He thought of himself as too important to try to kill only Mordecai. He had been told who the people of Mordecai were, so he looked for a way to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, in all of Xerxes’ kingdom.
Ahaz king of Judah received a message saying, “The armies of Aram and Israel have joined together.” When Ahaz heard this, he and the people were frightened. They shook with fear like trees of the forest blown by the wind.
“Jeremiah, have you heard what the people are saying? They say: ‘The Lord turned away from the two families of Israel and Judah that he chose.’ Now they don’t think of my people as a nation anymore!”
“This is what the Lord God says: ‘The Philistines have taken revenge with hateful hearts. Because of their strong hatred, they have tried to destroy Judah.
The Canaanites and all the other people in this country will hear about this and will surround and kill us all! Then what will you do for your own great name?”