Esther 3:7-15
Holman Christian Standard Bible
7 In the first month, the month of Nisan,[a] in King Ahasuerus’s twelfth year,[b](A) Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman for each day in each month, and it fell on the twelfth month,(B) the month Adar.[c](C) 8 Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom,(D) yet living in isolation. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws.(E) It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.(F) 9 If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction, and I will pay 375 tons of silver to[d] the accountants for deposit in the royal treasury.”(G)
10 The king removed his signet ring(H) from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jewish people.(I) 11 Then the king told Haman, “The money and people are given to you to do with as you see fit.”
12 The royal scribes were summoned(J) on the thirteenth day of the first month, and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded. It was intended for the royal satraps,(K) the governors of each of the provinces, and the officials of each ethnic group and written for each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language.(L) It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus(M) and sealed with the royal signet ring.(N) 13 Letters were sent by couriers(O) to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people—young and old, women and children—and plunder their possessions on a single day,(P) the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.[e]
14 A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples so that they might get ready for that day. 15 The couriers left, spurred on by royal command, and the law was issued in the fortress of Susa.(Q) The king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Susa was in confusion.(R)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Esther 3:7 = March–April; called Abib in the pre-exilic period; Ex 13:4; Dt 16:1
- Esther 3:7 474 b.c.
- Esther 3:7 = February–March
- Esther 3:9 Lit will weigh 10,000 silver talents on the hands of
- Esther 3:13 LXX adds the text of Ahasuerus’s letter here.
Esther 3:7-15
Common English Bible
7 In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan)[a] in the twelfth year of the rule of King Ahasuerus, servants threw pur, namely, dice, in front of Haman to find the best day for his plan. They tried every day and every month, and the dice chose the thirteenth[b] day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).
8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “A certain group of people exist in pockets among the other peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of everyone else, and they refuse to obey the king’s laws. There’s no good reason for the king to put up with them any longer. 9 If the king wishes, let a written order be sent out to destroy them, and I will hand over ten thousand kikkars of silver[c] to those in charge of the king’s business. The silver can go into the king’s treasuries.”
10 The king removed his royal ring from his finger and handed it to Haman, Hammedatha the Agagite’s son, enemy of the Jews. 11 The king said to Haman, “Both the money and the people are under your power. Do as you like with them.” 12 So in the first month, on the thirteenth day, royal scribes were summoned to write down everything that Haman ordered. The orders were for the king’s rulers and the governors in charge of each province, as well as for the officials of each people. They wrote in the alphabet of each province and in the language of each people. They wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed the order with the king’s royal ring. 13 Fast runners were to take the order to all the provinces of the king. The order commanded people to wipe out, kill, and destroy all the Jews, both young and old, even women and little children. This was to happen on a single day—the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).[d] They were also to seize their property. 14 A copy of the order was to become law in each province and to be posted in public for all peoples to read. The people were to be ready for this day to do as the order commanded. 15 Driven by the king’s order, the runners left Susa just as the law became public in the fortified part of Susa. While the king and Haman sat down to have a drink, the city of Susa was in total shock.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Esther 3:7 March–April
- Esther 3:7 See LXX and 3:13.
- Esther 3:9 A kikkar weighed approximately seventy-five pounds.
- Esther 3:13 February–March
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible