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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Esther 3 GNT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/esther/3.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/esther/3-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">GNT</a> > Esther 3</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../esther/2.htm" title="Esther 2">◄</a> Esther 3 <a href="../esther/4.htm" title="Esther 4">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Good News Translation</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s">Haman Plots to Destroy the Jews</h3><p class="par"><span class="v17_3_1"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.1" class="v17_3_1">1</span>Some time later King Xerxes promoted a man named Haman to the position of prime minister. Haman was the son of Hammedatha, a descendant of Agag.<a href="#fn" id="link_Esth.3.1!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v17_3_2"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.2" class="v17_3_2">2</span>The king ordered all the officials in his service to show their respect for Haman by kneeling and bowing to him. They all did so, except for Mordecai, who refused to do it. </span><span class="v17_3_3"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.3" class="v17_3_3">3</span>The other officials in the royal service asked him why he was disobeying the king's command; </span><span class="v17_3_4"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.4" class="v17_3_4">4</span>day after day they urged him to give in, but he would not listen to them. “I am a Jew,” he explained, “and I cannot bow to Haman.” So they told Haman about this, wondering if he would tolerate Mordecai's conduct. </span><span class="v17_3_5"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.5" class="v17_3_5">5</span>Haman was furious when he realized that Mordecai was not going to kneel and bow to him, </span><span class="v17_3_6"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.6" class="v17_3_6">6</span>and when he learned that Mordecai was a Jew, he decided to do more than punish Mordecai alone. He made plans to kill every Jew in the whole Persian Empire.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_3_7"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.7" class="v17_3_7">7</span>In the twelfth year of King Xerxes' rule, in the first month, the month of Nisan, Haman ordered the lots to be cast (“purim,” they were called) to find out the right day and month to carry out his plot. The thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, was decided on.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_3_8"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.8" class="v17_3_8">8</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Esth.3.8!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> So Haman told the king, “There is a certain race of people scattered all over your empire and found in every province. They observe customs that are not like those of any other people. Moreover, they do not obey the laws of the empire, so it is not in your best interests to tolerate them. </span><span class="v17_3_9"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.9" class="v17_3_9">9</span>If it please Your Majesty, issue a decree that they are to be put to death. If you do, I guarantee that I will be able to put 375 tons of silver into the royal treasury for the administration of the empire.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_3_10"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.10" class="v17_3_10">10</span>The king took off his ring, which was used to stamp proclamations and make them official, and gave it to the enemy of the Jewish people, Haman son of Hammedatha, the descendant of Agag. </span><span class="v17_3_11"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.11" class="v17_3_11">11</span>The king told him, “The people and their money are yours; do as you like with them.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_3_12"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.12" class="v17_3_12">12</span>So on the thirteenth day of the first month Haman called the king's secretaries and dictated a proclamation to be translated into every language and system of writing used in the empire and to be sent to all the rulers, governors, and officials. It was issued in the name of King Xerxes and stamped with his ring. </span><span class="v17_3_13"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.13" class="v17_3_13">13</span>Runners took this proclamation to every province of the empire. It contained the instructions that on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, all Jews—young and old, women and children—were to be killed. They were to be slaughtered without mercy and their belongings were to be taken. </span><span class="v17_3_14"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.14" class="v17_3_14">14</span>The contents of the proclamation were to be made public in every province, so that everyone would be prepared when that day came.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_3_15"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.3.15" class="v17_3_15">15</span>At the king's command the decree was made public in the capital city of Susa, and runners carried the news to the provinces. The king and Haman sat down and had a drink while the city of Susa was being thrown into confusion.</span></p><a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">3.1: </char><char style="fk" closed="false">Agag: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">An Amalekite king; his people were traditional enemies of the people of Israel.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 1992 American Bible Society. 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