Esther Chapters

Mordecai’s Dream

11 | ¹On the first day of Nisan, in the second year of the reign of Ahasuerus the Great, a dream came to Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin. ²Mordecai was a Jew residing at Susa who held a prominent position at the king’s court. ³He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had deported from Jerusalem with Jeconiah, king of Judah.

⁴According to his dream, there were cries and tumult, thunder and earthquake and confusion upon the earth, ⁵as two great dragons came, both ready for combat. ⁶At the sound of their terrible roar, every nation prepared to fight against the holy nation. ⁷On earth, it was a day of darkness and gloom, tribulation and distress, affliction, and great disturbance. ⁸ The whole nation of the just was troubled because of the fear of evils awaiting them and were ready to perish. ⁹But they cried out to God, and a little spring appeared, from which grew a great river with a flood of water. ¹⁰The light came as the sun rose, and the humble were raised up, and they devoured the mighty.

¹¹In this dream, Mordecai saw what God intended to do. On awakening, he thought deeply about the matter and tried to understand its meaning all day.

12 | ¹In those days, while Mordecai was resting at the king’s gate together with Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs and palace guards, ²he was aware that they had become irritated and were plotting to kill King Ahasuerus. ³Mordecai investigated the matter and then informed the king, who had the two eunuchs questioned. They confessed and were put to death.

⁴By order of the king, these events were recorded by Mordecai, ⁵who was rewarded and appointed to an office in the court.

⁶In revenge for the king’s two eunuchs, Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite who enjoyed the king’s favor, sought to harm Mordecai and his people.

1 | ¹In the days of Ahasuerus—the Ahasuerus whose empire stretched from India to Ethiopia and comprised one hundred twenty-seven provinces—²when he occupied the royal throne in the citadel of Susa, ³in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his officers and ministers, the Persian and Median aristocracy, chiefs of the army, the nobles and the governors of the provinces. ⁴For a hundred and eighty days, he displayed the riches and splendor of his empire and the wealth and pomp of his royal estate.

⁵At the close of this period, the king gave a banquet lasting seven days at the palace garden for all the people, great and lowly, living in Susa. ⁶There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings on marble pillars. On a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and colored stones were gold and silver couches. ⁷Drinks were served in various golden goblets, and the royal wine flowed freely, in keeping with the king’s generosity. ⁸By the king’s order, each guest was allowed to drink as he pleased; all the stewards had been instructed to serve each guest according to his own wishes.

⁹Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.

¹⁰Merry with wine on the seventh day, the king ordered the seven eunuchs who served him as chamberlains—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—¹¹to bring into his presence Queen Vashti with her royal crown, for she was very lovely. He wished to display her beauty to the people and nobles. ¹²Queen Vashti, however, refused to come at the king's order transmitted by the eunuchs; the king was very displeased and burned with rage.

¹³As was his procedure, the king consulted experts in law and justice. ¹⁴He summoned the seven nobles of Persia and Media who were in his personal service and held the first rank in the kingdom—Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. ¹⁵He asked them, “According to law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti for disobeying the king’s order issued through the eunuchs?”

¹⁶In the presence of the king and nobles, Memucan replied, “It is not the king alone that Queen Vashti has wronged but all the nobles and the whole populace in the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷All the women will soon know what she did, so they will despise their husbands and say: ‘King Ahasuerus ordered his wife to be brought before him, but she refused.’ ¹⁸When the Persian and Median ladies hear of that, they will treat the royal officials similarly. So, there will be no end to this kind of disrespect. ¹⁹If it pleases the king, therefore, let an irrevocable royal decree be issued and included among the laws of Persia and Media, that Vashti is never again to come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and that the king is authorized to give her royal position to someone else more worthy than she. ²⁰When this decree of the king is proclaimed throughout his vast kingdom, all wives will honor their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”

²¹This proposal pleased the king and his officials, so the king acted on Memucan’s advice. ²²He sent letters to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and each people in their own language, declaring that every husband should be master in his household.

2 | ¹Later, when his anger had cooled, King Ahasuerus remembered Vashti’s disobedience and decree against her. ²The king’s courtiers proposed, “Let beautiful young girls be chosen for the king. ³Let him appoint commissioners throughout the provinces of his realm to bring all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa. Let them be put under the care of the royal eunuch Hegai, custodian of women, and give them ointments for beauty treatment. ⁴Let the girl who pleases the king take Vashti’s place.” The king was pleased with the suggestion, and he acted on it.

