¹After these things, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and he elevated him, and he made his seat above all the officials who were with him. ²And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate, would bow and prostrate themselves to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him, but Mordecai did not bow or prostrate himself. ³And the king's servants who were at the king's gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” ⁴And it happened that when they instructed him each day, he didn't take notice of them, and they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's behaviour would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵And when Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing and prostrating himself to him, Haman was filled with fury. ⁶But he considered it contemptible to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him Mordecai's nationality, and Haman looked for a way to destroy all the Jews who were in the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus – Mordecai's people. ⁷In the first month, that is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur – that is a lot – in the presence of Haman day by day and month by month, up to the twelfth month – that is the month of Adar. ⁸And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is one people, scattered and separated among the various peoples in every province of your kingdom, and their laws are different from the laws of every other people, and they do not comply with the king's laws, and it is not fitting for the king to suffer them. ⁹If the king sees fit, let it be written to destroy them, and I will weigh ten thousand talents of silver to be paid to those who do the job, to be brought to the king's treasuries.” ¹⁰And the king removed his ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, and it is for you to do to the people what is right in your sight.” ¹²And the king's scribes were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day of it, and it was written according to everything that Haman commanded the king's satraps and the governors who were in charge of every province, and the officials of every people – every province according to their script, and every people according to their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and it was sealed with the king's ring. ¹³And the letters were sent by runners to all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill and to cause to perish all the Jews, from the child to the old man, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month – that is the month of Adar – and to plunder their spoil. ¹⁴A transcript of the writing was to be issued as a decree in every single province, published to all the various peoples, for them to be ready on this day. ¹⁵The runners went out with haste at the king's word, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Shushan, and the king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Shushan was in confusion.