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
1Some time after this, King Xerxes honored Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, giving him a position higher than all his fellow officials. 2All the officials in royal employment bowed down and showed respect to Haman, for this is what the king had commanded. But Mordecai would not bow down and show respect to him. 3The king's officials asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king's command?” 4They talked to him about it day after day, but he refused to listen. So they told Haman about it to see if he would put up with what Mordecai was doing,#3:4. “If he would put up with what Mordecai was doing”: alternatively, “if Mordecai would continue what he was doing.” for Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.
5Haman was furious when he saw that Mordecai did not bow down and show respect to him. 6Having found out who Mordecai's people were, he dismissed the idea of just killing Mordecai. He decided to kill every Jew in the whole Persian Empire—all of Mordecai's people!
7In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, “pur” (meaning a “lot”) was cast in Haman's presence to choose a day and month,#3:7. Casting lots was an ancient way of determining the most “favorable” time for a particular action, in this case Haman's plan to destroy the Jews. taking each day and each month one at a time. The lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
8Haman went to King Xerxes and said, “There's a particular people living among others in many different places throughout the provinces of your empire who cut themselves off from everybody else. They have their own laws which are different from those of any other people, and what's more, they don't obey the king's laws. So it's not a good idea for Your Majesty to ignore them.
9If it please Your Majesty, issue a decree to destroy them, and I will personally contribute 10,000 silver talents to those who carry out the king's business to be placed in the royal treasury.”
10The king took off his signet ring and handed it#3:10. A sign that the king accepted the proposal. to Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11The king told Haman, “You can have the money, and do to the people whatever you want.”
12On the thirteenth day of the first month the king's secretaries were summoned. A decree was issued in accordance with everything Haman demanded and sent to the king's chief officers,#3:12. “Chief officers”: literally, “satraps.” the governors of the different provinces and the nobles of the various peoples in the provinces. It was sent in the script of each province and in the language of every people, with the authorization of King Xerxes and sealed with his signet ring.
13Letters were sent by messenger to all the provinces in the king's empire with orders to destroy, kill, and annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, and confiscate their possessions, all in one day—the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
14A copy of the decree was to be issued as law in every province and publicized to the people so that they would be ready for the day. 15By order of the king the messengers hurried on their way. The decree was also issued in the fortress of Susa. The king and Haman sat down for a drink while the people in city of Susa were very disturbed.#3:15. Not only the Jews living there, but other ethnic/religious minorities must have been concerned about such a precedent.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com