14 King Xerxes did what Esther had requested, and the bodies of Haman's sons were hung in Susa.
15 Then on the fourteenth day of Adar the Jews of the city got together and killed 300 more people. But they still did not take anything that belonged to their enemies.
16-17 On the thirteenth day of Adar, the Jews in the provinces had come together to defend themselves. They killed 75,000 of their enemies, but the Jews did not take anything that belonged to the ones they killed. Then on the fourteenth day of the month the Jews celebrated with a feast.
18 On the fifteenth day of the month the Jews in Susa held a holiday and celebrated, after killing their enemies on the thirteenth and the fourteenth.
19 This is why the Jews in the villages now celebrate on the fourteenth day of the month. It is a joyful holiday that they celebrate by feasting and sending gifts of food to each other.
20 Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces
21 and told them:Each year you must celebrate on both the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar,