Esther
1:1Now it happened in the days of
Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over
one hundred twenty-seven 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 to 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 shown the riches of his
glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even
one hundred eighty days. 1:5When these days were fulfilled,
the king made a feast to all the people who 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, on a pavement of red, and white, and
yellow, and black marble. 1:7They 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. 1:8The 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 Carcass, the seven chamberlains
who 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 beautiful to look on. 1:12But the
queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by the
chamberlains: therefore was the king very angry, 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 who knew
law and judgment; 1:14and the next to 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 to the queen
Vashti according to law, because she has not done the bidding of the king
Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? 1:16Memucan answered before the king
and the princes, Vashti the queen has not done wrong to the king only, but
also to all the princes, and to all the peoples who are in all the
provinces of the king Ahasuerus. 1:17For this
deed of the queen will come abroad to 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 didn't
come. 1:18This day will the princesses of
Persia and Media who have heard of the deed of the queen say the
like to 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 not be altered, that Vashti
come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate
to another who is better than she. 1:20When 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. 1:21The 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 of it, 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 who ministered to him, Let there be beautiful 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
beautiful young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women,
to 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 who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. 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 who had been carried away with Jeconiah king
of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 2:7He brought up Hadassah, who 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
happened, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when
many maidens were gathered together to 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. 2:9The maiden pleased him, and she
obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her things for her
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 relatives; for Mordecai had charged her
that she should not make it known. 2:11Mordecai
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 it had
been done to her as prescribed for the women twelve months (for so were
the days of their purification 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
to the king: whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the
house of the women to the king's house. 2:14In the
evening she went, and on the next day 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 to 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 to the king, she required
nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women,
appointed. Esther obtained favor in the sight of all those who looked at
her. 2:16So Esther was taken to king
Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month
Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 2:17The 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 on her
head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 2:18Then the
king made a great feast to 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. 2:19When 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
relatives 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 who kept the threshold, were angry, and sought to lay
hands on the king Ahasuerus. 2:22The thing became known to
Mordecai, who shown it to Esther the queen; and Esther told the king of
it in Mordecai's name. 2:23When 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 who were with him. 3:2All the king's servants, who were
in the king's gate, bowed down, and did reverence to Haman; for the king
had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai didn't bow down, nor did him
reverence. 3:3Then the king's servants, who were
in the king's gate, said to Mordecai, Why disobey you the king's
commandment? 3:4Now it came to pass, when they
spoke daily to him, and he didn't listen to them, that they told Haman, to
see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told those who he
was a Jew. 3:5When Haman saw that Mordecai
didn't bow down, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. 3:6But he scorned the thought of
laying hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to him the people
of Mordecai: therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who 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. 3:8Haman said to king Ahasuerus,
There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples
in all the provinces of your 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 allow 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 who have the charge of
the king's business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. 3:10The king took his ring from his
hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews'
enemy. 3:11The king said to Haman, The
silver is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good
to you. 3:12Then were the king's scribes
called in the first month, on the thirteenth day of it; and there was
written according to all that Haman commanded to the king's satraps, and
to the governors who were over every province, and to the princes of every
people, to every province according to the writing of it, 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. 3:13Letters
were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and
to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and
women, in one day, even on 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 to 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. 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 tore 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.
4:3In every province, wherever 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. 4:4Esther's maidens and her
chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved:
and she sent clothing to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from
off him; but he didn't receive it. 4:5Then called
Esther for Hathach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed
to attend on her, and charged him to go to Mordecai, to know what this
was, and why it was. 4:6So Hathach went forth to Mordecai
to the broad place of the city, which was before the king's gate. 4:7Mordecai told him of all that had
happened to 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 to Esther, and to declare it to her, and to charge her that she
should go in to the king, to make supplication to him, and to make request
before him, for her people. 4:9Hathach came and told Esther the
words of Mordecai. 4:10Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and
gave him a message to Mordecai saying: 4:11All the
king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that
whoever, whether man or woman, shall come to 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 scepter,
that he may live: but I have not been called to come in to the king these
thirty days. 4:12They told to Mordecai Esther's
words. 4:13Then Mordecai bade them return
answer to Esther, Don't think to yourself that you shall escape in the
king's house, more than all the Jews. 4:14For if you
altogether hold your peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance
arise to the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will
perish: and who knows whether you haven't come to the kingdom for such a
time as this? 4:15Then Esther bade them return
answer to Mordecai, 4:16Go, gather together all the Jews
who are present in Shushan, and fast you 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 to 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 happened on the third day,
that Esther put on her royal clothing, and stood in the inner court of the
king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat on his royal
throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the house. 5:2It 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 scepter that was in his
hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter. 5:3Then said the king to her, What
will you, queen Esther? and what is your request? it shall be given you
even to the half of the kingdom. 5:4Esther said,
If it seem good to the king, let the king and Haman come this day to 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 has
said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
5:6The king said to Esther at the
banquet of wine, What is your petition? and it shall be granted you: and
what is your 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 tomorrow as the king has 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 didn't stand up nor move 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. 5:11Haman recounted to them the glory
of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things in
which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the
princes and servants of the king. 5:12Haman said
moreover, Yes, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king to
the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow also am I
invited by her together with the king. 5:13Yet all
this avails 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 to him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the
morning speak you to the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go
you in merrily with the king to the banquet. The thing pleased Haman; and
he caused the gallows to be made.
