1 On that day King Ahasuerus granted Queen Esther the house {bēt: royal estate} of Haman, the enemy {tsorēr: adversary} of the Jews. Mordecai came before the king after Esther had revealed to him how he was related to her.
2 Then the king took off his signet ring {taba’to: authority symbol}—the one he had taken from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the house {beit: household possessions} of Haman.
3 Esther {ester: Courageous Intercessor} spoke again before the king, fell at his feet {raglav: posture of humility}, wept, and begged him to set aside the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot he had devised against the Jews.
4 The king extended {vayyoshet: ceremonial gesture} his golden scepter {sharvit: royal insignia} toward Esther, and Esther rose and stood before him.
5 She said, “If it is pleasing to the king, and if I have found favor {khen: gracious acceptance} before him, and if this matter is fitting before the king, and I am good in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters {hasefarim: royal decrees} of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite—letters he wrote in order to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces.”
6 For how could I endure to watch the disaster {bara‘ah: calamity} that will come upon my people? And how could I endure to watch the destruction of my kin {moladti: kin by birth}?
7 And King Ahasuerus {Ahashverosh: Royal Ruler} said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Haman’s house {beit: estate transfer} to Esther, and they hanged him on the tree because he reached out his hand against the Jews.”
8 Write {kitvu: official composition} also on behalf of the Jews what seems best in your sight in the name of the king {hamelech: sovereign authority}, and seal it with the king’s ring. For whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.
9 At that time the king’s scribes {sofer: official recorders} were summoned on the twenty-third day of the third month, that is Sivan. They recorded all that Mordecai had commanded to the Jews, to the satraps, to the governors, and to the officials of the provinces {medinah: administrative district} from India to Cush, 127 in total—addressing each province in its own script and each people in its own language, including the Jews in their own script and language.
10 He wrote the letters in the name of King Ahasuerus{akhashverosh: Persian ruler}, sealed them with the king’s signet ring{taba'at: royal seal}, and sent them by couriers on horseback—steeds bred for royal service, offspring of mares.
11 In these letters, the king {ha-melekh: Sovereign Authority} granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and to stand for their lives, to destroy, kill, and annihilate any armed force of a people or province that might attack them—including children and women—and to plunder their spoil {shelal: War Spoils}.
12 This was to take place on a single day in all the provinces {medinah: administrative district} of King Ahasuerus—on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month {chodesh: lunar cycle} of Adar.
13 A copy of the writing was issued as a decree {dat: authoritative ordinance} in every province and displayed to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be prepared {atidim: set in readiness} on that day to take vengeance on their enemies.
14 The couriers {haratzim: royal dispatchers}, riding on swift mounts and royal chargers, went out hurriedly {mevohalim: with intense urgency}, driven by the king’s command; and the edict was issued in Susa’s citadel.
15 Mordecai went out before the king wearing robes dyed blue and white, crowned with a large gold tiara {ataret: ornamental head wreath} and draped in a robe of fine linen {butz: high-quality linen} and purple. The citizens of Susa broke into shouts and rejoiced.
16 For the Jews there was light {orah: radiant hope}, and joy, and gladness, and honor {yekar: high esteem}.
17 And in every province {medinah: administrative region} and every city, wherever the king’s word and his decree reached, there was joy and gladness for the Jews, a feast and a good day, and many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear {pachad: overwhelming dread} of the Jews had fallen upon them.