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8 On the same day, King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther all the household of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Then Mordecai was brought before King Ahasuerus, for Queen Esther had told the king how they were related. 2 The king took off his signet ring (the one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. Then Esther put Mordecai in charge of all of Haman’s household.
3 Esther came before the king once more. This time she fell at his feet, wept, and begged the king to do something to stop the evil plan that Haman (the Agagite) had brought upon the Jews. 4 The king, as before, extended his golden scepter to Queen Esther; and she stood to her feet before him.
Queen Esther: 5 If it pleases the king, and if I am in his favor, and if the king believes it is the right and just thing to do, let there be an official decree written that will cancel out the order that Haman (son of Hammedatha, the Agagite) had written to rid all the king’s provinces of the Jews. 6 For I can’t bear to see this catastrophe brought against my people; how can I live another day if I witness the destruction of my kindred?
King Ahasuerus (to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew): 7 Look, I have given you, Queen Esther, Haman’s household because of his vengeful actions against your people. That is also why he hangs on the pole he had made for Mordecai. I have done all I can do; the rest is your responsibility 8 because no order that has been written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring can be overturned. So you must write a new order to the Jews to remedy the situation; it, too, must be written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring.
Although Haman is dead, the order to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire is very much alive. Once the king has signed an order, it cannot be reversed. Such kings never reverse themselves; it is too risky. So a new order must be written and sent to the far reaches of the empire; and Mordecai, the Jew, is just the person to do it. Now that he has been elevated to the supreme position where he has use of the king’s signet ring, he can exercise royal power.
9 So the royal secretaries were summoned together on the 23rd day of the 3rd month (the month of Sivan). The king’s new orders were written down exactly the way Mordecai dictated them, and they were written to the Jews, the rulers, the governors, and the nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. The orders were written down in every script and every language spoken in the provinces, including the Jewish script and the Jewish language. 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with his signet ring. Then, these orders were dispatched to the provinces by couriers who rode on the finely bred horses sired by the royal stud. 11 The king’s new orders gave the Jews in every city the right to gather together, to protect themselves, and to kill or destroy any army of any nation or province (including their women and children) who might attack them. The orders also gave the Jews the right to take over the assets of their enemies. 12 These new orders were set to go into effect on the 13th day of the 12th month (the month of Adar). This was the same day Haman had determined by casting lots to kill the Jews. 13 An official copy of the king’s order was to be issued to every province and read publicly to all nationalities, so that the Jews would be ready to protect themselves against their enemies. 14 The couriers were quickly dispatched by order of the king, and they left the capital riding on royal steeds. Then the decree was publicly proclaimed in the citadel of Susa.
15 Mordecai went out from the king’s presence donning blue and white royal robes, a large gold crown, and a fine linen and purple cape. When the people of the city of Susa saw this, they exploded into joy. 16 For the Jews, it was a time of celebration. Darkness had turned to light. Sadness to joy. Shame to honor. 17 In every city and province, wherever the king’s law and orders were received, there was happiness and joy among the Jews. They feasted, they danced, they celebrated—and people from other nations living among the Jews professed to be Jews because they were afraid of the Jews’ sudden political power in Persia.
9 The new law and orders of King Ahasuerus took effect on the 13th day of the 12th month (the month of Adar). It was on this day that those who were enemies of the Jews had planned to overtake them, but that was not the way it happened. Instead, the Jews got the upper hand over those who conspired against them. 2 On that day, the Jews gathered together in their respective cities in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to fight those who sought their destruction. No army or nation could stand against them, because they were all frightened of the Jews. 3 The nobles and governors of the provinces and also the king’s officials did what they could to help the Jews, but that was because they feared what Mordecai might do to them. 4 In King Ahasuerus’ palace, Mordecai grew more powerful. Word spread quickly throughout the provinces about Mordecai’s authority and influence. 5 The Jews took this opportunity to attack their enemies with swords, killing them. And then they did whatever they deemed reasonable with those who despised them. 6 Just in the city of Susa, the capital of the empire, the Jews killed 500 men. 7-10 That didn’t include the 10 sons of Haman (son of Hammedatha, enemy of the Jews): Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. They were also put to death. All of them were considered enemies of the Jews. But they did not touch the assets of their victims. 11 When the day was over, the number of those killed in his capital, Susa, was reported to King Ahasuerus. 12 Then the king spoke to Queen Esther.
