Then the king gave a drinking party lasting seven days for all his Friends and the officers to celebrate his marriage to Esther, and he granted a remission of taxes to those who were under his rule.

The king levied a tax upon his kingdom both by land and sea.

“I now free you and exempt all the Jews from payment of tribute and salt tax and crown levies,

Jerusalem and its environs, its tithes and its revenues, shall be holy and free from tax.

And every one of the Jews taken as a captive from the land of Judah into any part of my kingdom, I set free without payment, and let all officials cancel also the taxes on their livestock.

We have confirmed as their possession both the territory of Judea and the three districts of Aphairema and Lydda and Ramathaim; the latter, with all the region bordering them, were added to Judea from Samaria. To all those who offer sacrifice in Jerusalem we have granted release from the royal taxes that the king formerly received from them each year, from the crops of the land and the fruit of the trees.

And the other payments henceforth due to us of the tithes, and the taxes due to us, and the salt pits and the crown taxes due to us—from all these we shall grant them release.

We pardon any errors and offenses committed to this day and cancel the crown tax that you owe, and whatever other tax has been collected in Jerusalem shall be collected no longer.

now therefore I confirm to you all the tax remissions that the kings before me have granted you and a release from all the other payments from which they have released you.

Likewise those who do not serve in the army or make war but till the soil; whenever they sow and reap, they bring some to the king, and they compel one another to pay taxes to the king.

You are also informed that no tribute or any other tax is to be laid on any of the priests or Levites or temple singers or gatekeepers or temple servants or persons employed in this temple and that no one has authority to impose any tax on them.

“None of those who do not sacrifice shall enter their sanctuaries, and all Jews shall be subjected to a registration involving poll tax and to the status of slaves. Those who object to this are to be taken by force and put to death;