Esther 3:1-9

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Haman’s Plan to Kill the Jews

3 After all this took place, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite.^(A) He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all the other officials.^{(B) 2} The entire royal staff at the King’s Gate^(C) bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.^{(D) 3} The members of the royal staff at the King’s Gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” ⁴ When they had warned him day after day^(E) and he still would not listen to them, they told Haman to see if Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down or paying him homage, he was filled with rage.^{(F) 6} And when he learned of Mordecai’s ethnic identity, Haman decided not to do away with^[a] Mordecai alone. He planned to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews,^(G) throughout Ahasuerus’s kingdom.^(H)

⁷ In the first month, the month of Nisan,^[b] in King Ahasuerus’s twelfth year,^[c](I) Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman for each day in each month, and it fell on the twelfth month,^(J) the month Adar.^{[d](K) 8} Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom,^(L) yet living in isolation. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws.^(M) It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.^{(N) 9} If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction, and I will pay 375 tons of silver to^[e] the accountants for deposit in the royal treasury.”^(O)