¹⁰ You, O king, ^(A)have made a decree, that every man who ^(B)hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, ^(C)shall fall down and worship the golden image.

¹² Then they ^(A)came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign ^(B)an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of ^(C)the Medes and Persians, ^(D)which cannot be revoked.”

⁴ And the herald ^(A)proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O ^(B)peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that when you hear the ^(C)sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you ^(D)are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately ^(E)be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” ⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all ^(F)the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

^12 (A)Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's ^(B)satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, ^(C)to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written ^(D)in the name of King Ahasuerus ^(E)and sealed with the king's signet ring. ¹³ Letters were sent ^(F)by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction ^(G)to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, ^(H)in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, ^(I)and to plunder their goods. ^14 (J)A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day.

¹⁶ Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,^{[a] (A)}to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, ¹⁷ so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, ^(B)the name of the beast or ^(C)the number of its name.

⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

¹⁵ Now if you are ready when ^(A)you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.^[a] But if you do not worship, ^(B)you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And ^(C)who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”