Esther 3:13

Then those law papers were taken by messengers to every part of Persia. The new law said that all the Jewish people in Persia had to be killed so that none of them was left alive. All the old people, the young people, men, women and children. Every Jewish person had to be killed, and it all had to happen on the 13th day of the last month of that year. The new law said that the people who killed the Jews could take all the things the dead people left behind.

Barkly (portions)

In The King James Version

And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

In Context

12On the 13th day of the first month of the year, Haman had a meeting with all the men that wrote the law papers for the king. At that meeting Haman told them how to write the king's new law. That law said that all the Jewish people had to be killed. Persia was made up of a lot of different nations at that time, and they all had their own languages. And so Haman told his men to write that new law in different languages for all the nations that were part of Persia. Then Haman said to them, “Send those law papers to all the leaders in every part of the country and to all the important people of every tribe.” Those law papers were written like the king wrote them himself. Each paper was rolled up and a small drop of hot wax was put on the edge of the paper to close it up. Then the king's law ring was pushed into the wax. This was done so that when people saw the picture in the wax they knew that the law came from the king and they had to do what was written on that paper.

14The king told his messengers to go quickly from his palace and give out those papers in Susa and all over Persia. That way everyone would be ready to kill the Jews on the 13th day of the last month of that year. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink wine together, but the rest of the people in Susa were upset by the new law.

Read all of Esther 3

Cross References

Esther 7:4Someone is trying to kill me and all my people. They want to finish us up and make it look like we were never alive. If we were going to be sold as slaves that would be all right and I wouldn't have said anything to you, but someone wants to kill me and all my people.”

Esther 8:10More-dek-eye told the men to make sure they put King Zerk-sees' name at the top of every paper. And when all the law papers were finished, each paper was rolled up and a small drop of hot wax was put on the edge of the paper to close it up. Then the king's law ring was pushed into the wax to show everybody that those papers came from the king and they had to do what was written inside. Then More-dek-eye sent those papers to every part of Persia. The papers were carried by messengers that rode on fast horses that belonged to the king.

Esther 9:1King Zerk-sees (Xerxes) had made a law that let the Jewish people fight back. The 13th day of the last month of the year was the day that the enemies of the Jews had planned to kill all the Jewish people. That day came, and so the Jews followed King Zerk-sees' new law to fight back. And that is what happened.

Matthew Henry on Esther 3:8-15

Haman Obtains Leave to Slay the Jews. ( b. c. 510.) 7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. 8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is… Read the whole commentary →

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