^9:1In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies. ^9:2The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples. ^9:3All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who performed the king’s business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. ^9:4Mordecai was of high rank¹ in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence² continued to become greater and greater.

^9:5The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies. ^9:6In Susa the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. ^9:7In addition, they also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, ^9:8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, ^9:9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, ^9:10the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property.

^9:11On that same day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was brought to the king’s attention. ^9:12Then the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman! What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? What is your request? It shall be given to you. What other petition do you have? It shall be done.”

^9:13Esther replied, “If the king is so inclined, let the Jews who are in Susa be permitted to act tomorrow also according to today’s law, and let them hang the ten sons of Haman on the gallows.”

^9:14So the king issued orders for this to be done. A law was passed in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. ^9:15The Jews who were in Susa then assembled on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred men in Susa. But they did not confiscate their property.

^9:16The rest of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king assembled in order to stand up for themselves and to have rest from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand³ of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property. ^9:17All of this happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. They then rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day for banqueting and happiness.

The Origins of the Feast of Purim

^9:18But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and rested on the fifteenth, making it a day for banqueting and happiness. ^9:19This is why the Jews who are in the rural country—those who live in rural cities—set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

^9:20Mordecai wrote these matters down and sent letters to all the Jews who were throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, ^9:21to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year ^9:22as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies—the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.

^9:23So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them. ^9:24For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them. ^9:25But when the matter came to the king’s attention, the king⁴ gave written orders that Haman’s⁵ evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows. ^9:26For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur. ^9:27Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis. ^9:28These days were to be remembered and to be celebrated in every generation and in every family, every province, and every city. The Jews were not to fail to observe these days of Purim; the remembrance of them was not to cease among their descendants.

^9:29So Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second⁶ letter about Purim. ^9:30Letters were sent⁷ to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus—words of true peace⁸—^9:31to establish these days of Purim in their proper times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as they had established both for themselves and their descendants, matters pertaining to fasting and lamentation. ^9:32Esther’s command established these matters of Purim, and the matter was officially recorded.⁹

Mordecai’s Fame Increases

^10:1King Ahasuerus then imposed forced labor on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. ^10:2Now all the actions carried out under his authority and his great achievements, along with an exact statement concerning the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? ^10:3Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking¹ Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives.² He worked enthusiastically³ for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of⁴ all his descendants.⁵

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 Heb “great”; “powerful”; “prominent”; “very important.”
2 Heb “the man Mordecai” (so , ).
3 For this number much of the Greek tradition reads “fifteen thousand.” The Lucianic Greek recension reads “70,100.”
4 Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 The and the omit the word “second.”
7 The present translation is based on the Niphal form וַיּשָּׁלַח (vayyishalakh, “were sent”; so also , , , ) rather than the reading of the וַיּשְׁלַח (vayyishlakh, Qal, “and he sent”). The subject of the verb would have to be Mordecai (cf. , , ), but this is problematic in light of v. 29, where both Esther and Mordecai are responsible for the letters.
8 Heb “peace and truth.” The expression is probably a hendiadys (see the note on for an explanation of this figure).
9 Heb “written in the book” (so ); , “written down in the records”; “recorded in writing.”
1 Heb “great among the Jews” (so , ); “preeminent among the Jews”; “powerful among the Jews.”
2 Heb “brothers”; “kinsmen”; “fellow Jews.”
3 Heb “he was seeking”; “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”
4 Heb “he was speaking peace to”; “and interceded for the welfare of.”
5 A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).