9 On the 13th day of the 12th month, that is, the month of Aʹdar,*+ when the king’s word and his law were to be carried out,+ on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to overpower them, the opposite happened, and the Jews defeated those who hated them.+ 2 The Jews gathered together in their cities in all the provinces* of King A·has·u·eʹrus+ to lay hands on those seeking to harm them, and not a man could stand against them, for the dread of them had fallen upon all the peoples.+