⁵Now there lived in Susa a Jew named Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite ⁶who had been exiled from Jerusalem among the captives taken away with King Jeconiah of Judah by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. ⁷Mordecai was a foster father to his cousin Hadassah, that is, Esther, who had lost both father and mother. The girl had a lovely face and figure. On the death of her parents, Mordecai adopted her as his daughter.

⁸In compliance with the king’s edict, many young girls were brought to Susa and entrusted to Hegai. Esther was among them. ⁹Esther pleased the custodian of women and won his favor. He not only promptly provided her with cosmetics and good food but assigned to her seven special maids from the king’s household and transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem.

¹⁰Esther did not reveal her nationality or family, for Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. ¹¹Each day, Mordecai would walk up and down the harem courtyard to find out how Esther was faring.

¹²After a preparation of twelve months decreed for the women, each had to appear in turn before King Ahasuerus. This preparatory period was for beautifying treatment: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and cosmetics. ¹³Then, when the girl was to present herself to the king, she was allowed to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace anything she wanted. ¹⁴She would go there in the evening and return the following morning to another harem under the care of the royal eunuch Shaashgaz, custodian of the concubines. She would not go back to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.

¹⁵When the turn came for Esther—the daughter of Abihail whom Mordecai had adopted from his uncle—to go to the king, she asked for nothing beyond what the eunuch Hegai had given her, and yet she won the admiration of all who saw her. ¹⁶Esther was brought to King Ahasuerus in his palace in the tenth month, Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. ¹⁷The king liked Esther more than any of the other women. Having won his favor and approval more than any other virgins, she received the royal crown and was made queen in place of Vashti. ¹⁸The king then gave a great banquet in honor of Esther for all his officials and ministers; he proclaimed a holiday for all the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.

¹⁹Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate when the virgins were assembled a second time. ²⁰Esther had not revealed her family background or nationality up to this time, in compliance with Mordecai’s instructions. She followed his advice just as she had when he was bringing her up. ²¹During the time that Mordecai spent at the king’s gate, Bagathan and Thares, two of the royal eunuchs who guarded the entrance, conspired to assassinate King Ahasuerus. ²²Mordecai learned of the plot and informed Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. ²³The matter was investigated and found to be accurate, and the two conspirators were hanged on the gallows. The incident was recorded in the Book of Chronicles in the king's presence.

3 | ¹After these events, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, to a rank higher than that of all the other officials. ²On orders of the king, all the royal officials at the king’s gate would kneel and bow down to Haman. This, Mordecai refused to do.

³The royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s order?” ⁴They spoke to him day after day, but he refused to comply, explaining that he was a Jew. To find out if this explanation was acceptable, they reported the matter to Haman.

⁵Haman was enraged when he saw Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. ⁶Having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he thought it would not be enough to lay hands on him alone but sought to destroy all the Jews throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷In the first month of Nisan, in King Ahasuerus's twelfth year, the pur, or lot, was cast in Haman’s presence to determine the day and the month for the destruction of Mordecai’s people. The lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar.

⁸Haman told King Ahasuerus, “Scattered throughout the provinces of your kingdom are certain people whose customs differ from those of others. Since they do not obey our laws, tolerating them is not in the king’s best interests. ⁹If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them. I will deposit in the royal treasury ten thousand silver talents for the men who carry out the king’s business.”

¹⁰The king took the signet ring off his finger, handed it to Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, and said, ¹¹“Keep the money, and do with these people as you please.”

¹²On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned. As Haman dictated, they wrote orders in the script of each province and the language of each people to the king’s satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people. Written in the name of King Ahasuerus himself and sealed with his own ring, ¹³these dispatches were sent by couriers to all the royal provinces with the order to kill, destroy, and wipe out all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.

•  ¹⁴A copy of the edict to be promulgated as law in every province was published for everyone to know so that they would be ready for that day. ¹⁵The couriers, spurred on by the king’s command, set out hastily, and the edict was first promulgated in Susa. As the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in bewilderment.

13 | ¹The text of the letter was as follows:

The great King Ahasuerus to the rulers of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia and the governors under them:

²As ruler of many nations and master of the whole world, I have resolved never to be carried away by the arrogance of power but always to rule with fairness and clemency, to provide for my subjects a life free of distress, and to restore the peace that all desire by making my government humane and truly civilized as far as the borders of my kingdom.

³When I consulted my advisers on how this might be accomplished, Haman, who excels among us in wisdom, who has earned distinction for trustworthiness and loyalty, and who has attained the second rank in the kingdom, ⁴brought to our attention the existence throughout my realm of a people of ill will, whose laws are opposed to those of every nation. Their continuous disregard for the decrees of kings hinders the establishment of unity in the empire.

⁵Considering, therefore, the continuous opposition of this people to all humankind, its outlandish system of laws and strange manner of life, its hostility to our interests, and the harm it does to the stability of our kingdom, ⁶we at this moment decree that all the people indicated in the letters of Haman, who is in charge of affairs and a second father to us, be utterly destroyed with women and children, by the sword, without mercy or consideration, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, of the present year, ⁷so that when these people, with their past and present ill will, have gone down into the world of the dead on a single day, they may, at last, leave our government in complete stability and peace.

4 | ¹When Mordecai learned what had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and walked through the city crying bitterly and loudly. ²But he came only as far as the king’s gate, for no one in sackcloth was allowed to enter. ³In every province where the king’s edict was read, there was great mourning among the Jews, fasting and weeping with lamentation, and many of them slept on sackcloth and ashes.

⁴Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs informed her about Mordecai. Overcome with grief, she sent clothes for Mordecai to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he refused. ⁵Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend to her, and ordered him to find out the reason for Mordecai’s action.

⁶So Hathach went to Mordecai in the public square before the king’s gate. ⁷Mordecai told him all that had happened and the exact amount of money Haman had promised to contribute to the royal treasury. ⁸He also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree for their destruction to show and explain to Esther. He further told him to urge her to go to the king to beg for mercy and intercede for her people: “Remember the days of your lowly estate when you were brought up in my charge. Haman, next to the king, has asked for our death. Pray to the Lord and speak to the king for us. Save us from death.”

⁹Hathach returned to Esther and told her what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰In reply, Esther gave Hathach this message for Mordecai, ¹¹“All the king’s servants and the people of his provinces know that any man or woman who goes to the king in the inner court without being summoned suffers the death penalty, unless the king grants them their life by holding out to them his golden scepter. But I have not been called to go to the king for thirty days now.”

•  ¹²When Mordecai received Esther’s words, ¹³he sent back this answer, “Do not suppose that because you are in the king’s palace, you alone, of all the Jews, will escape. ¹⁴If you remain silent now, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another source, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows—perhaps you have come to the throne for just such a time as this.”

¹⁵Esther sent back her reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶“Go, gather all the Jews who are in Susa. Fast for me—all of you; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will also fast. Then, I will go to the king, even if it is against the law. If I die for this, let it be.”

¹⁷Mordecai went away and carried out Esther’s instructions.

Mordecai’s Prayer

13 | ⁸Recalling all that the Lord had done, he prayed to him and said:

⁹Lord, King, and Master of all, everything is under your power; no one can withstand you in your will to save Israel.

¹⁰You made heaven and earth and all the marvels under heaven. ¹¹You are the Lord of all; no one can resist you.

¹²You know all things, O Lord; you know that no insolence, vainglory, or arrogance prompted me to act thus, to refuse to bow down before the proud Haman. ¹³Readily would I have kissed his feet for Israel’s safety!

¹⁴But what I did, I did so as not to place human glory above the glory of God. I will not bow down to anyone except to you, O Lord. My refusal has not been out of pride.

¹⁵And now, Lord God, King, God of Abraham, deliver your people! Our enemies plot our ruin; they are bent upon destroying your inheritance from the beginning.

¹⁶Do not forsake your own inheritance, which you redeemed out of Egypt for yourself.

¹⁷Hear my supplication, have mercy on your inheritance. Turn our mourning into rejoicing that we may live to sing praise to your name, O Lord. Do not silence the mouths of those who give you praise.

¹⁸And Israel cried out with all their might, for they were faced with death.

