The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

9 Now ^(A)in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on ^(B)the thirteenth ^[a]day ^(C)when the king’s command and edict ^[b]were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them. ^2 (D)The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm; and no one could stand before them, ^(E)for the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples. ³ Even all the princes of the provinces, ^(F)the satraps, the governors and those who were doing the king’s business ^[c]assisted the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. ⁴ Indeed, Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai ^(G)became greater and greater. ⁵ Thus ^(H)the Jews struck all their enemies with ^[d]the sword, killing and destroying; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. ⁶ At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, ⁷ and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, ⁸ Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, ⁹ Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, ^10 (I)the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy; but ^(J)they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

¹¹ On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa ^[e]was reported to the king. ¹² The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! ^(K)Now what is your petition? It shall even be granted you. And what is your further request? It shall also be done.” ¹³ Then said Esther, “If it pleases the king, ^(L)let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” ¹⁴ So the king commanded that it should be done so; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged. ¹⁵ The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed ^(M)three hundred men in Susa, but ^(N)they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

¹⁶ Now ^(O)the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces ^(P)assembled, to defend their lives and ^[f]rid themselves of their enemies, and kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. ¹⁷ This was done on ^(Q)the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and ^(R)on the fourteenth ^[g]day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

¹⁸ But the Jews who were in Susa ^(S)assembled on the thirteenth and ^(T)the fourteenth ^[h]of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth ^[i]day and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. ¹⁹ Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in ^(U)the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a ^[j](V)holiday for rejoicing and feasting and ^(W)sending portions of food to one another.

The Feast of Purim Instituted

²⁰ Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, ²¹ obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day ^[k]of the same month, annually, ²² because on those days the Jews ^[l]rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was ^(X)turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a ^[m]holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and ^(Y)sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

²³ Thus the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. ²⁴ For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them and ^(Z)had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and destroy them. ²⁵ But ^(AA)when it came ^[n]to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter ^(AB)that his wicked scheme which he had ^[o]devised against the Jews, ^(AC)should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the ^[p]gallows. ²⁶ Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. ^[q]And ^(AD)because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them, ²⁷ the Jews established and ^[r]made a custom for themselves and for their ^[s]descendants and for ^(AE)all those who allied themselves with them, so that ^[t]they would not fail ^(AF)to celebrate these two days according to their ^[u]regulation and according to their appointed time annually. ²⁸ So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to ^[v]fail from among the Jews, or their memory ^[w]fade from their ^[x]descendants.

²⁹ Then Queen Esther, ^(AG)daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm ^(AH)this second letter about Purim. ³⁰ He sent letters to all the Jews, ^(AI)to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, ³¹ to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their ^[y]descendants with ^[z]instructions ^(AJ)for their times of fasting and their lamentations. ³² The command of Esther established these ^[aa]customs for ^(AK)Purim, and it was written in the book.

Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which ^(A)God gave Him to ^(B)show to His bond-servants, ^(C)the things which must soon take place; and He sent and ^[a]communicated it ^(D)by His angel to His bond-servant ^(E)John, ² who testified to ^(F)the word of God and to ^(G)the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ^3 (H)Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and ^[b]heed the things which are written in it; ^(I)for the time is near.

Message to the Seven Churches

^4 (J)John to ^(K)the seven churches that are in ^(L)Asia: ^(M)Grace to you and peace, from ^(N)Him who is and who was and who ^[c]is to come, and from ^(O)the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, ^(P)the faithful witness, the ^(Q)firstborn of the dead, and the ^(R)ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who ^(S)loves us and released us from our sins ^[d]by His blood— ⁶ and He has made us to be a ^(T)kingdom, ^(U)priests to ^[e](V)His God and Father—^(W)to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ^7 (X)Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and ^(Y)every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will ^(Z)mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am ^(AA)the Alpha and the Omega,” says the ^(AB)Lord God, “^(AC)who is and who was and who ^[f]is to come, the Almighty.”

The Patmos Vision

^9 (AD)I, John, your ^(AE)brother and ^(AF)fellow partaker in the tribulation and ^(AG)kingdom and ^[g](AH)perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(AI)because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was ^[h](AJ)in the Spirit on ^(AK)the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AL)like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “^(AM)Write in a ^[i]book what you see, and send it to the ^(AN)seven churches: to ^(AO)Ephesus and to ^(AP)Smyrna and to ^(AQ)Pergamum and to ^(AR)Thyatira and to ^(AS)Sardis and to ^(AT)Philadelphia and to ^(AU)Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw ^(AV)seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and ^(AW)in the middle of the lampstands I saw one ^(AX)like ^[j]a son of man, ^(AY)clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and ^(AZ)girded across His chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His ^(BA)hair were white like white wool, like snow; and ^(BB)His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His ^(BC)feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His ^(BD)voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held ^(BE)seven stars, and out of His mouth came a ^(BF)sharp two-edged sword; and His ^(BG)face was like ^(BH)the sun ^[k]shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I ^(BI)fell at His feet like a dead man. And He ^(BJ)placed His right hand on me, saying, “^(BK)Do not be afraid; ^(BL)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the ^(BM)living One; and I ^[l](BN)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(BO)the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore ^(BP)write ^(BQ)the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^(BR)after these things. ²⁰ As for the ^(BS)mystery of the ^(BT)seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the ^(BU)seven golden lampstands: the ^(BV)seven stars are the angels of ^(BW)the seven churches, and the seven ^(BX)lampstands are the seven churches.