¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden statue,^(A)

¹² Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, “O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that anyone who prays to any god or human, within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions?” The king answered, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.”^(A)

⁴ the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,^{(A) 5} that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.^{(B) 6} Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”^{(C) 7} Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum,^[a] and entire musical ensemble, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.^(D)

¹² Then the king’s secretaries 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 satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring.^{(A) 13} Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, giving orders to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, children and women, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.^{(B) 14} A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation, calling on all the peoples to be ready for that day.^(C)

¹⁶ Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be given a brand on the right hand or the forehead,^{(A) 17} so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the brand, that is, the name of the beast or the number for its name.^(B)

⁵⁷ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus^[a] was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

¹⁵ Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, you should fall down and worship the statue that I have made. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”^(A)

Judgment and the Future Belong to God

¹⁶ Moreover, I saw under the sun that, in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well.