Esther 8
1 [Later] on that same day, King Xerxes declared that everything that Haman, the enemy of the Jews, owned, would now belong to Queen Esther. Esther told the king that Mordecai was her cousin. [When] the king [heard that, he sent a message to tell] Mordecai to come in.
And in that day king Artaxerxes gave to Esther all that belonged to Aman the slanderer: and Mardochaeus was called by the king; for Esther had shown that he was related to her.
2 When Mordecai came in, the king took off the ring that had his official seal on it, the ring that he had [previously] given to Haman, and gave it to Mordecai, [to indicate that Mordecai was now his most important official]. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of everything that had belonged to Haman.
And the king took the ring which he had taken away from Aman, and gave it to Mardochaeus: and Esther appointed Mardochaeus over all that had been Aman's.
3 Esther again [came to] talk to the king. She prostrated herself at his feet, crying. She [wanted to] plead for him to stop what Haman had planned, to kill all the Jews.
And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and implored [him] to do away the mischief of Aman, and all that he had done against the Jews.
4 The king held out his gold scepter/staff toward Esther, so Esther arose and stood in front of him.
Then the king stretched out to Esther the golden sceptre: and Esther arose to stand near the king.
5 She said, “Your majesty, if you are pleased with me, and if you think that it is the right thing to do, make a new law to cancel what Haman decreed, that all the Jews in all the provinces in your empire should be killed.
And Esther said, If it seem good to you, and I have found favor [in your sight], let an order be sent that the letters sent by Aman may be reversed, that were written for the destruction of the Jews, who are in your kingdom.
6 I cannot bear seeing all my family and [all the rest of] my people killed.”
For how shall I be able to look upon the affliction of my people, and how shall I be able to survive the destruction of my kindred?
7 King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and Mordecai, “Because Haman tried to get rid of all the Jews, I have given to Esther everything that belonged to Haman, and I have ordered [my soldiers] to hang Haman.
And the king said to Esther, If I have given and freely granted you all that was Aman's, and hanged him on a gallows, because he laid his hands upon the Jews, what do you yet further seek?
8 So now I am also permitting you to write other letters, to [save] your people. You may put my name [on the letters], and use my ring to seal them because no letter that has my name on it and which is sealed with my ring can ever be changed.”
Write you also in my name, as it seems good to you, and seal [it] with my ring: for whatever [orders] are written at the command of the king, and sealed with my ring, it is not lawful to gainsay them.
9 Then the king summoned his secretaries, on June 25th, and [Mordecai told them to] write letters to the Jews and to all the governors and other officials in all of the 127 provinces, which extended from India [in the east] to Ethiopia [in the west]. They wrote these letters in all the languages that the people in each area spoke. They also wrote letters to the Jewish people, in their language.
So the scribes were called in the first month, which is Nisan, on the three and twentieth day of the same year; and [orders] were written to the Jews, whatever [the king had] commanded to the local governors and chiefs of the satraps, from India even to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven satraps, according to the several provinces, according to their dialects.
10 They wrote in those letters that the Jews in every city were permitted by the king to gather together to protect themselves. They also were permitted to kill any group of soldiers who attacked them. They were also permitted to kill the women and children of those who attacked them, and to take the possessions of the people whom they killed.
And they were written by order of the king, and sealed with his ring, and they sent the letters by the posts:
wherein he charged them to use their [own] laws in every city, and to help each other, and to treat their adversaries, and those who attacked them, as they pleased,
12 [All this was to be done] on March 7th of the following year. Mordecai signed the king’s name on the letters, and sealed them with the seal that was on the king’s ring. Then he gave them to messengers, who rode on fast horses that had been raised especially for the king.
on one day in all the kingdom of Artaxerxes, on the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which is Adar.
13 Copies of this law were to be nailed to posts in every province and read to all the people, in order that the Jews would be ready to (get revenge on/fight against) their enemies on March 7th.
And let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout the kingdom, and let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies.
14 The king commanded the men who took these letters [to all the provinces] to ride quickly on the king’s horses. And copies of the letter were also posted and read to the people in [the capital city, ] Susa.
So the horsemen went forth with haste to perform the king's commands; and the ordinance was also published in Susa.
15 Before Mordecai left the palace, he put on the blue and white robe and a large gold crown that the king had given him. He also put on a coat made of fine purple cloth. When the people in Susa heard the new law, they all shouted and cheered.
And Mardochaeus went forth robed in the royal apparel, and wearing a golden crown, and a diadem of fine purple linen: and the people in Susa saw [it] and rejoiced.
16 The Jews in Susa were very happy, and [other people] honored [them].
And the Jews had light and gladness,
17 And when the new law arrived in every city and province, the Jews there celebrated and prepared feasts and were very joyful. And many men throughout the empire [were circumcised and] became Jews, because they were now afraid of [what] the Jews [would do to them if they were not Jews].
in every city and province wherever the ordinance was published: wherever the proclamation took place, the Jews had joy and gladness, feasting and mirth: and many of the Gentiles were circumcised, and became Jews, for fear of the Jews.
