Purim

Megillah Ester
Est 1:1 And it came to be in the days of Aḥashwĕrosh – he is the Aḥashwĕrosh who reigned from India to Kush, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces –
Est 1:2 in those days, when Melech Aḥashwĕrosh sat on the throne of his reign, which was in the citadel of Shushan,
Est 1:3 that in the third year of his reign he made a feast for all his officials and servants. The power of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of the provinces were before him,
Est 1:4 when he showed the riches of his esteemed reign and the splendor of his excellent greatness for many days, a hundred and eighty days.
Est 1:5 And when these days were completed, the Melech made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in the citadel of Shushan, from great to small, in the courtyard of the garden of the Melech’s palace.
Est 1:6 White and blue tapestries were fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble columns – the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and black marble.
Est 1:7 And they served drinks in golden vessels, the vessels being different from one another, with much royal wine, according to the hand of the Melech.
Est 1:8 And drinking was according to the law, no one was compelled, for so the Melech had ordered all the officers of his house, that they should do according to each one’s pleasure.
Est 1:9 Malkah Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal palace which Melech Aḥashwĕrosh owned.
Est 1:10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the Melech was glad with wine, he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Ḥarḇona, Biḡtha, and Aḇaḡtha, Zĕthar, and Karkas, the seven eunuchs who were in attendance in the presence of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh,
Est 1:11 to bring Malkah Vashti before the Melech, with her royal crown, in order to show her loveliness to the people and the officials, for she was lovely to look upon.
Est 1:12 But Malkah Vashti refused to come at the Melech’s command brought by his eunuchs. And the Melech was very wroth, and his rage burned within him.
Est 1:13 So the Melech said to the wise men who understood the times (for in this way the Melech’s matter came before all who knew law and judgment,
Est 1:14 and who were close to him: Karshena, Shĕthar, Aḏmatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memuḵan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the Melech’s face, who sat first in the reign):
Est 1:15 “According to law, what is to be done to Malkah Vashti, because she did not perform the command of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, through the eunuchs?”
Est 1:16 And Memuḵan answered before the Melech and the princes, “Malkah Vashti has misbehaved not only toward the Melech, but also toward all the princes, and all the people who are in all the provinces of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh.
Est 1:17 “For the matter of the Malkah shall go forth to all women, to make their husbands despised in their eyes, when they say, ‘Melech Aḥashwĕrosh commanded Malkah Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’
Est 1:18 “And this day the princesses of Persia and Media shall say to all the Melech’s officials that they have heard of the matter of the Malkah – with plenty of scorn and wrath.
Est 1:19 “If it pleases the Melech, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it does not pass away, that Vashti shall come no more before Melech Aḥashwĕrosh. And let the Melech give her royal position to another who is better than she.
Est 1:20 “And the Melech’s decree which he makes shall be proclaimed throughout all his rule, great as it is, and all the wives give esteem to their husbands, both great and small.”
Est 1:21 And the word was good in the eyes of the Melech and the princes, and the Melech did according to the word of Memuḵan.
Est 1:22 So he sent letters to all the Melech’s provinces, to each province in its own writing, and to every people in their own language, that each man should be master in his own house and speak in the language of his people.
Est 2:1 After these events, when the wrath of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh had ceased, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.
Est 2:2 Then the Melech’s servants who attended him said, “Let lovely young maidens be sought for the Melech,
Est 2:3 and let the Melech appoint officers in all the provinces of his reign, and let them gather all the lovely young maidens to the citadel of Shushan, into the women’s quarters, under the hand of Hĕḡai the Melech’s eunuch, guardian of the women, to give their preparations.
Est 2:4 “And let the young woman who pleases the Melech be Malkah instead of Vashti.” And the word pleased the Melech, and he did so.
Est 2:5 In the citadel of Shushan there was a certain man, a Yehuḏite whose name was Mordekhai son of Ya’ir, son of Shimʽi, son of Qish, a Binyamite,
Est 2:6 who had been exiled from Yerushalayim with the captives who had been exiled with Yeḵonyah Melech of Yehuḏah, whom Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar the Melech of Baḇel had exiled.
