1 A nd in the twelfth month -- it the month of Adar -- on the thirteenth day of it, in which the word of the king, even his law, hath come to be done, in the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to rule over them, and it is turned that the Jews rule over those hating them --

Now 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.

2 t he Jews have been assembled in their cities, in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to put forth a hand on those seeking their evil, and no man hath stood in their presence, for their fear hath fallen on all the peoples.

The 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.

3 A nd all heads of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the governors, and those doing the work that the king hath, are lifting up the Jews, for a fear of Mordecai hath fallen upon them;

The 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.

4 f or great Mordecai in the house of the king, and his fame is going into all the provinces, for the man Mordecai is going on and becoming great.

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

5 A nd the Jews smite among all their enemies -- a smiting of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction -- and do with those hating them according to their pleasure,

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

6 a nd in Shushan the palace have the Jews slain and destroyed five hundred men;

In the city of Susa where the king ruled the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men,

7 a nd Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,

and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

8 a nd Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

9 a nd Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,

Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.

10 t en sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, adversary of the Jews, they have slain, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand.

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

11 O n that day hath come the number of the slain in Shushan the palace before the king,

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

12 a nd the king saith to Esther the queen, `In Shushan the palace have the Jews slain and destroyed five hundred men, and the ten sons of Haman; in the rest of the provinces of the king what have they done? and what thy petition? and it is given to thee; and what thy request again? and it is done.'

And 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.”

13 A nd Esther saith, `If to the king good, let it be given also to-morrow, to the Jews who in Shushan, to do according to the law of to-day; and the ten sons of Haman they hang on the tree.'

Esther 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.”

14 A nd the king saith -- `to be done so;' and a law is given in Shushan, and the ten sons of Haman they have hanged.

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

15 A nd the Jews who in Shushan are assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they slay in Shushan three hundred men, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand.

The 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.

16 A nd the rest of the Jews, who in the provinces of the king, have been assembled, even to stand for their life, and to rest from their enemies, and to slay among those hating them five and seventy thousand, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand;

Now 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.

17 o n the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, even to rest on the fourteenth of it, and to make it a day of banquet and of joy.

This 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.

18 A nd the Jews who in Shushan have been assembled, on the thirteenth day of it, and on the fourteenth of it, even to rest on the fifteenth of it, and to make it a day of banquet and of joy.

But 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.

19 T herefore the Jews of the villages, who are dwelling in cities of the villages, are making the fourteenth day of the month of Adar -- joy and banquet, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

So 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

20 A nd Mordecai writeth these things, and sendeth letters unto all the Jews who in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus, who are near and who are far off,

Mordecai 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.

21 t o establish on them, to be keeping the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of it, in every year and year,

He told them to remember the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar each year.

22 a s days on which the Jews have rested from their enemies, and the month that hath been turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to a good day, to make them days of banquet and of joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the needy.

Because 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.

23 A nd the Jews have received that which they had begun to do, and that which Mordecai hath written unto them,

So the Jews agreed to do what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

24 b ecause Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of all the Jews, had devised concerning the Jews to destroy them, and had caused to fall Pur -- that the lot -- to crush them and to destroy them;

For 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.

25 a nd in her coming in before the king, he said with the letter, `Let his evil device that he devised against the Jews turn back upon his own head,' and they have hanged him and his sons on the tree,

But 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.

26 t herefore they have called these days Purim -- by the name of the lot -- therefore, because of all the words of this letter, and what they have seen concerning this, and what hath come unto them,

So 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,

27 t he Jews have established and received upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all those joined unto them, and it doth not pass away, to be keeping these two days according to their writing, and according to their season, in every year and year;

the 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.

28 a nd these days are remembered and kept in every generation and generation, family and family, province and province, and city and city, and these days of Purim do not pass away from the midst of the Jews, and their memorial is not ended from their seed.

These 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.

29 A nd Esther the queen, daughter of Abihail, writeth, and Mordecai the Jew, with all might, to establish this second letter of Purim,

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

30 a nd he sendeth letters unto all the Jews, unto the seven and twenty and a hundred provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus -- words of peace and truth --

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

31 t o establish these days of Purim, in their seasons, as Mordecai the Jew hath established on them, and Esther the queen, and as they had established on themselves, and on their seed -- matters of the fastings, and of their cry.

They 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.

32 A nd a saying of Esther hath established these matters of Purim, and it is written in the Book.

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