Esther

Chapter 1

¹ This is the story of something that happened during the reign of a king named Ahasuerus. This was the Ahasuerus who at that time was ruling a very large empire. It had 127 provinces, stretching all the way from India in the east to Ethiopia in the west. ² At this time King Ahasuerus was ruling his empire from Susa, the capital city of Persia. ³ During the third year that Ahasuerus ruled his empire, he hosted a feast for all his officials and the people who worked in his administration. He also invited the officers who served in the combined army of Persia and Media, the wealthy landowners, and the officials of the provinces. The king was present in person to host the feast. ⁴ Ahasuerus entertained his guests fabulously, because he wanted to demonstrate that his empire was extremely wealthy and that he was a very powerful king. He did so many things for them that the feast lasted for six months.

⁵ At the end of those six months, after that feast was over, the king hosted a second feast. This one was for all the people who served him in the royal stronghold in Susa, to thank them for how hard they had worked in hosting the feast for all the officials of the empire. The king invited everyone in the whole city. He held this feast in the courtyard of his palace garden. It lasted for a whole week. ⁶ In the courtyard, white and blue curtains were hanging from white and purple cords attached to silver rings on marble pillars. The guests reclined on couches made of gold and silver. These were set on a mosaic floor that was made of red marble, white marble, and pearl, bordered with black marble. ⁷ The attendants served wine in golden cups. The king was so rich that he had a great many of these cups, and they were all individually crafted, so no two of them were alike. The king had the attendants serve great amounts of his own royal wine to the guests. ⁸ Ahasuerus gave his guests a special privilege. He made the attendants who served the wine follow this rule: "No one has to drink if they do not want to." All the guests could drink as little or as much as they wanted. ⁹ While the king was entertaining the men in the courtyard, Queen Vashti, his wife, was hosting a feast for the women. She hosted it inside the royal palace where King Ahasuerus lived.

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when King Ahasuerus was in a good mood from drinking wine, he called the seven guardians who served him personally. (Their names were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Karkas.) ¹¹ Queen Vashti was a very beautiful woman. Ahasuerus thought that having such a beautiful wife was one more thing that made him a great man. So he wanted the people and officials who served in the royal court to see how beautiful she was. So the king told his seven personal servants to bring Queen Vashti to him. He told them to have her wear her royal crown. This was so that everyone would know she was his wife. ¹² But when the guardians came and told Queen Vashti what the king had commanded, she refused to come, because she did not want a group of drunken men staring at her lustfully. The king became so angry that he could barely contain himself. ¹³ It was the habit of the king to consult with certain advisors who knew the law and could make good decisions. So he spoke to those advisors, who knew the right way to do things. ¹⁴ The king's closest advisors were Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memukan. These seven officials were from various places in Persia and Media. They advised the king personally. They were the most powerful officials in the empire. ¹⁵ The king said to them, “I sent those guardians to Queen Vashti with a command, but she did not obey. According to the law, what should be done with her?”

¹⁶ Then Memukan answered the king, speaking loud enough that both he and his officials could hear. He said, "Queen Vashti has done wrong, and not only against the king. She has also done wrong against all the officials and people groups in all the provinces that King Ahasuerus rules! ¹⁷ "This is what will happen. Women all over the empire will hear about what the queen did. They will say, 'King Ahasuerus commanded his servants to bring Queen Vashti to him, but she did not come! So if even the queen can disobey the king, why should I have to obey my husband?' Then women will stop respecting their husbands. ¹⁸ "Even today, the leading women of Persia and Media will hear what the queen did. They will start to disobey their husbands, even though they are officials of the king. They will treat them with disrespect, and this will make their husbands angry with them. That will be bad enough by itself, even if the news does not spread any farther. ¹⁹ "If it seems like a good idea to you, O king, you should personally issue a royal decree and have it recorded in the laws of Persia and Media, which no one can change. This decree should say that Vashti can never come into your presence again. Then you should choose a different woman to be your queen, one who will obey you. ²⁰ "That way, even though your empire is very large, everyone in it will hear about your decree and know that if any wife disobeys her husband, he can banish and divorce her just as you did to Vashti. Then all the women will respect and obey their husbands. This will be true of every husband in the empire."

