Haman Hanged Instead of Mordecai

7 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. ² And on the second day, ^(A)at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”

³ Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. ⁴ For we have been ^(B)sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as ^(C)male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”

⁵ So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?”

⁶ And Esther said, “The adversary and ^(D)enemy is this wicked Haman!”

So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.

⁷ Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. ⁸ When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across ^(E)the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?”

As the word left the king’s mouth, they ^(F)covered Haman’s face. ⁹ Now ^(G)Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! ^(H)The ^[a]gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke ^(I)good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.”

Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”

¹⁰ So ^(J)they ^(K)hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.

Esther Saves the Jews

8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the ^(L)enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told ^(M)how he was related to her. ² So the king took off ^(N)his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.

³ Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews. ⁴ And ^(O)the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king, ⁵ and said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the ^(P)letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. ⁶ For how can I endure to see ^(Q)the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?”

⁷ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Indeed, ^(R)I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews. ⁸ You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, ^[b]as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring ^(S)no one can revoke.”

^9 (T)So the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces ^(U)from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province ^(V)in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. ^10 (W)And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses ^[c]bred from swift steeds.

¹¹ By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to ^(X)gather together and protect their lives—to ^(Y)destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions, ^12 (Z)on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of ^[d]Adar. ^13 (AA)A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. ¹⁴ The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in ^[e]Shushan the ^[f]citadel.

¹⁵ So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of ^[g]blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and ^(AB)the city of ^[h]Shushan rejoiced and was glad. ¹⁶ The Jews had ^(AC)light and gladness, joy and honor. ¹⁷ And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast ^(AD)and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land ^(AE)became Jews, because ^(AF)fear of the Jews fell upon them.

The Jews Destroy Their Tormentors

9 Now ^(AG)in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, ^(AH)the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves ^(AI)overpowered those who hated them. ² The Jews ^(AJ)gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who ^(AK)sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, ^(AL)because fear of them fell upon all people. ³ And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. ⁴ For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai ^(AM)became increasingly prominent. ⁵ Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.

⁶ And in ^(AN)Shushan^[i] the ^[j]citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. ⁷ Also Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, ⁸ Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, ⁹ Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha— ^10 (AO)the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews—they killed; ^(AP)but they did not lay a hand on the ^[k]plunder.

¹¹ On that day the number of those who were killed in ^[l]Shushan the ^[m]citadel ^[n]was brought to the king. ¹² And the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now ^(AQ)what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done.”

¹³ Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow ^(AR)according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons ^(AS)be hanged on the gallows.”

¹⁴ So the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.

¹⁵ And the Jews who were in ^[o]Shushan ^(AT)gathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; ^(AU)but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

¹⁶ The remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces ^(AV)gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; ^(AW)but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. ¹⁷ This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of ^[p]the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

The Feast of Purim

¹⁸ But the Jews who were at ^[q]Shushan assembled together ^(AX)on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of ^[r]the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. ¹⁹ Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar ^(AY)with gladness and feasting, ^(AZ)as a holiday, and for ^(BA)sending presents to one another.

²⁰ And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, ²¹ to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, ²² as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of ^(BB)sending presents to one another and gifts to the ^(BC)poor. ²³ So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them, ²⁴ because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, ^(BD)had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them; ²⁵ but ^(BE)when ^[s]Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that ^[t]this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should ^(BF)return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

²⁶ So they called these days Purim, after the name ^[u]Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of ^(BG)this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, ²⁷ the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would ^(BH)join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, ²⁸ that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.

²⁹ Then Queen Esther, ^(BI)the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this ^(BJ)second letter about Purim. ³⁰ And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to ^(BK)the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, ³¹ to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their ^(BL)fasting and lamenting. ³² So the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of ^(A)Mary and her sister Martha. ^2 (B)It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

⁴ When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when He heard that he was sick, ^(C)He stayed two more days in the place where He was. ⁷ Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

⁸ The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to ^(D)stone You, and are You going there again?”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? ^(E)If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the ^(F)light of this world. ¹⁰ But ^(G)if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹ These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus ^(H)sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”

¹² Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” ¹³ However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.

