| Berean Study Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them. | 1The king's command and law went into effect on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar. On the day when the Jews' enemies had hoped to overpower them, just the opposite happened. The Jews overpowered those who hated them. |
| 2In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples. | 2In each of King Ahasuerus's provinces the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who intended to harm them. Not a single person could withstand them; terror of them fell on every nationality. |
| 3And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. | 3All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the royal civil administrators aided the Jews because they were afraid of Mordecai. |
| 4For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful. | 4For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful. |
| 5The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them. | 5The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them. They did what they pleased to those who hated them. |
| 6In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, | 6In the fortress of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, |
| 7including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, | 7including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, |
| 8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, | 8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, |
| 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. | 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. |
| 10They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. | 10They killed these 10 sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. However, they did not seize any plunder. |
| 11On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king, | 11On that day the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa was reported to the king. |
| 12who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.” | 12The 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." |
| 13Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” | 13Esther 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." |
| 14So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. | 14The 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. |
| 15On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. | 15The Jews in Susa assembled again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed 300 men in Susa, but they did not seize any plunder. |
| 16The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. | 16The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves, and got rid of their enemies. They killed 75,000 of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder. |
| 17This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy. | 17They fought on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar and rested on the fourteenth, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing. |
| 18The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy. | 18But the Jews in Susa had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. They rested on the fifteenth day of the month, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing. |
| 19This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another. | 19This explains why the rural Jews who live in villages observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a time of rejoicing and feasting. It is a holiday when they send gifts to one another. |
| 20Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, | 20Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all of King Ahasuerus's provinces, both near and far. |
| 21to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar | 21He ordered them to celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar every year |
| 22as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor. | 22because during those days the Jews got rid of their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday. They were to be days of feasting, rejoicing, and of sending gifts to one another and the poor. |
| 23So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them. | 23So the Jews agreed to continue the practice they had begun, as Mordecai had written them to do. |
| 24For 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) to crush and destroy them. | 24For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them. He cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them. |
| 25But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. | 25But when the matter was brought before the king, he commanded by letter that the evil plan Haman had devised against the Jews return on his own head and that he should be hanged with his sons on the gallows. |
| 26Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced, | 26For this reason these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter as well as what they had witnessed and what had happened to them, |
| 27the Jews bound themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should not fail to celebrate these two days at the appointed time each and every year, according to their regulation. | 27the Jews bound themselves, their descendants, and all who joined with them to a commitment that they would not fail to celebrate these two days each and every year according to the written instructions and according to the time appointed. |
| 28These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants. | 28These days are remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim will not lose their significance in Jewish life and their memory will not fade from their descendants. |
| 29So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. | 29Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote this second letter with full authority to confirm the letter about Purim. |
| 30And Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes, | 30He sent letters with messages of peace and faithfulness to all the Jews who were in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, |
| 31in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation. | 31in order to confirm these days of Purim at their proper time just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and just as they had committed themselves and their descendants to the practices of fasting and lamentation. |
| 32So Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record. | 32So Esther's command confirmed these customs of Purim, which were then written into the record. |
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