1On that day King Xerxes gave the house of Haman, the Jews' enemy, to Queen Esther. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king; for Esther had revealed what he was to her. 2And the king took his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman’s house.

3And Esther spoke once again before the king, falling at his feet in tears, and implored him to negate the evil plot and mischief of Haman, that he had devised against the Jews. 4When the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther, she arose, and stood before the king, 5And said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let a decree be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, to destroy all the Jews in all the king's provinces; 6For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come upon my people? Or how can I stand to see the destruction of my people?” 7Then King Xerxes said to Esther, the queen, and to Mordecai, the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him upon the gallows, because he laid plans to destroy the Jews. 8Write as you see fit concerning the Jews, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring; for what is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, no man can revoke.”

9Then the king's scribes were called in the third month, the month Sivan, on the twenty-third day of it; and it was written according to all that Mordecai dictated, to the Jews, to the deputies, and to the governors and leaders of the provinces which are from India to Ethiopia, a hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every province, and to every people according to its language, and to the Jews in their language. 10And Mordecai wrote it in the name of King Xerxes, and sealed it with the king's ring, and it was sent out by posts on horseback, and by riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries, 11Letters in which the king granted the Jews who were in every city the right to assemble and defend themselves; and to destroy, slay, and to cause to perish, any armed force that would assault them, their people, their little ones and women, and to seize the property of them as plunder, 12And the day appointed in all the provinces of King Xerxes, was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar. 13The copy of this commandment was to be given in every province and proclaimed to all peoples, and that the Jews should be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14So the posts that rode mules and camels went out, being hastened by the urgency of the king's commandment. And the decree was also issued at Shushan, the palace. 15And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. 16For it became a time of light, hope, gladness, joy, and honor for the Jews. 17And in every province, and in every city, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy, gladness, a feast, and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews (and their God) fell upon them.