The Jews Destroy Their Tormentors

9 Now ^(A)in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, ^(B)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 ^(C)overpowered those who hated them. ² The Jews ^(D)gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who ^(E)sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, ^(F)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 ^(G)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 ^(H)Shushan^[a] the ^[b]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 (I)the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews—they killed; ^(J)but they did not lay a hand on the ^[c]plunder.

¹¹ On that day the number of those who were killed in ^[d]Shushan the ^[e]citadel ^[f]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 ^(K)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 ^(L)according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons ^(M)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 ^[g]Shushan ^(N)gathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; ^(O)but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

¹⁶ The remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces ^(P)gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; ^(Q)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 ^[h]the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

The Feast of Purim

¹⁸ But the Jews who were at ^[i]Shushan assembled together ^(R)on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of ^[j]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 ^(S)with gladness and feasting, ^(T)as a holiday, and for ^(U)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 ^(V)sending presents to one another and gifts to the ^(W)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, ^(X)had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them; ²⁵ but ^(Y)when ^[k]Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that ^[l]this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should ^(Z)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 ^[m]Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of ^(AA)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 ^(AB)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, ^(AC)the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this ^(AD)second letter about Purim. ³⁰ And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to ^(AE)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 ^(AF)fasting and lamenting. ³² So the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.

Obedience by Faith

5 Whoever believes that ^(A)Jesus is the Christ is ^(B)born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and ^(C)keep His commandments. ^3 (D)For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And ^(E)His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^(F)whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that ^(G)has overcome the world—^[a]our faith. ⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but ^(H)he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness

⁶ This is He who came ^(I)by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. ^(J)And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷ For there are three that bear witness ^[b]in heaven: the Father, ^(K)the Word, and the Holy Spirit; ^(L)and these three are one. ⁸ And there are three that bear witness on earth: ^(M)the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁹ If we receive ^(N)the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; ^(O)for this is the witness of ^[c]God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰ He who believes in the Son of God ^(P)has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God ^(Q)has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ^12 (R)He who has the Son has ^[d]life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, ^[e]and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that ^(S)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and ^(T)He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. ^(U)There is sin leading to death. ^(V)I do not say that he should pray about that. ^17 (W)All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Knowing the True—Rejecting the False

¹⁸ We know that ^(X)whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God ^(Y)keeps^{[f] [g]}himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and ^(Z)the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

²⁰ And we know that the ^(AA)Son of God has come and ^(AB)has given us an understanding, ^(AC)that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. ^(AD)This is the true God ^(AE)and eternal life.

²¹ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.