⁵ Now there was a Jewish man in the palace of Susa. His name was Mordecai son of Jair. Jair was the son of Shimei. And Shimei was the son of Kish. Mordecai was from the tribe of Benjamin. ⁶ Mordecai had been taken captive from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Mordecai was part of the group taken into captivity with Jehoiachin king of Judah. ⁷ Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, who had no father or mother. So Mordecai took care of her. Hadassah was also called Esther, and she had a very pretty figure and face. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

⁸ The king’s command and order had been heard. And many girls had been brought to the palace in Susa. They had been put under the care of Hegai. When this happened, Esther was also taken to the king’s palace. She was put into the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. ⁹ Esther pleased Hegai, and he liked her. So Hegai quickly began giving Esther her beauty treatments and special food. He gave her seven servant girls chosen from the king’s palace. Then Hegai moved Esther and her seven servant girls to the best part of the women’s quarters.

¹⁰ Esther did not tell anyone about her family or who her people were. Mordecai had told her not to. ¹¹ Every day Mordecai walked back and forth near the courtyard. This was where the king’s women lived. He wanted to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.

¹² Before a girl could take her turn with King Xerxes, she had to complete 12 months of beauty treatments. These were ordered for the women. For 6 months she was treated with oil and myrrh. And she spent 6 months with perfumes and cosmetics. ¹³ Then she was ready to go to the king. Anything she asked for was given to her. She could take it with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace. ¹⁴ In the evening she would go to the king’s palace. And in the morning she would return to another part of the women’s quarters. There she would be placed under the care of a man named Shaashgaz. Shaashgaz was the king’s eunuch in charge of the slave women. The girl would not go back to the king again unless he was pleased with her. Then he would call her by name to come back to him.

¹⁵ Esther daughter of Abihail, Mordecai’s uncle, had been adopted by Mordecai. The time came for Esther to go to the king. She asked for only what Hegai suggested she should take. (Hegai was the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women.) And everyone who saw Esther liked her. ¹⁶ So Esther was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace. This happened in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth. It was in Xerxes’ seventh year as king.

¹⁷ And the king was pleased with Esther more than with any of the other virgins. And he liked her more than any of the others. So King Xerxes put a royal crown on Esther’s head. And he made her queen in place of Vashti. ¹⁸ Then the king gave a great banquet for Esther. He invited all his important men and royal officers. He announced a holiday in all the empire. And he was generous and gave everyone a gift.

Haman Plans to Destroy the Jews

3 After these things happened, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He gave Haman a new rank that was higher than all the important men. ² And all the royal officers at the king’s gate would bow down and kneel before Haman. This was what the king had ordered. But Mordecai would not bow down, and he did not kneel.

³ Then the royal officers at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why don’t you obey the king’s command?” ⁴ And they said this to him every day. When he did not listen to them, they told Haman about it. They wanted to see if Haman would accept Mordecai’s behavior because Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.

⁵ Then Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down to him or kneel before him. And he became very angry. ⁶ He had been told who the people of Mordecai were. And he thought of himself as too important to try to kill only Mordecai. So he looked for a way to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, in all of Xerxes’ kingdom.

The King Helps the Jews

8 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther everything Haman had left when he died. Haman had been the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came in to see the king. He came because Esther had told the king how he was related to her. ² Then the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman. And he gave it to Mordecai. Then Esther put Mordecai in charge of everything Haman had left when he died.

³ Once again Esther spoke to the king. She fell at the king’s feet and cried. She begged the king to stop the evil plan of Haman the Agagite. Haman had thought up the plan against the Jews. ⁴ The king held out the gold scepter to Esther. Esther got up and stood in front of the king.

⁵ She said, “My king, I hope you are pleased with me. And maybe it will please you to do this. You might think it is the right thing to do. And maybe you are happy with me. If so, let an order be written to cancel the letters Haman wrote. ⁶ I could not stand to see that terrible thing happen to my people. I could not stand to see my family killed.”

⁷ King Xerxes answered Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew. He said, “Because Haman was against the Jews, I have given his things to Esther. And my soldiers have hanged him. ⁸ Now write another order in the king’s name. Write it to the Jews as it seems best to you. Then seal the order with the king’s signet ring. No letter written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can be canceled.”

⁹ At that time the king’s secretaries were called. This was done on the twenty-third day of the third month, which is Sivan. The secretaries wrote out all of Mordecai’s orders. They wrote to the Jews and to the governors and to the captains of the soldiers in each area. And they wrote to the important men of the 127 areas which reached from India to Cush. They wrote to each area in its own form of writing. And they wrote to each group of people in their own language. They also wrote to the Jews in their own form of writing and their own language. ¹⁰ Mordecai wrote orders in the name of King Xerxes. And he sealed the letters with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the king’s orders by messengers on horses. The messengers rode fast horses, which were raised just for the king.

¹¹ These were the king’s orders: The Jews in every city have the right to gather together to protect themselves. They have the right to destroy, kill and completely wipe out the army of any area or people who attack them. And they are to do the same to the women and children of that army. The Jews also have the right to take by force the property of the enemies. ¹² The one day set for the Jews to do this was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. This was the month of Adar. They were allowed to do this in all the empire of King Xerxes. ¹³ A copy of the king’s order was to be sent out as a law in every area. It was to be made known to the people of every nation living in the kingdom. This was so the Jews would be ready on that set day. The Jews would be allowed to pay back their enemies.

¹⁴ The messengers hurried out, riding on the royal horses. The king commanded those messengers to hurry. And the order was also given in the palace at Susa.

¹⁵ Mordecai left the king’s presence wearing royal clothes. They were blue and white. And he had on a large gold crown. He also had a purple robe made of the best linen. And the people of Susa shouted for joy. ¹⁶ It was a time of happiness, joy, gladness and honor for the Jews. ¹⁷ The king’s order went to every area and city. And there was joy and gladness among the Jews. This happened in every area and city to which the king’s order went. The Jews were having feasts and celebrating. And many people through all the empire became Jews. They did that because they were afraid of the Jews.