Esther 8

8 ¹ On that day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. ² The king took off his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman's estate.

³ Esther spoke to the king once more. She fell at his feet, weeping and pleading with him to put a stop to the evil plot of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. ⁴ The king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and she rose and stood before him. ⁵ She said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor with him, and if the matter seems right to the king, and I am pleasing to him, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces. ⁶ For how can I bear to see the disaster that would fall on my people? How can I bear to watch the destruction of my own family?"

⁷ King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Look, I have given Esther the estate of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he plotted against the Jews. ⁸ Now you write as you see fit concerning the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's signet ring, for no document that is written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked."

⁹ At once the king's scribes were summoned, on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out everything Mordecai commanded to the Jews, to the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush, to each province in its own script and each people in its own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. ¹⁰ Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the letters with the king's signet ring, and sent them by couriers riding swift horses bred for the royal service. ¹¹ The king's decree granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and defend their lives: to destroy, kill, and annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, along with their women and children, and to plunder the property of their enemies. ¹² This was to take place on a single day in all the provinces of King Xerxes—the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. ¹³ A copy of the text was to be issued as law in every province and made known to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. ¹⁴ The couriers, riding the royal horses, raced out, hurried and pressed on by the king's command. And the decree was issued in the fortress of Susa.

¹⁵ Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal robes of blue and white, a great crown of gold, and a robe of fine linen and purple. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. ¹⁶ For the Jews it was a time of light and gladness, joy and honor. ¹⁷ In every province and every city, wherever the king's command and decree reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, with feasting and celebration. And many of the peoples of the land became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.