7K-Esther
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Esther Chapter 1
Esther 1:1 (NLT2)
1 These events happened in the days of King Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.
Esther 1:2 (NLT2)
2 At that time Xerxes ruled his empire from his royal throne at the fortress of Susa.
Esther 1:3 (NIV)
3 and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.
Esther 1:4 (NIV)
4 For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.
Esther 1:5 (NIV)
5 When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest, who were in the citadel of Susa.
Esther 1:6 (NIV)
6 The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones.
Esther 1:7 (NIV)
7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.
Esther 1:8 (NIV)
8 By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.
Esther 1:9 (NASB)
9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.
Esther 1:10 (NASB)-M
10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus,
Esther 1:11 (HCSB)
11 to bring Queen Vashti before him with her royal crown. ⌊He wanted⌋ to show off her beauty to the people and the officials, because she was very beautiful.
Esther 1:12 (HCSB)
12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command that was delivered by his eunuchs. The king became furious and his anger burned within him.
Esther 1:13 (NIV)
13 Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times
Esther 1:14 (NIV)
14 and were closest to the king–Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.
Esther 1:15 (HCSB)
15 ⌊The king asked,⌋ “According to the law, what should be done with Queen Vashti, since she refused to obey King Ahasuerus’s command that was delivered by the eunuchs?”
Esther 1:16 (NASB)
16 In the presence of the king and the princes, Memucan said, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.
Esther 1:17 (NASB)
17 “For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women causing them to look with contempt on their husbands by saying, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in to his presence, but she did not come.’
Esther 1:18 (NIV)
18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.
Esther 1:19 (NASB)
19 “If it pleases the king, let a royal edict be issued by him and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to another who is more worthy than she.
Esther 1:20 (NIV)
20 Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”
Esther 1:21 (NIV)
21 The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memucan proposed.
Esther 1:22 (NIV)
22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people’s tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household.
Esther Chapter 2
Esther 2:1 (NASB)
1 After these things when the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.
Esther 2:2 (NASB)
2 Then the king’s attendants, who served him, said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.
Esther 2:3 (NIV)
3 Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them.
Esther 2:4 (HCSB)
4 Then the young woman who pleases the king will become queen instead of Vashti.” This suggestion pleased the king, and he did accordingly.
Esther 2:5 (NASB)
5 Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite,
Esther 2:6 (NASB)
6 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled.
Esther 2:7 (NASB)
7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
Esther 2:8 (NIV)
8 When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem.
Esther 2:9 (NLT2)
9 Hegai was very impressed with Esther and treated her kindly. He quickly ordered a special menu for her and provided her with beauty treatments. He also assigned her seven maids specially chosen from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.
Esther 2:10 (NLT2)
10 Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so.
Esther 2:11 (HCSB)
11 Every day Mordecai took a walk in front of the harem’s courtyard to learn how Esther was doing and to see what was happening to her.
Esther 2:12 (NLT2)
12 Before each young woman was taken to the king’s bed, she was given the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments—six months with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments.
Esther 2:13 (NLT2)
13 When it was time for her to go to the king’s palace, she was given her choice of whatever clothing or jewelry she wanted to take from the harem.
Esther 2:14 (NIV)
14 In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
Esther 2:15 (NASB)
15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.
Esther 2:16 (NASB)
16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal palace in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Esther 2:17 (NIV)
17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Esther 2:18 (CJB)
18 The king then gave a great banquet in Ester’s honor for all his officers and servants, decreed a holiday for the provinces and distributed gifts worthy of royal bounty.
Esther 2:19 (CJB)-M
19 When the girls would gather on other occasions, Mordecai would sit at the King’s Gate.
Esther 2:20 (NIV)
20 But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.
Esther 2:21 (CJB)-M
21 On one of those occasions, when Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate, two of the king’s officers, Bigthan and Teresh, from the group in charge of the private entryways, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Ahasuerus.
Esther 2:22 (NIV)
22 But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.
Esther 2:23 (HCSB)
23 When the report was investigated and verified, both men were hanged on the gallows. This event was recorded in the Historical Record in the king’s presence.
Esther Chapter 3
Esther 3:1 (NASB)
1 After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him.
Esther 3:2 (NIV)
2 All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
Esther 3:3 (NIV)
3 Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”
Esther 3:4 (NIV)
4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.
Esther 3:5 (NASB)
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage.
