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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 8 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><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="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</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">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">A Happy Ending for the Jews</h3><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_1"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.1" class="v17_8_1">1</span>Before the end of the day, King Xerxes gave Esther everything that had belonged to Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Esther told the king that Mordecai was her cousin. So the king made Mordecai one of his highest officials </span><span class="v17_8_2"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.2" class="v17_8_2">2</span>and gave him the royal ring that Haman had worn. Then Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman's property.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_3"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.3" class="v17_8_3">3</span>Once again Esther went to speak to the king. This time she fell down at his feet, crying and begging, “Please stop Haman's evil plan to have the Jews killed!” </span><span class="v17_8_4"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.4" class="v17_8_4">4</span>King Xerxes held out the golden scepter to Esther, </span><span class="v17_8_5"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.5" class="v17_8_5">5</span>and she got up and said, “Your Majesty, I know that you will do the right thing and that you really love me. Please stop what Haman has planned. He has already sent letters demanding that the Jews in all your provinces be killed, </span><span class="v17_8_6"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.6" class="v17_8_6">6</span>and I can't bear to see my people and my own relatives destroyed.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_7"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.7" class="v17_8_7">7</span>King Xerxes then said to Esther and Mordecai, “I have already ordered Haman to be hanged and his house given to Esther, because of his evil plans to kill the Jews. </span><span class="v17_8_8"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.8" class="v17_8_8">8</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Esth.8.8!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> I now give you permission to make a law that will save the lives of your people. You may use my ring to seal the law, so that it can never be changed.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_9"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.9" class="v17_8_9">9</span>On the twenty-third day of Sivan,<a href="#fn" id="link_Esth.8.9!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> the third month, the king's secretaries wrote the law. They obeyed Mordecai and wrote to the Jews, the rulers, the governors, and the officials of all 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia.<a href="#fn" id="link_Esth.8.9!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> The letters were written in every language used in the kingdom, including the Jewish language. </span><span class="v17_8_10"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.10" class="v17_8_10">10</span>They were written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with his ring. Then they were taken by messengers who rode the king's finest and fastest horses.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_11"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.11-Esth.8.13" class="v17_8_11">11-13</span>In these letters the king said:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v17_8_11">On the thirteenth day of Adar,<a href="#fn" id="link_Esth.8.11-Esth.8.13!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> the twelfth month, the Jews in every city and province will be allowed to get together and defend themselves. They may destroy any army that attacks them, and they may kill all of their enemies, including women and children. They may also take everything that belongs to their enemies.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_11">A copy of this law is to be posted in every province and read by everyone.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_14"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.14-Esth.8.15" class="v17_8_14">14-15</span>Then the king ordered his messengers to take their fastest horses and deliver the law as quickly as possible to every province. When Mordecai left, he was wearing clothes fit for a king. He wore blue and white robes, a large gold crown, and a cape made of fine linen and purple cloth.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_14">After the law was announced in Susa, everyone shouted and cheered, </span><span class="v17_8_16"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.16" class="v17_8_16">16</span>and the Jews were no longer afraid. In fact, they were very happy and felt that they had won a victory.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v17_8_17"><span class="reftext" id="Esth.8.17" class="v17_8_17">17</span>In every province and city where the law was sent, the Jews had parties and celebrated. Many of the people in the provinces accepted the Jewish religion, because they were now afraid of the Jews.</span></p> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.9 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Sivan: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">The third month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-May to mid-June.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.9 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Ethiopia: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See the note at 1.1,2.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">8.11-13 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Adar: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See the note at 3.7.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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