6:1On that night the king couldn't
sleep; and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles,
and they were read before the king. 6:2It was found
written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's
chamberlains, of those who kept the threshold, who had sought to lay hands
on the king Ahasuerus. 6:3The king said, What honor and
dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this? Then the king's servants
who ministered to him said, "Nothing has been done for him."
6:4The king said, "Who is in the
court?" Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's
house, to speak to the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had
prepared for him. 6:5The king's servants said to him,
Behold, Haman stands in the court. The king said, Let him come in. 6:6So Haman came in. The king said to
him, What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? Now
Haman said in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more
than to myself? 6:7Haman said to the king, For the
man whom the king delights to honor, 6:8let royal
clothing be brought which the king uses to wear, and the horse that the
king rides on, and on the head of which a crown royal is set: 6:9and let the clothing 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 delights 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
delights to honor. 6:10Then the king said to Haman, Make
haste, and take the clothing and the horse, as you have said, and do even
so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate: let nothing fail of
all that you have spoken. 6:11Then took Haman the clothing 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 to the man
whom the king delights to honor. 6:12Mordecai
came again to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning
and having his head covered. 6:13Haman recounted to Zeresh his
wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his
wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, If Mordecai, before whom you
have begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, you shall not prevail
against him, but shall surely fall before him. 6:14While they
were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hurried to
bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
7:1So the king and Haman came to
banquet with Esther the queen. 7:2The king said again to Esther on
the second day at the banquet of wine, What is your petition, queen
Esther? and it shall be granted you: and what is your request? even to the
half of the kingdom it shall be performed. 7:3Then Esther
the queen answered, If I have found favor in your 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
bondservants and bondmaids, I had held my peace, although the adversary
could not have compensated for the king's damage. 7:5Then spoke
the king Ahasuerus and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is
he, that dared presume in his heart to do so? 7:6Esther said,
An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid
before the king and the queen. 7:7The 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 on 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 who were before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty
cubits high, which Haman has made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the
king, stands in the house of Haman. 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 to Esther the queen. Mordecai came
before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her. 8:2The king took off his ring, which
he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther set Mordecai over
the house of Haman. 8:3Esther spoke yet again before the
king, and fell down at his feet, and begged 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 scepter. So Esther arose, and stood before the king. 8:5She 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 who are in all the king's provinces: 8:6for how can I endure to see the
evil that shall come to my people? or how can I endure to see the
destruction of my relatives? 8:7Then the king Ahasuerus said to
Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, See, I have given Esther the
house of Haman, and him they have hanged on the gallows, because he laid
his hand on the Jews. 8:8Write you also to the Jews, as it
pleases 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 of it; and it was written according to all that Mordecai
commanded to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and princes
of the provinces which are from India to Ethiopia, one hundred
twenty-seven provinces, to every province according to the writing of it,
and to every people after their language, and to the Jews according to
their writing, and according to their language. 8:10He 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: 8:11in which
the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves
together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to kill, 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, 8:12on one day in all the provinces
of king Ahasuerus, namely, on 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 to all the peoples, and that the Jews should be ready against
that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 8:14So the
posts who rode on swift steeds that were used in the king's service went
out, being hurried and pressed on by the king's commandment; and the
decree was given out in Shushan the palace. 8:15Mordecai
went forth from the presence of the king in royal clothing 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. 8:17In every province, and in every
city, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had
gladness and joy, a feast and a good day. Many from among the peoples of
the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen on 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 those who 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 on all the peoples. 9:3All the princes of the provinces,
and the satraps, and the governors, and those who did the king's business,
helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai was fallen on them. 9:4For Mordecai was great in the
king's house, and his fame went forth throughout all the provinces; for
the man Mordecai grew greater and greater. 9:5The Jews
struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter
and destruction, and did what they would to those who hated them. 9:6In Shushan the palace the Jews
killed and destroyed five hundred men. 9:7Parshandatha, 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, killed they; but they didn't lay their hand
on the spoil. 9:11On that day the number of those
who were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king. 9:12The king said to 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 your petition? and it shall be granted
you: or what is your request further? and it shall be done. 9:13Then said Esther, If it please
the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow
also according to this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on
the gallows. 9:14The king commanded it so to be
done: and a decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten
sons. 9:15The Jews who were in Shushan
gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar,
and killed three hundred men in Shushan; but they didn't lay their hand on
the spoil. 9:16The other Jews who were in the
king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives,
and had rest from their enemies, and killed of those who hated them
seventy-five thousand; but they didn't lay their hand on the spoil. 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 who were in Shushan
assembled together on the thirteenth day of it, and on the
fourteenth of it; 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, who 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. 9:20Mordecai wrote these things, and
sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of the king
Ahasuerus, both near and far, 9:21to enjoin those who they should
keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the
same, yearly, 9:22as the days in which the Jews had
rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned to 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 needy. 9:23The Jews
undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to 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 on his own head, and that he
and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 9:26Therefore
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 to them, 9:27the Jews
ordained, and took on them, and on their seed, and on all such as joined
themselves to them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep these
two days according to the writing of it, and according to the appointed
time of it, 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 memory 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. 9:30He sent
letters to all the Jews, to the hundred twenty-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. 9:32The
commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written
in the book.
10:1The king Ahasuerus laid a tribute
on the land, and on the isles of the sea. 10:2All the
acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness
of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, aren't they written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 10:3For Mordecai the Jew was next to
king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of
his brothers, seeking the good of his people, and speaking peace to all
his seed.
[Index]
