^3:1Some time later¹ King Ahasuerus promoted² Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position³ above that of all the officials who were with him. ^3:2As a result,⁴ all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow,⁵ nor did he pay him homage.

^3:3Then the servants of the king who were at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you violating the king’s commandment?” ^3:4And after they had spoken to him day after day⁶ without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted.⁷ Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew.⁸

^3:5When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he⁹ was filled with rage. ^3:6But the thought of striking out against¹⁰ Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed¹¹ of the identity of Mordecai’s people.¹² So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai)¹³ who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

^3:7In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year¹⁴ of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur¹⁵ (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month.¹⁶ It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).¹⁷

^3:8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people¹⁸ that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants¹⁹ throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them.²⁰^3:9If the king is so inclined,²¹ let an edict be issued²² to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver²³ to be conveyed to the king’s treasuries for the officials who carry out this business.”

^3:10So the king removed his signet ring²⁴ from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who was hostile toward the Jews. ^3:11The king replied to Haman, “Keep your money,²⁵ and do with those people whatever you wish.”²⁶

^3:12So the royal scribes²⁷ were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps²⁸ and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring. ^3:13Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that²⁹ they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children,³⁰ on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day³¹ of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions. ^3:14A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants,³² so that they would be prepared for this day. ^3:15The messengers³³ scurried forth³⁴ with the king’s order.³⁵ The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar!³⁶

Esther Decides to Risk Everything in order to Help Her People

^4:1Now when Mordecai became aware of all that had been done, he¹ tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the city, crying out in a loud² and bitter voice. ^4:2But he went no further than the king’s gate, for no one was permitted to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. ^4:3Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced³ there was considerable⁴ mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow.⁵ Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic⁶ of many. ^4:4When Esther’s female attendants and her eunuchs came and informed her about Mordecai’s behavior,⁷ the queen was overcome with anguish. Although she sent garments for Mordecai to put on so that he could remove his sackcloth, he would not accept them. ^4:5So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been placed at her service,⁸ and instructed him to find out the cause and reason for Mordecai’s behavior.⁹^4:6So Hathach went to Mordecai at the plaza of the city in front of the king’s gate. ^4:7Then Mordecai related to him everything that had happened to him, even the specific amount of money that Haman had offered to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews to be destroyed. ^4:8He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated¹⁰ in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people. ^4:9So Hathach returned and related Mordecai’s instructions¹¹ to Esther.

^4:10Then Esther replied to Hathach with instructions for Mordecai: ^4:11“All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable¹² to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court—that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared.¹³ Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!”

^4:12When Esther’s reply¹⁴ was conveyed to Mordecai, ^4:13he¹⁵ said to take back this answer to Esther: ^4:14“Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew¹⁶ who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear¹⁷ from another source,¹⁸ while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be¹⁹ that you have achieved royal status²⁰ for such a time as this!”

^4:15Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ^4:16“Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I²¹ will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law.²² If I perish, I perish!”

^4:17So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.

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Footnotes

1 Heb “after these things” (so , ); , , “After these events.”
2 Heb “made great”; “raised … to high rank”; “honored.” The promotion of Haman in 3:1 for reasons unexplained contrasts noticeably with 2:19–23, where Mordecai’s contribution to saving the king’s life goes unnoticed. The irony is striking.
3 Heb “chair”; , “seat”; “established his authority.”
4 Heb “and” (so , , ). Other modern English versions leave the conjunction untranslated here (, , , ).
5 Mordecai did not bow. The reason for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman is not clearly stated here. Certainly the Jews did not refuse to bow as a matter of principle, as though such an action somehow violated the second command of the Decalogue. Many biblical texts bear witness to their practice of falling prostrate before people of power and influence (e.g., 1 Sam 24:8; 2 Sam 14:4; 1 Kgs 1:16). Perhaps the issue here was that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, a people who had attacked Israel in an earlier age (see Exod 17:8–16; 1 Sam 15:17–20; Deut 25:17–19).
6 Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.
7 Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”
8 This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 2:10, 20.
9 Heb “Haman.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. Repeating the proper name here is redundant according to contemporary English style, although the name is repeated in and .
10 Heb “to send a hand against”; , “to lay hands on.”
11 Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.
12 The entire first half of the verse is not included in the .
13 This parenthetical phrase is not included in the . Some scholars emend the reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.
14 This year would be 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.
15 The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).
16 The adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The reading is included by . Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so , ).
17 Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.
18 Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.
19 Heb “peoples” (so , ); “nations”
20 Heb “to cause them to rest”; “to let them remain”; , , “to tolerate them.”
21 Heb “If upon the king it is good”; “If it please the king.”
22 Heb “let it be written” (so , ); “let it be decreed.”
23 The enormity of the monetary sum referred to here can be grasped by comparing this amount (10,000 talents of silver) to the annual income of the empire, which according to Herodotus (Histories 3.95) was 14,500 Euboic talents. In other words Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money was to come (in large measure) from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.
24 Possessing the king’s signet ring would enable Haman to act with full royal authority. The king’s ring would be used to impress the royal seal on edicts, making them as binding as if the king himself had enacted them.
25 Heb “the silver is given to you”; “the money is given to you”; “You can keep their money.” C. A. Moore (Esther [], ) understands these words somewhat differently, taking them to imply acceptance of the money on Xerxes’ part. He translates, “Well, it’s your money.”
26 Heb “according to what is good in your eyes”; “do with them as you please.”
27 Or “secretaries” (so , , ).
28 Or “princes” (so ); “highest officials.”
29 The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
30 Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
31 The does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”
32 Heb “peoples” (so , ).
33 Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. , , , “couriers.”
34 Or “went forth in haste” (so ).
35 Heb “with the word of the king.”
36 The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.
1 Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.
2 Heb “great.”
3 Heb “reached” (so , ); , , “came”; “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”
4 Heb “great” (so , , , ); “the Jews went into deep mourning.”
5 Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.
6 Heb “were spread to many”; , “many (+ people ) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”
7 The words “about Mordecai’s behavior” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. , “about Mordecai”; , “what Mordecai was doing.”
8 Heb “whom he caused to stand before her”; “whom the king had appointed to attend her.”
9 Heb “concerning Mordecai, to know what this was, and why this was.”
10 Heb “given” (so ); , , , “issued”; “published”; “promulgated.”
11 Heb “the words of Mordecai” (so ); , , “what Mordecai had said”; “with Mordecai’s message.”
12 Heb “one is his law”; “he (the king ) has but one law”
13 Heb “and he will live”; , “that he may live”; “and spare his life.”
14 Heb “the words of Esther”; , “Esther’s message.”
15 Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.
16 Heb “from all the Jews”; “more than all the Jews”; “you alone of all the Jews.”
17 Heb “stand”; , , , “arise.”
18 Heb “place” (so , , ); “from another quarter.” This is probably an oblique reference to help coming from God. D. J. A. Clines disagrees; in his view a contrast between deliverance by Esther and deliverance by God is inappropriate (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther [], 302). But Clines’ suggestion that perhaps the reference is to deliverance by Jewish officials or by armed Jewish revolt is less attractive than seeing this veiled reference as part of the literary strategy of the book, which deliberately keeps God’s providential dealings entirely in the background.
19 Heb “And who knows whether” (so ). The question is one of hope, but free of presumption. Cf. Jonah 3:9.
20 Heb “have come to the kingdom”; “to royal dignity”; “to royal position”; “have been elevated to the palace.”
21 Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.
22 Heb “which is not according to the law” (so , ); “contrary to the law.”