| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 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. | 1On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. |
| 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 assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were 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 satraps, the governors and the king's administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. |
| 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. | 4Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and 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. | 5The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. |
| 6In Susa the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. | 6In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred 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 lay their hands on the plunder. |
| 11On that same day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was brought to the king's attention. | 11The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. |
| 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." | 12The king said to Queen Esther, "The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted." |
| 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." | 13"If it pleases the king," Esther answered, "give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day's edict tomorrow also, and let Haman's ten sons be impaled on poles." |
| 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 commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman. |
| 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. | 15The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands 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. | 16Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the 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 happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made 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. | 18The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. |
| 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. | 19That is why rural Jews--those living in villages--observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other. |
| 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 he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, |
| 21to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year | 21to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar |
| 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. | 22as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. |
| 23So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them. | 23So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to 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. | 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) for their ruin and destruction. |
| 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 the plot came to the king's attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. |
| 26For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur. | 26(Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, |
| 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 took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. |
| 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 should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews--nor should the memory of these days 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. | 29So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. |
| 30Letters were sent to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire of Ahasuerus--words of true peace-- | 30And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes' kingdom--words of goodwill and assurance-- |
| 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. | 31to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. |
| 32Esther's command established these matters of Purim, and the matter was officially recorded. | 32Esther's decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records. |
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