Esther 3:6 (NASB)
6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
Esther 3:7 (NIV)
7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, they cast the pur (that is, the lot) in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
Esther 3:8 (NASB)
8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain.
Esther 3:9 (NIV)-M
9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will put ten thousand talents (330 tons) of silver into the royal treasury for the men who carry out this business.”
Esther 3:10 (NLT2)
10 The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
Esther 3:11 (NKJV)
11 And the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.”
Esther 3:12 (NASB)
12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to the princes of each people, each province according to its script, each people according to its language, being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring.
Esther 3:13 (NASB)
13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.
Esther 3:14 (NASB)
14 A copy of the edict to be issued as law in every province was published to all the peoples so that they should be ready for this day.
Esther 3:15 (NKJV)
15 The couriers went out, hastened by the king’s command; and the decree was proclaimed in Shushan the citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed.
Esther Chapter 4
Esther 4:1 (NKJV)
1 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
Esther 4:2 (NIV)
2 But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.
Esther 4:3 (NLT2)
3 And as news of the king’s decree reached all the provinces, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and wailed, and many people lay in burlap and ashes.
Esther 4:4 (NIV)
4 When Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
Esther 4:5 (CJB)-M
5 So Ester summoned Hathach, one of the king’s officials attending her, and instructed him to go to Mordecai and find out what this was all about and why.
Esther 4:6 (NIV)
6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate.
Esther 4:7 (CJB)-M
7 and Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him and exactly how much silver Haman had promised to put in the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.
Esther 4:8 (NKJV)
8 He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people.
Esther 4:9 (NIV)
9 Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said.
Esther 4:10 (NASB)
10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai:
Esther 4:11 (NASB)
11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.”
Esther 4:12 (NASB)
12 They related Esther’s words to Mordecai.
Esther 4:13 (NASB)
13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.
Esther 4:14 (NASB)
14 “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:15 (NIV)
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
Esther 4:16 (NIV)
16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
Esther 4:17 (NIV2011)
17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.
Esther Chapter 5
Esther 5:1 (NIV)
1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance.
Esther 5:2 (NIV)
2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
Esther 5:3 (NIV)
3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
Esther 5:4 (NASB)
4 Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”
Esther 5:5 (NIV)
5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared.
Esther 5:6 (NASB)
6 As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.”
Esther 5:7 (NIV)
7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this:
Esther 5:8 (NIV)
8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”
Esther 5:9 (NIV)
9 Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai.
Esther 5:10 (NASB)
10 Haman controlled himself, however, went to his house and sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh.
Esther 5:11 (NASB)
11 Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, and the number of his sons, and every instance where the king had magnified him and how he had promoted him above the princes and servants of the king.
Esther 5:12 (NASB)
12 Haman also said, “Even Esther the queen let no one but me come with the king to the banquet which she had prepared; and tomorrow also I am invited by her with the king.
Esther 5:13 (HCSB)
13 Still, none of this satisfies me since I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King’s Gate all the time.”
Esther 5:14 (NIV)
14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows built, seventy-five feet high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the dinner and be happy.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the gallows built.
Esther Chapter 6
Esther 6:1 (NIV)
1 That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.
Esther 6:2 (CJB)-M
2 It was found written that Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers from the group in charge of the private entryways, who had conspired to assassinate King Ahasuerus.
Esther 6:3 (NIV)
3 “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked. “Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.
Esther 6:4 (NIV)
4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected for him.
Esther 6:5 (NIV)
5 His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” the king ordered.
Esther 6:6 (NIV)
6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?”
Esther 6:7 (NASB)
7 Then Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king desires to honor,
Esther 6:8 (NKJV)
8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.
Esther 6:9 (NIV)
9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!'”
Esther 6:10 (NIV)
10 “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”
Esther 6:11 (NIV)
11 So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”
Esther 6:12 (NIV)
12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief,
Esther 6:13 (HCSB)
13 Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai is Jewish, and you have begun to fall before him, you won’t overcome him, because your downfall is certain.”
Esther 6:14 (NIV)
14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.
Esther Chapter 7
Esther 7:1 (NIV)
1 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther,
Esther 7:2 (NASB)
2 And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the banquet, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.”
Esther 7:3 (NASB)
3 Then Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request;
Esther 7:4 (NIV)
4 For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”
Esther 7:5 (NASB)
5 Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?”