Est 2:7 And it came to be that he was raising Haḏassah, that is Estĕr, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and of good appearance. And when her father and mother died, Mordeḵhai took her as his own daughter.
Est 2:8 And it came to be, when the Melech’s command and decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered at the citadel of Shushan, into the hand of Hĕḡai, that Estĕr, too, was taken to the Melech’s palace, into the hand of Hĕḡai, guardian of the women.
Est 2:9 And the young woman pleased him, and she received kindness from him. So he hastened to give her preparations and her portions, and gave her seven choice female slaves from the Melech’s palace. And he moved her and her female slaves to the best place in the house of the women.
Est 2:10 Estĕr had not made known her people or her relatives, for Mordeḵhai had commanded her not to make it known.
Est 2:11 And every day Mordeḵhai walked about in front of the courtyard of the women’s quarters, to learn of Estĕr’s welfare and what is done to her.
Est 2:12 Now when the turn of each young woman came to go in to Melech Aḥashwĕrosh after she had completed twelve months according to the regulations for the women – for the days of their preparation were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and with the preparations of women –
Est 2:13 thus prepared, the young woman went to the Melech, and whatever she asked for was given to take with her from the house of the women to the Melech’s palace.
Est 2:14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, into the hand of Shaʽashgaz, the Melech’s eunuch, guardian of the pilegeshim. She would not come in to the Melech again unless the Melech delighted in her and called for her by name.
Est 2:15 And when the turn came for Estĕr, the daughter of Aḇihayil the uncle of Mordeḵhai, who had taken her as his daughter, to come in to the Melech, she sought no matter but what Hĕḡai the Melech’s eunuch, guardian of the women, advised. And Estĕr found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.
Est 2:16 And Estĕr was taken to Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tĕḇĕth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Est 2:17 And the Melech loved Estĕr more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness in his eyes more than all the b’thulim. And he set the royal crown upon her head and made her Malkah instead of Vashti.
Est 2:18 And the Melech made a great feast, the Feast of Estĕr, for all his officials and servants. And he proclaimed a release in the provinces and gave gifts according to the means of a Melech.
Est 2:19 And when b’thulim were assembled a second time, Mordeḵhai sat within the Melech’s gate.
Est 2:20 Estĕr had not made known her relatives and her people yet, as Mordeḵhai commanded her, for Estĕr obeyed the command of Mordeḵhai as when she was being raised by him.
Est 2:21 In those days, while Mordeḵhai sat within the Melech’s gate, two of the Melech’s eunuchs, Biḡthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, were wroth and sought to lay hands on Melech Aḥashwĕrosh.
Est 2:22 And the matter became known to Mordeḵhai, who informed Malkah Estĕr, and Estĕr spoke to the Melech in Mordeḵhai’s name.
Est 2:23 And when the matter was searched into, it was confirmed, and both were impaled on a stake. And it was written in the book of the annals in the presence of the Melech.
Est 3:1 After these events Melech Aḥashwĕrosh promoted Haman, son of Hammeḏatha the Aḡaḡite, and exalted him and seated him higher than all the princes with him.
Est 3:2 And all the Melech’s servants who were in the Melech’s gate bowed and did obeisance to Haman, for so the Melech had commanded concerning him. But Mordeḵhai would not bow or do obeisance.
Est 3:3 And the Melech’s servants who were in the Melech’s gate said to Mordeḵhai, “Why do you disobey the Melech’s command?”
Est 3:4 And it came to be, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman, to see whether the words of Mordeḵhai would stand – for he had told them that he was a Yehuḏite.
Est 3:5 And when Haman saw that Mordeḵhai did not bow or do obeisance, Haman was filled with wrath.
Est 3:6 But it was despicable in his eyes to lay hands on Mordeḵhai alone, for they had informed him of the people of Mordeḵhai. Therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Yehuḏim who were throughout all the reign of Aḥashwĕrosh, the people of Mordeḵhai.
Est 3:7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, someone cast Pur – that is, the lot – before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, until it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of Aḏar.
Est 3:8 Haman then told Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your reign, whose laws are different from all people, and they do not do the Melech’s laws. Therefore it is not in the Melech’s interest to let them remain.
