7So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. ²They were drinking wine on the second day. The king again asked, “What do you want, Queen Esther? I’ll give it to you. What do you want me to do for you? I’ll even give you up to half of my kingdom.”

³Then Queen Esther answered, “King Xerxes, I hope you will show me your favor. I hope you will be pleased to let me live. That’s what I want. Please spare my people. That’s my appeal to you.

⁴“My people and I have been sold to be destroyed. We’ve been sold to be killed and wiped out. Suppose we had only been sold as male and female slaves. Then I wouldn’t have said anything. That kind of suffering wouldn’t be a good enough reason to bother you.”

⁵King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is the man who has dared to do such a thing? And where is he?”

⁶Esther said, “The man hates us! He’s our enemy! He’s this evil Haman!”

Then Haman was terrified in front of the king and queen.

⁷The king got up. He was burning with anger. He left his wine and went out into the palace garden.

But Haman realized that the king had already decided what he was going to do to him. So he stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.

⁸The king returned from the palace garden to the dinner hall. Just then he saw Haman falling on the couch where Esther was lying.

The king shouted, “Will he even rape the queen? Is he going to rape her while she’s right here with me in the palace?”

As soon as the king finished speaking, his men covered Haman’s face.

⁹Then Harbona said, “There’s a pole standing near Haman’s house. He has gotten it ready for Mordecai. Mordecai is the one who spoke up to help you. Haman had planned to have him put to death. He was going to have the pole stuck through his body. Then he was going to set it up at a place where it would be 75 feet above the ground.” Harbona was one of the officials who attended the king.

The king said to his men, “Put Haman to death! Stick the pole through his body! Set it up where everyone can see it!” ¹⁰So they did. And they used the pole Haman had gotten ready for Mordecai. Then the king’s anger calmed down.

The King Allows the Jews to Fight for Their Lives

8That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther everything Haman had owned. Haman had been the enemy of the Jews.

Esther had told the king that Mordecai was her cousin. So Mordecai came to see the king. ²The king took his ring off. It had his royal seal on it. He had taken it back from Haman. Now he gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai in charge of everything Haman had owned.

³Esther made another appeal to the king. She fell at his feet and sobbed. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman, the Agagite. He had decided to kill the Jews.

⁴The king reached out his gold rod toward Esther. She got up and stood in front of him.

⁵“King Xerxes, I hope you will show me your favor,” she said. “I hope you will think that what I’m asking is the right thing to do. I hope you are pleased with me. If you are, and if it pleases you, let an order be written. Let it take the place of the messages Haman wrote. Haman was the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite. He planned to kill the Jews. He wrote orders to destroy us in all of your territories. ⁶I couldn’t stand by and see the horrible trouble that would fall on my people! I couldn’t stand to see my family destroyed!”

⁷King Xerxes gave a reply to Queen Esther and the Jew Mordecai. He said, “Haman attacked the Jews. So I’ve given Esther everything he owned. My men have stuck a pole through his dead body. And they’ve set it up where everyone can see it.

⁸“Now write another order in my name. Do it for the benefit of the Jews. Do what seems best to you. Stamp the order with my royal seal. Nothing that is written in my name and stamped with my seal can ever be changed.”

⁹Right away the king sent for the royal secretaries. It was the 23rd day of the third month. That was the month of Sivan. They wrote down all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews. They also wrote them to the royal officials, the governors and the nobles of the 127 territories in his kingdom. The territories reached from India all the way to Cush. The orders were written down in the writing of each territory. They were written in the language of each nation. They were also written to the Jews in their own writing and language.

¹⁰Mordecai wrote the orders in the name of King Xerxes. He stamped them with the king’s royal seal. He sent them by messengers on horseback. They rode fast horses that were raised just for the king.

¹¹The Jews in every city could now gather together and fight for their lives. The king’s order gave them that right. But what if soldiers from any nation or territory attacked them? What if they attacked their women and children? Then the Jews could destroy, kill and wipe out those soldiers. They could also take the goods that belonged to their enemies. ¹²A day was appointed for the Jews to do that in all of the king’s territories. It was the 13th day of the 12th month. That was the month of Adar.

¹³A copy of the order was sent out as law in every territory. It was announced to the people of every nation. So the Jews would be ready on that day. They could pay their enemies back.

¹⁴The messengers rode on the royal horses. They raced along. That’s what the king commanded them to do. The order was also sent out in the safest place in Susa.

¹⁵Mordecai left the king and went on his way. Mordecai was wearing royal clothes. They were blue and white. He was also wearing a large gold crown. And he was wearing a purple coat. It was made out of fine linen. The city of Susa celebrated with great joy.

¹⁶The Jews were filled with joy and happiness. They were very glad because now they were being honored. ¹⁷They celebrated and enjoyed good food. They were glad and full of joy. That was true everywhere the king’s order went out. It was true in every territory and every city. Many people from other nations announced that they had become Jews. That’s because they were so afraid of the Jews.

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