²¹ This seemed like a good idea to the king and his officials. So King Ahasuerus followed the advice of Memukan. ²² The king sent letters to every province in his empire. He wrote to every province using its own alphabet and to each people group in its own language. The letters said that men should have complete authority over their wives. They also said that a husband ought to be able to give orders to his wife in his own native language and that she should understand and obey even if she had to learn his language to do so.

Chapter 2

¹ Some time later, when King Ahasuerus no longer felt so angry, he started to miss Vashti. But when she disobeyed his command, he had made a decree that she could never come into his presence again. ² So some of the young men who attended the king said to him, “You should get a new wife for yourself. You could tell your servants to look for young virgins who are very beautiful. ³ “Also, you could assign officers in each province of your empire to bring every virgin who is very beautiful here to your capital city of Susa. They could stay in the harem for virgins under the custody of Hegai, the royal guardian who takes care of the young women who live there. He could arrange for them to receive beauty treatments. ⁴ “Then you could decide which young woman you liked the best, and you could make her queen instead of Vashti.” The king thought that this suggestion was a good idea, so he followed it.

⁵ At that time, there was a Jewish man named Mordecai living in the capital city of Susa. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. His father was named Jair, his grandfather was named Shimei, and his great-grandfather was named Kish. ⁶ Many years earlier, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken Kish away from Jerusalem and brought him to Babylon along with some other captives. Nebuchadnezzar took them away from Jerusalem at the same time that he took King Jeconiah of Judah away from Jerusalem and brought him to Babylon. ⁷ Now Mordecai was taking care of his cousin, who was an orphan. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah, and her Persian name was Esther. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. Esther was now a young woman, and she was exceptionally attractive.

⁸ And so this is what happened: Messengers went throughout the empire and proclaimed that the king had banished Queen Vashti from his presence. They also announced that he had said men would have complete authority over their wives. At the same time, the officers the king had appointed in each province began to bring many young women to the capital city of Susa and put them under the custody of Hegai. He was the man who took care of the young women who lived in the harem for virgins. Because Esther was exceptionally attractive, the officers also brought her to the king's palace and put her under the custody of Hegai. ⁹ Hegai was very impressed with Esther, and she won his favor. So he quickly arranged for Esther to receive her beauty treatments, and he also gave her fine food to eat. He also chose seven female servants from the king's palace and assigned them to be her personal attendants. He also moved Esther and her attendants to the best rooms in the harem for virgins. ¹⁰ Mordecai had warned Esther that she should not tell anyone what people group she was from. So she did not tell anyone that she was a Jew or who her relatives were. ¹¹ Mordecai wanted to know how Esther was doing and what was happening to her. So each and every day, he would walk around in front of the courtyard of the harem for virgins. That way he could ask people who were going in and out of the harem how she was doing.

¹² Each young woman in the harem, one at a time, was going to have sexual relations with King Ahasuerus and become one of his concubines. But before her turn came, each woman received a full year of beauty treatments, using techniques that had been developed for women in Persia. This is how the beauty treatments were completed: For the first six months, a woman’s attendants would rub her body every day with olive oil mixed with myrrh. For the next six months, her attendants would rub her body every day with perfumes and lotions designed for women. ¹³ After her year of beauty treatments was completed, a young woman would go and have sexual relations with the king and become one of his concubines. She could take whatever clothing and jewelry she wanted from the harem for virgins and wear them when she went to the king’s palace. ¹⁴ In the evening, the king's servants would bring her to the king's private quarters. The next morning, they would bring her to the harem for concubines and put her under the custody of a man named Shaashgaz. He was the royal guardian who took care of the concubines. The young woman would live there for the rest of her life. She would not go and see the king again unless he asked for her by name because he had enjoyed being with her.

¹⁵ But when it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she only asked for what Hegai recommended she should wear. Nevertheless, everyone who saw Esther was still very impressed with her. (Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai. Mordecai had adopted Esther as his daughter. Hegai was the royal guardian in charge of the harem for virgins. Hegai knew the king’s preferences because he was his personal servant. Esther had come to trust Hegai and so she followed his advice.) ¹⁶ The king's servants brought Esther to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace during the tenth month of the year (the month of Tebeth), in the seventh year of his reign as king of Persia. ¹⁷ The king loved Esther more than any of the other women who had become his concubines. She won his favor and he treated her kindly. He liked her more than any of the others. So King Ahasuerus put a royal crown on her head, and he made her the queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ Then, to celebrate Esther becoming the queen, the king hosted a great feast for all his officials and servants. He called it "Esther's Feast.” He proclaimed a temporary reprieve from taxes for all the provinces of his empire, and he gave out gifts with royal generosity.

¹⁹ Later, Ahasuerus decided that he would like to have more concubines. So he had his officers bring more virgins to Susa. During this time, Mordecai was working for the king, and he was stationed at the king's gate. ²⁰ Esther had still not told anyone what people group she was from, because Mordecai had warned her not to tell anyone. In fact, she continued to follow all of Mordecai's instructions, just as she had done when she was growing up in his house. ²¹ During that time, when Mordecai was doing his work at the king's gate, he heard two men talking. Their names were Bigthan and Teresh. They were two of the royal guardians, and they protected the doorway to the king's private quarters. They were angry with King Ahasuerus, and they were planning to assassinate him. ²² But Mordecai found out about what they were planning. He told Queen Esther about it, and she told the king. She explained that Mordecai had given her the information. ²³ Then the king investigated Mordecai's report and discovered that it was true. So the king ordered his servants to impale those two men on wooden poles. The king’s scribes recorded an account of this in the royal chronicles in the king’s presence.

Chapter 3

¹ Some time later, King Ahasuerus promoted one of his officials, Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite. He gave Haman a very high position. The king made Haman more powerful than any of his other officials. ² The king wanted to show that he had given Haman a high position. So he commanded all his other servants to bow down all the way to the ground to honor Haman whenever he walked by. But Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, because as a Jew he would not worship anyone except Yahweh. ³ The other servants saw that Mordecai refused to bow down, and they asked him, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” ⁴ Mordecai told them that he was a Jew, and that Jews only worship Yahweh. The other servants warned Mordecai every day that he would be punished severely if he kept disobeying the king and not honoring his highest official. But Mordecai still refused to bow down. So they told Haman about it, to see if he would allow Mordecai to keep refusing to bow down on religious grounds. ⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down to him, he became furious. ⁶ Haman was so angry that he decided it would not be enough just to kill Mordecai alone. The other servants had told Haman that Mordecai was not bowing down to him because he was a Jew. So Haman decided that he would try to kill all the Jews in the entire empire of Ahasuerus, because Mordecai was a Jew.

⁷ Haman had his servants cast a Pur (that is, a lot) in his presence to determine the best day and the best month to kill the Jews. They did that in the first month, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year that Ahasuerus reigned as king of Persia. The lot selected the twelfth month of that year, the month of Adar, as the time for Haman to carry out his plan.. ⁸ Then Haman went to King Ahasuerus and said, “Your Majesty, there is a certain group of people who live all over your empire. They are mixed in with the other peoples, and they are found in every province. They have their own set of laws, and so they do not obey your laws. It is not good for you to allow them to live in your empire. ⁹ “If it seems like a good idea to you, O king, write a decree saying that all the Jews should be killed. If we do that, we will get so much plunder from them that the officers you send around the empire to organize the killing will be able to bring back 10,000 talents of silver for your royal treasuries.” ¹⁰ The king agreed that this was a good idea. He gave Haman the power to act on his authority to carry out the plan. To show that, he gave the ring he wore that had his official seal on it to Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who had become an enemy of the Jews. ¹¹ The king told Haman, “You can keep the plunder for yourself, and you can do whatever you want to the Jews.”

¹² On the thirteenth day of the first month of that same year, Haman called in the royal scribes, and he dictated a letter to them. He told them to send copies to the royal officials, the governors of each province, and the leaders of each people group. The scribes translated the letter so it could be sent to each province using its own alphabet and to each people group in its own language. To show that he was sending the letter under the king's own authority, Haman sealed each copy of the letter with the ring that had the king’s official seal on it. ¹³ Couriers delivered the letters to the officials in every province in the empire. The letters said to completely destroy all the Jews, including the children and women, on a single day. That was to be the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, in that same year. The letters also said that those who killed the Jews could take everything that belonged to them. ¹⁴ The letter told the officials to post copies where everyone could see them. That way all the people in every single province would know that the king had commanded this, and they would get ready to do what the letter said when the day came. ¹⁵ As the king had commanded, couriers rushed the letters to every province in the empire. A herald also proclaimed what the letter said in the capital city of Susa. The king and Haman had a celebration feast together. But everyone who lived in Susa was very perplexed about why all of this was going to happen.

Chapter 4

¹ When Mordecai found out about Haman’s plan to kill all the Jews, as signs of grief he tore his clothes and put on rough sackcloth and threw ashes over himself. Then he started walking towards the city center, towards the king’s palace, crying out in anguish. ² But no one who was wearing sackcloth was allowed inside the king's gate. So when Mordecai reached the gate, he had to stay just outside of it. ³ In every province of the empire, the letter that said to destroy the Jews was announced in public. When the Jews heard about it, they mourned greatly. They went without food and wailed loudly. Many of them also put on sackcloth and threw ashes on themselves and lay on the ground. ⁴ Esther's female attendants came with her guardians and told her that Mordecai was sitting outside the gate wearing sackcloth. When she heard about this, Esther herself became very afraid. She sent Mordecai some good clothes to wear instead of the sackcloth, but he refused to put them on.

⁵ The king had assigned some of the royal guardians to Esther personally. So Esther called for one of them, a man named Hathak. She told him to go out and speak with Mordecai and find out why he was so distressed that he was sitting at the king's gate wearing sackcloth. ⁶ Hathak went out to speak with Mordecai, who was in the plaza in front of the king's gate. ⁷ Mordecai told Hathak everything that Haman was planning to do to the Jews. He even told him how much money Haman said the king would get for his treasuries from the plunder that the people who destroyed the Jews would take from them. ⁸ Mordecai also gave Hathak a copy of the letter that Haman had sent out. A herald had read it out loud in Susa. It said that all the Jews must be killed. He told Hathak to show the letter to Esther so that she would know exactly what it said. He also told him to urge her to go to the king personally and beg him desperately to save her people from destruction. ⁹ So Hathak returned to Esther and told her what Mordecai had said.

¹⁰ Then Esther told Hathak to go back to Mordecai with this message: ¹¹ “Anyone who goes into the inner courtyard of the palace, where the king can see them, without being summoned, is put to death unless the king holds out his golden scepter to them, then they will live. This law applies to everyone in the kingdom. Everyone in the whole empire knows this. So I cannot go and speak to the king as you have requested. He has not called for me in over a month, and if I go without being summoned, I could be put to death.” ¹² So Hathak went back to Mordecai and told him what Esther had said.

¹³ Mordecai told Hathak to tell this to Esther: “Do not think that just because you live there in the palace, you will escape when all the other Jews are killed. ¹⁴ “If you say nothing at all now, someone from some other place will rescue the Jews, but you and your relatives will not survive. Who knows, perhaps it was for just such a time as this that you became queen.” ¹⁵ After Hathak told this to Esther, she told him to go back to Mordecai and say this to him: ¹⁶ “Gather together all the Jews who live here in Susa and tell them to fast and pray for my sake. Tell them to not eat or drink anything for three days and three nights. My female attendants and I will also fast. After we have all done that, I will go to talk to the king, even though there is a law against going without being summoned. I am prepared to do that even if it costs me my life.” ¹⁷ So after Hathach told this to Mordecai, he went and did everything that Esther had told him to do.

