Esther 8

1 That same day [on the very same occasion] King Xerxes [Ahasuerus, the powerful Persian ruler] awarded [gave, bestowed upon] Queen Esther [the brave Jewish woman, cousin of Mordecai] the estate [house, property] of Haman [the adversary, enemy of the Jews], the enemy [one who opposes, afflicts] of the Jews [people from the tribe of Judah]. And Mordecai [the brave Israelite, cousin of Esther] entered [came, approached] the king’s [royal, sovereign] presence [face, before] because Esther [the queen, brave woman] had revealed [told, declared openly] his relation [connection, family tie] to her [as her cousin]. word study 2 The king [ruler, sovereign] removed the signet ring [a ring or signet] he had recovered [taken back, retrieved] from Haman [the enemy of the Jews, a powerful Persian official] and presented [gave, bestowed] it to Mordecai [a brave Israelite, Esther’s cousin]. And Esther [the brave Jewish queen] appointed [set, placed] Mordecai [the hero of the Jews] over the estate [house, property, household] of Haman [the defeated enemy]. word study 3 And once again [to add, speaking yet more], Esther [the brave Jewish queen] addressed the king [the royal ruler]. She fell [prostrated herself] at his feet [in humility and reverence] weeping [with tears, beseeching] and begged [to make a supplication, to be gracious] him to revoke [to put away, to pass away] the evil [bad, wicked] scheme [plot, device] of Haman [a descendant of Agag] the Agagite [from the family of Agag], which [that] he had devised [planned, thought out] against [upon, towards] the Jews [the people of Judah, God’s chosen nation]. word study 4 The king [ruler, monarch] extended [stretched out, held out] the gold [valuable, precious] scepter toward Esther [brave Jewish queen], and she arose [stood up, rose] and stood [presented herself, was upright] before [in the presence of, facing] the king [royal person, monarch]. word study 5 “If it pleases [is acceptable to] the king,” she said, “and if I have found [obtained, received] favor [graciousness, kindness] in his sight, and the matter [thing, affair] seems [appears, is considered] proper [right, just] to the king, and I am pleasing [acceptable, delightful] in his sight, may an order [decree, command] be written [recorded, inscribed] to revoke [cancel, reverse] the letters [scrolls, documents] that the scheming [cunning, deceitful] Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, wrote [devised, planned] to destroy [annihilate, exterminate] the Jews [people of Judah, Israelites] in all [every, entire] the king’s provinces [regions, territories]. word study 6 For how [in what manner, by what means] could I bear to see [endure, look upon] the disaster [evil, calamity] that would befall [come upon, overtake] my people [nation, kindred]? How [in what way] could I bear to see [behold, witness] the destruction [perishing, ruin] of my kindred [relatives, family]?” word study 7 So King [Ahasuerus, the ruler of Persia] Xerxes said to Esther [the brave Jewish queen] the Queen and Mordecai [the faithful Israelite] the Jew, “Behold [look, take notice], I have given [transferred, bestowed] Haman’s estate [house, property] to Esther, and he was hanged [impaled, executed] on the gallows [tree, wooden pole] because he attacked [laid his hand on, sought to destroy] the Jews [people of Judah, God’s chosen]. word study 8 Now you [as representatives of the king] may write in the king’s [royal authority] name as you please [in your discretion, according to your judgment] regarding the Jews [people of Judah, God’s chosen], and seal it with the royal [king’s official] signet ring [a ring or signet]. For a decree [official declaration, edict] that is written in the name of the king [with his full authority] and sealed with the royal signet ring [a ring or signet] cannot be revoked [reversed, changed, or annulled].” word study 9 At once the royal [king’s] scribes [secretaries, recorders] were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month [Sivan, a time of harvest] (the month of Sivan), they recorded [wrote, inscribed] all of Mordecai’s [a Jewish leader, cousin of Esther] orders [commands, decrees] to the Jews [people of Judah, God’s chosen] and to the satraps [high-ranking officials], governors [rulers, leaders], and princes [chiefs, nobles] of the 127 provinces [regions, districts] from India [a distant land] to Cush [Ethiopia, the region south of Egypt]—writing to each province [region, area] in its own script [writing, characters], to every people [nation, tribe] in their own language [tongue, dialect], and to the Jews [people of Judah] in their own script [writing, characters] and language [tongue, speech]. word study 10 Mordecai wrote [in the authority of, on behalf of] in the name [identity, character] of King Xerxes [Ahasuerus, the Persian ruler] and sealed [closed, authenticated] it with the royal [king’s, sovereign] signet ring [a ring or signet]. He sent [dispatched, commissioned] the documents [official letters, scrolls] by mounted [riding, seated] couriers [messengers, runners] riding on swift [fast, speedy] horses [steeds, royal mares] bred from the royal [king’s, noble] mares [female horses, royal stock]. word study 11 By these letters [official decrees, royal edicts] the king [monarch, ruler] permitted [granted authority to, allowed] the Jews [people of Judah, Israelites] in each and every city [town, urban area] the right [freedom, permission] to assemble [gather together, unite] and defend [protect, safeguard] themselves, to destroy [annihilate, wipe out], kill [slay, put to death], and annihilate [cause to perish, exterminate] all the forces [power, strength] of any people [nation, group] or province [region, district] hostile [opposed, enemy] to them, including [along with, together with] women [females, wives] and children [little ones, young ones], and to plunder [take spoil, seize] their possessions [goods, belongings]. word study 12 The single [one, united] day [a literal 24-hour period or a figurative space of time] appointed throughout all [every, entire] the provinces [regions or districts] of King [royal person, ruler] Xerxes [Ahasuerus, a powerful king of Persia] was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month [a new moon and lunar cycle] of Adar [glorious, the 12th month of the Hebrew calendar]. word study 13 A copy [transcript, written document] of the text [writing, decree] of the edict [law, royal command] was to be issued [given, proclaimed] in every province [region, district] and published [revealed, made known] to all the people [nations], so that the Jews [people of Judah, Israelites] would be ready [prepared, equipped] on that day [specific time, appointed hour] to avenge [punish, take revenge] themselves on their enemies [adversaries, those who hate them]. word study 14 The couriers [royal messengers, posts] rode out in haste [being hastened, with speed] on their royal horses [steeds, mules, and camels], pressed on [urged, forced] by the command [word, decree] of the king [the monarch, ruler]. And the edict [law, decree] was also issued [given, proclaimed] in the citadel [palace, fortress] of Susa [Shushan, the royal city]. word study 15 Mordecai [a brave Israelite] went out from the presence [face, before] of the king [ruler, monarch] in royal [kingly, majestic] garments [clothing, apparel] of blue [violet, azure] and white [pure, clean], with a large [great, grand] gold [valuable, precious] crown and a purple [rich, luxurious] robe [outer garment, cloak] of fine linen [luxurious, high-quality fabric]. And the city [town, metropolis] of Susa [Shushan, royal residence] shouted [cried out, rejoiced] and rejoiced [was glad, celebrated]. word study 16 For the Jews [people of Judah, God’s chosen] it was a time [season, period] of light [prosperity, brightness] and gladness [joy, happiness], of joy [rejoicing] and honor [preciousness, dignity]. word study 17 In every [all, each] province [district, region] and every city [town, settlement], wherever the king’s [royal, sovereign] edict [command, decree] and decree [law, ordinance] reached, there was joy [gladness, happiness] and gladness [rejoicing, celebration] among the Jews [people of Judah, Israelites], with feasting [banqueting, revelry] and celebrating [merriment, festivity]. And many [a large number, numerous] of the people [nations, Gentiles] of the land [earth, territory] themselves became Jews [adopted Jewish customs, converted], because the fear [dread, awe] of the Jews [people of Judah, Israelites] had fallen [come upon, descended] upon them. word study