¹⁴ Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

¹⁶ Then ^(I)Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about ^[a]two miles away. ¹⁹ And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

²⁰ Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹ Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that ^(J)whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha said to Him, ^(K)“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am ^(L)the resurrection and the life. ^(M)He who believes in Me, though he may ^(N)die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, ^(O)I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Jesus and Death, the Last Enemy

²⁸ And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” ²⁹ As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but ^[b]was in the place where Martha met Him. ^31 (P)Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, ^[c]saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

³² Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she ^(Q)fell down at His feet, saying to Him, ^(R)“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

^35 (S)Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

³⁷ And some of them said, “Could not this Man, ^(T)who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

Lazarus Raised from the Dead

³⁸ Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a ^(U)stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would ^(V)see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ Then they took away the stone ^[d]from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² And I know that You always hear Me, but ^(W)because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” ⁴³ Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” ⁴⁴ And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with ^(X)graveclothes, and ^(Y)his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus^(Z)

⁴⁵ Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, ^(AA)and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. ⁴⁶ But some of them went away to the Pharisees and ^(AB)told them the things Jesus did. ^47 (AC)Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, ^(AD)“What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

⁴⁹ And one of them, ^(AE)Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ^50 (AF)nor do you consider that it is expedient for ^[e]us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹ Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵² and ^(AG)not for that nation only, but ^(AH)also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

⁵³ Then, from that day on, they plotted to ^(AI)put Him to death. ^54 (AJ)Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called ^(AK)Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

^55 (AL)And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to ^(AM)purify themselves. ^56 (AN)Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” ⁵⁷ Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might ^(AO)seize Him.

The Anointing at Bethany^(AP)

12 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, ^(AQ)where Lazarus was ^[f]who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. ^2 (AR)There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. ³ Then ^(AS)Mary took a pound of very costly oil of ^(AT)spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

⁴ But one of His disciples, ^(AU)Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ⁵ “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for ^[g]three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” ⁶ This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and ^(AV)had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

⁷ But Jesus said, “Let her alone; ^[h]she has kept this for the day of My burial. ⁸ For ^(AW)the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

The Plot to Kill Lazarus

⁹ Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, ^(AX)whom He had raised from the dead. ^10 (AY)But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, ^11 (AZ)because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

The Triumphal Entry^(BA)

^12 (BB)The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³ took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

^14 (BD)Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

^16 (BF)His disciples did not understand these things at first; ^(BG)but when Jesus was glorified, ^(BH)then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

¹⁷ Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. ^18 (BI)For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. ¹⁹ The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, ^(BJ)“You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”

The Fruitful Grain of Wheat

²⁰ Now there ^(BK)were certain Greeks among those ^(BL)who came up to worship at the feast. ²¹ Then they came to Philip, ^(BM)who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

²² Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

²³ But Jesus answered them, saying, ^(BN)“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. ²⁴ Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(BO)unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much ^[i]grain. ^25 (BP)He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves Me, let him ^(BQ)follow Me; and ^(BR)where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross

^27 (BS)“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? ^(BT)But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify Your name.”

^(BU)Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

²⁹ Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

³⁰ Jesus answered and said, ^(BV)“This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now ^(BW)the ruler of this world will be cast out. ³² And I, ^(BX)if I am ^[j]lifted up from the earth, will draw ^(BY)all peoples to Myself.” ^33 (BZ)This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

³⁴ The people answered Him, ^(CA)“We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer ^(CB)the light is with you. ^(CC)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; ^(CD)he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become ^(CE)sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and ^(CF)was hidden from them.

Who Has Believed Our Report?

³⁷ But although He had done so many ^(CG)signs before them, they did not believe in Him, ³⁸ that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:

³⁹ Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

^41 (CK)These things Isaiah said ^[k]when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Walk in the Light

⁴² Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but ^(CL)because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; ^43 (CM)for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out and said, ^(CN)“He who believes in Me, ^(CO)believes not in Me ^(CP)but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And ^(CQ)he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ^46 (CR)I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. ⁴⁷ And if anyone hears My words and does not ^[l]believe, ^(CS)I do not judge him; for ^(CT)I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ^48 (CU)He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—^(CV)the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. ⁴⁹ For ^(CW)I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, ^(CX)what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I ^(CY)speak.”