Esther 9

1 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king's order and decree were to be carried out. That day the enemies of the Jews had thought they would crush them, but the exact opposite happened—the Jews crushed their enemies.

For in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the month which is Adar, the letters written by the king arrived.

2 The Jews gathered in their cities throughout the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those who wanted to destroy them. Nobody could oppose them, because all the other people were afraid of them.

In that day the adversaries of the Jews perished: for no one resisted, through fear of them.

3 All the officials of the provinces, the chief officers, the governors, and the king's officials helped the Jews, because they were afraid of Mordecai.

For the chiefs of the satraps, and the princes and the royal scribes, honoured the Jews; for the fear of Mardochaeus lay upon them.

4 Mordecai had a great deal of power in the royal palace, and his reputation spread throughout the provinces as his power increased.

For the order of the king was in force, that he should be celebrated in all the kingdom.

5 The Jews attacked their enemies with swords, killing and destroying them, and they did whatever they wanted to their enemies.

6 In the fortress of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.

And in the city Susa the Jews killed five hundred men:

7 This included Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

both Pharsannes, and Delphon and Phasga,

8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

and Pharadatha, and Barea, and Sarbaca,

9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha,

and Marmasima, and Ruphaeus, and Arsaeus, and Zabuthaeus,

10 the ten sons of Haman, son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not take their possessions.

the ten sons of Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugaean, the enemy of the Jews, and they plundered [their property] on the same day:

11 The same day, when the number of those killed in the fortress of Susa was reported to the king,

and the number of them that perished in Susa was rendered to the king.

12 he said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in the fortress of Susa, including Haman's ten sons. Imagine what they've done in the rest of the royal provinces! Now what is it you'd like to ask? It will be given to you. What more do you want? It will be granted.”

And the king said to Esther, The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city Susa; and how, think you, have they used them in the rest of the country? What then do you yet ask, that it may be [done] for you?

13 “If it please Your Majesty,” Esther replied, “allow the Jews in Susa be allowed to do the same tomorrow as they did today, following the decree. Also, let the ten sons of Haman be impaled on poles.”

And Esther said to the king, let it be granted to the Jews so to treat them tomorrow as to hand the ten sons of Aman.

14 The king ordered this to be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and they impaled the bodies of Haman's ten sons.

And he permitted it to be so done; and he gave up to the Jews of the city the bodies of the sons of Aman to hang.

15 On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa gathered together again and killed three hundred men there, but again they did not take their possessions.

And the Jews assembled in Susa on the fourteenth [day] of Adar, and killed three hundred men, but plundered no property.

16 The other Jews in the king's provinces also gathered to defend themselves and get rid of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but did not touch their possessions.

And the rest of the Jews who were in the kingdom assembled, and helped one another, and obtained rest from their enemies: for they destroyed fifteen thousand of them on the thirteenth [day] of Adar, but took no spoil.

17 This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and celebration.

And they rested on the fourteenth of the same month, and kept it as a day of rest with joy and gladness.

18 However, the Jews in Susa had gathered to fight on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, and made that a day of feasting and celebration.

And the Jews in the city Susa assembled also on the fourteenth [day] and rested; and they kept also the fifteenth with joy and gladness.

19 To this day rural Jews, living in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of celebration and feasting, a holiday when they send gifts to one another.

On this account then [it is that] the Jews dispersed in every foreign land keep the fourteenth of Adar [as] a holy day with joy, sending portions each to his neighbour.

20 Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces ruled by King Xerxes, near and far,

And Mardochaeus wrote these things in a book, and sent them to the Jews, as many as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off,

21 requiring them to celebrate every year the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar

to establish these [as] joyful days, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar;

22 as the time when the Jews rested from their victory over their enemies, and as the month when their sadness was turned into joy and their mourning into a time of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.

for on these days the Jews obtained rest from their enemies; and [as to] the month, which was Adar, in which a change was made for them, from mourning to joy, and from sorrow to a good day, to spend the whole of it [in] good days of feasting and gladness, sending portions to their friends, and to the poor.

23 The Jews agreed to continue what they had already started doing, following what Mordecai had written to them.

And the Jews consented [to this] accordingly as Mardochaeus wrote to them,

24 For Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted to destroy the Jews, and had cast “pur” (meaning a “lot”) to crush and destroy them.

[showing] how Aman the son of Amadathes the Macedonian fought against them, how he made a decree and cast lots to destroy them utterly;

25 But when it came to the king's attention, he sent out letters ordering that the evil scheme which Haman had planned against the Jews should rebound on him, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles.

also how he went in to the king, telling [him] to hang Mardochaeus: but all the calamities he tried to bring upon the Jews came upon himself, and he was hanged, and his children.

26 (That's why these days are called Purim, from the word Pur.) As a result of all the instructions in Mordecai's letter, and what they'd seen, and what had happened to them,

Therefore these days were called Phrurae, because of the lots; (for in their language they are called Phrurae; ) because of the words of this letter, and [because of] all they suffered on this account, and all that happened to them.

27 the Jews committed themselves to adopt the practice that they and their descendants and all who join them should not forget to celebrate these two days as set down, and at the right time every year.

And [Mardochaeus] established it, and the Jews took upon themselves, and upon their seed, and upon those that were joined to them [to observe it], neither would they on any account behave differently: but these days [were to be] a memorial kept in every generation, and city, and family, and province.

28 These days were to be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim would always be observed among the Jews, and they would not be forgotten by their descendants.

And these days of the Phrurae, [said they, ]shall be kept for ever, and their memorial shall not fail in any generation.

29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, wrote a letter, along with Mordecai the Jew, giving in her letter full authority to Mordecai's letter about Purim.

And queen Esther, the daughter of Aminadab, and Mardochaeus the Jew, wrote all that they had done, and the confirmation of the letter of Phrurae.

30 Letters expressing peace and reassurance were also sent all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the empire of King Xerxes.

31 They established these days of Purim at their given time as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had ordered, committing themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and mourning.

And Mardochaeus and Esther the queen appointed [a fast] for themselves privately, even at that time also having formed their plan against their own health.

32 In this way Esther's decree confirmed these practices regarding Purim, which were entered in the official record.

And Esther established it by a command for ever, and it was written for a memorial.