¹On that day King Ahasuerus gave Esther the queen the house of Haman, the one who pressed hard on the Jews, and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.

²And the king removed his signet ring, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

³And Esther spoke again before the king, and fell at his feet, and wept, and implored his favor to take away the evil of Haman the Agagite and the plan that he had devised against the Jews.

⁴And the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the king.

⁵And she said, If it seems good to the king, and if I have found favor before him, and the word seems proper before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters, the plan of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, that he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.

⁶For how will I be able to look on the evil that will find my people? And how will I be able to look on the destruction of my kindred?

⁷And King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Look, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and they have hanged him on the wood, because he stretched out his hand against the Jews.

⁸And you, write about the Jews as seems good in your eyes, in the name of the king, and seal it with the signet ring of the king; for a writing that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the signet ring of the king cannot be revoked.

⁹And the king's scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, that is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day of it; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, and to the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the provinces that are from India to Cush, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, province by province according to its writing, and people by people according to its language, and to the Jews according to their writing and their language.

¹⁰And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king's signet ring, and sent letters by the hand of the runners on horses, riders of the royal swift steeds, the young of the mares.

¹¹that the king gave the Jews who were in every city, city by city, leave to assemble and make a stand for their living selves, to annihilate, kill, and destroy every army of people and province that showed hostility to them, little children and women too, and to take their spoil as plunder.

¹²on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, that is the month of Adar.

¹³The copy of the writing was to be given out as law in every province, province by province, disclosed to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

¹⁴The runners, riders of the royal swift steeds, went out in haste, driven on by the word of the king; and the law was given in Susa the citadel.

¹⁵Mordecai went out from before the king in royal garments of violet and white fabric, with a great crown of gold and a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa cried out and rejoiced.

¹⁶For the Jews there was light and gladness and joy and honor.

¹⁷And in all province by province and in all city by city, the place where the word of the king and his decree was touching, gladness and joy to Jews, feast and day good; and great from the people of the land became a Jew, for the fear of the Jews fell over them.