1On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. 2The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No-one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. 3And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. 4Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.
5The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
11The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. 12The king said to Queen Esther, ‘The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.’
13‘If it pleases the king,’ Esther answered, ‘give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on poles.’
14So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman. 15The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
16Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. 17This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.
18The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.
19That is why rural Jews – those living in villages – observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.
Purim established
20Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21that they should celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote to them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
23So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. 24For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. 25But when the plot came to the king’s attention,9:25 Or when Esther came before the king he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back on to his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. 26(Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews – nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.
29So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom – words of goodwill and assurance – 31to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. 32Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.
猶太人的反擊
1十二月，即亞達月十三日，是執行王諭旨的日子。那天，猶太人的仇敵原本想轄制他們，卻反而被他們轄制。 2猶太人在亞哈隨魯王的各省各城聚集起來，攻擊那些要害他們的人，無人能抵擋他們，因為各族都懼怕他們。 3各省的官員、總督、省長和為王辦事的人因懼怕末底改，就都幫助猶太人。 4因為末底改已是王宮要員，他的名聲傳遍各省，權勢日盛。 5猶太人用刀擊殺所有敵人，任意消滅恨他們的人。 6猶太人單在書珊城就殺了五百人。 7他們還殺了巴珊大他、達分、亞斯帕他、 8坡拉他、亞大利雅、亞利大他、 9帕瑪斯他、亞利賽、亞利代和瓦耶撒他。 10這十人是猶太人的仇敵哈曼的兒子、哈米大他的孫子。但猶太人沒有動他們的財物。
11當天，王獲悉在書珊城被殺的人數， 12便對以斯帖王后說：「猶太人在書珊城殺了五百人，還殺了哈曼的十個兒子，在其餘各省就更不知怎樣了！現在你要什麼？必賜給你。你還有何要求？必為你成就。」 13以斯帖回答說：「王若願意，就請恩准書珊城的猶太人明天仍執行今天的諭旨，並把哈曼十個兒子的屍體吊在木架上。」 14王允准了，便在書珊城頒佈諭旨，哈曼十個兒子的屍體便被吊了起來。 15亞達月十四日，書珊城的猶太人再次聚集起來，在城中殺了三百人，但沒有動他們的財物。
16王其他各省的猶太人也都聚集起來自衛，得以脫離仇敵。他們殺了七萬五千個仇敵，但沒有動他們的財物。 17這事發生在亞達月十三日。十四日，猶太人休息，並以此日為設宴歡慶的日子。 18但書珊城的猶太人在十三、十四日聚集殺敵，十五日才休息，並以此日為設宴歡慶的日子。 19因此，住在鄉村的猶太人都以亞達月十四日為設宴歡慶的節日，並互贈禮物。
普珥節
20末底改把這些事記錄下來，寫信給亞哈隨魯王國內遠近各省的猶太人， 21吩咐他們每年在亞達月十四、十五日守節期， 22設宴歡慶，互贈禮物，賙濟窮人，以紀念猶太人在此月此日得以脫離仇敵，化憂為樂，轉悲為喜。
23猶太人接受了末底改寫給他們的信，同意每年慶祝這個節日。 24因為猶太人的仇敵亞甲人哈米大他的兒子哈曼曾經陰謀毀滅猶太人，曾經抽普珥，即抽籤，要殺戮、滅絕他們。 25但王知道這陰謀後，便降旨使哈曼謀害猶太人的惡計落到他自己頭上，將他及其眾子吊在木架上。 26他們借用普珥這個詞，稱這兩天為普珥節。猶太人因這信上的一切話，又因所看見、所經歷的事， 27就為自己、自己的後代和歸屬他們的人定下規矩：每年必按時守這兩天為節日，永不廢棄。 28各省各城、家家戶戶、世世代代都要紀念、遵守這節日，使猶太人永不中斷過普珥節，他們的後代也不可忘記。
29亞比孩的女兒以斯帖王后和猶太人末底改以全權寫第二封信，囑咐猶太人守這普珥節， 30用和善、真誠的話寫信給亞哈隨魯王國一百二十七省的所有猶太人， 31囑咐他們照猶太人末底改和以斯帖王后的指示，按他們為自己及其後代所規定的，按時守普珥節，禁食哀哭。 32以斯帖的命令確定了普珥節，這命令被記載下來。
