8 On that day King Ahasu-e′rus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mor′decai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her; ² and the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mor′decai. And Esther set Mor′decai over the house of Haman.

Esther Saves the Jews

³ Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet and besought him with tears to avert the evil design of Haman the Ag′agite and the plot which he had devised against the Jews. ⁴ And the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, ⁵ and Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Ag′agite, the son of Hammeda′tha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. ⁶ For how can I endure to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” ⁷ Then King Ahasu-e′rus said to Queen Esther and to Mor′decai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he would lay hands on the Jews. ⁸ And you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, 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 cannot be revoked.”

⁹ The king’s secretaries 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 Mor′decai commanded concerning the Jews to the satraps and the governors and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. ¹⁰ The writing was in the name of King Ahasu-e′rus and sealed with the king’s ring, and letters were sent by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud. ¹¹ By these the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, with their children and women, and to plunder their goods, ¹² upon one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasu-e′rus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

The Decree of Ahasu-erus

16 The following is a copy of this letter:

“The Great King, Ahasu-e′rus,^[a] to the rulers of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven satrapies, and to those who are loyal to our government, greeting.

² “The more often they are honored by the too great kindness of their benefactors, the more proud do many men become. ³ They not only seek to injure our subjects, but in their inability to stand prosperity they even undertake to scheme against their own benefactors. ⁴ They not only take away thankfulness from among men, but, carried away by the boasts of those who know nothing of goodness, they suppose that they will escape the evil-hating justice of God, who always sees everything. ⁵ And often many of those who are set in places of authority have been made in part responsible for the shedding of innocent blood, and have been involved in irremediable calamities, by the persuasion of friends who have been entrusted with the administration of public affairs, ⁶ when these men by the false trickery of their evil natures beguile the sincere good will of their sovereigns.

⁷ “What has been wickedly accomplished through the pestilent behavior of those who exercise authority unworthily, can be seen not so much from the more ancient records which we hand on as from investigation of matters close at hand. ⁸ For the future we will take care to render our kingdom quiet and peaceable for all men, ⁹ by changing our methods and always judging what comes before our eyes with more equitable consideration. ¹⁰ For Haman, the son of Hammeda′tha, a Macedo′nian (really an alien to the Persian blood, and quite devoid of our kindliness), having become our guest, ¹¹ so far enjoyed the good will that we have for every nation that he was called our father and was continually bowed down to by all as the person second to the royal throne. ¹² But, unable to restrain his arrogance, he undertook to deprive us of our kingdom and our life, ¹³ and with intricate craft and deceit asked for the destruction of Mor′decai, our savior and perpetual benefactor, and of Esther, the blameless partner of our kingdom, together with their whole nation. ¹⁴ He thought that in this way he would find us undefended and would transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedo′nians.

¹⁵ “But we find that the Jews, who were consigned to annihilation by this thrice accursed man, are not evildoers but are governed by most righteous laws ¹⁶ and are sons of the Most High, the most mighty living God, who has directed the kingdom both for us and for our fathers in the most excellent order.

¹⁷ “You will therefore do well not to put in execution the letters sent by Haman the son of Hammeda′tha, ¹⁸ because the man himself who did these things has been hanged at the gate of Susa, with all his household. For God, who rules over all things, has speedily inflicted on him the punishment he deserved.

¹⁹ “Therefore post a copy of this letter publicly in every place, and permit the Jews to live under their own laws. ²⁰ And give them reinforcements, so that on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, on that very day they may defend themselves against those who attack them at the time of their affliction. ²¹ For God, who rules over all things, has made this day to be a joy to his chosen people instead of a day of destruction for them.

²² “Therefore you shall observe this with all good cheer as a notable day among your commemorative festivals, ²³ so that both now and hereafter it may mean salvation for us and the loyal Persians, but that for those who plot against us it may be a reminder of destruction.

²⁴ “Every city and country, without exception, which does not act accordingly, shall be destroyed in wrath with spear and fire. It shall be made not only impassable for men, but also most hateful for all time to beasts and birds.”

