Study Desk

Now it came about ^(C1)on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood ^(C2)in the inner courtyard of the king's palace in front of the king's ^(F1)rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the ^(F2)throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace.

When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the courtyard, ^(C1)she obtained favor in his sight; and ^(C2)the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.

Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? ^(C1)Up to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you."

Esther said, "If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him."

Then the king said, "^(C1)Bring Haman quickly so that we may do ^(F1)as Esther desires." So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

^(F1)As they drank their wine at the banquet, ^(C1)the king said to Esther, "^(C2)What is your request, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your wish? Up to half of the kingdom it shall be done."

So Esther replied, "My request and my wish is:

^(C1)if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request and do ^(F1)what I wish, may the king and Haman come to ^(C2)the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do ^(F2)as the king says."

Then Haman went out that day joyful and pleased of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai ^(C1)at the king's gate and ^(C2)that he did not stand up or tremble before him, Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai.

Haman controlled himself, however, and went to his house. But he ^(F1)sent for his friends and his wife ^(C1)Zeresh.

Then Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and his ^(C1)many sons, and every occasion on which the king had honored him and how he had ^(F1)(C2)promoted him above the officials and servants of the king.

Haman also said, "Even Esther the queen let no one except me come with the king to the banquet which she had prepared; and ^(C1)tomorrow also I am invited by her with the king.

"Yet all of this ^(F1)does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at ^(C1)the king's gate."

Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, "^(C1)Have a wooden gallows ^(F1)fifty cubits high made, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully with the king to the banquet." And the ^(F2)advice pleased Haman, so he had the wooden gallows made.

During that night ^(F1)the king ^(C1)could not sleep, so he gave an order to bring ^(C2)the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.

And it was found written what ^(C1)Mordecai had reported about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to ^(F1)attack King Ahasuerus.

Then the king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?" And the king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him."

So the king said, "Who is in the courtyard?" Now Haman had just ^(C1)entered the outer courtyard of the king's palace in order to speak to the king about ^(C2)hanging Mordecai on the wooden gallows which he had prepared for him.

So the king's servants said to him, "Behold, Haman is standing in the courtyard." And the king said, "Have him come in."

Haman then came in and the king said to him, "What is to be done for the man ^(C1)whom the king desires to honor?" And Haman said ^(F1)to himself, "Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?"

Therefore Haman said to the king, "For the man whom the king desires to honor,

have them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and ^(C1)the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head ^(C2)a royal turban has been placed;

then order them to hand the robe and the horse over to one of the king's noble officials, and have them dress the man whom the king desires to honor, and lead him on horseback through the city square, ^(C1)and proclaim before him, 'So it shall be done for the man whom the king desires to honor.'"

Then the king said to Haman, "Quickly, take the robe and the horse just as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king's gate; do not fail to do anything of all that you have said."

So Haman took the robe and the horse, and dressed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, "So it shall be done for the man whom the king desires to honor."

Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate, while Haman hurried home, mourning, ^(C1)with his head covered.

And Haman informed ^(C1)Zeresh his wife and all his friends of everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is ^(F1)of Jewish origin, you will not prevail over him, but will certainly fall before him."

While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and quickly ^(C1)brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen.

And the king said to Esther on the second day also ^(F1)as they drank their wine at the banquet, "^(C1)What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your wish? ^(C2)Up to half of the kingdom it shall be done."

Then Queen Esther replied, "^(C1)If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my request, and my people as my wish;

for ^(C1)we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, ^(C2)killed, and eliminated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have kept silent, because the distress would not be sufficient reason to burden the king."

Then King Ahasuerus ^(F1)asked Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, ^(F2)who would presume to do such a thing?"

And Esther said, "^(C1)A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!" Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

The king then got up ^(C1)in his anger from ^(F1)drinking wine and went into ^(C2)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.

Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the ^(F1)place where they had been drinking wine, Haman was falling on ^(C1)the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, "Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?" As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.

Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who stood before the king, said, "Indeed, behold, ^(C1)the wooden gallows standing at Haman's house ^(F1)fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai ^(C2)who spoke good in behalf of the king!" And the king said, "Hang him on it."

^(C1)So they hanged Haman on the wooden gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, ^(C2)and the king's anger subsided.

On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, ^(C1)the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, because Esther had disclosed ^(C2)what he was to her.

Then ^(C1)the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Then Esther spoke again ^(F1)to the king, fell at his feet, wept, and pleaded for his compassion to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews.

And ^(C1)the king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther got up and stood before the king.

Then she said, "^(C1)If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him, and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the ^(C2)letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to eliminate the Jews who are in all the king's provinces.

"For ^(C1)how can I endure to see the disaster which will happen to my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?"

So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, ^(C1)I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and they have hanged him on the wooden gallows because he had reached out with his hand against the Jews.

