Esther 3:13-15

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ¹  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ²  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ³  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions. 3:14 A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, ⁴  so that they would be prepared for this day. 3:15 The messengers ⁵  scurried forth ⁶  with the king’s order. ⁷  The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar! ⁸ 

¹ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

³ tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”

⁴ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).

⁵ tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”

⁶ tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).

⁷ tn Heb “with the word of the king.”

⁸ sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.