| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them. | 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. |
| 2In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples. | 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. |
| 3And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon 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. |
| 4For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful. | 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. |
| 5The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them. | 5The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, bringing death and destruction, and they did as they pleased with their enemies. |
| 6In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, | 6In Susa the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. |
| 7including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, | 7In addition, they also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, |
| 8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, | 8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, |
| 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. | 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, |
| 10They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. | 10the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not confiscate their property. |
| 11On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king, | 11On that same day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was brought to the king's attention. |
| 12who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.” | 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." |
| 13Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” | 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." |
| 14So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. | 14So the king issued orders for this to be done. A law was passed in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. |
| 15On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. | 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. |
| 16The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the 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. |
| 17This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy. | 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. |
| 18The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy. | 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. |
| 19This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another. | 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. |
| 20Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, | 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, |
| 21to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar | 21to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year |
| 22as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor. | 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. |
| 23So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them. | 23So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them. |
| 24For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them. | 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. |
| 25But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. | 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. |
| 26Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced, | 26For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur. |
| 27the Jews bound themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should not fail to celebrate these two days at the appointed time each and every year, according to their regulation. | 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. |
| 28These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants. | 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. |
| 29So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. | 29So Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. |
| 30And Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes, | 30Letters were sent to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus--words of true peace-- |
| 31in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation. | 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. |
| 32So Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record. | 32Esther's command established these matters of Purim, and the matter was officially recorded. |
|