Est 3:9 “If it pleases the Melech, let a decree be written to destroy them, and let me pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the Melech’s treasuries.”
Est 3:10 And the Melech took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hammeḏatha the Aḡaḡite, the enemy of the Yehuḏim.
Est 3:11 And the Melech said to Haman, “The silver and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.”
Est 3:12 And the Melech’s scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded – to the viceroys of the Melech, and to the governors who were over each province, and to the officials of all people, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language. It was written in the name of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, and sealed with the Melech’s signet ring.
Est 3:13 And the letters were sent by the runners into all the Melech’s provinces, to cut off, to slay, and to destroy all the Yehuḏim, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Aḏar, and to plunder their possessions.
Est 3:14 A copy of the writing, to be made law in every province, was published for all people, to be ready for that day.
Est 3:15 The runners went out, hastened by the Melech’s command, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Shushan. The Melech and Haman then sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was in confusion.
Est 4:1 And Mordeḵhai learned of all that had been done, and Mordeḵhai tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
Est 4:2 And he went up to the front of the Melech’s gate, for no one might enter the Melech’s gate wearing sackcloth.
Est 4:3 And in every province where the Melech’s command and decree came, there was great mourning among the Yehuḏim, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing. And many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Est 4:4 And Estĕr’s young women and eunuchs came and told her, and the Malkah was deeply pained, and sent garments to Mordeḵhai to wear, and to take away his sackcloth from him, but he refused.
Est 4:5 And Estĕr called Hathaḵ, one of the Melech’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordeḵhai, to learn what and why this was.
Est 4:6 And Hathaḵ went out to Mordeḵhai, to an open space of the city, in front of the Melech’s gate.
Est 4:7 And Mordeḵhai told him all that befell him, and all about the silver that Haman promised to pay into the Melech’s treasuries to destroy the Yehuḏim.
Est 4:8 And he gave him a copy of the written decree to destroy them, which was given at Shushan, to show it to Estĕr and explain it to her, and to command her to go in to the Melech to make supplication to him, and plead before him for her people.
Est 4:9 And Hathaḵ came and told Estĕr the words of Mordeḵhai.
Est 4:10 And Estĕr spoke to Hathaḵ, and gave him a command for Mordeḵhai,
Est 4:11 “All the Melech’s servants and the people of the Melech’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the Melech, who has not been called, he has but one law: to be put to death, except the one to whom the Melech holds out the golden scepter, who then shall live. But I have not been called to come in to the Melech these thirty days.”
Est 4:12 And they declared to Mordeḵhai the words of Estĕr.
Est 4:13 And Mordeḵhai commanded them to answer Estĕr, “Do not think within yourself to escape in the Melech’s palace any more than all the other Yehuḏim.
Est 4:14 “For if you keep entirely silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Yehuḏim from another place, while you and your father’s house perish. And who knows whether you have come to the reign for such a time as this?”
Est 4:15 And Estĕr commanded to reply to Mordeḵhai,
Est 4:16 “Go, gather all the Yehuḏim who are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I too, and my young women shall fast in the same way, then I shall go to the Melech, which is against the law. And if I shall perish, I shall perish!”
Est 4:17 Mordeḵhai then went away and did according to all that Estĕr commanded him.
Est 5:1 And it came to be on the third day that Estĕr put on royal apparel and stood in the inner court of the Melech’s palace, in front of the Melech’s house, while the Melech sat on his royal throne in the royal house, opposite the entrance of the house.
Est 5:2 And it came to be, when the Melech saw Malkah Estĕr standing in the court, that she found favor in his eyes, and the Melech held out to Estĕr the golden scepter which was in his hand. And Estĕr went near and touched the top of the scepter.
Est 5:3 And the Melech said to her, “What is it, Malkah Estĕr, and what is your request? Up to half my reign, and it is given to you!”
Est 5:4 And Estĕr answered, “If it pleases the Melech, let the Melech and Haman come today to the feast which I have prepared for him.”
Est 5:5 And the Melech said, “Get Haman at once, to do as Estĕr has said.” Then the Melech and Haman went to the feast which Estĕr had prepared.
