Esther 8
Christian Standard Bible
Esther Intervenes for the Jews
8 That same day King Ahasuerus awarded Queen Esther the estate(A) of Haman, the enemy of the Jews.(B) Mordecai entered the king’s presence because Esther had revealed her relationship to Mordecai.(C) 2 The king removed his signet ring he had recovered from Haman(D) and gave it to Mordecai, and Esther put him in charge of Haman’s estate.
3 Then Esther addressed the king again.(E) She fell at his feet, wept, and begged(F) him to revoke the evil of Haman the Agagite(G) and his plot he had devised against the Jews.(H) 4 The king extended the gold scepter(I) toward Esther, so she got up and stood before the king.
5 She said, “If it pleases the king and I have found favor with him, if the matter seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes,(J) let a royal edict be written. Let it revoke the documents the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces.(K) 6 For how could I bear to see the disaster that would come on my people?(L) How could I bear to see the destruction of my relatives?” (M)
7 King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have given Haman’s estate to Esther,(N) and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked[a] the Jews.(O) 8 Write in the king’s name whatever pleases you(P) concerning the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring.(Q) A document written in the king’s name and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”(R)
9 On the twenty-third day of the third month(S)—that is, the month Sivan—the royal scribes were summoned. Everything was written exactly as Mordecai(T) commanded for the Jews, to the satraps,(U) the governors, and the officials of the 127 provinces from India to Cush.(V) The edict was written for each province in its own script, for each ethnic group in its own language,(W) and to the Jews in their own script and language.
10 Mordecai wrote in King Ahasuerus’s name and sealed the edicts with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers,(X) who rode fast horses(Y) bred in the royal stables.
11 The king’s edict gave the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate every ethnic and provincial army hostile to them, including women and children, and to take their possessions as spoils of war.(Z) 12 This would take place on a single day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar.(AA)
13 A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples(AB) so the Jews could be ready to avenge themselves against their enemies on that day. 14 The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses at the king’s urgent command. The law was also issued in the fortress of Susa.(AC)
15 Mordecai went from the king’s presence clothed in royal blue and white, with a great gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen.(AD) The city of Susa shouted and rejoiced,(AE) 16 and the Jews celebrated[b] with gladness, joy, and honor.(AF) 17 In every province and every city where the king’s command and edict reached, gladness and joy took place among the Jews. There was a celebration and a holiday.[c](AG) And many of the ethnic groups of the land professed themselves to be Jews because fear of the Jews(AH) had overcome them.
Esther 8
Lexham English Bible
Mordecai is Promoted
8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. 2 And the king removed his signet ring that he had taken away from Haman, and he gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 And Esther again spoke before the king, and she fell before his feet and wept, pleading for his grace to avert Haman the Agagite’s evil plan and the plot that he devised against the Jews. 4 And the king held out to Esther the scepter of gold, and Esther rose and stood before the king, 5 and she said, “If it is good to the king, and if I have found favor before him,[a] and if the king is pleased with this matter, and I have his approval,[b] let an edict be written to revoke the letters of the plans of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the provinces of the king. 6 For how can I bear[c] to look on the disaster that will find my people, and how can I bear[d] to look on the destruction of my family?” 7 And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have given Haman’s house to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he plotted against[e] the Jews. 8 Write as you see fit[f] concerning the Jews in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be revoked.”
9 And the secretaries of the king were summoned[g] at that time, in the third month, which is in the month of Sivan on the twenty-third day, and an edict was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the governors and satraps and officials of the provinces from India to Cush[h]—one hundred and twenty-seven provinces[i]—each province according to its own script and to every people in their own language,[j] and to the Jews in their own script and language. 10 And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and he sealed the letters with the king’s signet ring and sent them[k] by couriers on horses, riding on royal horses bred by[l] racing mares.[m] 11 In them the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and defend their lives,[n] to destroy and kill and annihilate any army of any people or province attacking them, including women and children, and to plunder their spoil, 12 in one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 13 A copy of the edict[o] was to be given as law in each province to inform all the people, so that the Jews would be ready[p] on that day to avenge themselves from their enemies. 14 The mounted couriers on the royal horses went out without delay, urged by the king’s word. The law was given in the citadel of Susa.
15 Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal clothing[q] of blue cloth and white linen, and a great crown of gold and a robe of fine white linen and purple, and the city of Susa was shouting and rejoicing. 16 For the Jews, there was light and gladness, joy and honor. 17 In every province and city, wherever the king’s edict and his law came, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a banquet and a holiday,[r] and many of the people from the country were posing as Jews because the fear of the Jews had fallen on them.
Footnotes
- Esther 8:5 Or “if I have won his favor”
- Esther 8:5 Literally “I am good in his eyes”
- Esther 8:6 Literally “how am I able”
- Esther 8:6 Literally “how am I able”
- Esther 8:7 Literally “sent his hand against”
- Esther 8:8 Literally “as it is good in your eyes”
- Esther 8:9 Or “called”
- Esther 8:9 That is, “Ethiopia”
- Esther 8:9 Hebrew “province”
- Esther 8:9 Literally “tongue”
- Esther 8:10 Hebrew “the letters”
- Esther 8:10 Literally “sons of”
- Esther 8:10 See HALOT 1244 s.v.
- Esther 8:11 Literally “to stand for their lives”
- Esther 8:13 Literally “writing”
- Esther 8:13 See HALOT 902 s.v.
- Esther 8:15 Literally “clothing of the kingdom”
- Esther 8:17 Literally “day of good”
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