Esther 3

1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.

And after this king Artaxerxes highly honoured Aman [son] of Amadathes, the Bugaean, and exalted him, and set his seat above all his friends.

2 All the royal servants at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded that this be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

And all in the palace did him obeisance, for so the king had given orders to do: but Mardochaeus did not do him obeisance.

3 Then the royal servants at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the command of the king?”

And they in the king's palace said to Mardochaeus, Mardochaeus, why do you transgress the commands of the king?

4 Day after day they warned him, but he would not comply. So they reported it to Haman to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.

[Thus] they spoke daily to him, but he listened not to them; so they represented to Aman that Mardochaeus resisted the commands of the king: and Mardochaeus had shown to them that he was a Jew.

5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.

And when Aman understood that Mardochaeus did not obeisance to him, he was greatly enraged,

6 And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.

and took counsel to destroy utterly all the Jews who were under the rule of Artaxerxes.

7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

And he made a decree in the twelfth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, and cast lots daily and monthly, to kill in one day the race of Mardochaeus: and the lot fell on the fourteenth [day] of the month which is Adar.

8 Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

And he spoke to king Artaxerxes, saying, There is a nation scattered amongst the nations in all your kingdom, and their laws differ from [those of] all the [other] nations; and they disobey the laws of the king; and it is not expedient for the king to let them alone.

9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.”

If it seem good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them: and I will remit into the king's treasury ten thousand talents of silver.

10 So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

And the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Aman, to seal the decrees against the Jews.

11 “Keep your money,” said the king to Haman. “These people are given to you to do with them as you please.”

And the king said to Aman, Keep the silver, and treat the nation as you will.

12 On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.

So the king's recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth [day], and they wrote as Aman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to a hundred and twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their [several] languages, in the name of king Artaxerxes.

13 And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.

And [the message] was sent by posts throughout the kingdom of Artaxerxes, to destroy utterly the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods.

14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that they would be ready on that day.

And the copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order was given to all the nations to be ready against that day.

15 The couriers left, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.

And the business was hastened, and [that] at Susa: and the king and Aman began to drink; but the city was troubled.