Esther 8

Esther Saves the Jews

1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, h the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told p what he was to her. 2 q And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

3 Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman r the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. 4 s When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, 5 Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, "If it please the king, t and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke u the letters devised by Haman r the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. 6 For how can I bear v to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?" 7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, w I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, 1 because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. 8 But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, x and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring y cannot be revoked."

9 z The king's scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to a the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces b from India to Ethiopia, b 127 provinces, c to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. 10 d And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus e and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on f swift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud, 11 saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city g to gather and defend their lives, h to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, i and to plunder their goods, 12 j on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 13 k A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. 14 So the couriers, mounted on their f swift horses that were used in the king's service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command. And the decree was issued in Susa the citadel.

15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king l in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown 2 and m a robe of fine linen and purple, n and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 The Jews had o light and gladness and joy and honor. 17 And in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and p a holiday. q And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, r for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

  1. Cross References
    Esther 7:6
    And Esther said, "A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!" Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
  2. Cross References
    Esther 2:7
    He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
    Esther 2:15
    When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.
  3. Cross References
    Esther 3:10
    So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews.
  4. Cross References
    Esther 3:1
    After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him.
    Esther 9:24
    For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them.
  5. Cross References
    Esther 4:11
    "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law - to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days."
    Esther 5:2
    And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
  6. Cross References
    Esther 5:8
    If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.
    Esther 7:3
    Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.
  7. Cross References
    Esther 3:13
    Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.
  8. Cross References
    Esther 8:3
    Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews.
  9. Cross References
    Esther 7:4
    For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.
  10. Cross References
    Esther 8:1
    On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.
  11. Cross References
    Esther 8:10
    And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud.
    Esther 3:12
    Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring.
  12. Cross References
    Esther 1:19
    If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.
    Daniel 6:8
    Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.
    Daniel 6:12
    Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, "O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?" The king answered and said, "The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.
    Daniel 6:15
    Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, "Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.
  13. Cross References
    Esther 3:12
    Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring.
  14. Cross References
    Ezra 8:36
    They also delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.
  15. Cross References
    Esther 1:1
    Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces.
  16. Cross References
    Esther 1:1
    Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces.
  17. Cross References
    Esther 1:22
    He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people.
    Esther 3:12
    Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring.
  18. Cross References
    Esther 3:12 - 13
    Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring.
  19. Cross References
    Esther 3:12
    Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring.
  20. Cross References
    1 Kings 4:28
    Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.
  21. Cross References
    Esther 9:2
    The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples.
    Esther 9:15 - 16
    The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they killed 300 men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder.
    Esther 9:18
    But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness.
  22. Cross References
    Esther 3:13
    Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.
    Esther 7:4
    For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.
  23. Cross References
    Esther 9:10
    The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they laid no hand on the plunder.
    Esther 9:15 - 16
    The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they killed 300 men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder.
  24. Cross References
    Esther 3:13
    Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.
    Esther 9:1
    Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.
  25. Cross References
    Esther 3:14
    A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day.
    Esther 4:8
    Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people.
  26. Cross References
    Esther 8:10
    And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud.
  27. Cross References
    Genesis 41:42
    Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck.
    Daniel 5:29
    Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
  28. Cross References
    1 Chronicles 15:27
    David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod.
  29. Cross References
    Esther 3:15
    The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
  30. Cross References
    Psalms 97:11
    Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
  31. Cross References
    Esther 9:19
    Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the rural towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another.
    Esther 9:22
    As the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
    1 Samuel 25:8
    Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.'
  32. Cross References
    Esther 9:27
    The Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year.
  33. Cross References
    Esther 9:2
    The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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