Chapter 5

¹ Three days later, Esther prepared a grand banquet. Then she put on her royal robes, and she went and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace, across from the king's house. He was in the royal palace, sitting on the throne, and facing the entrance of the room. ² As soon as the king noticed Queen Esther standing there in the courtyard, he was very pleased to see her. So he held out his golden scepter to her, to show that she could safely approach. So Esther came up to the throne and touched the top of the scepter.

³ Then the king asked her, “Why have you come here, Queen Esther? What do you want? Tell me, and I will give you anything you ask for, no matter how great it is." ⁴ Esther replied, “If it seems like a good idea to you, O king, please come with Haman today to the banquet that I have prepared for you.” ⁵ The king said to his servants, “Go and get Haman and bring him quickly to the banquet that Esther has prepared for the two of us!” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared for them.

⁶ While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Now please tell me what you really want. I will give you anything you ask for, no matter how great it is. I truly mean what I am saying.” ⁷ Esther answered, "This is what I really want: ⁸ if you are pleased with me, and if it seems like a good idea to you, O king, to give me what I want, please come with Haman to another banquet that I will prepare for you tomorrow. I will answer your question then.”

⁹ Haman was feeling very happy as he left the banquet that day. But then he saw Mordecai sitting at the king's gate. Mordecai did not stand up to show respect for Haman or tremble fearfully in front of him. This made Haman furious with Mordecai. ¹⁰ But even though Haman was so angry, he kept himself from losing his temper. He went home and gathered together his friends with his wife Zeresh, ¹¹ and he boasted to them about how rich he was and about how many sons he had. He also boasted about how the king had promoted him many times and given him a position above all of his other officials and administrators. ¹² Then Haman added, “And that is not all! I was the only one Queen Esther invited besides the king to a banquet that she prepared for us today. And she has also invited only me to attend another banquet with the king tomorrow." ¹³ Then Haman said, “But I still cannot be happy as long as I keep seeing that Jew, Mordecai, sitting there at the king's gate and refusing to honor me." ¹⁴ So Haman's wife Zeresh and his friends who were there suggested, “Have your servants set up a pole 75 feet high. Then tomorrow morning speak to the king and tell him you want to impale Mordecai on it. Once you have executed him, you can go to the banquet with the king in a good mood.” Haman decided he liked this idea, so he told his servants to set up the pole.

Chapter 6

¹ That night the king was unable to sleep. So he told the young men who attended him to bring in the royal chronicles. The young men got the chronicles and began to read them out loud to the king. ² The chronicles said that Bigthan and Teresh, two of the royal guardians who protected the doorway to the king's private quarters, were planning to assassinate King Ahasuerus. But Mordecai had saved the king’s life by discovering their plot and telling him about it.

³ Then the king asked, “What did I do to honor Mordecai for saving my life?” The young men who attended him replied, “No one did anything for him.” ⁴ At that moment, Haman entered the outer courtyard of the king's house. He had come to tell the king that he wanted to impale Mordecai on the pole that he had set up. The king wanted to consult someone about the best way to honor Mordecai, so he asked, “Is anyone out in the courtyard?” ⁵ The young men replied, “O king, Haman is standing in the courtyard.” The king said, “Bring him in.”

⁶ When Haman came in, the king asked him, “What should I do for the man I would really like to honor?” Haman thought to himself, “Certainly the king would really like to honor me more than anyone else!” ⁷ Haman replied to the king, “ If you really want to honor someone, ⁸ tell your servants to bring one of your own royal robes that you have already worn yourself. Have them also bring a horse that you have already ridden yourself and put a royal crown on its head to show that it belongs to you. ⁹ "Then, on your behalf, have one of your most noble officials present the man with the robe and the horse. Have your servants clothe the man you really want to honor with the robe. Have them seat that man on the horse and then lead the horse through the public square of the city. Have them shout out to everyone in front of them, “The king is doing this because he really wants to honor this man!” ¹⁰ The king liked this idea, so he replied to Haman, “Hurry! Take the robe and the horse and do what you have just described for Mordecai the Jew, one of my servants, who is stationed at the king's gate. Make sure that you do absolutely everything that you have said.”

