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The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

¹ The first law that the king had made was to be followed on the thirteenth day of Adar,^[a] the twelfth month. This was the very day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to do away with them. But the Jews turned things around, ² and in the cities of every province they came together to attack their enemies. Everyone was afraid of the Jews, and no one could do anything to oppose them.

³ The leaders of the provinces, the rulers, the governors, and the court officials were afraid of Mordecai and took sides with the Jews. ⁴ Everyone in the provinces knew that the king had promoted him and had given him a lot of power.

⁵ The Jews took their swords and did away with their enemies, without showing any mercy. ^6-10 They killed five hundred people in Susa,^[b] but they did not take anything that belonged to the ones they killed. Haman had been one of the worst enemies of the Jews, and ten of his sons were among those who were killed. Their names were Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.

¹¹ Later that day, someone told the king how many people had been killed in Susa.^{[c] 12} Then he told Esther, "Five hundred people, including Haman's ten sons, have been killed in Susa alone. If that many were killed here, what must have happened in the provinces? Is there anything else you want done? Just tell me, and it will be done."

¹³ Esther answered, "Your Majesty, please let the Jews in Susa fight to defend themselves tomorrow, just as they did today. And order the bodies of Haman's ten sons to be hanged in public."

¹⁴ King Xerxes did what Esther had requested, and the bodies of Haman's sons were hung in Susa. ¹⁵ Then on the fourteenth day of Adar the Jews of the city got together and killed three hundred more people. But they still did not take anything that belonged to their enemies.^16-17 On the thirteenth day of Adar, the Jews in the provinces had come together to defend themselves. They killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies, but the Jews did not take anything that belonged to the ones they killed. Then on the fourteenth day of the month the Jews celebrated with a feast.

¹⁸ On the fifteenth day of the month the Jews in Susa held a holiday and celebrated, after killing their enemies on the thirteenth and the fourteenth. ¹⁹ This is why the Jews in the villages now celebrate on the fourteenth day of the month. It is a joyful holiday that they celebrate by feasting and sending gifts of food to each other.

The Festival of Purim

²⁰ Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces ²¹ and told them:

²³ They followed Mordecai's instructions and set aside these two days every year as a time of celebration.

The Reason for the Festival of Purim

²⁴ Haman was the son of Hammedatha and a descendant of Agag. He hated the Jews so much that he planned to destroy them, but he wanted to find out the best time to do it. So he cast lots.^[d]

²⁵ Esther went to King Xerxes and asked him to save her people. Then the king gave written orders for Haman and his sons to be punished in the same terrible way that Haman had in mind for the Jews. So they were hanged. ²⁶ Mordecai's letter had said that the Jews must celebrate for two days because of what had happened to them. This time of celebration is called Purim,^[e] which is the Hebrew word for the lots that were cast. ²⁷ Now every year the Jews set aside these two days for having parties and celebrating, just as they were told to do. ²⁸ From now on, all Jewish families must remember to celebrate Purim on these two days each year.

²⁹ Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, wanted to give full authority to Mordecai's letter about the Festival of Purim, and with his help she wrote a letter about the feast. ³⁰ Copies of this letter were sent to Jews in the one hundred twenty-seven provinces of King Xerxes. In the letter they said: