Now on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, the decree written by the king arrived. On that same day the enemies of the Jews perished; no one resisted, because they feared them. The chief provincial governors, the princes, and the royal secretaries were paying honor to the Jews, because fear of Mordecai weighed upon them. The king's decree required that Mordecai's name be held in honor throughout the kingdom.
Now in the city of Susa the Jews killed five hundred people, including Pharsannestain, Delphon, Phasga, Pharadatha, Barea, Sarbacha, Marmasima, Aruphaeus, Arsaeus, Zabutheus, the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the Bougean, the enemy of the Jews—and they indulged themselves in plunder.
That very day the number of those killed in Susa was reported to the king. The king said to Esther, "In Susa, the capital, the Jews have destroyed five hundred people. What do you suppose they have done in the surrounding countryside? Whatever more you ask will be done for you."
And Esther said to the king,
"Let the Jews be allowed to do the same tomorrow. Also, hang up the bodies of Haman's ten sons."
So he permitted this to be done, and handed over to the Jews of the city the bodies of Haman's sons to hang up. The Jews who were in Susa gathered on the fourteenth and killed three hundred people, but took no plunder.
Now the other Jews in the kingdom gathered to defend themselves, and got relief from their enemies. They destroyed fifteen thousand of them, but did not engage in plunder. On the fourteenth day they rested and made that same day a day of rest, celebrating it with joy and gladness. The Jews who were in Susa, the capital, came together also on the fourteenth, but did not rest. They celebrated the fifteenth with joy and gladness. On this account then the Jews who are scattered around the country outside Susa keep the fourteenth of Adar as a joyful holiday, and send presents of food to one another, while those who live in the large cities keep the fifteenth day of Adar as their joyful holiday, also sending presents to one another.