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Esther 3
New American Standard Bible
Esther 3
New American Standard Bible
Haman’s Plot against the Jews
3 After these events King Ahasuerus (A)honored Haman, the son of Hammedatha (B)the Agagite, and (C)promoted him and [a]established his authority over all the officials who were with him. 2 All the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid [b]homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded regarding him. But (D)Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid [c]homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were at (E)the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “(F)Why are you violating the king’s command?” 4 Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would [d]stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that (G)Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid [e]homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. 6 But he [f]considered it beneath his dignity to [g]kill Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; so Haman (H)sought to annihilate all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were found throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, [h]Pur, that is the lot, was (I)cast before Haman from day to day and from month to month, [i]until the twelfth month, that is (J)the month Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; (K)their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not [j]comply with the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. 9 If it is pleasing to the king, let it be [k]decreed that they be eliminated, and I will pay [l]ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry out the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.” 10 Then (L)the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha (M)the Agagite, (N)the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The silver is [m]yours, and the people also, to do with them as you please.”
12 (O)Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to (P)the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the officials of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written (Q)in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by (R)couriers to all the king’s provinces (S)to annihilate, kill, and destroy all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, (T)in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to (U)seize their possessions as plunder. 14 (V)A copy of the edict to be [n]issued as law in every province was published to all the peoples so that they would be ready for this day. 15 The couriers went out, speeded by the king’s [o]order while the decree was [p]issued at the citadel in Susa; and while the king and Haman sat down to drink, (W)the city of Susa was agitated.
Footnotes
- Esther 3:1 Lit set his seat
- Esther 3:2 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
- Esther 3:2 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
- Esther 3:4 I.e., as valid
- Esther 3:5 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
- Esther 3:6 Lit despised in his eyes
- Esther 3:6 Lit send a hand against
- Esther 3:7 Lit he cast Pur...before
- Esther 3:7 LXX and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of
- Esther 3:8 Lit do the
- Esther 3:9 Lit written
- Esther 3:9 About 375 tons or 340 metric tons
- Esther 3:11 Lit given to you
- Esther 3:14 Lit given
- Esther 3:15 Lit word
- Esther 3:15 Lit given
Esther 3
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Esther 3
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
3 After these things, King [a]Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.
2 And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did reverence to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or do him reverence.
3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, Why do you transgress the king’s command?
4 Now when they spoke to him day after day and he paid no attention to them, they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s conduct would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew.
5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do him reverence, he was very angry.
6 But he scorned laying hands only on Mordecai. So since they had told him Mordecai’s nationality, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 In the first month, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Haman caused Pur, that is, lots, to be cast before him day after day [to find a lucky day for his venture], month after month, until the twelfth, the month of Adar.
8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from every other people, neither do they keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not for the king’s profit to tolerate them.
9 If it pleases the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that it may be brought into the king’s treasuries.
10 And the king took his signet ring from his hand [with which to seal his letters by the king’s authority] and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.
11 And the king said to Haman, The silver is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.
12 Then the king’s secretaries were called in on the thirteenth day of the first month, and all that Haman had commanded was written to the king’s chief rulers and to the governors who were over all the provinces and to the princes of each people, to every province in its own script and to each people in their own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and it was sealed with the king’s [signet] ring.
13 And letters were sent by special messengers to all the king’s provinces—to destroy, to slay, and to do away with all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to seize their belongings as spoil.
14 A copy of the writing was to be published and given out as a decree in every province to all the peoples to be ready for that day.
15 The special messengers went out in haste by order of the king, and the decree was given out in Shushan, the capital. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed [at the strange and alarming decree].
Footnotes
- Esther 3:1 There seems to be little doubt that King Ahasuerus is to be identified with the well-known Xerxes, who reigned from 486 to 465 b.c. The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary (Merrill C. Tenney, ed.) gives four close similarities between them which support this identification. Also, “the Ahasuerus of Ezra 4:6, to whom were written accusations against the Jews of Jerusalem, is in all probability the same Xerxes, although sometimes identified with Cambyses son of Cyrus.”