¹¹ So Haman did what the king commanded. He got the robe and the horse. He put the robe on Mordecai, seated him on the horse, and then led the horse through the public square of the city. As he did, he shouted out to everyone in front of him, “The king is doing this because he really wants to honor this man!” ¹² Then Mordecai went back and sat down at the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house. He covered his head to show how humiliated he felt. ¹³ Haman gathered all his friends together once again. He told them and his wife Zeresh everything that had happened to him that day. Some of his friends were also his advisors, and they and his wife Zeresh told him, “Mordecai has begun to defeat you. If he is one of the Jewish people, you will not win against him. Instead, he will certainly defeat you.” ¹⁴ While they were still talking together, some of the royal guardians arrived to bring Haman quickly to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Chapter 7

¹ So the king and Haman went to the second banquet that Queen Esther had prepared. ² At that second banquet, while they were drinking wine, the king asked again, “Now please tell me what you really want, Queen Esther. Tell me, and I will do it for you. I will give you anything you ask for, no matter how great it is.” ³ Then Queen Esther replied, “If you are pleased with me, O king, I hope you will be willing to do what I ask. Please spare my life, and save my people. That is what I am asking for. ⁴ “I am appealing to you because someone has turned my people and me over to our enemies, and they are going to destroy us completely. If the men and even the women had been sold into slavery, I would not have said anything about that to you, because it would not have been worth it to bother you with that.

⁵ Then King Ahasuerus responded to Queen Esther, “Who has done this? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing? ⁶ Esther responded, “The one who is our bitter enemy is this evil man Haman!” This made Haman terrified to be in the presence of the king and the queen. ⁷ The king became so angry that he got up and left the table. He went outside into the palace garden to decide what to do. But Haman stayed inside and began to beg Queen Esther to save his life, because he recognized that the king was likely to execute him. ⁸ As he was pleading for his life, Haman came down very close to Esther as she was reclining on a banqueting couch. When the king returned from the palace garden to the room where they had been drinking wine, he saw this. The king exclaimed, “He is even trying to rape the queen in my presence and in my own house!” As soon as the king said this, some of his servants covered Haman’s face as a sign that he would be executed.

⁹ Then Harbona, who was one of the guardians who served the king personally, said, “O king! Haman has also set up a pole seventy-five feet high at his house because he wants to impale Mordecai on it. But Mordecai saved your life.” The king said, “Impale Haman on it!” ¹⁰ So they impaled Haman on the pole that he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king stopped being so angry.

Chapter 8

¹ That same day, King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther all the property that had belonged to Haman. He had been the enemy of the Jews. Esther told the king that Mordecai was her cousin and that he had been like a father to her. When he learned that, the king summoned Mordecai to come into his presence. ² The king had given Haman the ring that had his official seal on it. But he had taken it back from him when he sentenced him to death, and he was wearing it. The king now took the ring off again and gave it to Mordecai, to show that he would have the power to act on his authority. Esther also put Mordecai in charge of all the property that had belonged to Haman.

³ Then Esther had more to say to the king while she was in his presence. In fact, to show how desperately she was pleading, Esther got down and put her face right on top of his feet. She cried as she begged him to keep the Jews from being destroyed as Haman the Agagite had planned. ⁴ The king held out his golden scepter toward Esther, so she got up off the floor and stood facing the king. ⁵ Then Esther said, “I hope that what I am going to suggest seems like a good idea to you, and that you are pleased with me. Yes, I hope that I have won your favor, and that you will think this is the right thing to do. Please write a new letter revoking the letters that Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite sent out. His letters said to destroy all the Jews everywhere in your empire. ⁶ “I am asking this because I cannot bear to see what is about to happen to my people. They are my kindred. I cannot bear to see them destroyed.”