Est 5:6 And the Melech said to Estĕr at the feast of wine, “What is your petition? And it is given you. And what is your request? Up to half my reign, and it is done!”
Est 5:7 And Estĕr answered and said, “My petition and request is this:
Est 5:8 “If I have found favor in the eyes of the Melech, and if it pleases the Melech to give my petition and perform my request, then let the Melech and Haman come to the feast which I make for them, and tomorrow I shall do according to the word of the Melech.”
Est 5:9 And Haman went out that day rejoicing and with a glad heart. But when Haman saw Mordeḵhai in the Melech’s gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordeḵhai.
Est 5:10 But Haman held himself in, and came to his house, and he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife.
Est 5:11 And Haman recounted to them the esteem of his wealth, and his many sons, and all in which the Melech had promoted him, and how he had exalted him above the officials and servants of the Melech.
Est 5:12 And Haman said, “Besides, Estĕr the Malkah let no one but me come in with the Melech to the feast which she prepared. And tomorrow too I am invited by her, along with the Melech.
Est 5:13 “But all this does not suit me, as long as I see Mordeḵhai the Yehuḏite sitting at the Melech’s gate.”
Est 5:14 So his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a wooden object be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak to the Melech that Mordeḵhai be hung on it. And go with the Melech to the feast, rejoicing.” And the word pleased Haman, and he had the wooden object made.
Est 6:1 On that night the sleep of the Melech fled, and he commanded to bring the book of the records of the annals. And they were read before the Melech.
Est 6:2 And it was found written that Mordeḵhai had told of Biḡthana and Teresh, two of the Melech’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on Melech Aḥashwĕrosh.
Est 6:3 Then the Melech said, “What has been done in value or in greatness to Mordeḵhai for this?” And the Melech’s servants who attended him said, “Naught has been done for him.”
Est 6:4 And the Melech said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had come into the outer court of the Melech’s palace to speak to the Melech to suspend Mordeḵhai on the wooden object that he had prepared for him.
Est 6:5 And the Melech’s servants said to him, “Look, Haman is standing in the court.” And the Melech said, “Let him come in.”
Est 6:6 And when Haman came in, the Melech asked him, “What is to be done for the man whom the Melech delights to value?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the Melech delight to value more than me?”
Est 6:7 And Haman answered the Melech, “For the man whom the Melech delights to value,
Est 6:8 let a royal robe be brought which the Melech has worn, and a horse on which the Melech has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head.
Est 6:9 “And let this robe and horse be given into the hand of one of the Melech’s most noble princes. Let them dress the man whom the Melech delights to value. And make him ride on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘Thus it is done to the man whom the Melech delights to value!’ ”
Est 6:10 And the Melech said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have spoken, and do so for Mordeḵhai the Yehuḏite who sits in the Melech’s gate. Let no word fail of all that you have spoken.”
Est 6:11 And Haman took the robe and the horse, and robed Mordeḵhai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus it is done to the man the Melech delights to value.”
Est 6:12 Then Mordeḵhai went back to the Melech’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with covered head.
Est 6:13 And when Haman related to his wife Zeresh and all his friends all that had befallen him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordeḵhai, before whom you have begun to fall, is from the seed of the Yehuḏim, you are not going to prevail against him but certainly fall before him.”
Est 6:14 While they were still speaking with him, the Melech’s eunuchs came, and hurried to bring Haman to the feast which Estĕr had prepared.
Est 7:1 And the Melech and Haman came in, to drink with Malkah Estĕr.
Est 7:2 And again on the second day, at the feast of wine, the Melech said to Estĕr, “What is your petition, Malkah Estĕr? And it is given to you. And what is your request? Up to half my reign, and it is done!”
Est 7:3 And Malkah Estĕr answered and said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, O Melech, and if it pleases the Melech, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
Est 7:4 “For we have been sold, my people and I, to be cut off, to be slain, and to be destroyed. And if we had been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent, although the adversary could not make up for the Melech’s loss.”
Est 7:5 Then Melech Aḥashwĕrosh asked Malkah Estĕr, “Who is he, and where is he, whose heart is set to do so?”
Est 7:6 And Estĕr said, “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman!” Then Haman was afraid before the Melech and Malkah.
