17
When this had been done, he urged the guests to give themselves over to feasting and to make up for the lost time by celebrating all the more now.
18
After the party had been going on for some time, the king called Hermon in and asked him, with angry threats, why the Jews had been permitted to remain alive through the present day.
19
But Hermon pointed out that he had fully carried out the orders at night, and his friends confirmed his story.
20
So the king, with a savagery worse than the tyrant Phalaris, said that the Jews could be grateful for today's sleep, but "Tomorrow," he said, "without delay, prepare the elephants in the same way for the destruction of the unseemly Jews."
21
So the king spoke, and when all those present gave their unanimous approval readily and joyfully, they all departed for their own homes.