CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://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 8 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></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/8.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/8-1.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="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NIV</a> > Esther 8</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/7.htm" title="Esther 7">◄</a> Esther 8 <a href="../esther/9.htm" title="Esther 9">►</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"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/esther/8.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">The King’s Edict in Behalf of the Jews</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled him on the pole he set up. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>At once the royal secretaries were summoned—on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="That is, the upper Nile region">a</a></sup></span> These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children, <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or province, together with their women and children, who might attack them;">b</a></sup></span> and to plunder the property of their enemies. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>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 the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.</p> <p class="sectionhead">The Triumph of the Jews</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>When Mordecai left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/8-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">9</span> <span class="footnotebot">That is, the upper Nile region</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">11</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>province, together with their women and children, who might attack them;</i></span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.</p><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../esther/7.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Esther 7"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Esther 7" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../esther/9.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Esther 9"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Esther 9" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/esther/8-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenubib2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>