Esther 3
1 After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him to a place above all the officials who were with him.
After these things hath the king Ahasuerus exalted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and lifteth him up, and setteth his throne above all the heads who [are] with him,
2 All the king’s courtiers who were in the king’s gate used to bow down before Haman, for so the king had commanded, but Mordecai did not bow down nor prostrate himself.
and all servants of the king, who [are] in the gate of the king, are bowing and doing obeisance to Haman, for so hath the king commanded for him; and Mordecai doth not bow nor do obeisance.
3 Then the king’s courtiers, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, ‘Why do you disobey the king’s command?’
And the servants of the king, who [are] in the gate of the king, say to Mordecai, 'Wherefore [art] thou transgressing the command of the king?'
4 When they had spoken to him day after day without his listening to them, they informed Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s acts would be tolerated, for he had told them that he was a Jew.
And it cometh to pass, in their speaking unto him, day by day, and he hath not hearkened unto them, that they declare [it] to Haman, to see whether the words of Mordecai do stand, for he hath declared to them that he [is] a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down nor prostrate himself before him, he was furious.
And Haman seeth that Mordecai is not bowing and doing obeisance to him, and Haman is full of fury,
6 But it seemed to him beneath his dignity to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who Mordecai’s people were. Instead Haman sought to destroy all the people of Mordecai, all the Jews throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
and it is contemptible in his eyes to put forth a hand on Mordecai by himself, for they have declared to him the people of Mordecai, and Haman seeketh to destroy all the Jews who [are] in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus — the people of Mordecai.
7 In the first month (the month of Nisan) in the twelfth year of the reign of King Ahasuerus, Haman had “pur” (which means “lot”) cast before him to determine the best day and best month for his actions. The lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month – the month of Adar.
In the first month — it [is] the month of Nisan — in the twelfth year of the king Ahasuerus, hath one caused to fall Pur (that [is] the lot) before Haman, from day to day, and from month to month, [to] the twelfth, it [is] the month of Adar.
8 So Haman said to King Ahasuerus, ‘There is a certain people scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom, whose laws differ from those of every other and who do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not right for the king to tolerate them.
And Haman saith to the king Ahasuerus, 'There is one people scattered and separated among the peoples, in all provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws [are] diverse from all people, and the laws of the king they are not doing, and for the king it is not profitable to suffer them;
9 If it seems best to the king, let an order be given to destroy them, and I will pay ten thousand silver coins into the royal treasury.’
if to the king [it be] good, let it be written to destroy them, and ten thousand talents of silver I weigh into the hands of those doing the work, to bring [it] in unto the treasuries of the king.'
10 So the king took off his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
And the king turneth aside his signet from off his hand, and giveth it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of the Jews;
11 ‘The money is yours,’ the king said to Haman, ‘and the people also to do with them as you wish.’
and the king saith to Haman, 'The silver is given to thee, and the people, to do with it as [it is] good in thine eyes.'
12 And so, on the thirteenth day of the first month, the king’s secretaries were summoned and as Haman instructed an edict was issued to the king’s satraps and provincial governors and the rulers of each of the peoples in their own script and their own language. The edict was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with his ring.
And scribes of the king are called, on the first month, on the thirteenth day of it, and it is written according to all that Haman hath commanded, unto lieutenants of the king, and unto the governors who [are] over province and province, and unto the heads of people and people, province and province, according to its writing, and people and people according to its tongue, in the name of the king Ahasuerus it hath been written and sealed with the signet of the king,
13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, saying: Destroy, kill, put an end to all the Jews, young and old, little children and women, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, and plunder their possessions.
and letters to be sent by the hand of the runners unto all provinces of the king, to cut off, to slay, and to destroy all the Jews, from young even unto old, infant and women, on one day, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month — it [is] the month of Adar — and their spoil to seize,
14 A copy of the edict was to be published as a decree in every province – publicly displayed so that everyone might be ready for that day.
a copy of the writing to be made law in every province and province is revealed to all the peoples, to be ready for this day.
15 By command of the king the couriers raced off, and the edict was published in Susa itself. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in turmoil.
The runners have gone forth, hastened by the word of the king, and the law hath been given in Shushan the palace, and the king and Haman have sat down to drink, and the city Shushan is perplexed.
