Esther 3:11-13
New Catholic Bible
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[a]—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[b] 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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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.
