Scriptures

New Living Translation (NLT)

Esther 9
⁴ For Mordecai had been promoted in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as he became more and more powerful.
⁵ So the Jews went ahead on the appointed day and struck down their enemies with the sword. They killed and annihilated their enemies and did as they pleased with those who hated them.
⁶ In the fortress of Susa itself, the Jews killed 500 men.
⁷ They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
⁸ Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
⁹ Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha—
¹⁰ the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not take any plunder.
¹¹ That very day, when the king was informed of the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa,
¹² he called for Queen Esther. He said, “The Jews have killed 500 men in the fortress of Susa alone, as well as Haman’s ten sons. If they have done that here, what has happened in the rest of the provinces? But now, what more do you want? It will be granted to you; tell me and I will do it.”
¹³ Esther responded, “If it please the king, give the Jews in Susa permission to do again tomorrow as they have done today, and let the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be impaled on a pole.”
¹⁴ So the king agreed, and the decree was announced in Susa. And they impaled the bodies of Haman’s ten sons.