Esther, Chapter 3:
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Verses from Esther, Chapter 3 of the book of Esther in the Bible.
Haman intends to destroy the Jews
- 1. After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman, son of Hamedata, a descendant of Agag, by promoting him and giving him a higher position than all the other nobles.
- 2. All the officials of the royal palace bowed and prostrated themselves before Haman, according to the king's orders. However, Mordecai did not bow down or prostrate himself before him.
- 3. The royal palace officials asked Mordecai every day, “Why do you disobey the king’s orders?”
- 4. Although they spoke to him daily, he paid no attention to them and claimed to be Jewish. They reported everything to Haman to see if Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated.
- 5. When Haman noticed that Mordecai did not bow or prostrate himself, he became furious.
- 6. However, since he knew Mordecai was a Jew, he decided that killing him would not be enough. Haman planned to exterminate all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout Xerxes' empire.
- 7. In the first month of the twelfth year of the reign of King Xerxes, in the month of Nisan, they cast Pur, that is, lots, in the presence of Haman to choose a day and a month to carry out the plan. And the twelfth month, the month of Adar, was chosen by lot.
- 8. Then Haman said to King Xerxes: “There is a certain people scattered and scattered among the peoples of all the provinces of your empire, whose customs are different from those of all other peoples, and they do not obey the king's laws. It is not in the king's interest to tolerate them.
- 9. If it is the king's will, let his destruction be decreed, and I will give three hundred and fifty tons of silver to the king's treasuries to be used for this task.”
- 10. The king then removed his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman, enemy of the Jews, son of Hamedata, descendant of Agag, saying:
- 11. “Keep the silver for yourself and do as you please with these people.”
- 12. On the thirteenth day of the first month, the king's scribes were summoned. Haman ordered letters to be written in the languages of all the peoples and in the scripts of each province, addressed to the king's satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the leaders of each people. Everything was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with his ring.
- 13. Letters were sent by messengers to all the provinces of the empire with the order to completely destroy and exterminate all Jews, young and old, women and children, on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder his goods.
- 14. A copy of the decree should be proclaimed as law in each province and circulated among all peoples, so that they would be prepared for that day.
- 15. By order of the king, the messengers left in haste, and the decree was published in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Shushan was in confusion.