8 ¹³ A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, and by proclamation to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to avenge themselves upon their enemies. ¹⁴ So the couriers, mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king’s service, rode out in haste, urged by the king’s command; and the decree was issued in Susa the capital.

¹⁵ Then Mor′decai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a mantle of fine linen and purple, while the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. ¹⁶ The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. ¹⁷ And in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict came, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

Destruction of the Enemies of the Jews

9 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to get the mastery over them, but which had been changed to a day when the Jews should get the mastery over their foes, ² the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasu-e′rus to lay hands on such as sought their hurt. And no one could make a stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples. ³ All the princes of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal officials also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mor′decai had fallen upon them. ⁴ For Mor′decai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mor′decai grew more and more powerful. ⁵ So the Jews smote all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering, and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. ⁶ In Susa the capital itself the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men, ⁷ and also slew Parshan-da′tha and Dalphon and Aspa′tha ⁸ and Pora′tha and Ada′lia and Arida′tha ⁹ and Parmash′ta and Ar′isai and Ar′idai and Vaiza′tha, ¹⁰ the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammeda′tha, the enemy of the Jews; but they laid no hand on the plunder.

¹¹ That very day the number of those slain in Susa the capital was reported to the king. ¹² And the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the capital the Jews have slain five hundred men and also the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.” ¹³ And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict. And let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.” ¹⁴ So the king commanded this to be done; a decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. ¹⁵ The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they slew three hundred men in Susa; but they laid no hands on the plunder.

¹⁶ Now the other Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies, and slew seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they laid no hands on the plunder. ¹⁷ This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness. ¹⁸ But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness. ¹⁹ Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the open towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting and holiday-making, and a day on which they send choice portions to one another.

The Feast of Purim Inaugurated

²⁰ And Mor′decai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasu-e′rus, both near and far, ²¹ enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, ²² as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending choice portions to one another and gifts to the poor.

²³ So the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mor′decai had written to them. ²⁴ For Haman the Ag′agite, the son of Hammeda′tha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to crush and destroy them; ²⁵ but when Esther came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his wicked plot which he had devised against the Jews should come upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. ²⁶ Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. And therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had befallen them, ²⁷ the Jews ordained and took it upon themselves and their descendants and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, ²⁸ that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every family, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.

²⁹ Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Ab′ihail, and Mor′decai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim. ³⁰ Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasu-e′rus, in words of peace and truth, ³¹ that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mor′decai the Jew and Queen Esther enjoined upon the Jews, and as they had laid down for themselves and for their descendants, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting. ³² The command of Queen Esther fixed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.

10 King Ahasu-e′rus laid tribute on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. ² And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mor′decai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? ³ For Mor′decai the Jew was next in rank to King Ahasu-e′rus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brethren, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

Mordecai’s Dream Fulfilled

⁴ And Mor′decai said, “These things have come from God. ⁵ For I remember the dream that I had concerning these matters, and none of them has failed to be fulfilled. ⁶ The tiny spring which became a river, and there was light and the sun and abundant water—the river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen. ⁷ The two dragons are Haman and myself. ⁸ The nations are those that gathered to destroy the name of the Jews. ⁹ And my nation, this is Israel, who cried out to God and were saved. The Lord has saved his people; the Lord has delivered us from all these evils; God has done great signs and wonders, which have not occurred among the nations. ¹⁰ For this purpose he made two lots, one for the people of God and one for all the nations. ¹¹ And these two lots came to the hour and moment and day of decision before God and among all the nations. ¹² And God remembered his people and vindicated his inheritance. ¹³ So they will observe these days in the month of Adar, on the fourteenth and fifteenth of that month, with an assembly and joy and gladness before God, from generation to generation for ever among his people Israel.”

Postscript

11 ¹ In the fourth year of the reign of Ptol′emy and Cleopatra, Dosith′eus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite,^[a] and Ptol′emy his son brought to Egypt^[b] the preceeding Letter of Purim, which they said was genuine and had been translated by Lysim′achus the son of Ptol′emy, one of the residents of Jerusalem.