The Book of Esther
1:1Now it came to pass in the days of
Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia,
over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces), 1:2that in those days,
when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in
Shushan the palace, 1:3in the third year of his reign, he made
a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and
Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him; 1:4when
he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his
excellent majesty many days, even a hundred and fourscore days. 1:5And
when these days were fulfilled, the king made a feast unto all the people
that were present in Shushan the palace, both great and small, seven days,
in the court of the garden of the king's palace. 1:6There were hangings
of white cloth, of green, and of blue, fastened
with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble:
the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and white,
and yellow, and black marble. 1:7And they gave them drink in vessels of
gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in
abundance, according to the bounty of the king. 1:8And the drinking was
according to the law; none could compel: for so the king had appointed to
all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every
man's pleasure. 1:9Also Vashti the queen made a feast for
the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus. 1:10On
the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he
commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and
Carcas, the seven chamberlains that ministered in the presence of
Ahasuerus the king, 1:11to bring Vashti the queen before the
king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty;
for she was fair to look on. 1:12But the queen Vashti refused to come
at the king's commandment by the chamberlains: therefore was the king very
wroth, and his anger burned in him. 1:13Then the king said to the wise men,
who knew the times, (for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law
and judgment; 1:14and the next unto him were Carshena,
Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes
of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the
kingdom), 1:15What shall we do unto the queen Vashti
according to law, because she hath not done the bidding of the king
Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? 1:16And Memucan answered before the king
and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only,
but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the
provinces of the king Ahasuerus. 1:17For this deed of the queen will come
abroad unto all women, to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes,
when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen
to be brought in before him, but she came not. 1:18And this day will the
princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the deed of the queen say
the like unto all the king's princes. So will there arise
much contempt and wrath. 1:19If it please the king, let there go
forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws
of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, that Vashti come no
more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto
another that is better than she. 1:20And when the king's decree which he
shall make shall be published throughout all his kingdom (for it is
great), all the wives will give to their husbands honor, both to great and
small. 1:21And the saying pleased the king and
the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan: 1:22for
he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province
according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their
language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and should
speak according to the language of his people.
2:1After these things, when the wrath of
king Ahasuerus was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done,
and what was decreed against her. 2:2Then said the king's servants that
ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:
2:3and let the king appoint officers in
all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the
fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women,
unto the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and
let their things for purification be given them; 2:4and let the maiden that
pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the
king; and he did so. 2:5There was a certain Jew in Shushan the
palace, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the
son of Kish, a Benjamite, 2:6who had been carried away from
Jerusalem with the captives that had been carried away with Jeconiah king
of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 2:7And
he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had
neither father nor mother, and the maiden was fair and beautiful; and when
her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.
2:8So
it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and
when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the
custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken into the king's house, to the
custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 2:9And the maiden pleased
him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things
for purification, with her portions, and the seven maidens who were meet
to be given her out of the king's house: and he removed her and her
maidens to the best place of the house of the women. 2:10Esther had not made
known her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai had charged her that she
should not make it known. 2:11And Mordecai walked every day before
the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what would
become of her. 2:12Now when the turn of every maiden was
come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that it had been done to her
according to the law for the women twelve months (for so were the days of
their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of
myrrh, and six months with sweet odors and with the things for the
purifying of the women), 2:13then in this wise came the maiden unto
the king: whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the
house of the women unto the king's house. 2:14In the evening she
went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women,
to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, who kept the
concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted
in her, and she were called by name. 2:15Now when the turn of Esther, the
daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his
daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what
Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And
Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her. 2:16So
Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth
month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 2:17And
the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor and
kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal
crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 2:18Then the king made a great feast unto
all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a
release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the bounty of the
king. 2:19And when the virgins were gathered
together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate. 2:20Esther had not yet made known her
kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the
commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him. 2:21In
those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, two of the
king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the threshold,
were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus. 2:22And
the thing became known to Mordecai, who showed it unto Esther the queen;
and Esther told the king thereof in Mordecai's name. 2:23And
when inquisition was made of the matter, and it was found to be so, they
were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the
chronicles before the king.
3:1After these things did king Ahasuerus
promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set
his seat above all the princes that were with him. 3:2And all the king's
servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed down, and did reverence to
Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed
not down, nor did him reverence. 3:3Then the king's servants, that were in
the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's
commandment? 3:4Now it came to pass, when they spake
daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to
see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he
was a Jew. 3:5And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed
not down, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. 3:6But
he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known
to him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the
Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people
of Mordecai. 3:7In the first month, which is the month
Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the
lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the
twelfth month, which is the month Adar. 3:8And Haman said unto
king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed
among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are
diverse from those of every people; neither keep they the king's
laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. 3:9If it
please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed: and I will pay
ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those that have the
charge of the king's business, to bring it into the king's
treasuries. 3:10And the king took his ring from his
hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews'
enemy. 3:11And the king said unto Haman, The
silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth
good to thee. 3:12Then were the king's scribes called in
the first month, on the thirteenth day thereof; and there was written
according to all that Haman commanded unto the king's satraps, and to the
governors that were over every province, and to the princes of every
people, to every province according to the writing thereof, and to every
people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written,
and it was sealed with the king's ring. 3:13And letters were sent
by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to cause
to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one
day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is
the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. 3:14A
copy of the writing, that the decree should be given out in every
province, was published unto all the peoples, that they should be ready
against that day. 3:15The posts went forth in haste by the
king's commandment, and the decree was given out in Shushan the palace.
