Esther

Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)

1It was the twelfth month, the month called Adar, on the thirteenth day. That was the day the king's order was to be carried out. The enemies of the Jews had hoped to beat them. Instead the opposite happened, and the Jews beat the people who hated them.

NoteAdar is the twelfth month of the Jewish year. It falls in late winter, around our February and March.

2The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.

2The Jews came together in their cities in every province of King Ahasuerus. They stood against anyone who wanted to harm them. No one could stand up to them, because everyone was afraid of them.

3And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.

3All the rulers of the provinces, the governors, the deputies, and the king's officers helped the Jews. They did this because they were afraid of Mordecai.

4For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.

4Mordecai now had great power in the king's palace, and news of him spread through all the provinces. He kept growing stronger and stronger.

5Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.

5So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword. They killed and destroyed, and they did as they wished to those who hated them.

6And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.

6In the fortress city of Shushan, the Jews killed five hundred men.

7And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,

7Among them were Parshandatha, Dalphon, and Aspatha,

8And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

8and Poratha, Adalia, and Aridatha,

9And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,

9and Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha.

10The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.

10These ten men were the sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. The Jews killed them, but took none of their goods.

Note"Took none of their goods" means they did not take money or property from the people they killed. The KJV calls this the "spoil" or the "prey."

11On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.

11That same day, someone brought the king the count of those killed in the fortress city of Shushan.

12And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.

12The king said to Queen Esther, "In Shushan the Jews have killed five hundred men and Haman's ten sons. What must they have done in the rest of my provinces? Now, what do you ask for? It will be given to you. What more do you want? It will be done."

13Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this day’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.

13Esther said, "If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Shushan do tomorrow what today's order allowed. And let the bodies of Haman's ten sons be hung on the wooden posts."

14And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.

14The king ordered this to be done. The order was announced in Shushan, and they hung up the bodies of Haman's ten sons.

15For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.

15So the Jews in Shushan came together again on the fourteenth day of Adar. They killed three hundred men there, but took none of their goods.

16But the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,

16The rest of the Jews in the king's provinces also came together to defend their lives. They got rest from their enemies and killed seventy-five thousand of them, but took none of their goods.

17On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

17This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. On the fourteenth day they rested, and they made it a day of feasting and joy.

18But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

18But the Jews in Shushan had fought on both the thirteenth and the fourteenth day. So they rested on the fifteenth day, and made that a day of feasting and joy.

19Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

19That is why the Jews who live in the villages and the towns without walls keep the fourteenth day of Adar. It is a day of joy and feasting, a holiday, and a day for sending food to one another.

20And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,

20Mordecai wrote down all these events. He sent letters to all the Jews in every province of King Ahasuerus, both near and far.

21To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,

21The letters told them to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar every year.

22As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

22These were the days when the Jews got rest from their enemies. In that month their sadness turned to joy and their crying turned into a holiday. They were to make them days of feasting and joy, sending food to one another and gifts to the poor.

NoteThe KJV says "sending portions." That means sending gifts of food to one another, the way people share a holiday meal.

23And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;

23So the Jews agreed to keep doing what they had already started, just as Mordecai had written to them.

24Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;

24For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had planned to destroy them. He had thrown the Pur, which means the lot, to decide when to wipe them out.

NoteA "lot" was an object something like dice, thrown to pick a date or make a choice. Pur is the older word for it, and the holiday Purim is named after it.

25But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

25But when the matter came before the king, he sent out letters ordering that Haman's evil plan fall back on his own head. He ordered that Haman and his sons be hung on the wooden posts.

26Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,

26That is why these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of everything in this letter, and everything they had seen and lived through,

27The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;

27the Jews made a firm promise for themselves, their children, and everyone who joined them. They would never fail to keep these two days each year, at the set time and in the way written down.

28And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.

28These days were to be remembered and kept by every family, in every province and city, in every generation. The days of Purim would never be dropped by the Jews, and their children would not forget them.

29Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.

29Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority. They wrote to confirm this second letter about Purim.

30And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,

30Mordecai sent the letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus. The letters carried words of peace and truth.

31To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.

31They confirmed that the days of Purim were to be kept at their set times. Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had ordered this, and the Jews had promised it for themselves and their children, along with times of going without food and crying out.

32And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.

32Esther's order settled these rules about Purim, and it was written down in the records.