King Ahasuerus: The Jews have killed 500 men in the capital of Susa alone, and also the 10 sons of Haman. How many must they have killed in the other provinces? Now, do you want anything more? Whatever you ask will be given to you. So, tell me; what further do you need? I will grant whatever that is.
Queen Esther: 13 If it pleases the king, allow the Jews in Susa one more day to exact justice on their enemies according to your decree. And let Haman’s 10 sons be displayed on the pole.
14 The king honored Queen Esther’s wishes. An order was issued in the city of Susa, and the dead bodies of the 10 sons of Haman were displayed. 15 So on the 14th day of the month of Adar, the Jews killed 300 men in Susa. But they didn’t touch any of their assets.
16 In the meantime, the Jews who lived outside Susa in the king’s provinces also gathered together to defend themselves and find freedom from their enemies. In total, the rural Jews killed 75,000 of their enemies, but they didn’t touch any of their assets. 17 All of this took place in the provinces on the 13th day of the month of Adar, and on the 14th day the Jews rested and celebrated with food and drink.
According to custom and Persian law, the Jews have every right to seize the assets of those they kill in this battle. But it is important to note that they do not. The reason for this odd behavior may well lie in history: Hundreds of years earlier, Saul and the Israelites defeated King Agag (the ancestor of Haman) and helped themselves to the plunder, violating God’s clear directive. That violation brought them irreparable harm. So now, when they have the opportunity, the Jews leave the Agagites’ assets alone. Obedience deferred is still obedience.
18 Since the Jews in Susa had gathered together to defend themselves on the 13th and 14th days of the month of Adar, they rested on the 15th and celebrated with food and drink. 19 (This explains why the Jews who live in rural areas and villages continue to celebrate on the 14th day of Adar with food and drinks and send gifts to one another.)
20 Mordecai kept a detailed journal of all these events, and he corresponded often with all of the Jews from every corner of King Ahasuerus’ kingdom, regardless of its distance from Susa. 21 He reminded them to remember and celebrate the 14th and 15th days of Adar every year (based on the day of each group) 22 and to celebrate as faithfully as they did on the days in which the Jews were granted relief from their enemies. He wanted them to savor the month of Adar as a time when their sadness turned into gladness and their mourning into celebration. He encouraged them to celebrate with food and drink, to send gifts, and to offer help to the poor. 23 The Jews in every part of the kingdom took Mordecai’s advice and celebrated on the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar, making it an annual custom.
24 In short, Haman (son of Hammedatha, the Agagite), the enemy of all Jews everywhere, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them. He did so by casting the lot (also known as the “pur”).[a] That was the beginning of the plan to annihilate them and bring about their ruin. 25 But King Ahasuerus learned about his evil plot and wrote an order that Haman should receive the very punishment that he himself wanted the Jewish people to suffer. So the king directed that Haman and all ten of his sons be killed and displayed on the pole. 26 So this is why they call these days of feasting “Purim,” from the word “pur,” which means “lot.” It is also because Mordecai’s correspondence had instructed Jews across the empire to remember what they had seen and what had happened to them. 27 So, the Jews made it their custom that every family, and every descendant, and every future convert would observe these two days each year in the way that Mordecai asked. 28 (This explains why these days were remembered and celebrated by all Jews in all places, and at all times; the days of Purim would never be forgotten and their celebration would never stop.)
29 Queen Esther (daughter of Abihail) utilized her full authority as queen to affirm a second letter by Mordecai the Jew regarding Purim. 30 So Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of King Ahasuerus’ kingdom. His letter included encouraging words of peace and truth; 31 and it was his hope to establish these days of Purim permanently on the calendar as days of mourning and fasting for future generations as it was for themselves. 32 Esther’s authority affirmed the tradition of Purim and it was written down in the official records.
In all of Jewish history, Esther’s story is unique. Her meteoric rise from common Jewish girl to queen of the vast Persian Empire is evidence that God can use some unlikely characters. In this case, He uses Esther to halt a terrible injustice and to settle an ancient score. To be used by God in any capacity, however, requires courage; it requires taking a risk. In Esther’s case, she risks her own life in order to save her people, and in a greater sense to ensure that the story of redemption continues.