The Prayer of Esther

14 | ¹Seized with anguish in her fear of death, Queen Esther likewise had recourse to the Lord. ²Taking off her splendid robes, she wore distressed and mourning garments. Instead of expensive perfumes, she covered her head with dirt and ashes. Humbling her body severely, she put aside all her festive adornments and left her hair disheveled. ³Then she prayed to the Lord God of Israel:

⁴My Lord, you who stand alone, come to my help; I am alone and have no help but you. Through my own choice, I am endangering my life.

⁵As a child, I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forebears that you, O Lord, chose Israel from among all people and our fathers from among their ancestors to be your lasting heritage; that you did for them, all that you have promised.

⁶But we have sinned, and for this, you have handed us over to our enemies; ⁷we have worshiped their gods, but you, O Lord, are just.

⁸Dissatisfied with our bitter servitude, they made a pact with their idols ⁹to abolish what you have decreed, to blot out your heritage, ¹⁰to shut the mouths that give you praise, to quench the glory of your temple and your altar and instead to let the pagans sing the praise of worthless idols and idolize a king of flesh forever.

¹¹Do not give up your scepter, O Lord, to non-existent beings. Never let them gloat over our ruin, but turn their designs against themselves and make an example of our chief enemy.

¹²Remember us, Lord; reveal yourself in the time of our calamity. Give me courage, King of gods and master of all power. ¹³Make my words persuasive when I face the lion; turn his heart against our enemy, that the latter and his like may be brought to their end.

¹⁴Save us by your hand; help me who am alone and have none but you, O Lord.

¹⁵You know everything; you know how I hate honor if from the impious; how I loathe the bed of the uncircumcised and any foreigner.

¹⁶You know I am here under constraint, and I loathe the diadem about my brow when I appear in public; it is a filthy rag, and I loathe it and do not wear it in private.

¹⁷Your handmaid has never eaten at Haman’s table, enjoyed royal banquets, or drunk the wine offered to their gods.

¹⁸Neither has your handmaid found pleasure from the day of her promotion till now except in you, Lord God of Abraham.

¹⁹O God, more powerful than all, hear the voice of those in despair; save us from the evil man’s power, and deliver me from my fear.

Esther Appears Before the King

15 | •  ¹Ending her prayer on the third day, Esther took off her penitential garments and put on her royal attire. ²Radiant in appearance after invoking the all-seeing God and Savior, she took her two maids with her, ³She leaned gently on one of them for support, ⁴while the other followed carrying her train. ⁵Although her heart was frozen with fear, she looked radiant in her perfect beauty, her face depicting love and joy.

⁶After passing through all the doors, she found herself face to face with the king seated on his throne, awe-inspiring in the full array of his majesty, his robes covered with gold and precious stones. ⁷As he looked up, his face flushed with majestic anger, the queen faltered, turned pale, and leaned weakly upon the shoulder of the maid before her.

⁸Then God changed the king’s anger to gentleness. Alarmed, he sprang from his throne, took Esther in his arms until she had recovered, and comforted her with soothing words. ⁹“What is it, Esther?” he said. “I am your brother. Take heart. ¹⁰You will not die because our decree applies only to ordinary people. ¹¹Come, speak to me.” ¹²He raised the golden scepter, touched her neck, then embraced her saying, “Speak to me.”

¹³Esther spoke: “My lord, I saw you like an angel of God, and I trembled with fear before your majesty. ¹⁴For you are admirable, my lord, and your appearance is awesome although you are full of kindness.” ¹⁵But she fell fainting as she spoke. ¹⁶The king was deeply distressed, and his attendants tried to revive her.

5 | ³The king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? Tell me what you wish. Even if it is half of my kingdom, I will give it to you.” ⁴Esther replied, “If it pleases your Majesty, come with Haman to a banquet I have prepared today.” ⁵The king gave the order: “Call Haman at once so that Esther may have her wish.”

So the king and Haman went to Esther's banquet. ⁶ During the wine-drinking, the king again asked Esther, “What is your petition? Speak up, and it will be given. What is your request? Even half of my kingdom is yours for the asking.”

⁷Esther replied, “My petition and request is this: ⁸if I have found favor with your majesty, if it pleases you to grant my petition and request, come with Haman tomorrow to another banquet I will prepare. Then I will answer your question.”

⁹Haman left that day happy and in good spirits, but when he saw Mordecai at the royal gate, neither rising nor showing signs of fear of him, he was filled with rage towards the man. ¹⁰He did not show it, however, but went home and summoned his friends and his wife Zeresh.

