Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews
1After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
3Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” 4Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.
5When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. 6Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
7In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on3:7 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have And the lot fell on. the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
8Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. 9If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents3:9 That is, about 375 tons or about 340 metric tons of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”
10So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11“Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”
12Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. 13Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.
15The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.
哈曼圖謀滅絕猶太人
1後來，亞哈隨魯王提拔亞甲人哈米大他的兒子哈曼，使他的權位高過他所有的同僚。 2王命令所有在宮門供職的臣僕都要向哈曼跪拜，但末底改不肯跪拜。 3在宮門供職的臣僕問末底改：「你為何違抗王的命令？」 4他們天天勸他，他卻不聽。他們便把這件事告訴哈曼，想看看末底改這樣做是否能站得住，因為末底改已告訴他們自己是猶太人。 5哈曼見末底改不肯向他跪拜，就怒氣填胸。 6他得知末底改是猶太人後，便不屑於只害末底改一人，而是要剷除亞哈隨魯王國內所有的猶太人，即末底改的同胞。
7亞哈隨魯王十二年一月，即尼散月，有人在哈曼面前抽普珥，也就是抽籤，來決定哪月哪日下手，結果抽中十二月，即亞達月。
8哈曼對亞哈隨魯王說：「有一個民族散居在王境內各省的眾民族中，他們的律例與各族的律例不同，他們不遵守王的律例，所以容忍他們對王不利。 9王若願意，就請降旨消滅他們。我願捐六百八十萬兩銀子交給管理國事的人，納入王的庫房。」 10於是，王摘下手上的戒指，交給猶太人的仇敵——亞甲人哈米大他的兒子哈曼， 11對他說：「這些銀子歸你，這個民族也交給你，隨你處置。」
12一月十三日，王的書記被召來，他們以亞哈隨魯王的名義，照哈曼的吩咐，用各省的文字和各族的語言寫諭旨，用王的戒指蓋印，送交各總督、各省省長和各族首領。 13諭旨由信差送到王的各省，限令在一天之內，也就是亞達月十三日，即十二月十三日，把猶太人的男女老少全部剷除、殺光、滅盡，並奪取他們的財物。 14諭旨的抄本作為法令頒佈到各省，通知各族為那天做好準備。 15信差奉王的命令急忙上路，諭旨也在書珊城裡頒佈了。王和哈曼坐下飲酒，書珊城一片慌亂。
