Esters 3

Det Norsk Bibelselskap 1930

3 Nogen tid efter ophøiet kong Ahasverus agagitten Haman, Hammedatas sønn, og gav ham rang og sete over alle de fyrster som var hos ham.

²Og alle kongens tjenere som var i kongens port, falt på kne og kastet sig ned for Haman, for så hadde kongen befalt om ham; men Mordekai falt ikke på kne og kastet sig ikke ned for ham.

³Da sa kongens tjenere som var i kongens port, til Mordekai: Hvorfor overtreder du kongens bud?

⁴Og da de dag efter dag hadde sagt så til ham, og han ikke hørte på dem, så meldte de det til Haman for å se om den grunn Mordekai gav, vilde bli tatt for god: for han hadde sagt dem at han var jøde.

⁵Da Haman så at Mordekai ikke falt på kne eller kastet sig ned for ham, blev han full av harme.

⁶Men det syntes ham alt for lite å legge hånd bare på Mordekai; for han hadde fått vite hvilket folk Mordekai hørte til; derfor søkte han å få utryddet alle de jøder som fantes i hele Ahasverus' rike, fordi det var Mordekais folk.

⁷I den første måned, det er måneden nisan, i kong Ahasverus' tolvte år blev det kastet pur, det er lodd, i Hamans påsyn om hver enkelt dag og hver enkelt måned like til den tolvte måned, det er måneden adar.

⁸Og Haman sa til kong Ahasverus: Her er et folk som bor spredt og for sig selv blandt de andre folk i alle ditt rikes landskaper, og deres lover er forskjellige fra alle andre folks; de holder sig ikke efter kongens lover, og det høver ikke for kongen å la dem være i fred.

⁹Dersom det tykkes kongen godt, så la det bli utferdiget en skrivelse om at de skal utryddes; og jeg skal da kunne tilveie embedsmennene ti tusen talenter sølv til å legge i kongens skattkammer.

¹⁰Da trakk kongen signetringen av sin hånd og gav den til agagitten Haman, Hammedatas sønn, jødenes fiende,

¹¹og sa til ham: Sølvet skal være ditt, og med folket kan du gjøre som du finner for godt.

¹²Kongens skrivere blev da kalt sammen på den trettende dag i den første måned, og det blev utferdiget en skrivelse aldeles således som Haman bød, både til kongens stattholdere og til landshøvdingene for hvert landskap og til fyrstene over hvert folk - til hvert landskap i dets skrift og til hvert folk på dets tungemål. I kong Ahasverus' navn blev skrivelsene utferdiget, og de blev forseglet med kongens signetring.

¹³Så sendtes der med ilbud skrivelser til alle kongens landskaper at alle jøder skulde ødelegges, drepes og utryddes, både unge og gamle, små barn og kvinner, alle på en dag, på den trettende dag i den tolvte måned, det er måneden adar, og deres gods skulde gis til plyndring.

¹⁴Forat befalingen skulde bli kjent i hvert landskap, blev en avskrift av skrivelsen kunngjort for alle folkene, så de kunde holde sig rede til den nevnte dag.

¹⁵På kongens bud drog ilbudene i hast avsted så snart befalingen var utferdiget på borgen Susan. Så satte kongen og Haman sig til å drikke, men byen Susan var forferdet.

Esther 3

New International Version

Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews

3 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,^(A) elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. ²All 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.

³Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”^(B) ⁴Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply.^(C) Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

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

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

⁸Then 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^(K) are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey^(L) the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.^(M) ⁹If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents^[b] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”^(N)

¹⁰So the king took his signet ring^(O) 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.”

¹²Then 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^(P) 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^(Q) with his own ring. ¹³Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews^(R)—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,^(S) and to plunder^(T) their goods. ¹⁴A 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.^(U)

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

Footnotes

Esther 3:7 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have And the lot fell on.
Esther 3:9 That is, about 375 tons or about 340 metric tons

Esther 3

English Standard Version

Haman Plots Against the Jews

3 After these things King Ahasuerus ^(A)promoted Haman ^(B)the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, ^(C)and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. ²And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. ^(D)But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. ³Then the king's servants who were ^(E)at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress ^(F)the king's command?” ⁴And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵And when Haman saw that ^(G)Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was ^(H)filled with fury. ⁶But he disdained^[a] to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy^[b] all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, ^(I)they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is ^(J)the month of Adar. ⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. ^(K)Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. ⁹If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents^[c] of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries.” ¹⁰^(L)So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman ^(M)the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, ^(N)the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

¹²^(O)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 ^(P)satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, ^(Q)to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written ^(R)in the name of King Ahasuerus ^(S)and sealed with the king's signet ring. ¹³Letters were sent ^(T)by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction ^(U)to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, ^(V)in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, ^(W)and to plunder their goods. ¹⁴^(X)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. ¹⁵^(Y)The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, ^(Z)but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

Footnotes

Esther 3:6 Hebrew disdained in his eyes
Esther 3:6 Or annihilate
Esther 3:9 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms

Esther 3

New King James Version

Haman’s Conspiracy Against the Jews

3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the ^(A)Agagite, and ^(B)advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. ²And all the king’s servants who were ^(C)within the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai ^(D)would not bow or pay homage. ³Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the ^(E)king’s command?” ⁴Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵When Haman saw that Mordecai ^(F)did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was ^(G)filled with wrath. ⁶But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman ^(H)sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai.

⁷In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, ^(I)they cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman ^[a]to determine the day and the ^[b]month, ^[c]until it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; ^(J)their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. ⁹If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.”

¹⁰So the king ^(K)took ^(L)his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the ^(M)enemy of the Jews. ¹¹And the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.”

¹²^(N)Then the king’s scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded—to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province ^(O)according to its script, and to every people in their language. ^(P)In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king’s signet ring. ¹³And the letters were ^(Q)sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, ^(R)in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and ^(S)to plunder their ^[d]possessions. ¹⁴^(T)A copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. ¹⁵The couriers went out, hastened by the king’s command; and the decree was proclaimed in ^[e]Shushan the ^[f]citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but ^(U)the city of Shushan was ^[g]perplexed.

Footnotes

Esther 3:7 Lit. from day to day and month to month
Esther 3:7 LXX adds to destroy the people of Mordecai in one day; Vg. adds the nation of the Jews should be destroyed
Esther 3:7 So with MT, Vg.; LXX and the lot fell on the fourteenth of the month
Esther 3:13 LXX adds the text of the letter here
Esther 3:15 Or Susa
Esther 3:15 palace
Esther 3:15 in confusion

Det Norsk Bibelselskap 1930 (DNB1930)

by Public Domain

New International Version (NIV)

Esters 3

Det Norsk Bibelselskap 1930