The world has always endured times of great injustice, times of great need. Yet God is at work, transforming sorrow to joy, shame to honor, and injustice to justice. Each person is called to impact the age in which he or she lives.
10 Across his empire, on the land and along the coasts, King Ahasuerus imposed taxation upon the people. 2 All of King Ahasuerus’ accomplishments, as well as the great work of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are written down in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia. 3 For Mordecai the Jew became second-in-command to King Ahasuerus, and he was highly revered among the Jews because he worked for the prosperity of his people and was an advocate for their well-being.
27 You are the body of the Anointed, the Liberating King; each and every one of you is a vital member. 28 God has appointed gifts in the assembly: first emissaries,[a] second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, healers, helpers, administrators, and then those who speak with various unknown languages. 29 Are all members gifted as emissaries? Are all gifted with prophetic utterance? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Or are all gifted in healing arts? Do all speak or interpret unknown languages? Of course not. 31 Pursue the greater gifts, and let me tell you of a more excellent way—love.
Gifts of the Spirit, which are intended to strengthen the church body, often divide the body because members of the church elevate those who possess the more visible gifts over those whose gifts function in the background. In fact, this is the very problem facing the Corinthians. So while talking about the importance and function of these gifts in chapters 12 and 14, Paul shifts his focus to the central role love plays in a believer’s life in chapter 13. Love is essential for the body to be unified and for members to work together. Members of the body that are very different, with little in common, are able to appreciate and even enjoy others because of the love that comes when a life is submitted to God.
13 What if I speak in the most elegant languages of people or in the exotic languages of the heavenly messengers, but I live without love? Well then, anything I say is like the clanging of brass or a crashing cymbal. 2 What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries, or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so, I am nothing. 3 I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts.
Paul boils it all down for the believers in Corinth. Religious people often spend their time practicing rituals, projecting dogma, and going through routines that might look like Christianity on the outside but that lack the essential ingredient that brings all of it together—love! It is a loving God who birthed creation and now pursues a broken people in the most spectacular way. That same love must guide believers, so faith doesn’t appear to be meaningless noise.
4 Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; 5 it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs 6 or celebrate injustice; but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight! 7 Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what. 8 Love will never become obsolete. Now as for the prophetic gifts, they will not last; unknown languages will become silent, and the gift of knowledge will no longer be needed. 9 Gifts of knowledge and prophecy are partial at best, at least for now, 10 but when the perfection and fullness of God’s kingdom arrive, all the parts will end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke, thought, and reasoned in childlike ways as we all do. But when I became a man, I left my childish ways behind. 12 For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain; these three virtues must characterize our lives. The greatest of these is love.
Psalm 37[a]
A song of David.
1 Don’t be worried with evil workers
or envy the gains of people with all-wrong-upside-down ways.
2 Soon enough they will wither like grass,
like green herbs fading in summer’s heat.
3 Believe in the Eternal, and do what is good—
live in the land He provides; roam, and rest in God’s faithfulness.
4 Take great joy in the Eternal!
His gifts are coming, and they are all your heart desires!
5 Commit your path to the Eternal; let Him direct you.
Put your confidence in Him, and He will follow through with you.
6 He will spread out righteousness for you
as a sunrise spreads radiance over the land;
He will deliver justice for you into the light of the high sun.
7 Be still. Be patient. Expect the Eternal to arrive and set things right.
Don’t get upset when you see the worldly ones rising up the ladder.
Don’t be bothered by those who are anchored in wicked ways.
8 So turn from anger. Don’t rage,
and don’t worry—these ways frame the doorway to evil.
9 Besides, those who act from evil motives will be cut off from the land;
but those who wait, hoping in the Eternal, will enjoy its riches.
10 You’ll see . . . the wicked won’t know what hit them;
you’ll blink, and they’ll be gone;
you’ll go out looking for them, but you won’t find them.
11 But the humble-hearted will inherit the land;
they will take pleasure in its peace and enjoy its abundance.
23 Guard your words, mind what you say,
and you will keep yourself out of trouble.
24 The name “mocker” applies to one who is proud and pompous
because he is defiantly arrogant.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.