Esther 3:1-9 ▼

1 Sometime later King Ahasuerus promoted Hammedatha the Agagite's son Haman, elevating him to a position above all the other officials who were with him.

2 All the king's ministers who were in the king's gate would kneel and bow down to Haman, because the king had commanded that Haman be honored in this way. Mordecai, however, would not kneel and would not bow down.

3 The king's ministers who were in the king's gate asked Mordecai, |Why are you disobeying the king's command?|

4 They asked him this day after day, and he would not listen to them, so they told Haman to see whether or not Mordecai would get away with his disobedience, since he also had told them that he was Jewish.

5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel and bow down to him, he flew into a rage.

6 Because they had told him who the people of Mordecai were, Haman found it unacceptable to kill only Mordecai. So Haman sought to destroy all of Mordecai's people, the Jewish people, who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

7 In the twelfth year of the reign of King Ahasuerus, in the first month (the month Nisan), the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in Haman's presence to determine the best day and month to carry out his plot. The lot indicated the twelfth month, the month Adar.

8 Then Haman told King Ahasuerus, |There is a certain people scattered and divided among the people throughout the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different than all the other people, they don't obey the king's laws, and it's not in the king's best interest to leave them alone.

9 If the king approves, let it be decreed that they're to be destroyed, and I'll measure out 10,000 silver talents and bring it to the king's treasury for those who will do the work.|