The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

9 ^(A)Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, ^(B)on the thirteenth day of the same, ^(C)when the king's command and edict were about to be carried out, ^(D)on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. ^2 (E)The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, ^(F)for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. ³ All the officials of the provinces and ^(G)the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. ⁴ For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew ^(H)more and more powerful. ⁵ The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. ⁶ In Susa the citadel itself the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, ⁷ and also killed Parshandatha and Dalphon and Aspatha ⁸ and Poratha and Adalia and Aridatha ⁹ and Parmashta and Arisai and Aridai and Vaizatha, ^10 (I)the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, ^(J)the enemy of the Jews, ^(K)but they laid no hand on the plunder.

¹¹ That very day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was reported to the king. ¹² And the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and also the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! ^(L)Now what is your wish? 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 ^(M)tomorrow also to do according to this day's edict. And let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.”^{[a] 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 killed 300 men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder.

^16 (N)Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also ^(O)gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies and killed 75,000 of those who hated them, but they laid no hands on the plunder. ¹⁷ This was ^(P)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 ^(Q)on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested ^(R)on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness. ¹⁹ Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in ^(S)the rural towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, as ^(T)a holiday, and ^(U)as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another.

The Feast of Purim Inaugurated

²⁰ And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, ²¹ obliging them to 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 ^(V)a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

²³ So the Jews accepted what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. ²⁴ For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, ^(W)the enemy of all the Jews, ^(X)had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and ^(Y)had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them. ²⁵ But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing ^(Z)that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews ^(AA)should return on 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 ^(AB)Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in ^(AC)this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, ²⁷ the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and ^(AD)all who joined them, that without fail they would keep ^(AE)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 clan, 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, ^(AF)the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming ^(AG)this second letter about Purim. ³⁰ Letters were sent to all the Jews, ^(AH)to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth, ³¹ that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to ^(AI)their fasts and their lamenting. ³² The command of Esther confirmed these practices of ^(AJ)Purim, and it was recorded in writing.

The Greatness of Mordecai

10 King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on ^(AK)the coastlands of the sea. ² And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, ^(AL)to which the king advanced him, are they not written in ^(AM)the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? ³ For Mordecai the Jew was ^(AN)second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he ^(AO)sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

A Riot at Ephesus

²¹ Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit ^(A)to pass through ^(B)Macedonia and Achaia and ^(C)go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, ^(D)I must also see Rome.” ²² And having sent into Macedonia two of ^(E)his helpers, ^(F)Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia ^(G)for a while.

²³ About that time ^(H)there arose no little disturbance concerning ^(I)the Way. ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, ^(J)brought no little business to the craftsmen. ^25 (K)These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. ²⁶ And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, ^(L)saying that ^(M)gods made with hands are not gods. ²⁷ And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the ^(N)great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸ When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, ^(O)“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and ^(P)Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's ^(Q)companions in travel. ³⁰ But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. ³¹ And even some of the Asiarchs,^[a] who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. ^32 (R)Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. ³³ Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, ^(S)motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, ^(T)“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from ^(U)the sky?^{[b] 36} Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. ³⁷ For you have brought ^(V)these men here who are neither ^(W)sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are ^(X)proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you seek anything further,^[c] it shall be settled in the regular assembly. ⁴⁰ For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” ⁴¹ And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to ^(B)Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil^[a] of ^(C)Heman the Ezrahite.