Esther 8:11-17

New King James Version

¹¹ By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to ^(A)gather together and protect their lives—to ^(B)destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions, ^12 (C)on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of ^[a]Adar. ^13 (D)A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. ¹⁴ The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in ^[b]Shushan the ^[c]citadel.

¹⁵ So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of ^[d]blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and ^(E)the city of ^[e]Shushan rejoiced and was glad. ¹⁶ The Jews had ^(F)light and gladness, joy and honor. ¹⁷ And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast ^(G)and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land ^(H)became Jews, because ^(I)fear of the Jews fell upon them.