Ester 3
O Livro
Ester 3
O Livro
Hamã planeia destruir os judeus
3 Pouco tempo depois, o rei Assuero nomeou Hamã, filho de Hamedata, o agagita, como primeiro-ministro; era o mais poderoso magistrado no império, a seguir ao próprio rei. 2 Todos os outros oficiais de serviço ao portão do palácio tinham de inclinar-se reverentemente na sua presença quando por ele passavam, porque era assim que o rei tinha ordenado. Mardoqueu, porém, recusou-se a fazê-lo.
3 “Não seria melhor obedeceres às ordens do rei?”, perguntavam-lhe os outros funcionários. 4 Mas ele mantinha a mesma atitude. Por fim, foram contá-lo a Hamã, para ver se mudava de comportamento; Mardoqueu tinha-lhes explicado que a sua condição de judeu o impedia de proceder deste modo.
5-6 Hamã ficou furioso, e decidiu liquidar não apenas Mardoqueu, mas todo o povo judeu, e fazê-los desaparecer do território do reino de Assuero.
7 No primeiro mês, que é o mês de Nisan, no décimo segundo ano do reinado de Assuero, foi lançado o “pur”, isto é, as sortes, diante de Hamã, para escolher o dia e o mês em que deveria levar a cabo os seus intentos; a escolha caiu no mês de Adar[a], que é o décimo segundo mês.
8 Hamã resolveu abordar o rei sobre o assunto: “Há um povo de uma certa raça, espalhado por todas as províncias do teu reino, cujas leis são diferentes das leis das outras nações, e que se recusam obedecer às tuas; por isso, não é do interesse do rei deixá-los viver. 9 Se o rei estiver de acordo, publique um decreto que os mande destruir; eu próprio pagarei 10 000 talentos[b] de prata ao tesouro real para as despesas que essa ação implique.”
10 O rei concordou e confirmou a sua decisão, tirando o anel do dedo e dando-o a Hamã. 11 E disse-lhe: “Guarda o teu dinheiro e faz conforme achares melhor em relação a esse povo.”
12 No décimo terceiro dia do primeiro mês, Hamã chamou os secretários do rei e ditou cartas para os governadores e chefes políticos de cada província em todo o império, nas suas respetivas línguas e dialetos. Essas cartas foram escritas em nome do rei e seladas com o seu anel. 13 Foram levadas por mensageiros que se dirigiram a cada uma das províncias do império, decretando que todos os judeus, velhos e novos, mulheres e crianças, deveriam morrer num só dia, o dia 13 de Adar, e que os seus bens deveriam ser dados a quem os matasse. 14 “Uma cópia deste édito”, continuava a carta, “deverá ser tornada pública nas províncias e dada a conhecer a todo o vosso povo, para que esteja pronto no dia indicado.”
15 O édito seguiu para os seus destinos, levado pelos mensageiros mais rápidos, após ter sido proclamado primeiramente na cidade de Susã. O rei e Hamã sentaram-se satisfeitos, a comer e a beber, enquanto o pânico caía sobre a cidade.
Esther 3
New International Version
Esther 3
New International Version
Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews
3 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,(A) elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2 All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
3 Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”(B) 4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply.(C) Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.(D) 6 Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way(E) to destroy(F) all Mordecai’s people, the Jews,(G) throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur(H) (that is, the lot(I)) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on[a] the twelfth month, the month of Adar.(J)
8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs(K) are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey(L) the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.(M) 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents[b] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”(N)
10 So the king took his signet ring(O) from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”
12 Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language(P) of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed(Q) with his own ring. 13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews(R)—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,(S) and to plunder(T) their goods. 14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.(U)
15 The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.(V) The king and Haman sat down to drink,(W) but the city of Susa was bewildered.(X)
Footnotes
- Esther 3:7 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have And the lot fell on.
- Esther 3:9 That is, about 375 tons or about 340 metric tons
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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O Livro (OL)
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