¹² Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes^(A) and cosmetics. ¹³ And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. ¹⁴ In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines.^(B) She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.^(C)

¹⁵ When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail^(D)) to go to the king,^(E) she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor^(F) of everyone who saw her. ¹⁶ She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷ Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen^(G) instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ And the king gave a great banquet,^(H) Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials.^(I) He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.^(J)

Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy

¹⁹ When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.^{(K) 20} But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.^(L)

²¹ During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana^[a] and Teresh, two of the king’s officers^(M) who guarded the doorway, became angry^(N) and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. ²² But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. ²³ And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled^(O) on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals^(P) in the presence of the king.^(Q)

Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews

3 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,^(R) elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. ² All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

³ Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”^{(S) 4} Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply.^(T) Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.^{(U) 6} Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way^(V) to destroy^(W) all Mordecai’s people, the Jews,^(X) throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

⁷ In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur^(Y) (that is, the lot^(Z)) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on^[b] the twelfth month, the month of Adar.^(AA)

⁸ Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs^(AB) are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey^(AC) the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.^{(AD) 9} If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents^[c] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”^(AE)

¹⁰ So the king took his signet ring^(AF) from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹ “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”

¹² Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language^(AG) of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed^(AH) with his own ring. ¹³ Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews^(AI)—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,^(AJ) and to plunder^(AK) their goods. ¹⁴ A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.^(AL)

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

The Law and Sin

⁷ What shall we say, then?^(A) Is the law sinful? Certainly not!^(B) Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.^(C) For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”^{[a](D) 8} But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,^(E) produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.^{(F) 9} Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life^(G) actually brought death. ¹¹ For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,^(H) deceived me,^(I) and through the commandment put me to death. ¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.^(J)

¹³ Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good^(K) to bring about my death,^(L) so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.