"Now you write to the Jews ^(F1)as you see fit, in the king's name, and ^(C1)seal it with the king's signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's signet ring ^(C2)may not be revoked."

^(C1)So the king's scribes were summoned at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third ^(F1)day; and it was written in accordance with everything that Mordecai commanded the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the provinces which extended ^(C2)from India to ^(F2)Cush, 127 provinces, to ^(C3)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.

He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on ^(C1)horses, riding on royal relay horses, offspring of racing mares.

^(F1)In the letters the king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right ^(C1)to assemble and to defend their lives, ^(C2)to destroy, kill, and eliminate the entire army of any people or province which was going to attack them, including children and women, and ^(C3)to plunder their spoils,

on ^(C1)one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar).

^(C1)A copy of the edict to be ^(F1)issued as law in each and every province was published to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

The couriers, hurrying and speeded by the king's command, left, riding on the royal relay horses; and the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa.

Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king ^(C1)in a royal robe of violet and white, with a large crown of gold and ^(C2)a garment of fine linen and purple; and ^(C3)the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

For the Jews there was ^(C1)light, joy, jubilation, and honor.

In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king's commandment and his decree arrived, there was joy and jubilation for the Jews, a feast and a ^(F1)(C1)holiday. And ^(C2)many among the peoples of the land ^(F2)became Jews, because the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.

Now ^(C1)in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on ^(C2)the thirteenth ^(F1)day, ^(C3)when the king's command and edict were to be put into effect, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it turned out to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained mastery over those who hated them.

^(C1)The Jews assembled in their cities throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus to ^(F1)attack those who sought ^(F2)to harm them; and no one could stand against them, ^(C2)because the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples.

Even all the officials of the provinces, ^(C1)the satraps, the governors, and those who were doing the king's business were supporting the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.

For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and the news about him spread throughout the provinces; for the man Mordecai ^(C1)became greater and greater.

So ^(C1)the Jews struck all their enemies with ^(F1)the sword, killing and destroying; and they did as they pleased to those who hated them.

At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and eliminated five hundred men,

and they killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha,

^(C1)the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews' enemy; but ^(C2)they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa ^(F1)was reported to the king.

And the king said to Queen Esther, "The Jews have killed and eliminated five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! ^(C1)Now what is your request? It shall also be granted you. And what is your further wish? It shall also be done."

Then Esther said, "If it pleases the king, ^(C1)let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the wooden gallows."

So the king commanded that it was to be done so; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman's ten sons were hanged.

The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed ^(C1)three hundred men in Susa, but ^(C2)they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

Now ^(C1)the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces ^(C2)assembled, to defend their lives and ^(F1)rid themselves of their enemies, and to kill seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

This was done on ^(C1)the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and ^(C2)on the fourteenth ^(F1)day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

But the Jews who were in Susa ^(C1)assembled on the thirteenth and ^(C2)the fourteenth ^(F1)of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth ^(F1)day and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in ^(C1)the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a ^(F1)(C2)holiday for rejoicing and feasting and ^(C3)sending portions of food to one another.

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,

obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day ^(F1)of the same month, annually,

because on those days the Jews ^(F1)rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was ^(C1)turned for them from grief into joy, and from mourning into a ^(F2)holiday; that they were to make them days of feasting and rejoicing, and ^(C2)sending portions of food to one another, and gifts to the poor.

So the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to eliminate them, and ^(C1)had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and eliminate them.

But ^(C1)when it came ^(F1)to the king's attention, he commanded by letter ^(C2)that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews ^(C3)was to return on his own head, and that he and his sons were to be hanged on the wooden gallows.

Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of ^(F1)Pur. ^(F2)And ^(C1)because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them,

the Jews established and ^(F1)made a custom for themselves, their ^(F2)descendants, and for ^(C1)all those who allied themselves with them, so that ^(F3)they would not fail ^(C2)to celebrate these two days according to their ^(F4)regulation and according to their appointed time annually.

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 ^(F1)be neglected by the Jews, or their memory ^(F2)fade from their ^(F3)descendants.

Then Queen Esther, ^(C1)daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm ^(C2)this second letter about Purim.

He sent letters to all the Jews, ^(C1)to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth,

to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their ^(F1)descendants, with ^(F2)instructions ^(C1)for their times of fasting and their mourning.

The command of Esther established these ^(F1)customs for ^(C1)Purim, and it was written in the book.

Now King Ahasuerus imposed a tax on the land and the ^(C1)coastlands of the sea.

And every accomplishment of his authority and power, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai ^(C1)with which the king honored him, are they not written in ^(C2)the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

For Mordecai the Jew was ^(C1)second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, ^(C2)one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his entire ^(F1)nation.