| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 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. | 1So on March 7 the two decrees of the king were put into effect. On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies. |
| 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. | 2The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the king’s provinces to attack anyone who tried to harm them. But no one could make a stand against them, for everyone was afraid of them. |
| 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. | 3And all the nobles of the provinces, the highest officers, the governors, and the royal officials helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai. |
| 4Mordecai was of high rank in the king's palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence continued to become greater and greater. | 4For Mordecai had been promoted in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as he became more and more powerful. |
| 5The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies. | 5So the Jews went ahead on the appointed day and struck down their enemies with the sword. They killed and annihilated their enemies and did as they pleased with those who hated them. |
| 6In Susa the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. | 6In the fortress of Susa itself, the Jews killed 500 men. |
| 7In addition, they also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, | 7They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, |
| 8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, | 8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, |
| 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, | 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha— |
| 10the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property. | 10the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not take any plunder. |
| 11On that same day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was brought to the king's attention. | 11That very day, when the king was informed of the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa, |
| 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." | 12he called for Queen Esther. He said, “The Jews have killed 500 men in the fortress of Susa alone, as well as Haman’s ten sons. If they have done that here, what has happened in the rest of the provinces? But now, what more do you want? It will be granted to you; tell me and I will do it.” |
| 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." | 13Esther responded, “If it please the king, give the Jews in Susa permission to do again tomorrow as they have done today, and let the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be impaled on a pole.” |
| 14So the king issued orders for this to be done. A law was passed in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. | 14So the king agreed, and the decree was announced in Susa. And they impaled the bodies of Haman’s ten sons. |
| 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. | 15Then the Jews at Susa gathered together on March 8 and killed 300 more men, and again they took no plunder. |
| 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 thousand of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property. | 16Meanwhile, the other Jews throughout the king’s provinces had gathered together to defend their lives. They gained relief from all their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not take any plunder. |
| 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. | 17This was done throughout the provinces on March 7, and on March 8 they rested, celebrating their victory with a day of feasting and gladness. |
| 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. | 18(The Jews at Susa killed their enemies on March 7 and again on March 8, then rested on March 9, making that their day of feasting and gladness.) |
| 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. | 19So to this day, rural Jews living in remote villages celebrate an annual festival and holiday on the appointed day in late winter, when they rejoice and send gifts of food to each other. The Festival of Purim |
| 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, | 20Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes, |
| 21to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year | 21calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days. |
| 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. | 22He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy. |
| 23So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them. | 23So the Jews accepted Mordecai’s proposal and adopted this annual custom. |
| 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. | 24Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to crush and destroy them on the date determined by casting lots (the lots were called purim ). |
| 25But when the matter came to the king's attention, the king gave written orders that Haman's evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows. | 25But when Esther came before the king, he issued a decree causing Haman’s evil plot to backfire, and Haman and his sons were impaled on a sharpened pole. |
| 26For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur. | 26That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots. So because of Mordecai’s letter and because of what they had experienced, |
| 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. | 27the Jews throughout the realm agreed to inaugurate this tradition and to pass it on to their descendants and to all who became Jews. They declared they would never fail to celebrate these two prescribed days at the appointed time each year. |
| 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. | 28These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants. |
| 29So Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. | 29Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote another letter putting the queen’s full authority behind Mordecai’s letter to establish the Festival of Purim. |
| 30Letters were sent to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus--words of true peace-- | 30Letters wishing peace and security were sent to the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of the empire of Xerxes. |
| 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. | 31These letters established the Festival of Purim—an annual celebration of these days at the appointed time, decreed by both Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther. (The people decided to observe this festival, just as they had decided for themselves and their descendants to establish the times of fasting and mourning.) |
| 32Esther's command established these matters of Purim, and the matter was officially recorded. | 32So the command of Esther confirmed the practices of Purim, and it was all written down in the records. |
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