26 Who has so unjustly rewarded those who from the beginning differed from all the nations in their goodwill toward us in every way, and who often have taken upon themselves the worst human dangers by mistreating them on every side?
27 Release them from those undeserved chains! Send them in peace back to their homes, and seek forgiveness for the deeds that have been done.
28 Free the children of the almighty, living God of heaven, who from the days of our ancestors until now has given our kingdom constant and notable stability."
29 So the king said these things, and the Jews, who were released immediately, praised their holy God and savior, since they had just now escaped death.
30 Then the king went back into the city and called for the official in charge of the treasury. He ordered him to supply the Jews with wines and everything else needed for a seven-day festival. The king decided that the Jews should celebrate their rescue with all joy in the same place where they thought they would meet destruction.
31 So the people who previously had been disgraced and stood near death—at its very brink!—prepared for a festival of deliverance instead of a bitter and most mournful fate. The place that had been prepared for their ruin and burial was joyfully divided up among people in celebration.
32 They stopped singing their sad songs of lament and took up an ancient hymn in praise of their rescuer, the wonder-working God. They threw aside all weeping and wailing and instead sang songs in organized groups as a sign of peaceful joy.