The. holie. Bible. conteynyng the olde Testament and the newe.

The .iii. Chapter.

1 Haman after he was exalted, obteined of the king, that all the Iewes shoulde be put to death, because Mardocheus had not done him worship as other had.

[unspec A] 1 AFter these actes, dyd king Ahasuerus pro∣mote Haman the sonne of Amadatha the A∣gagite, and set hym on hie, and set his seate a∣boue all the princes that he had with hym.

2 And al the kinges seruauntes that were in the kinges gate, bowed their knees, and reuerenced Haman, for the king had so commaunded concerning hym: But Mardocheus bowed not the knee, nei∣ther dyd hym reuerence.

3 Then the kinges seruauntes whiche were in the kinges gate, said vnto Mar∣docheus: Why transgressest thou the kinges commaundement?

4 And though they spake this dayly vn∣to hym, yet woulde he not heare them, therfore they tolde Haman, that they might see howe Mardocheus matters woulde stande, for he had tolde them that he was a Iewe.

5 And when Haman sawe that Mardo∣cheus bowed not the knee vnto him, nor dyd reuerence vnto hym, he was full of indignation,

6 And thought it to litle to lay handes onely on Mardocheus, for th••y had shewed him the nation of Mardocheus: wherefore he sought to destroy all the Iewes that were throughout the whole empire of Ahasuerus, and that were of the nation of Mardocheus.

7 In the first moneth (that is, the moneth [unspec B] Nisan) in the twelfth yere of king Aha∣suerus, they cast Phur, that is a lot, be∣fore Haman from day to day, and from moneth to moneth to the twelfth moneth, that is, the moneth Adar.

8 And Haman sayde vnto king Aha∣suerus: There is here a people scat∣tred abrode, and dispearsed among all people in all the prouinces of thyne empire, and their lawes are diuers from all people, and do not after the kinges lawes, therefore it is not the kinges profite to suffer them after this maner.

9 If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and so wyll I waye downe ten thousand talents of siluer by the handes of them that haue the charge of this busines, to bring it in∣to the kinges treasurie.

10 And the king toke his ring from his hand, & gaue it vnto Haman the sonne of Amadatha the Agagite, the Iewes enemie.

11 And the king saide vnto Haman: Let the siluer be thyne, & do with that peo∣ple as it pleaseth thee.

12 Then were the kinges scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first moneth, & there was written according as Haman commaunded vnto all the kinges offi∣cers, and to the captaynes that were o∣uer euery prouince, and to the rulers of euery people in the countryes on euery side according to the writing therof, and to euery nation after their language, in the name of king Ahasuerus was it wr••¦ten, and sealed with the kinges ring.

31 And the letters were sent by postes in∣to [unspec C] all the kinges prouinces, to roote out, to kill, and to destroy all Iewes both young and olde, children and women in one day [namely] vpon the thirteenth day of the twelfth moneth (which is the moneth Adar) & to spoyle thē as a pray.

14 This was the summe of the writing, that there should be a commaundement geuen in al prouinces, and published vn∣to all people, that they should be redy against the same day.

15 And the postes went in all the haste according to the kinges commaunde∣ment, and in Susan the chiefe citie was the commaundement deuised: And the king and Haman sate and dranke, when in the meane time the citie of Susan was disquieted.