Esther 3
3
1After these things king Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. 2And all the king's servants that were in the king's gate bowed and did Haman reverence, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. 3Then the king's servants, who were in the king's gate, said to Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment? 4And it came to pass as they spoke daily to him, and he hearkened not to them, that they informed Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, Haman was full of fury. 6But he scorned to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to him the people of Mordecai; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus — the people of Mordecai.
7In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman for each day and for each month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. 8And Haman said to king Ahasuerus, There is a people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people, and they keep not the king's laws; and it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. 9If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those that have charge of the affairs, to bring it into the king's treasuries. 10And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy. 11And the king said to Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as seems good to thee. 12Then were the king's scribes called, in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month, and there was written according to all that Haman commanded unto the king's satraps, and to the governors over every province, and to the princes of every people; to every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people according to their language: in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring. 13And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, upon the thirteenth of the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. 14That the decree might be given in every province, a copy of the writing was published to all peoples, that they should be ready against that day. 15The couriers went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the fortress. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was in consternation.
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Esther 3: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Esther 3
3
Haman plans to destroy the Jews
1Later, King Xerxes promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha to the highest position in his kingdom. Haman was a descendant of Agag,#3.1 Agag: Agag was a king who had fought against the Jews long before the time of Esther (see 1 Samuel 15.1-33). 2and the king had given orders for his officials at the royal gate to honour Haman by kneeling down to him. All of them obeyed except Mordecai. 3When the other officials asked Mordecai why he disobeyed the king's command, 4he said, “Because I am a Jew.” They spoke to him for several days about kneeling down, but he still refused to obey. Finally, they reported this to Haman, to find out if he would let Mordecai get away with it.
5Haman was furious to learn that Mordecai refused to kneel down and honour him. 6And when he found out that Mordecai was a Jew, he knew that killing only Mordecai was not enough. Every Jew in the whole kingdom had to be killed.
7It was now the twelfth year of the rule of King Xerxes. During Nisan,#3.7 Nisan: The first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April. the first month of the year, Haman said, “Find out the best time for me to do this.”#3.7 Find out…do this: The Hebrew text has “cast lots”, which were pieces of wood or stone used to find out how and when to do something. For “lots” the Hebrew text uses the Babylonian word “purim”. The time chosen was Adar,#3.7 Adar: The twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-February to mid-March. the twelfth month.
8Then Haman went to the king and said:
Your Majesty, there are some people who live all over your kingdom and won't have a thing to do with anyone else. They have customs that are different from everyone else's, and they refuse to obey your laws. We would be better off to get rid of them! 9Why not give orders for all of them to be killed? I can promise that you will get a great deal of silver for your treasury.
10The king handed his official ring to Haman, who hated the Jews, and the king told him, 11“Do what you want with those people! You can keep their money.”
12On the thirteenth day of Nisan, Haman called in the king's secretaries and ordered them to write letters in every language used in the kingdom. The letters were written in the name of the king and sealed by using the king's own ring.#3.12 king's own ring: Melted wax was used to seal a letter, and while the wax was still soft, the king's ring was pressed in the wax to show that the letter was official. At once they were sent to the king's highest officials, the governors of each province, and the leaders of the different nations in the kingdom of Xerxes.
13The letters were taken by messengers to every part of the kingdom, and this is what was said in the letters:
On the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month, all Jewish men, women, and children are to be killed. And their property is to be taken.
14-15King Xerxes gave orders for these letters to be posted where they could be seen by everyone all over the kingdom. The king's command was obeyed, and one of the letters was read aloud to the people in the walled city of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink together, but no one in the city#3.14,15 walled city…city: Or “royal fortress…rest of the city”. could work out what was going on.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012