And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was
perplexed.
4:1Now when Mordecai knew all that was
done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went
out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 4:2and
he came even before the king's gate: for none might enter within the
king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 4:3And in every province, whithersoever
the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among
the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth
and ashes. 4:4And Esther's maidens and her
chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved:
and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from
off him; but he received it not. 4:5Then called Esther for Hathach, one of
the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and
charged him to go to Mordecai, to know what this was, and why it was. 4:6So
Hathach went forth to Mordecai unto the broad place of the city, which was
before the king's gate. 4:7And Mordecai told him of all that had
happened unto him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had promised
to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. 4:8Also
he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given out in
Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto
her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make
supplication unto him, and to make request before him, for her people. 4:9And
Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 4:10Then Esther spake unto
Hathach, and gave him a message unto Mordecai saying: 4:11All
the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that
whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner
court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to
death, except those to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre,
that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king
these thirty days. 4:12And they told to Mordecai Esther's
words. 4:13Then Mordecai bade them return answer
unto Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's
house, more than all the Jews. 4:14For if thou altogether holdest thy
peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews
from another place, but thou and thy father's house will perish: and who
knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
4:15Then Esther bade them return answer
unto Mordecai, 4:16Go, gather together all the Jews that
are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink
three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner;
and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and
if I perish, I perish. 4:17So Mordecai went his way, and did
according to all that Esther had commanded him.
5:1Now it came to pass on the third day,
that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the
king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his
royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the house.
5:2And it was so, when the king saw Esther
the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight; and
the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So
Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. 5:3Then said the king unto
her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be
given thee even to the half of the kingdom. 5:4And Esther said, If it
seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the
banquet that I have prepared for him. 5:5Then the king said, Cause Haman to make
haste, that it may be done as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came
to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 5:6And the king said unto
Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be
granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it
shall be performed. 5:7Then answered Esther, and said, My
petition and my request is: 5:8if I have found favor in the sight of
the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform
my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall
prepare for them, and I will do to-morrow as the king hath said. 5:9Then
went Haman forth that day joyful and glad of heart: but when Haman saw
Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he
was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 5:10Nevertheless Haman
refrained himself, and went home; and he sent and fetched his friends and
Zeresh his wife. 5:11And Haman recounted unto them the
glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things
wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the
princes and servants of the king. 5:12Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the
queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had
prepared but myself; and to-morrow also am I invited by her together with
the king. 5:13Yet all this availeth me nothing, so
long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. 5:14Then said Zeresh his wife and all his
friends unto him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the
morning speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then
go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased
Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
6:1On that night could not the king sleep;
and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they
were read before the king. 6:2And it was found written, that Mordecai
had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, of those
that kept the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on the king
Ahasuerus. 6:3And the king said, What honor and
dignity hath been bestowed on Mordecai for this? Then said the king's
servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him. 6:4And
the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward
court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the
gallows that he had prepared for him. 6:5And the king's servants said unto him,
Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.
6:6So
Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man
whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman said in his heart, To whom
would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? 6:7And
Haman said unto the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honor,
6:8let royal apparel be brought which the
king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and on the
head of which a crown royal is set: 6:9and let the apparel and the horse be
delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they
may array the man therewith whom the king delighteth to honor, and cause
him to ride on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim
before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to
honor. 6:10Then the king said to Haman, Make
haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even
so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail
of all that thou hast spoken. 6:11Then took Haman the apparel and the
horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of
the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man
whom the king delighteth to honor. 6:12And Mordecai came again to the king's
gate. But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered.
6:13And Haman recounted unto Zeresh his
wife and all his friends everything that had befallen him. Then said his
wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai, before whom thou hast
begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against
him, but shalt surely fall before him. 6:14While they were yet
talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman
unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.
