Esther 9 (New American Standard)

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

1 Now ¹in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar ), on ²the thirteenth ^aday ³when the king's command and edict ^bwere about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them. 2 ⁴The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm ; and no one could stand before them, ⁵for the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples. 3 Even all the princes of the provinces, ⁶the satraps, the governors and those who were doing the king's business ^cassisted the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. 4 Indeed, Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces ; for the man Mordecai ⁷became greater and greater. 5 Thus ⁸the Jews struck all their enemies with ^dthe sword, killing and destroying ; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, 7 and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10 ⁹the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews' enemy ; but ¹⁰they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 11 On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa ^ewas reported to the king. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, "The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces ! ¹¹Now what is your petition ? It shall even be granted you. And what is your further request ? It shall also be done." 13 Then said Esther, "If it pleases the king, ¹²let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today ; and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows." 14 So the king commanded that it should be done so ; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman's ten sons were hanged. 15 The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed ¹³three hundred men in Susa, but ¹⁴they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 16 Now ¹⁵the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces ¹⁶assembled, to defend their lives and ^frid themselves of their enemies, and kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 17 This was done on ¹⁷the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and ¹⁸on the fourteenth ^gday they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. 18 But the Jews who were in Susa ¹⁹assembled on the thirteenth and ²⁰the fourteenth ^hof the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth ⁱday and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. 19 Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in ²¹the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a ^j22holiday for rejoicing and feasting and ²³sending portions of food to one another.

The Feast of Purim Instituted

20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day ^kof the same month, annually , 22 because on those days the Jews ^lrid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was ²⁴turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a ^mholiday ; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and ²⁵sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 Thus the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them and ²⁶had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and destroy them. 25 But ²⁷when it came ⁿto the king's attention, he commanded by letter ²⁸that his wicked scheme which he had ^odevised against the Jews, ²⁹should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the ^pgallows. 26 Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. ^qAnd ³⁰because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established and ^rmade a custom for themselves and for their ^sdescendants and for ³¹all those who allied themselves with them, so that ^tthey would not fail ³²to celebrate these two days according to their ^uregulation and according to their appointed time annually . 28 So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city ; and these days of Purim were not to ^vfail from among the Jews, or their memory ^wfade from their ^xdescendants. 29 Then Queen Esther, ³³daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm ³⁴this second letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters to all the Jews, ³⁵to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, 31 to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their ^ydescendants with ^zinstructions ³⁶for their times of fasting and their lamentations. 32 The command of Esther established these ^aacustoms for ³⁷Purim, and it was written in the book.