¹¹After boasting about his vast wealth, his many sons, and the promotion he received from the king, which placed him above the officials and royal servants, ¹²Haman added, “Besides, Queen Esther invited me alone to go with the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me again tomorrow with the king. ¹³Yet none satisfies me, as long as I see the Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”

¹⁴His wife Zeresh and all his friends said, “Have a fifty-cubit gallows built. In the morning, ask the king to hang Mordecai on it. Then go to the banquet merrily together with the king.” Satisfied with the suggestion, Haman had the gallows erected.

Haman Is Humiliated Before Mordecai

6 | ¹As he was sleepless that night, the king asked for the Book of Chronicles. He ordered that the record of his reign be read to him. ²He came across the passage wherein Mordecai exposed a plot to assassinate King Ahasuerus, the plot of two royal eunuchs guarding the gate, Bagathan and Teresh. ³The king asked, “What reward and honor did Mordecai receive for this?” The king’s attendants answered, “None, your majesty.”

⁴Haman had entered the outer court, wanting to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected. “Who is there in the court?” the king asked. ⁵The king’s attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.” The king ordered, “Let him come in.”

⁶When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done to the man the king wishes to honor?”

Haman thought to himself: whom would the king wish to honor but me? ⁷So he replied, “For the man the king wishes to honor, ⁸let royal robes be brought which the king has worn, and a horse, which the king has ridden, with a royal diadem on its head. ⁹The robes and the horse should be handed to one of the king’s noblest officers, who should array the man the king wishes to honor and lead him on horseback through the city street, proclaiming before him: ‘This is what is done for the man the king is pleased to honor!’”

¹⁰The king ordered Haman, “Hurry! Take the robes and the horse and do as you have said for the Jew Mordecai sitting at the royal gate. Do not leave out anything you have recommended.”

¹¹So Haman took the robes and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the streets, proclaiming, “This is what is done for the man the king is pleased to honor!”

¹²After this, Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, while Haman hurried home, greatly dejected and with his head veiled. ¹³He told his wife and all his friends everything that had happened. They said to him, “If Mordecai, who started your downfall, is of Jewish origin, you will not win against him. You will surely be ruined.” ¹⁴While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs arrived and escorted Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.

The Banquet

7 | •  ¹So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared. ²And again, on that second day, while they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Whatever your petition is, Queen Esther, it shall be granted. Whatever request you make shall be fulfilled, even if it were half of my kingdom.”

³Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life; and spare also the lives of my people. This is my petition and request for myself and my people. ⁴For my people and I have been delivered to destruction, slaughter, and extinction. Had we been sold merely as male and female slaves, I would have said nothing, for our calamity would not be as great a loss to the king.”

⁵King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who and where is the man who dared do such a thing?” ⁶Esther answered, “He is no other than this wicked Haman—an enemy and a foe!”

At this, Haman was seized with terror. ⁷The king left the banquet in anger and went to the garden. Haman stayed to beg Queen Esther for his life, realizing the king had decided on his doom.

⁸When the king returned from the garden to the banquet hall, Haman had thrown himself on the bed where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Is he going to molest the queen even before my eyes in my own house?” No sooner had the king spoken than his assistants covered Haman’s face. ⁹Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “This man built a fifty-cubit gallows for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king. It is standing there at his house.”

The king said, “Very well, hang him on it.” ¹⁰Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.

8 | ¹That same day, King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Mordecai was admitted into the king’s presence, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her. ²The king took off his signet ring, which he had recovered from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai, whom Esther appointed in charge of Haman’s house.

³Once more, Esther was able to be heard by the king. Weeping and falling before him, she begged him to frustrate the evil plot of Haman the Agagite against the Jews. ⁴The king held out the golden scepter to her, and she rose and stood before him, saying,

⁵“If it pleases your majesty if I am pleasing to your eyes and have found favor with you, and if you think it proper to do so, let an order be issued revoking the letters which Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, wrote to destroy the Jews in all the royal provinces. ⁶For how can I bear to see the destruction of my people, the extermination of my race?”

⁷King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Haman’s house to Esther and had Haman hanged on the gallows for plotting to destroy the Jews. ⁸Now you can write a decree concerning the Jews, in the king's name, and seal it with the royal signet ring; any document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring cannot be revoked.”

