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Esther 6-10
New Life Version
Esther 6-10
New Life Version
The King Honors Mordecai
6 During that night the king could not sleep. So he had the Book of the Chronicles brought to him, and they were read to the king. 2 And it was found written what Mordecai had told him about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s servants who were door-keepers, who had planned to kill King Ahasuerus. 3 The king said, “What honor or reward has been given to Mordecai for this?” Then the king’s servants who served him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 So the king said, “Who is outside?” Now Haman had just come into the garden outside the king’s special house. He wanted to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the tower he had made ready for him. 5 The king’s servants said to him, “See, Haman is standing in the garden.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in and the king said to him, “What is to be done for the man whom the king wants to honor?” Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king want to honor more than me?” 7 Then Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king wants to honor, 8 let them bring clothing which the king wears, and the horse on which the king rides, and on whose head a crown has been placed. 9 Let the clothing and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most honored princes. Let them dress the man whom the king wants to honor and lead him on the horse through the center of the city. Have them make it known before him, ‘This is being done to the man whom the king wants to honor.’”
10 Then the king said to Haman, “Be quick to take the clothing and the horse as you have said. Do this for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate. Do not do any less than all that you have said.” 11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse. He dressed Mordecai and led him on the horse through the center of the city. And he made known before him, “This is being done to the man whom the king wants to honor.” 12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman went home in a hurry with his head covered and very sad. 13 Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you cannot stand against him. For sure you will fall before him.” 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s servants came and brought Haman in a hurry to the special supper that Esther had made ready.
Haman Is Put to Death
7 So the king and Haman came to eat with Esther the queen. 2 And the king said again to Esther on the second day, as they drank their wine at the special supper, “What do you want to ask of me, Queen Esther? It will be done for you. What do you want? You would be given as much as half the nation.” 3 Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it please the king, I ask that my life and the lives of my people be saved. 4 For I and my people have been sold, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be done away with. If we had only been sold as men and women servants, I would have kept quiet. For our trouble is not to be compared with the trouble it will make for the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would do such a thing?” 6 Esther said, “This sinful Haman hates us very much!” Then Haman was very afraid in front of the king and queen. 7 The king got up from drinking the wine very angry, and went into his garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther. He knew that the king planned to punish him. 8 When the king returned from his garden to the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the bed-like seat where Esther was lying. Then the king said, “Will he even trouble the queen while I am in the house?” As the king spoke the words, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbonah, one of the king’s servants helping the king, said, “See, there is a tower made for hanging people at Haman’s house, thirteen times taller than a man. Haman had it made for hanging Mordecai who spoke good and helped the king!” And the king said, “Hang Haman on it.” 10 So they hanged Haman on the tower that he had made for Mordecai. Then the king’s anger became less.
The Jews Are Allowed to Fight for Their Lives
8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave everything Haman owned, the one who hated the Jews, to Queen Esther. Mordecai came to the king, for Esther had told him what he was to her. 2 The king took off the ring he used for marking his name, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai over everything Haman had owned.
3 Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and cried and begged him to stop the sinful plan of Haman the Agagite, the plan he had made against the Jews. 4 The king held out the special golden stick toward Esther. So she got up and stood in front of the king. 5 Then she said, “If it pleases the king and if I have his favor, if the king thinks it is right and if I am pleasing in his eyes, let letters be written to keep Haman’s letters from being carried out. The letters Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, wrote would destroy the Jews in all the king’s nation. 6 For how can I stand to see all the trouble that will come to my people? How can I keep on if I see them destroyed?” 7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “See, I have given everything Haman owned to Esther. They have hanged him on the tower because he had wanted to destroy all the Jews. 8 Now you write whatever pleases you about the Jews, in the king’s name, and mark it with the king’s special ring. For what is written in the king’s name and marked with the king’s special ring may not be changed.”
9 So the king’s writers were called at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. All that Mordecai said was written and sent to the Jews, the rulers, the leaders, and the princes of the 127 parts of the nation from India to Ethiopia. The letters were sent to every land in its own writing and to every people in their own language. And they were sent to the Jews in their own writing and language. 10 He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and marked it with the king’s special ring. He sent the letters by men on fast horses used in the king’s work, raised from the king’s best male horse. 11 In the letters the king allowed the Jews who were in every city the right to gather together to fight for their lives. He gave them the right to destroy, kill, and do away with the whole army of any people or nation which might come to fight against them. They were given the right to kill even the children and women, and to take whatever belonged to them. 12 On one day in all the nation of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, they were to do this. 13 The letter was law in every part of the nation and was sent to all the people, so the Jews would be ready on that day to stand against those who hated them. 14 The men went out in a hurry on the fast horses that were used for the king’s work, just as the king told them. And the letter was made known in the city of Susa where the king ruled.
