Esther Saves the Jews

8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, ^(A)the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told ^(B)what he was to her. ^2 (C)And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

³ Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman ^(D)the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. ^4 (E)When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. ⁵ And she said, “If it please the king, ^(F)and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke ^(G)the letters devised by Haman ^(H)the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. ⁶ For how can I bear ^(I)to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” ⁷ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, ^(J)I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows,^[a] because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. ⁸ But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, ^(K)and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring ^(L)cannot be revoked.”

^9 (M)The king's scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to ^(N)the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces ^(O)from India to Ethiopia, ^(P)127 provinces, ^(Q)to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. ^10 (R)And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus ^(S)and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on ^(T)swift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud, ¹¹ saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city ^(U)to gather and defend their lives, ^(V)to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, ^(W)and to plunder their goods, ^12 (X)on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. ^13 (Y)A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. ¹⁴ So the couriers, mounted on their ^(Z)swift horses that were used in the king's service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command. And the decree was issued in Susa the citadel.

¹⁵ Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king ^(AA)in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown^[b] and ^(AB)a robe of fine linen and purple, ^(AC)and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. ¹⁶ The Jews had ^(AD)light and gladness and joy and honor. ¹⁷ And in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and ^(AE)a holiday. ^(AF)And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, ^(AG)for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.