Lexicon :: Strong's H4082 - mᵊḏînâ

Ahab asked, “By whom? ”

And the prophet said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘By the young men of the provincial leaders.’ ”

Then he asked, “Who is to start the battle? ”

He said, “You.”

The young men of the provincial leaders marched out first. Then Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”

The young men of the provincial leaders and the army behind them marched out from the city,

These now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon[fn] had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.

They said to me, “The remnant in the province, who survived the exile, are in great trouble and disgrace. Jerusalem’s wall has been broken down, and its gates have been burned.”

These are the people of the province who went up among the captive exiles deported by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Each of them returned to Jerusalem and Judah, to his own town.

These are the heads of the province who stayed in Jerusalem (but in the villages of Judah each lived on his own property in their towns ​— ​the Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and descendants of Solomon’s servants ​— ​

These events took place during the days of Ahasuerus, who ruled 127 provinces from India to Cush.

He held a feast in the third year of his reign for all his officials and staff, the army of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the officials from the provinces.

Memucan said in the presence of the king and his officials, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but all the officials and the peoples who are in every one of King Ahasuerus’s provinces.

He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language, that every man should be master of his own house and speak in the language of his own people.

“Let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom, so that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem at the fortress of Susa. Put them under the supervision of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women, and give them the required beauty treatments.

The king held a great banquet for all his officials and staff. It was Esther’s banquet. He freed his provinces from tax payments and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.

Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, keeping themselves separate. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

The royal scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded. It was intended for the royal satraps, the governors of each of the provinces, and the officials of each ethnic group and written for each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring.

There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict reached. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

“All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned ​— ​the death penalty ​— ​ unless the king extends the gold scepter, allowing that person to live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last[fn] thirty days.”

She said, “If it pleases the king and I have found favor with him, if the matter seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let a royal edict be written. Let it revoke the documents the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces.

On the twenty-third day of the third month  ​— ​that is, the month Sivan ​— ​the royal scribes were summoned. Everything was written exactly as Mordecai commanded for the Jews, to the satraps, the governors, and the officials of the 127 provinces from India to Cush. The edict was written for each province in its own script, for each ethnic group in its own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

The king’s edict gave the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate every ethnic and provincial army hostile to them, including women and children, and to take their possessions as spoils of war.

In every province and every city where the king’s command and edict reached, gladness and joy took place among the Jews. There was a celebration and a holiday.[fn] And many of the ethnic groups of the land professed themselves to be Jews because fear of the Jews had overcome them.

In each of King Ahasuerus’s provinces the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who intended to harm them.[fn] Not a single person could withstand them; fear of them fell on every nationality.

The king said to Queen Esther, “In the fortress of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will also be done.”

The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves, and gained relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand[fn] of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder.

Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all of King Ahasuerus’s provinces, both near and far.

These days are remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim will not lose their significance in Jewish life[fn] and their memory will not fade from their descendants.

He sent letters with assurances of peace and security[fn] to all the Jews who were in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus,

I also amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered male and female singers for myself, and many concubines, the delights of men.[fn][fn]

If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

How[fn] she sits alone,

the city once crowded with people!

She who was great among the nations

has become like a widow.

The princess among the provinces

has been put to forced labor.

“Then the nations from the surrounding provinces

set out against him.

They spread their net over him;

he was caught in their pit.

I saw the vision, and as I watched, I was in the fortress city of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.

“During a time of peace,[fn] he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time.