⁷ King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “As you know, I had my servants impale Haman on a wooden pole because he wanted to kill all the Jews. And I have given Esther all the property that belonged to Haman.” ⁸ “But Haman wrote his letter with my authority, and he sealed it with the ring that has my official seal on it. No one can revoke a letter like that. So this is what you should do. Write a new letter to help the Jews, as you think best. I give you permission to write with my own authority and to seal your letter with the ring that has my official seal on it.”

⁹ So the king called in his scribes and they wrote a letter saying everything that Mordecai told them to write. They wrote this letter on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan, in the twelfth year that Ahasuerus reigned as king of Persia. The letter addressed the Jews in the empire, but copies were also sent to the royal officials, and to the governors and leaders in each province. The empire of Ahasuerus had 127 provinces, stretching all the way from India in the east to Ethiopia in the west. The scribes wrote to every province using its own alphabet and to each people group in its own language. They wrote especially to the Jews, in their alphabet and in their own language. ¹⁰ Mordecai wrote with the authority of King Ahasuerus, and he sealed the letters with the ring that had the king’s official seal on it. Couriers on horseback delivered the letters. They rode fast horses that were used in the king's service. These horses had been bred in the king's stables. ¹¹ The letters said that the king had given the Jews throughout the empire permission to join together and fight for their lives. They could completely destroy the army of any people or province that attacked them. They could also kill their wives and children and take everything that belonged to them. ¹² All the Jews in every province throughout the empire were to gather and defend themselves on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, in that same year. ¹³ The letter told the officials in every single province to post copies where everyone could see them so that people would know that the king had commanded this. That way the Jews would get ready to do what the letter said when the day came, and fight back against their enemies. ¹⁴ The king commanded the couriers to deliver the letters as quickly as possible. He sent them out on fast horses that were used in his service. Copies of the letter were also posted and read in the capital city of Susa.

¹⁵ The king gave Mordecai special things to wear to show that he was now his highest officer. He gave him a blue and white royal garment, a large golden crown, and a purple robe made of fine linen. Mordecai put these on and left the palace. When the people of Susa saw him, they shouted joyfully. ¹⁶ The Jews in Susa were very happy, and other people honored them. ¹⁷ In every single city in every single province, wherever the couriers brought the letter announcing the king’s decree, the Jews rejoiced greatly and had big celebrations. Many people from other groups in the empire became very afraid of the Jews. They did not want to be attacked when the Jews fought back against their enemies. So they became Jews themselves.

Chapter 9

¹ On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of that year, the month of Adar, it was time for everyone to do what the letter said the king had decreed. The enemies of the Jews had expected to destroy them on that day. But just the opposite happened. Instead, the Jews themselves destroyed their enemies. ² Throughout the empire, the Jews joined together in their cities to defend themselves against those who wanted to harm them. No one was able to fight back against them, because everyone in the empire had become very afraid of them, so no one helped anyone who attacked the Jews. ³ All the leaders in each province, the royal officials, and the governors, anyone the king had trusted with his affairs, helped the Jews, because they had become very afraid of Mordecai. ⁴ They were afraid of Mordecai because he was a very important royal official. Throughout the empire, everyone was hearing about how great he was, because Mordecai kept becoming more and more powerful.

⁵ On the day when they were allowed to defend themselves, the Jews took their weapons and fought against their enemies. They destroyed them completely. They were able to do everything they wanted to do against their enemies. ⁶ In the capital city of Susa the Jews killed 500 men. ⁷ The Jews killed the ten sons of their enemy Haman son of Hammedatha. The names of his sons were Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, ⁸ Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, ⁹ Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. ¹⁰ These were the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. The Jews killed them, but they did not take the things that belonged to them. ¹¹ At the end of the day someone came in and reported to the king how many people the Jews had killed in the capital city of Susa.

