Esther 9

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, when the king's command and decree were to be carried out, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to overpower them, the reverse happened: the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their towns throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. No one could stand against them, for fear of them had fallen on all the peoples. All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and those who did the king's work supported the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai was growing greater and greater. The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha— they killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay hands on the plunder. That day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king. The king said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and Haman's ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? What is your petition? It will be granted you. What further request do you have? It will be done.” Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Susa be granted permission to act tomorrow also according to today's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hung on the stake.” The king ordered this to be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and they hung Haman's ten sons. The Jews in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa. But they did not lay hands on the plunder. The rest of the Jews in the king's provinces assembled, defended their lives, and gained rest from their enemies. They killed 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not lay hands on the plunder. This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They rested on the fourteenth and made it a day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth of the month. They rested on the fifteenth and made it a day of feasting and gladness. That is why the Jews of the countryside, who live in unwalled towns, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of gladness and feasting, a holiday when they send portions of food to one another. Mordecai wrote down these things and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, near and far, requiring them to observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and the fifteenth day every year, as the days when the Jews gained rest from their enemies, and the month when their sorrow turned to gladness and their mourning to a holiday. They were to make these days of feasting and gladness, sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor. The Jews accepted what they had begun to do and what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur—that is, the lot—to terrify and destroy them. But when Esther came before the king, he ordered in writing that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should return upon his own head. They hung him and his sons on the stake. That is why they called these days Purim, after the word Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen in this matter, and what had happened to them, the Jews established and accepted the obligation for themselves, their descendants, and all who joined them to observe these two days without fail every year, as prescribed in writing and at their appointed time. These days were to be remembered and observed in every generation, every family, every province, and every city. These days of Purim were not to pass away from among the Jews, nor their remembrance cease among their descendants. Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. He sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants the matters of their fasts and their cry. Esther's command confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.

Rights and attribution