⁶ At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:

¹³ Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews^(A)—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,^(B) and to plunder^(C) their goods.

¹⁵ The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.^(A) The king and Haman sat down to drink,^(B) but the city of Susa was bewildered.^(C)

¹⁰ Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.

¹⁴ The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.^(A)