¹² So the king said to Queen Esther, “Here in the capital city of Susa the Jews have killed 500 men, including the ten sons of Haman. They must have killed many more people in the rest of the empire! Is there anything else that you want? Tell me, and I will do it for you. Yes, I will do whatever you ask, so please tell me what you want.” ¹³ Esther replied, ““If it seems like a good idea to you, O king, please allow the Jews who live here in Susa to do again tomorrow what they were allowed to do today. And have the bodies of Haman's ten sons impaled on wooden poles.” ¹⁴ The king granted both of Esther’s requests. He issued a decree allowing the Jews in Susa to fight against their enemies again the next day, and he ordered his servants to impale the bodies of Haman's ten sons. ¹⁵ And so on the fourteen day of the month of Adar, the Jews who lived in Susa joined together again and killed 300 more men. But once again they did not take the things that belonged to them.

¹⁶ The Jews who lived in the other parts of the empire joined together to fight for their lives on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They defeated their enemies and killed 75,000 of them. But they did not take the things that belonged to them. ¹⁷ They fought their enemies on that day and defeated them. They devoted the next day, the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, to joyful celebration. ¹⁸ But the Jews who lived in Susa joined together to fight against their enemies on the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the month of Adar. They defeated them, and there was no fighting on the fifteenth day. They devoted that day to joyful celebration. ¹⁹ That is why the Jews who live in rural villages observe this holiday on the fourteen day of the month of Adar rather than on the fifteen day. They do this by celebrating joyfully and by giving gifts to one another.

²⁰ Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the empire, everywhere they lived. ²¹ He established a holiday on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar. He told the Jews to observe it every single year, ²² because those were the days when the Jews stopped fighting, because they had defeated their enemies. And that was the month when everything had changed for them. They had been deeply distressed because they were threatened with destruction. But they became very happy once they were safe from all their enemies. So Mordecai told them to observe those days with joyful celebration and by giving gifts to one another. Mordecai also told them they should help the poor on those days. ²³ The Jews were already celebrating those days that way. So they readily agreed to do what Mordecai had instructed them to do.

²⁴ They would celebrate those days to remember how Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had tried to destroy them. He had thrown a Pur (that is, a lot) to find out what would be the best day to attack the Jews and destroy them completely. ²⁵ But Esther dared to come into the king’s presence without being summoned, and she won his favor. The king gave Mordecai the authority to send a letter throughout the empire saying that the Jews could defend themselves against their enemies. As a result, the enemies of the Jews did not destroy them. Instead, the Jews destroyed their enemies. The king also ordered his servants to impale Haman on a wooden pole. When the Jews in Susa killed his ten sons, the king had their bodies impaled as well. ²⁶ The Persian word for “lot” is “Pur.” That is why the Jews gave the name Purim to this celebration. Because the Jews had been able to destroy the enemies who had wanted to destroy them, and because Mordecai then wrote to them to tell them to observe this holiday, ²⁷ The Jews agreed to establish those two days as holidays and to observe them in the way that Mordecai had told them, on those specific days. They agreed that they and their descendants and everyone who became part of the Jewish people would never stop celebrating the feast of Purim every single year. ²⁸ And that is why every Jewish family in every generation since has celebrated these days as holidays, everywhere they have lived. The Jewish community and its descendants will always observe the Festival of Purim faithfully.

²⁹ Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote a second letter. Esther used her royal power to confirm what Mordecai had written about Purim in the first letter. ³⁰ They sent copies of this second letter to all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Ahasuerus. It encouraged them that their situation was now peaceful and stable. ³¹ In this second letter, Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther confirmed that Purim should be celebrated on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar. This would be in addition to the days of fasting and mourning that the Jews had established for themselves and their descendants to show their sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem. ³² Esther also issued a decree establishing Purim as a holiday for the Jews, and the royal scribes made an official record of it.

Chapter 10

¹ Then King Ahasuerus imposed a tax on everyone throughout his empire, which reached all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. ² The king's scribes made a record in the royal chronicles of Media and Persia of all the great things that King Ahasuerus accomplished because he was so powerful. They also wrote a full account of the promotions that he gave Mordecai. ³ For Mordecai the Jew was the most powerful person in the empire after King Ahasuerus, and a leader among his own people. All of his fellow Jews respected him. He worked hard to make sure that the Jews would always prosper.