1 N ow came the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, when the king’s law was about to be carried out. It was the day when those who hated the Jews hoped to get the rule over them. But their plan was turned around, and the Jews ruled over those who hated them.

Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.

2 T he Jews gathered in their cities in all the parts of the nation of King Ahasuerus to hurt those who wanted to kill them. No one could stand in front of them, for the fear of them had come upon all the people.

The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people.

3 T he princes of the nation, the rulers, the leaders, and those who were doing the king’s work all helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had come upon them.

And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.

4 F or Mordecai was great in the king’s house. His name spread through all the nation, for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.

For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent.

5 S o the Jews killed and destroyed with sword all those who hated them. They did as they pleased to those who hated them.

Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.

6 I n the city of Susa where the king ruled the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men,

And in Shushan the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.

7 a nd Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

Also Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

8 P oratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

9 P armashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.

Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha—

10 T hese were the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, who hated the Jews. But they did not touch anything that belonged to them.

the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews—they killed; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

11 O n that day the number of those who were killed in the city of Susa where the king lived was told to the king.

On that day the number of those who were killed in Shushan the citadel was brought to the king.

12 A nd the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and the ten sons of Haman in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s nation! Now what do you ask of me? It will be done for you. What else do you want? It will be done.”

And the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done.”

13 E sther said, “If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to carry out today’s law. Let the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the tower.”

Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

14 S o the king said that this should be done. He made it known in Susa, and the bodies of Haman’s ten sons were hanged.

So the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.

15 T he Jews in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed 300 men in Susa. But they did not touch anything that belonged to them.

And the Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

16 N ow the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s nation gathered to fight for their lives and get rid of those who hated them. They killed 75, 000 of those who hated them. But they did not touch anything that belonged to them.

The remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

17 T his was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. On the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of eating and joy.

This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness. The Feast of Purim

18 B ut the Jews in Susa gathered on the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the same month. And they rested on the fifteenth day and made it a day of eating and joy.

But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

19 S o the Jews of the villages, who lived in the small towns without walls, made the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a special day of joy and eating and sharing their food with one another. The Special Supper of Purim

Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another.

20 M ordecai wrote down these things. And he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the nation of King Ahasuerus, both near and far.

And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,

21 H e told them to remember the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar each year.

to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar,

22 B ecause on those days the Jews got rid of those who hated them. It was a month which was changed from sorrow into joy, from a day of sorrow into a special day. He said that they should make them days of eating and joy and sending food to one another and gifts to the poor.

as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.

23 S o the Jews agreed to do what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them,

24 F or Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the one who hated all the Jews, had planned to destroy the Jews. He had drawn names, using Pur, to trouble them and destroy them.

because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them;

25 B ut when the king heard about it, he made it known by letter that his plan against the Jews should bring trouble upon himself. And he had Haman and his sons hanged on the tower.

but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

26 S o they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Because of what was written in this letter, and what they had seen and what had happened to them,

So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them,

27 t he Jews set apart this special time each year for themselves, for their children and their children’s children, and for all who joined them. They would always remember to keep these two days special, as it was written and at the same time every year.

the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time,

28 T hese days were to be remembered and kept as a special time for all their children-to-come, in every family, every land, and every city. These days of Purim were not to be forgotten by the Jews. Their children and their children’s children were to remember them forever.

that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.

29 T hen Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full power to make this second letter about Purim sure.

Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.

30 L etters were sent to all the Jews in the 127 parts of the nation of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth.

And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,

31 T hey made sure that these days of Purim would be kept at the right times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had told them. These days were set apart for themselves and for their children and their children’s children, with the times they were to go without food and the times they were to be sad.

to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting.

32 T he words of Esther made the rules for keeping Purim sure, and it was written in the book.

So the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.