Est 7:7 And the Melech, arising in his wrath from the feast of wine, went into the palace garden. And Haman remained before Malkah Estĕr, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil had been decided against him by the Melech.
Est 7:8 And when the Melech returned from the palace garden to the place of the feast of wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Estĕr was. Then the Melech said, “Also to ravish the Malkah while I am in the house?” As the word left the Melech’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Est 7:9 And Ḥarḇonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the Melech, “Also, see the wooden object, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordeḵhai, who spoke good on behalf of the Melech, is standing at the house of Haman.” And the Melech said, “Hang him on it!”
Est 7:10 And they hung Haman on the wooden object that he had prepared for Mordeḵhai, and the Melech’s wrath abated.
Est 8:1 On that day Melech Aḥashwĕrosh gave to Malkah Estĕr the house of Haman, the adversary of the Yehuḏim. And Mordeḵhai came before the Melech, for Estĕr had explained what he was to her.
Est 8:2 And the Melech took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordeḵhai. And Estĕr appointed Mordeḵhai over the house of Haman.
Est 8:3 And Estĕr spoke to the Melech again, and fell down at his feet and begged him with tears to put an end to the evil of Haman the Aḡaḡite, and his plot which he had plotted against the Yehuḏim.
Est 8:4 And the Melech held out the golden scepter toward Estĕr. And Estĕr arose and stood before the Melech,
Est 8:5 and said, “If it pleases the Melech, and if I have found favor in his sight and the matter is right before the Melech and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to bring back the letters, the plot by Haman, son of Hammeḏatha the Aḡaḡite, which he wrote to destroy the Yehuḏim who are in all the Melech’s provinces.
Est 8:6 “For how could I bear to see the evil coming to my people? Or how could I bear to see the destruction of my relatives?”
Est 8:7 And Melech Aḥashwĕrosh said to Malkah Estĕr and Mordeḵhai the Yehuḏite, “Look, I have given Estĕr the house of Haman, and they have hung him on the wooden object because he laid his hand on the Yehuḏim.
Est 8:8 “Now you write on behalf of the Yehuḏim, as it pleases you, in the Melech’s name, and seal it with the Melech’s signet ring. For a letter which is written in the Melech’s name and sealed with the Melech’s signet ring no one turns back.”
Est 8:9 So the Melech’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Siwan, on the twenty-third day. And it was written, according to all that Mordeḵhai commanded to the Yehuḏim, and to the viceroys, and the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Kush, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, to every province in its own writing, to every people in their own language, and to the Yehuḏim in their own writing, and in their own language.
Est 8:10 And he wrote in the name of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, and sealed it with the Melech’s signet ring, and sent letters by runners on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from speedy mares:
Est 8:11 That the Melech has granted to the Yehuḏim who were in every city to be assembled and stand for their lives – to cut off, to slay, and to destroy all the power of the people or province that would distress them, little children and women, and to plunder their possessions,
Est 8:12 on one day in all the provinces of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Aḏar.
Est 8:13 The copy of the writing to be made law in every province was announced to all the peoples, so that the Yehuḏim would be ready on that day to be avenged on their enemies.
Est 8:14 The runners, riding on royal horses, went out, hastened and pressed on by the Melech’s command. And the decree was given out in the citadel of Shushan.
Est 8:15 And Mordeḵhai went out from the presence of the Melech wearing royal garments 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.
Est 8:16 For the Yehuḏim there was light and gladness and joy and value.
Est 8:17 And in every province and in every city where the Melech’s command and decree came, the Yehuḏim had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land were becoming Yehuḏim, for the fear of the Yehuḏim had fallen upon them.
Est 9:1 And in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Aḏar, on the thirteenth day, when the Melech’s command and his decree came to be done, on the day that the enemies of the Yehuḏim had waited to overpower them, it turned around, so that the Yehuḏim overpowered those who hated them.
Est 9:2 The Yehuḏim assembled in their cities, throughout all the provinces of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh to lay hands on those who sought their evil. And no one stood against them, because fear of them fell upon all people.
