5
and said, If it pleaseth the king, and if I have found grace before his eyes, and if my prayer is not seen to be contrary to him, I beseech, that the eld letters of Haman, the traitor, and enemy of Jews, by which he had commanded them to perish in all the provinces of the king, be amended by new letters; (and she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his eyes, and if my prayer is not seen to be contrary to him, I beseech thee, that the old letters of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, by which he had commanded that all the Jews perish in all the provinces of the king, be amended with new letters;)
6
for how shall I be able to suffer the death, and the slaying, of my people? (for how shall I be able to endure the slaughter, and the death, of my own people?)
7
And king Ahasuerus answered to Esther, the queen, and to Mordecai, the Jew, and said, I have granted the house of Haman to Esther, the queen, and I commanded him to be hanged on the cross, for-thy that he was hardy to set hand against the Jews. (And King Ahasuerus answered to Queen Esther, and to Mordecai, the Jew, and said, I have given Haman's house to Queen Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows, because he was so foolhardy as to put his hand against the Jews, that is, to threaten their lives.)
8
Therefore write ye to [the] Jews, as it pleaseth to you, by the name of the king, and aseal ye the letters with my ring. For this was the custom, that no man durst against-say the letters, that were sent in the king's name, and were sealed with his ring. (And so now write ye to the Jews, what pleaseth you, in the name of the king, and seal ye the letters with my ring. For it is the law, that no one can revoke the orders, that were sent before in the king's name, and were sealed with his ring, or his signet.)
9
And when the arrayers of the king's letters, and his writers, were called; it was then the time of the third month, that is called Sivan, that is, June, in the three and twentieth day of the month; letters were written, as Mordecai would, to [the] Jews, and to [the] princes, and to procurators, and to judges, that were sovereigns over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces, from India unto Ethiopia, they were written to that province and to that province, to that people and to that people, by their languages and by their letters, and (also) to the Jews, (by their language and by their letters,) (so) that they (all) might read and hear them. (And when the king's writers, or his royal secretaries, were called; it was then the third month, that is called Sivan, or June, on the twenty-third day of the month; letters were written, as Mordecai directed, to the Jews, and to the princes, or the leaders, and to the procurators, and the judges, who were the rulers over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia, yea, they were written to this province and to that province, to this people and to that people, to each in their own language and writing, and to the Jews in their own language and writing, so that they all might read and hear them.)
10
And those letters, that were sent in the name of the king, were asealed with his ring, and were sent forth by his messengers, the which ran about by all provinces, and they came with [the] new messages before that the eld letters were executed.
11
To whom the king commanded, that they should call together the Jews, and command them to be gathered together by all cities, and that they should stand together for their lives; and that they should slay, and do away, all their enemies, with their wives, and with their children, and with all their households. (In which letters, the king granted permission to the Jews, in every city, to call themselves together, and to unite themselves, and to defend their own lives; and so they could kill, and do away with, all their enemies, along with their wives, and their children, and all their households.)
12
And one day of vengeance, that is, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar, that is, March, was ordained by all provinces. (And one day of vengeance was ordained in all the provinces, that is, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, that is Adar, or March.)
13
And the short sentence of the epistle was this, that it were made known in all lands and (to all) peoples, that were subject to the empire of king Ahasuerus, that the Jews be ready that day to take vengeance of their enemies. (And in short, the sentence of the letter was this, that it should be made known in all the lands and to all the peoples, that were subject to the rule of King Ahasuerus, that the Jews be ready that day to take vengeance on all their enemies.)
14
And the messengers went out, before-bearing swift messages; and this same behest of the king hanged in the city of Susa. (And the messengers quickly went out, bearing the messages; and the king's order was also hung up in the capital city of Susa.)
15
And Mordecai went out of the king's palace and of the king's sight, and he shined in the king's clothes, that is, (clothes the colour) of jacinth, and (the) colour of the air, and he bare a golden crown on his head, and was clothed with a mantle of silk and of purple; and all the city fully joyed, and was glad. (And Mordecai went out from the king's palace, and from before the king, and he shone in the king's robes, that is, in his robes of blue and white, and he wore a gold crown on his head, and he also wore a cloak of silk and purple; and all the city rejoiced, and was glad.)