5
Haman was furious when he realized that Mordecai was not going to bow to him,
6
and so he made plans to kill every Jew in the whole Persian Empire.
7
In the twelfth year of King Xerxes' reign, Haman ordered the lots to be cast to find out the right day and month to destroy the Jews, all in a single day. The fourteenth day of the month of Adar was the date chosen.
8
So Haman told the king, "There is a certain race of people scattered among the nations all over your empire. They observe customs that are not like those of any other people. Moreover, they do not obey the laws of the empire, so it is not in your best interests to tolerate them.
9
If it please Your Majesty, issue a decree that they are to be put to death. If you do this, I promise to put 375 tons of silver into the royal treasury."
10
The king took off his ring, which was used to stamp official proclamations, and gave it to Haman to seal the decree that was to be written against the Jews.
11
The king told him, "Keep the money, and do whatever you want with that race of people."
12
So on the thirteenth day of the first month, Haman called the king's secretaries and dictated a proclamation to be translated into every language in the empire and to be sent to all the rulers and governors. It was issued in the name of King Xerxes and sent to all the 127 provinces, which stretched from India to Ethiopia.
13
Runners took this proclamation to every province of the empire. It contained the instructions that on a single day in the twelfth month, the month of Adar, all Jews were to be killed and their belongings confiscated.
14
This is a copy of the decree: "King Xerxes the Great sends the following decree to the governors of his 127 provinces, from India to Ethiopia, and to their subordinate officials:
15
"After I became ruler of many nations and master of the whole world, I resolved that my subjects should always live at peace. I wanted this, not because of pride in my power but because I was always reasonable and governed my subjects with kindness. I determined to renew the peace that everyone longs for and to do what was necessary to create a civilized kingdom, safe for travel from one border to another.