6:8 “I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. 1 6:9 Whatever is needed – whether oxen or rams or lambs or burnt offerings for the God of heaven or wheat or salt or wine or oil, as required by 2 the priests who are in Jerusalem – must be given to them daily without any neglect, 6:10 so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family. 3
6:11 “I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled 4 on it, and his house is to be reduced 5 to a rubbish heap 6 for this indiscretion. 7 6:12 May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation 8 who reaches out 9 to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”
3:12 So the royal scribes 10 were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps 11 and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that 12 they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, 13 on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day 14 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, 15 so that they would be prepared for this day. 3:15 The messengers 16 scurried forth 17 with the king’s order. 18 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! 19
8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly 20 summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. 21 They wrote out 22 everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia 23 – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language. 8:10 Mordecai 24 wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift.
9:20 Mordecai wrote these matters down and sent letters to all the Jews who were throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 9:21 to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year
1 tn The words “of the work” are not in the Aramaic, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Aram “according to the word of.”
3 tn Aram “for the life of the king and his sons.”
4 sn The practice referred to in v. 11 has been understood in various ways: hanging (cf. 1 Esd 6:32 and KJV); flogging (cf. NEB, NLT); impalement (BDB 1091 s.v. זְקַף; HALOT 1914 s.v. מחא hitpe; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The latter seems the most likely.
5 tn Aram “made.”
6 tn Aram “a dunghill.”
7 tn Aram “for this.”
8 tn Aram “people.”
9 tn Aram “who sends forth his hand.”
10 tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
11 tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”
12 tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
14 tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”
15 tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).
16 tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”
17 tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).
18 tn Heb “with the word of the king.”
19 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.
20 tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”
21 sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.
22 tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
23 tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”
24 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn Aram “establish a written interdict and inscribe a written decree.”
26 tn Or “removed.”