, saying, “It is done!”^{(CE) 18} Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder^(CF) and a severe earthquake.^(CG) No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth,^(CH) so tremendous was the quake. ¹⁹ The great city^(CI) split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered^(CJ) Babylon the Great^(CK) and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.^{(CL) 20} Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.^{(CM) 21} From the sky huge hailstones,^(CN) each weighing about a hundred pounds,^[c] fell on people. And they cursed God^(CO) on account of the plague of hail,^(CP) because the plague was so terrible.