Esther 8:9-11

New International Reader's Version

⁹ Right away the king sent for the royal secretaries. It was the 23rd day of the third month. That was the month of Sivan. They wrote down all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews. They also wrote them to the royal officials, the governors and the nobles of the 127 territories in his kingdom. The territories reached from India all the way to Cush. The orders were written down in the writing of each territory. They were written in the language of each nation. They were also written to the Jews in their own writing and language. ¹⁰ Mordecai wrote the orders in the name of King Xerxes. He stamped them with the king’s royal mark. He sent them by messengers on horseback. They rode fast horses that were raised just for the king.

¹¹ The Jews in every city could now gather together and fight for their lives. The king’s order gave them that right. But suppose soldiers from any nation or territory attacked them, their women or children. Then the Jews could destroy, kill and wipe out those soldiers. They could also take the goods that belonged to their enemies.