Est 8 | NASB2020 | STEP | On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman , the enemy of the Jews , to Queen Esther ; and Mordecai came before the king , because Esther had disclosed what he was to her.

Esther 8

Mordecai Promoted

1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, ^athe enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, because Esther had disclosed ^bwhat he was to her. 2 Then ^cthe king took off his signet ring, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

3 Then Esther spoke again ^{▼▼Lit before}to the king, fell at his feet, wept, and pleaded for his compassion to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews. 4 And ^ethe king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther got up and stood before the king. 5 Then she said, “ ^fIf it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him, and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the ^gletters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to eliminate the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. 6 For ^hhow can I endure to see the disaster which will happen to my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” 7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, ⁱI have given the house of Haman to Esther, and they have hanged him on the wooden gallows because he had reached out with his hand against the Jews.

The King’s Decree Avenges the Jews

8 Now you write to the Jews ^{▼▼Lit according to the good in your eyes}as you see fit, in the king’s name, and ^kseal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring ^lmay not be revoked.”

9 ^mSo the king’s scribes were summoned at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third ^{▼▼Lit in it}day; and it was written in accordance with everything that Mordecai commanded the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the provinces which extended ^ofrom India to ^{▼▼Or Ethiopia}Cush, 127 provinces, to ^qevery province according to its script, and to every people according to their language, as well as to the Jews according to their script and their language. 10 He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on ^rhorses, riding on royal relay horses, offspring of racing mares. 11 ^{▼▼Lit Which the king}In the letters the king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right ^tto assemble and to defend their lives, ^uto destroy, kill, and eliminate the entire army of any people or province which was going to attack them, including children and women, and ^vto plunder their spoils, 12 on ^wone day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar). 13 ^xA copy of the edict to be ^{▼▼Lit given}issued as law in each and every province was published to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14 The couriers, hurrying and speeded by the king’s command, left, riding on the royal relay horses; and the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa.

15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king ^zin a royal robe of violet and white, with a large crown of gold and ^aaa garment of fine linen and purple; and ^abthe city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 For the Jews there was ^aclight, joy, jubilation, and honor. 17 In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was joy and jubilation for the Jews, a feast and a ^{▼▼Lit good day
,} ^aeholiday. And ^afmany among the peoples of the land ^{▼▼Or posed as Jews}became Jews, because the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.