7:1So the king and Haman came to banquet
with Esther the queen. 7:2And the king said again unto Esther on
the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther?
and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of
the kingdom it shall be performed. 7:3Then Esther the queen answered and
said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the
king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
7:4for we are sold, I and my people, to be
destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen
and bondwomen, I had held my peace, although the adversary could not have
compensated for the king's damage. 7:5Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said
unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in
his heart to do so? 7:6And Esther said, An adversary and an
enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and
the queen. 7:7And the king arose in his wrath from
the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden: and Haman
stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that
there was evil determined against him by the king. 7:8Then the king returned
out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman
was fallen upon the couch whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he
even force the queen before me in the house? As the word went out of the
king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. 7:9Then said Harbonah, one
of the chamberlains that were before the king, Behold also, the gallows
fifty cubits high, which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spake good for
the king, standeth in the house of Haman. And the king said, Hang him
thereon. 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows
that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.
8:1On that day did the king Ahasuerus give
the house of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai
came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her. 8:2And
the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it
unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. 8:3And
Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and
besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and
his device that he had devised against the Jews. 8:4Then the king held out
to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king.
8:5And she said, If it please the king,
and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before
the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the
letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he
wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king's provinces: 8:6for
how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how
can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred? 8:7Then the king Ahasuerus
said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given
Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows,
because he laid his hand upon the Jews. 8:8Write ye also to the
Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's
ring; for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with
the king's ring, may no man reverse. 8:9Then were the king's scribes called at
that time, in the third month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day
thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto
the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and princes of the
provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, a hundred twenty and seven
provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto
every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their
writing, and according to their language. 8:10And he wrote the name
of king Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by
post on horseback, riding on swift steeds that were used in the king's
service, bred of the stud: 8:11wherein the king granted the Jews that
were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their
life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the
people and province that would assault them, their little ones and
women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, 8:12upon one day in all
the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth
day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. 8:13A
copy of the writing, that the decree should be given out in every
province, was published unto all the peoples, and that the Jews should be
ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 8:14So
the posts that rode upon swift steeds that were used in the king's service
went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment; and the
decree was given out in Shushan the palace. 8:15And Mordecai went
forth from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white,
and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple:
and the city of Shushan shouted and was glad. 8:16The Jews had light and
gladness, and joy and honor. 8:17And in every province, and in every
city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews
had gladness and joy, a feast and a good day. And many from among the
peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen upon
them.
9:1Now in the twelfth month, which is the
month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment
and his decree drew near to be put in execution, on the day that the
enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them, (whereas it was turned
to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them,) 9:2the
Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the
provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt:
and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them was fallen upon all
the peoples. 9:3And all the princes of the provinces,
and the satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king's business,
helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai was fallen upon them. 9:4For
Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went forth throughout
all the provinces; for the man Mordecai waxed greater and greater. 9:5And
the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with
slaughter and destruction, and did what they would unto them that hated
them. 9:6And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew
and destroyed five hundred men. 9:7And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and
Aspatha, 9:8and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
9:9and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai,
and Vaizatha, 9:10the ten sons of Haman the son of
Hammedatha, the Jew's enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not
their hand. 9:11On that day the number of those that
were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king. 9:12And
the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed
five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what
then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is thy
petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further?
and it shall be done. 9:13Then said Esther, If it please the
king, let it be granted to the Jews that are in Shushan to do to-morrow
also according unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged
upon the gallows. 9:14And the king commanded it so to be
done: and a decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten
sons. 9:15And the Jews that were in Shushan
gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar,
and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not
their hand. 9:16And the other Jews that were in the
king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives,
and had rest from their enemies, and slew of them that hated them seventy
and five thousand; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. 9:17This was done on the thirteenth
day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested,
and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 9:18But the Jews that were
in Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on
the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they
rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 9:19Therefore do the Jews
of the villages, that dwell in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day
of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day,
and of sending portions one to another. 9:20And Mordecai wrote
these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the
provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, 9:21to enjoin them that
they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth
day of the same, yearly, 9:22as the days wherein the Jews had rest
from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow
to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them
days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and
gifts to the poor. 9:23And the Jews undertook to do as they
had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them; 9:24because Haman the son
of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against
the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to consume
them, and to destroy them; 9:25but when the matter came before
the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had
devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and
his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 9:26Wherefore they called
these days Purim, after the name of Pur. Therefore because of all the
words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this
matter, and that which had come unto them, 9:27the Jews ordained, and
took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined
themselves unto them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep
these two days according to the writing thereof, and according to the
appointed time thereof, every year; 9:28and that these days should be
remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every
province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail
from among the Jews, nor the remembrance of them perish from their seed.
9:29Then Esther the queen, the daughter of
Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this
second letter of Purim. 9:30And he sent letters unto all the Jews,
to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus,
with words of peace and truth, 9:31to confirm these days
of Purim in their appointed times, according as Mordecai the Jew and
Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had ordained for
themselves and for their seed, in the matter of the fastings and their
cry. 9:32And the commandment of Esther
confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
10:1And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute
upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. 10:2And all the acts of
his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of
Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 10:3For
Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews,
and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his
people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
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