Old/New Testament
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.
7 It was in the first month of the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ rule. That is the month of Nisan. Pur (that is, the lot) was thrown before Haman. The lot was used to choose a day and a month. So the twelfth month, the month of Adar, was chosen.
8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain group of people in all the areas of your kingdom. They are scattered among the other people. They keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all the other people. And they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not right for you to allow them to continue living in your kingdom. 9 If it pleases the king, let an order be given to destroy those people. Then I will pay 375 tons of silver to those who do the king’s business. They will put it into the royal treasury.”
10 So the king took his signet ring off and gave it to Haman. Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, was the enemy of the Jews. 11 Then the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are yours. Do with them as you please.”
12 On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal secretaries were called. They wrote out all of Haman’s orders. They wrote to the king’s governors and to the captains of the soldiers in each area. And they wrote to the important men of each group of people. The orders were written to each area in its own form of writing. And they were written to each group of people in their own language. They were written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with his signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by messengers to all the king’s empire. They stated the king’s order to destroy, kill and completely wipe out all the Jews. That meant young and old, women and little children, too. The order said to kill all the Jews on a single day. That was to be the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which was Adar. And it said to take all the things that belonged to the Jews. 14 A copy of the order was to be given out as a law in every area. It was to be made known to all the people so that they would be ready for that day.
15 The messengers set out, hurried by the king’s command. At the same time the order was given in the palace at Susa. And the king and Haman sat down to drink. But the city of Susa was in confusion.
Mordecai Asks Esther to Help
4 Now Mordecai heard about all that had been done. To show how upset he was, he tore his clothes. Then he put on rough cloth and ashes. And he went out into the city crying loudly and very sadly. 2 But Mordecai went only as far as the king’s gate. This was because no one was allowed to enter that gate dressed in rough cloth. 3 The king’s order reached every area. And there was great sadness and loud crying among the Jews. They gave up eating and cried out loudly. Many Jews lay down on rough cloth and ashes to show how sad they were.
4 Esther’s servant girls and eunuchs came to her and told her about Mordecai. Esther was very upset and afraid. She sent clothes for Mordecai to put on instead of the rough cloth. But he would not wear them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach. He was one of the king’s eunuchs chosen by the king to serve her. Esther ordered him to find out what was bothering Mordecai and why.
6 So Hathach went to Mordecai. Mordecai was in the city square in front of the king’s gate. 7 Then Mordecai told Hathach everything that had happened to him. And he told Hathach about the amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasury for the killing of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the order to kill the Jews, which had been given in Susa. He wanted Hathach to show it to Esther and to tell her about it. And Mordecai told him to order Esther to go into the king’s presence. He wanted her to beg for mercy and to plead with him for her people.
9 Hathach went back and reported to Esther everything Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther told Hathach to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the royal officers and people of the royal areas know this: No man or woman may go to the king in the inner courtyard without being called. There is only one law about this. Anyone who enters must be put to death. But if the king holds out his gold scepter, that person may live. And I have not been called to go to the king for 30 days.”
12 And Esther’s message was given to Mordecai. 13 Then Mordecai gave orders to say to Esther: “Just because you live in the king’s palace, don’t think that out of all the Jews you alone will escape. 14 You might keep quiet at this time. Then someone else will help and save the Jews. But you and your father’s family will all die. And who knows, you may have been chosen queen for just such a time as this.”
15 Then Esther sent this answer to Mordecai: 16 “Go and get all the Jews in Susa together. For my sake, give up eating. Do not eat or drink for three days, night and day. I and my servant girls will also give up eating. Then I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I die, I die.”
17 So Mordecai went away. He did everything Esther had told him to do.
Esther Speaks to the King
5 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes. Then she stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s palace, facing the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the doorway. 2 The king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard. When he saw her, he was very pleased. He held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther went up to him and touched the end of the scepter.
3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What do you want to ask me? I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”
4 Esther answered, “My king, if it pleases you, come today with Haman to a banquet. I have prepared it for you.”
5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly so we may do what Esther asks.”
So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared for them. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Now, Esther, what are you asking for? I will give it to you. What is it you want? I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”
7 Esther answered, “This is what I want and ask for. 8 My king, I hope you are pleased with me. If it pleases you, give me what I ask for and do what I want. Come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will answer your question about what I want.”
Haman’s Plans Against Mordecai
9 Haman left the king’s palace that day happy and content. Then he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate. And he saw that Mordecai did not stand up nor did he tremble with fear before him. So Haman became very angry with Mordecai. 10 But he controlled his anger and went home.
Then Haman called his friends and Zeresh, his wife, together. 11 And he told them about how wealthy he was and how many sons he had. He also told them about all the ways the king had honored him. And he told them how the king had placed him higher than his important men and his royal officers. 12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to come with the king to the banquet she gave. And tomorrow also the queen has asked me to be her guest with the king. 13 But all this does not really make me happy. I’m not happy as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”
14 Then Haman’s wife Zeresh and all his friends said, “Have a platform built to hang someone. Build it 75 feet high. And in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and be happy.” Haman liked this suggestion. So he ordered the platform to be built.
22 When the men went to the jail, they could not find the apostles. So they went back and told the Jewish leaders about this. 23 They said, “The jail was closed and locked. The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, the jail was empty!” 24 Hearing this, the captain of the Temple guards and the leading priests were confused. They wondered, “What will happen because of this?”
25 Then someone came and told them, “Listen! The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple. They are teaching the people!” 26 Then the captain and his men went out and brought the apostles back. But the soldiers did not use force, because they were afraid that the people would kill them with stones.
27 The soldiers brought the apostles to the meeting and made them stand before the Jewish leaders. The high priest questioned them. 28 He said, “We gave you strict orders not to go on teaching in that name. But look what you have done! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. You are trying to make us responsible for this man’s death.”
29 Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God, not men! 30 You killed Jesus. You hung him on a cross. But God, the same God our ancestors had, raised Jesus up from death! 31 Jesus is the One whom God raised to be on his right side. God made Jesus our Leader and Savior. God did this so that the people of Israel could change their hearts and lives and have their sins forgiven. 32 We saw all these things happen. The Holy Spirit also proves that these things are true. God has given the Spirit to all who obey him.”
33 When the Jewish leaders heard this, they became very angry and wanted to kill them. 34 A Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up in the meeting. He was a teacher of the law, and all the people respected him. He ordered the apostles to leave the meeting for a little while. 35 Then he said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful of what you are planning to do to these men! 36 Remember when Theudas appeared? He said that he was a great man, and about 400 men joined him. But he was killed. And all his followers were scattered. They were able to do nothing. 37 Later, a man named Judas came from Galilee at the time of the registration.[a] He led a group of followers, too. He was also killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 And so now I tell you: Stay away from these men. Leave them alone. If their plan comes from men, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even be fighting against God himself!”
The Jewish leaders agreed with what Gamaliel said. 40 They called the apostles in again. They beat the apostles and told them not to speak in the name of Jesus again. Then they let them go free. 41 The apostles left the meeting full of joy because they were given the honor of suffering disgrace for Jesus. 42 The apostles did not stop teaching people. Every day in the Temple and in people’s homes they continued to tell the Good News—that Jesus is the Christ.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.