⁹The royal scribes were summoned that very day, the twenty-third of the third month of Sivan, and as Mordecai dictated, they wrote an order to the Jews, to the satraps, governors, and officials of the one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia, to each province in its own script, to each people in its own language, and the Jews in their own script and language. ¹⁰These letters, written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring, were carried by couriers mounted on the king’s thoroughbred steeds.

¹¹The king’s edict granted the Jews in each city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to kill, destroy, and wipe out any armed group of any nation or province that might attack them and their women and children, and to seize their goods as spoil. ¹²This edict took effect throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar.

16 | •  ¹The text of the letter read as follows: “The great King Ahasuerus to the satraps, governors, and all our loyal subjects in the one hundred twenty-seven provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia: Greetings!

²The more some men are honored through the generosity of their patrons, the prouder they become. ³Gloating in their power and incapable of responsibility, they seek to injure our subjects and even plot against their benefactors. ⁴They drive out gratitude from the human heart. Carried away by the arrogant boasts of men who know nothing of goodness, they think they will escape the justice of the all-seeing God.

⁵It often happens also that those in authority, through the influence of friends entrusted with the administration of public affairs, become partly responsible for the shedding of innocent blood and are involved in causing irremediable misfortune. ⁶Even well-intentioned rulers are led astray by the trickery of the corrupt.

⁷These evil practices of past times, as attested by the records, have been carried over to the present in the crimes perpetrated by unworthy officials. ⁸For the future, however, we will strive to make our kingdom a realm of peace for all ⁹by now adopting new policies and treating all matters that come to our attention with the utmost justice.

¹⁰To give an example, Haman, son of Hammedatha, a Macedonian who is alien to Persian blood and devoid of our kindness, was treated hospitably by us. ¹¹Enjoying the goodwill that we have towards every nation, he was even proclaimed our “father,” before whom, as second in rank to the king, everyone bowed down. ¹²But his arrogance turned his head, and he schemed to deprive us of our kingdom and our life. ¹³He plotted to destroy Mordecai, our savior and constant benefactor, of Esther, our blameless royal partner, and their entire race. ¹⁴In that way, he hoped to make us defenseless and facilitate the transfer of rule by the Persians to the Macedonians.

¹⁵‘We find, however, that the Jews consigned to extinction by this accursed man are not evildoers but are governed by the most just of laws. ¹⁶They are, in fact, children of the Most High, the great living God, who has made our kingdom prosperous for us and our ancestors.

¹⁷You will, therefore, do well to ignore the letter sent by Haman, son of Hammedatha, ¹⁸for the man himself, together with his entire family, has been hanged at the gate of Susa. Thus, God speedily rules over all and gives him the punishment he deserves.

¹⁹Post a copy of this letter in every public place, give the Jews freedom to live by their own laws, ²⁰and come to their aid in time of trial against those who plan to attack them on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar. ²¹For God, who rules over all, has turned this day from one of destruction into one of joy for his chosen people.

²²You should, therefore, celebrate this memorable day among your designated feasts with all rejoicing, ²³so that both now and hereafter it may be for us and the loyal Persians a celebration of salvation, and for those who plot against us a reminder of destruction.

²⁴Every city and country, without exception, that fails to observe this decree shall be ruthlessly destroyed with sword and fire. It will then be left untrodden not only by people but also by beasts and birds.

8 | ¹³A copy of the text of the edict to be promulgated as law in every province was published among all the people so that the Jews might be prepared on the day stated to avenge themselves on their enemies.

¹⁴Spurred on by the king’s command, the couriers, mounted on the king’s steeds, rode out in haste, and the edict was promulgated in the citadel of Susa.

¹⁵In royal garments of blue and white, with a large golden crown and a cloak of purple and fine linen, Mordecai left the king’s presence. There was a joyful celebration in the city of Susa. ¹⁶For the Jews, it was a time of splendor, merriment, honor, and triumph. ¹⁷Wherever the king’s edict was read in every province and each city, there was rejoicing and feasting among the Jews. Many people of other nationalities were seized with fear of the Jews, and they embraced Judaism.

