Esther 3
New Catholic Bible
Haman’s Plot To Destroy the Jews
Chapter 3
Mordecai Refuses To Honor Haman.[a] 1 Sometime later, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, giving him a higher rank and seating him above all his royal nobles. 2 All the royal officials who were at the king’s gate would kneel down and render homage to Haman, for that is what the king had ordered to be done toward him. But Mordecai refused to kneel and bow down to him.
3 The other officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you fail to obey the king’s command?” 4 Day after day they spoke to him about this, but he did not listen to them. So they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s explanation was acceptable, for he had informed them that he was a Jew.
5 When Haman realized that Mordecai was not going to kneel down or pay him homage, he became enraged. 6 Moreover, he decided that it would not be enough to kill only Mordecai; having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he sought to destroy all the Jews—Mordecai’s people—in the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
Edict against the Jews.[b] 7 In the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, in the first month, Nisan, they cast the pur,[c] (that is, the lot) in the presence of Haman. And the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.
8 Then Haman said to Ahasuerus, “There is a certain race of people scattered among the nations all over your empire who keep themselves separate. They observe customs that are not like those of any other people. Moreover, they do not obey the king’s laws, and it is not in the king’s best interests to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, issue a decree to put them all to death, and I will deposit ten thousand talents into the royal treasury for those who bring it to pass.”
10 Therefore, the king removed the signet ring[d] from his finger and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 The king told him, “Keep the money, and do whatever you want with this race of people.”
12 So on the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal secretaries were summoned, and at the dictation of Haman they wrote out—in the script of each province and in the language of each people[e]—an order to the king’s satraps, the governors of every province, and the nobles of the various peoples. This order was written in the name of King Ahasuerus himself and sealed with the royal signet ring. 13 This order was sent by couriers[f] to all the provinces to the effect that all Jews, young and old, including women and children, should be put to death, destroyed, wiped out in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, and their goods seized as spoil.
Chapter B
A Copy of the Edict.[g]1 This is the copy of the edict:
“King Ahasuerus the Great writes the following to the governors of the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces extending from India to Ethiopia and to their subordinate officials:2 Having been established as the ruler of many nations and master of the entire world, it has always been my policy never to be overwhelmed with the arrogance of power but always to rule with fairness and kindness, so as to ensure for my subjects a life of tranquillity in this kingdom, with the assurance of safe passage for everyone within its borders and the restoration of the peace desired by all.
3 “When I sought the counsel of my advisors as to how this goal might be achieved, Haman, whose sound judgment, unfailing devotion, and steadfast loyalty have enabled him to achieve a rank second only to mine in the kingdom, spoke up.4 He informed us that, mingled among all the races of the world, there is one hostile people whose laws are opposed to those of all other nations and who continually act in defiance of royal ordinances, so that the unification of the empire that we envision cannot be accomplished.
5 “In the realization that this people stands uniquely alone in its continual hostility to all other nations, observes laws that are at complete variance with ours, and commits the most grievous of crimes, thereby undermining the stability of our government,6 we hereby decree that all the persons designated to you in the letters written by Haman, who was appointed to safeguard our interests and who is a second father to us, shall, with their wives and children, be totally destroyed by the swords of their enemies, without any sign of mercy or pardon, on the fourteenth day[h] of the twelfth month, Adar, of the present year.7 In this way, when these people, whose treacherous opposition to us has been of long duration, have descended into the netherworld by a violent death in a single day, our kingdom will once again enjoy perpetual stability and peace.”
(Chapter 3)
14 A 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 that they might be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went quickly by order of the king, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to feast, but the city of Susa was perplexed.
Footnotes
- Esther 3:1 Refusing to render to a minister the honors prescribed by the king, Mordecai exemplifies Jewish pride to the court mentality. In fact, such practices were normal in the East and even in Israel (1 Ki 1:23; 2 Ki 4:37). The Greek text will attach an idolatrous sense to this reverence requested before Haman (Est C:5-7), while the Hebrew text does not go this far.
- Esther 3:7 The text mentions pur, a word that is Babylonian. Importance is attributed to it in order to make the connection with the Jewish Feast of Purim (Est 9:24-26).
- Esther 3:7 Pur: Assyro-Babylonian term; the lot was used to establish the days that were auspicious (see Est 9:20ff). The month of Adar corresponds to February–March.
- Esther 3:10 Signet ring: a ring with a seal that was impressed on documents in order to give them authenticity.
- Esther 3:12 In the script of each province and in the language of each people: omitted in the Greek. Ordinarily such official correspondence was written in Aramaic.
- Esther 3:13 Couriers: created by Cyrus, galloped on the best steeds in Media. Haman hastens to send out the edict almost a year beforehand, since he knows the changeable character of the king; once sent out, the edict is immutable.
- Esther 3:14 The Greek text opts to give this edict in full. It shows the official style but also the common accusations made by persecutors of the Jews (see Est 3:8; 4:12f; Jud 12:2; Wis 2:14-15; Dan 3:8-12).
- Esther 3:14 Fourteenth day: the Hebrew text (Est 2:13) and the Greek text here do not agree on the day of the month specified by the king. In Est 9:15, 18 a two-day celebration is decreed, and the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days of Adar are all mentioned.