Esther 7:6 (NIV)
6 Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.” Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
Esther 7:7 (NASB)
7 The king arose in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king.
Esther 7:8 (CJB)
8 Haman had just fallen on the couch where Ester was, when the king returned from the palace garden to the wine banquet. He shouted, “Is he even going to rape the queen here in the palace, before my very eyes?” The moment these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Esther 7:9 (CJB)-M
9 Harbona, one of the king’s attendants, said, “Look! The gallows seventy-five feet high that Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke only good for the king, is standing at Haman’s house.” The king said, “Hang him on it.”
Esther 7:10 (NASB)
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
Esther Chapter 8
Esther 8:1 (CJB)-M
1 That same day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Esther the queen. Also, Mordecai appeared before the king, for Esther had revealed his relationship to her.
Esther 8:2 (NIV)
2 The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.
Esther 8:3 (NIV)
3 Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.
Esther 8:4 (NIV)
4 Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him.
Esther 8:5 (NIV)
5 “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces.
Esther 8:6 (NASB)
6 “For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”
Esther 8:7 (NASB)
7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews.
Esther 8:8 (HCSB)
8 You may write in the king’s name whatever pleases you concerning the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. A document written in the king’s name and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”
Esther 8:9 (NASB)
9 So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors and the princes of the provinces which extended from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to every province according to its script, and to every people according to their language as well as to the Jews according to their script and their language.
Esther 8:10 (NKJV)
10 And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds.
Esther 8:11 (NIV)
11 The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies.
Esther 8:12 (NIV)-M
12 The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
Esther 8:13 (NIV)
13 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Esther 8:14 (CJB)
14 Couriers riding fast horses used in the king’s service left quickly, pressed by the king’s order; and the decree was issued in Shushan the capital.
Esther 8:15 (NKJV)
15 So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
Esther 8:16 (NIV)
16 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor.
Esther 8:17 (NIV)
17 In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.
Esther Chapter 9
Esther 9:1 (NASB)
1 Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them.
Esther 9:2 (NLT2)
2 The 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.
Esther 9:3 (NIV)
3 And 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.
Esther 9:4 (NIV)
4 Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.
Esther 9:5 (NIV)
5 The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.
Esther 9:6 (NLT2)
6 In the fortress of Susa itself, the Jews killed 500 men.
Esther 9:7 (NIV)
7 They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
Esther 9:8 (NIV)
8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
Esther 9:9 (NIV)
9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha,
Esther 9:10 (NIV)
10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
Esther 9:11 (NIV)
11 The number of those slain in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day.
Esther 9:12 (HCSB)
12 The king said to Queen Esther, “In the fortress of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men, including Haman’s 10 sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will also be done.”
Esther 9:13 (HCSB)
13 Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews who are in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s law, and may ⌊the bodies of⌋ Haman’s 10 sons be hung on the gallows.”
Esther 9:14 (HCSB)
14 The king gave the orders for this to be done, so a law was announced in Susa, and they hung ⌊the bodies of⌋ Haman’s 10 sons.
Esther 9:15 (NIV)
15 The 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.
Esther 9:16 (NIV)
16 Meanwhile, 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.
Esther 9:17 (NIV)
17 This 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.
Esther 9:18 (NIV)
18 The 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.
Esther 9:19 (NIV)
19 That 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.
Esther 9:20 (NASB)
20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
Esther 9:21 (NASB)
21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually,
Esther 9:22 (NIV)
22 as 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.
Esther 9:23 (NIV)
23 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them.
Esther 9:24 (NIV)
24 For 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.
Esther 9:25 (NIV)
25 But 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 hanged on the gallows.
Esther 9:26 (NLT2)
26 That 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,
Esther 9:27 (NASB)
27 the Jews established and made a custom for themselves and for their descendants and for all those who allied themselves with them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days according to their regulation and according to their appointed time annually.
Esther 9:28 (NASB)
28 So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to fail from among the Jews, or their memory fade from their descendants.
Esther 9:29 (NASB)
29 Then Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.
Esther 9:30 (NASB)
30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth,
Esther 9:31 (NIV)
31 to 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.
Esther 9:32 (NIV)
32 Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.
Esther Chapter 10
Esther 10:1 (NKJV)
1 And King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea.
Esther 10:2 (CJB)-M
2 All the acts of his power and might, along with a full account of the high honor to which the king advanced Mordecai, are written in the Annals of the Kings of Media and Persia.
Esther 10:3 (NIV)-M
3 Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.