9 | •  ¹When the day came for the order of the king to be carried out—the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to crush them —the reverse happened, for it was the Jews who got the upper hand over those who sought their harm. ²In their towns throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the Jews gathered to strike at those who planned their destruction. But no one dared resist them, for all the other nations feared them. ³In fact, all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, governors, and the king’s administrators supported the Jews out of fear of Mordecai, ⁴who had become more and more powerful and prominent not only in the palace but throughout the provinces.

⁵The Jews struck down their enemies, killing them by the sword, doing as they pleased to those who hated them. ⁶In Susa alone, they killed five hundred men. ⁷They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha ⁸Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, ⁹Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, ¹⁰the ten sons of Haman, who was Hammedatha’s son and enemy of the Jews. But they laid no hand on the spoils.

¹¹That same day, the number of the slain in Susa was reported to the king, ¹²who in turn told Esther: “The Jews have killed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in Susa alone. Imagine what more they have done in the rest of my provinces! But you shall again be granted whatever you ask; whatever you request shall be fulfilled.”

¹³Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Susa be permitted again tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

¹⁴The king then ordered that this be done. The edict was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. ¹⁵On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa gathered again and put to death three hundred men. But again, they laid no hand on the spoils.

¹⁶The other Jews in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of their foes but did not lay hands on the spoils. ¹⁷This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and the Jews rested on the fourteenth, making it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

¹⁸The Jews in Susa, however, assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth and rested on the fifteenth, making this a day of feasting and rejoicing. ¹⁹That is why the rural Jews have a different day of rest and celebration: the fourteenth of the month of Adar, on which they send presents to each other.

²⁰Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, ²¹directing them to celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth of the month of Adar ²²as the days when the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into feasting. They were to observe these as days of festivity and rejoicing, days for giving food presents to one another and gifts to the poor.

²³The Jews agreed to observe this celebration annually, instituted in Mordecai’s written order. ²⁴For Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to destroy them and had cast the pur or lot for their ruin. ²⁵Yet through Esther’s intervention, the king ordered in writing that the wicked plan against the Jews should instead be turned against Haman, whom he ordered to be hanged, as well as his sons. ²⁶These days, therefore, have been called Purim after the word pur. Because of this written order and what they had seen and experienced, ²⁷the Jews took upon themselves, their descendants, and all who would join them to celebrate these two days every year without fail, in the manner prescribed and at the time appointed. ²⁸Commemorated and celebrated thus, in every family, province, and city through all generations, these days of Purim were never to fall into disuse among the Jews nor into oblivion among their descendants.

²⁹Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with the Jew Mordecai, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. ³⁰Letters were sent to all the Jews in the one hundred twenty-seven provinces of Ahasuerus’ kingdom, in words conveying goodwill and assurance, ³¹enjoining them to observe these days of Purim at the designated time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed and just as the Jews had prescribed for themselves and their descendants, concerning their duty of fasting and lamentation. ³²Esther’s decree fixed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in the book.

10 | ¹King Ahasuerus levied tribute throughout the empire, including the distant islands. ² All his acts of power and valor, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, who the king raised to high honor, are recorded in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia. ³The Jew Mordecai was second in rank to King Ahasuerus; he was great among the Jews and esteemed by many of his brothers as the harbinger of peace and welfare for all his people.

⁴And Mordecai said, “This is God’s work. ⁵I remember my dream about this, nothing of which has failed to be fulfilled—⁶the little spring that became a river, the light, the sun, and the flood of water. Esther is the river, whom the king married and made queen. ⁷Haman and I are the two dragons. ⁸Those who assembled to destroy the Jews are the nations. ⁹And my nation is Israel, my people, who cried to God and were saved. Yes, the Lord has saved his people and delivered us from all these evils. God has worked such signs and wonders as have never occurred among the nations.

¹⁰For this purpose, God prepared two destinies—one for his people and the other for all the nations. ¹¹These two destinies were fulfilled at the moment, the hour, and the day laid down by God among the nations. ¹²He remembered his people and rendered justice to his inheritance. ¹⁴Thus, gathering together with joy before God on the fourteenth and fifteenth of the month of Adar, Israel will celebrate these days from generation to generation.

In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who affirmed he was a priest and a Levite, and his son Ptolemy brought to Egypt the preceding letter concerning the Purim, maintaining that it was genuine and had been translated by Lysimachus, Ptolemy’s son and a resident of Jerusalem.”