²¹ “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”

⁸ Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.

³ for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!

¹² From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.