15 Then Mordecai went out from the king wearing king’s clothing of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a long coat of fine linen and purple cloth. The people in the city of Susa were filled with joy and called out in loud voices. 16 For the Jews it was a time of joy and happiness and honor. 17 In every part of the nation and in every city where the king’s law had come, there was happiness and joy for the Jews, a special supper and a good day. And many people who had come there from other countries became Jews because they were afraid of the Jews.
The Jews Destroy Those Who Try to Kill Them
9 Now came the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, when the king’s law was about to be carried out. It was the day when those who hated the Jews hoped to get the rule over them. But their plan was turned around, and the Jews ruled over those who hated them. 2 The Jews gathered in their cities in all the parts of the nation of King Ahasuerus to hurt those who wanted to kill them. No one could stand in front of them, for the fear of them had come upon all the people. 3 The princes of the nation, the rulers, the leaders, and those who were doing the king’s work all helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had come upon them. 4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s house. His name spread through all the nation, for the man Mordecai became greater and greater. 5 So the Jews killed and destroyed with sword all those who hated them. They did as they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the city of Susa where the king ruled the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, 7 and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. 10 These were the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, who hated the Jews. But they did not touch anything that belonged to them.
11 On that day the number of those who were killed in the city of Susa where the king lived was told to the king. 12 And the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and the ten sons of Haman in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s nation! Now what do you ask of me? It will be done for you. What else do you want? It will be done.” 13 Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to carry out today’s law. Let the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the tower.” 14 So the king said that this should be done. He made it known in Susa, and the bodies of Haman’s ten sons were hanged. 15 The Jews in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed 300 men in Susa. But they did not touch anything that belonged to them.
16 Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s nation gathered to fight for their lives and get rid of those who hated them. They killed 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not touch anything that belonged to them. 17 This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. On the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of eating and joy. 18 But the Jews in Susa gathered on the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the same month. And they rested on the fifteenth day and made it a day of eating and joy. 19 So the Jews of the villages, who lived in the small towns without walls, made the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a special day of joy and eating and sharing their food with one another.
The Special Supper of Purim
20 Mordecai wrote down these things. And he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the nation of King Ahasuerus, both near and far. 21 He told them to remember the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar each year. 22 Because on those days the Jews got rid of those who hated them. It was a month which was changed from sorrow into joy, from a day of sorrow into a special day. He said that they should make them days of eating and joy and sending food to one another and gifts to the poor.
23 So the Jews agreed to do what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the one who hated all the Jews, had planned to destroy the Jews. He had drawn names, using Pur, to trouble them and destroy them. 25 But when the king heard about it, he made it known by letter that his plan against the Jews should bring trouble upon himself. And he had Haman and his sons hanged on the tower. 26 So they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Because of what was written in this letter, and what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews set apart this special time each year for themselves, for their children and their children’s children, and for all who joined them. They would always remember to keep these two days special, as it was written and at the same time every year. 28 These days were to be remembered and kept as a special time for all their children-to-come, in every family, every land, and every city. These days of Purim were not to be forgotten by the Jews. Their children and their children’s children were to remember them forever.
29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full power to make this second letter about Purim sure. 30 Letters were sent to all the Jews in the 127 parts of the nation of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth. 31 They made sure that these days of Purim would be kept at the right times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had told them. These days were set apart for themselves and for their children and their children’s children, with the times they were to go without food and the times they were to be sad. 32 The words of Esther made the rules for keeping Purim sure, and it was written in the book.
Mordecai Is Honored by the King
10 King Ahasuerus put a tax on the people of the nation and the parts beside the sea. 2 All the acts of his power and strength, and the whole story of the high honor given to Mordecai by the king, are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia. 3 For Mordecai the Jew was second in power only to King Ahasuerus and great among the Jews. He found favor in the eyes of his people. He worked for the good of his people and spoke for the well-being of all the Jews.
Esther 6-10
New International Version
Esther 6-10
New International Version
Mordecai Honored
6 That night the king could not sleep;(A) so he ordered the book of the chronicles,(B) the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.(C)
3 “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.