Est 9:3 And all the officials of the provinces, and the viceroys, and the governors, and all those doing the Melech’s work, helped the Yehuḏim, because the fear of Mordeḵhai fell upon them.
Est 9:4 For Mordeḵhai was great in the palace of the Melech, and his report spread into all the provinces, for this man Mordeḵhai became greater and greater.
Est 9:5 And the Yehuḏim smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased to those who hated them.
Est 9:6 And in the citadel of Shushan the Yehuḏim slew and destroyed five hundred men.
Est 9:7 And they slew Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
Est 9:8 and Poratha, and Aḏalya, and Ariḏatha,
Est 9:9 and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Ariḏai, and Wayezatha,
Est 9:10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammeḏatha, the enemy of the Yehuḏim. But they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
Est 9:11 On that day the number of those who were slain in the citadel of Shushan came before the Melech.
Est 9:12 And the Melech said to Malkah Estĕr, “The Yehuḏim have slain and destroyed five hundred men in the citadel of Shushan, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the Melech’s provinces? And what is your petition? And it is given to you. And what is your further request? And it is done.”
Est 9:13 And Estĕr said, “If it pleases the Melech, let it be given to the Yehuḏim who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hung on the wooden object.”
Est 9:14 And the Melech commanded this to be done. And the decree was given in Shushan, and they hung Haman’s ten sons.
Est 9:15 And the Yehuḏim who were in Shushan also assembled on the fourteenth day of the month of Aḏar and they slew three hundred men at Shushan. But they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
Est 9:16 And the rest of the Yehuḏim in the Melech’s provinces assembled and stood for their lives, and to get rest from their enemies, and to slay seventy-five thousand of their enemies. But they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
Est 9:17 That was on the thirteenth day of the month of Aḏar, and on the fourteenth day of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
Est 9:18 But the Yehuḏim who were at Shushan assembled on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth day. And on the fifteenth day of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
Est 9:19 Therefore the Yehuḏim of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns were making the fourteenth day of the month of Aḏar a good day of gladness and feasting, and for sending portions to one another.
Est 9:20 And Mordeḵhai wrote these matters and sent letters to all the Yehuḏim who were in all the provinces of Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, both near and far,
Est 9:21 to establish among them, to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Aḏar, yearly,
Est 9:22 as the days on which the Yehuḏim had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a good day, that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending portions to one another and gifts to the poor.
Est 9:23 And the Yehuḏim undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordeḵhai had written to them,
Est 9:24 because Haman, son of Hammeḏatha the Aḡaḡite, the adversary of all the Yehuḏim, had plotted against the Yehuḏim to destroy them, and had cast Pur – that is, the lot – to crush them and to destroy them.
Est 9:25 But when she came before the Melech, he commanded by letter that his evil plot which Haman had plotted against the Yehuḏim should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hung on the wooden object.
Est 9:26 Therefore they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had come upon them,
Est 9:27 the Yehuḏim established and imposed it upon themselves and upon their seed and all who should join them, that without fail they should observe these two days every year, according to their writing and at their appointed time,
Est 9:28 and that these days should be remembered and observed throughout every generation, every clan, every province, and every city, and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Yehuḏim, and that the remembrance of them should not cease from their seed.
Est 9:29 And Malkah Estĕr, the daughter of Aḇiḥayil, with Mordeḵhai the Yehuḏite, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.
Est 9:30 And Mordeḵhai sent letters to all the Yehuḏim, to the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the reign of Aḥashwĕrosh, words of peace and truth,
Est 9:31 to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, as Mordeḵhai the Yehuḏite and Malkah Estĕr had established for them, and as they had established for themselves and their seed concerning matters of their fastings and lamenting.
Est 9:32 And the decree of Estĕr established these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.
Est 10:1 And Melech Aḥashwĕrosh laid compulsory labor on the land and the islands of the sea.
Est 10:2 And all the acts of his power and his might, and the exact account of the greatness of Mordeḵhai, with which the Melech made him great, are they not written in the book of the annals of the Melachim of Media and Persia?
Est 10:3 For Mordeḵhai the Yehuḏite was second to Melech Aḥashwĕrosh, and great among the Yehuḏim and pleasing to his many brothers, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his seed.