² He spoke in the presence of his brothers and ^(A)the ^[a]wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they complete it in a day? Can they bring the stones to life from the ^[b](B)dusty rubble, though they are burned?” ³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—^(C)if a fox should ^[c]jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!”

^4 (D)Hear, O our God, for we are despised! ^(E)Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity.

⁶ But he despised in his eyes to send forth his hand against Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman ^(A)sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁸ Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; ^(A)their laws are different from those of all other people, and they do not do the king’s laws, so it is not worth it for the king to let them remain. ⁹ If it seems good to the king, let it be written down that they should perish, and I will pay ^[a]10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who do this work, to bring into the king’s treasuries.”