“Nothing has been done for him,”(D) his attendants answered.
4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.
5 His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered.
6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” 7 So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe(E) the king has worn and a horse(F) the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!(G)’”
10 “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”
11 So Haman got(H) the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”
12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered(I) in grief, 13 and told Zeresh(J) his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.
His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall(K) has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!”(L) 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet(M) Esther had prepared.
Haman Impaled
7 So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet,(N) 2 and as they were drinking wine(O) on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom,(P) it will be granted.(Q)”
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor(R) with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated.(S) If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.[a]”
5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage,(T) left his wine and went out into the palace garden.(U) But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate,(V) stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch(W) where Esther was reclining.(X)
The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”(Y)
As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.(Z) 9 Then Harbona,(AA) one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits[b](AB) stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”
The king said, “Impale him on it!”(AC) 10 So they impaled(AD) Haman(AE) on the pole(AF) he had set up for Mordecai.(AG) Then the king’s fury subsided.(AH)
The King’s Edict in Behalf of the Jews
8 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman,(AI) the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. 2 The king took off his signet ring,(AJ) which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.(AK)
3 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,(AL) which he had devised against the Jews. 4 Then the king extended the gold scepter(AM) to Esther and she arose and stood before him.
5 “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor(AN) 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. 6 For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”(AO)
7 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(AP) him on the pole he set up. 8 Now write another decree(AQ) in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal(AR) it with the king’s signet ring(AS)—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”(AT)
9 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.[c](AU) 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.(AV) 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,[d] and to plunder(AW) 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.(AX) 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(AY) 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.(AZ)
The Triumph of the Jews
15 When Mordecai(BA) left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold(BB) and a purple robe of fine linen.(BC) And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration.(BD) 16 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy,(BE) gladness and honor.(BF) 17 In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy(BG) and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear(BH) of the Jews had seized them.(BI)
9 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,(BJ) 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(BK) over those who hated them.(BL) 2 The Jews assembled in their cities(BM) in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them,(BN) because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. 3 And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews,(BO) because fear of Mordecai had seized them.(BP) 4 Mordecai(BQ) was prominent(BR) in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.(BS)
5 The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them,(BT) and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons(BU) of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews.(BV) But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.(BW)
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.”(BX)
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(BY) be impaled(BZ) on poles.”
14 So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled(CA) 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.(CB)
16 Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief(CC) from their enemies.(CD) They killed seventy-five thousand of them(CE) but did not lay their hands on the plunder.(CF) 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(CG) 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(CH) as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.(CI)
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(CJ) from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.(CK) He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food(CL) to one another and gifts to the poor.(CM)
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,(CN) the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur(CO) (that is, the lot(CP)) for their ruin and destruction.(CQ) 25 But when the plot came to the king’s attention,[e] he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head,(CR) and that he and his sons should be impaled(CS) on poles.(CT) 26 (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.(CU)) 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,(CV) 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(CW) 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(CX) and lamentation.(CY) 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.(CZ) 2 And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai,(DA) whom the king had promoted,(DB) are they not written in the book of the annals(DC) of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 Mordecai the Jew was second(DD) in rank(DE) to King Xerxes,(DF) 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.(DG)
Footnotes
- Esther 7:4 Or quiet, but the compensation our adversary offers cannot be compared with the loss the king would suffer
- Esther 7:9 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters
- Esther 8:9 That is, the upper Nile region
- Esther 8:11 Or province, together with their women and children, who might attack them;
- Esther 9:25 Or when Esther came before the king
Esther 6-10
King James Version
Esther 6-10
King James Version
6 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
2 And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.
3 And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.
4 And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
5 And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.
6 So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?
7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour,
8 Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head:
9 And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
10 Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.
11 Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
12 And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.
13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.
14 And while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.
7 So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen.
2 And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.
3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.
5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
6 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
7 And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.
8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.
9 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.
8 On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her.
2 And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
4 Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,
5 And said, If it please the king, and if I have favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces:
6 For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
7 Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.
8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.
9 Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.
10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:
11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
12 Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
13 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.
15 And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
16 The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
17 And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.
9 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)
2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.
3 And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.
4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
5 Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.
6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.
7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
8 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.
11 On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.
13 Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.
14 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
15 For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.
16 But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,
17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
18 But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.
20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
21 To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
25 But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,
27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;
28 And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.
29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.
30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
10 And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
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