Programmer 7500/MAX_PROGRAMMERS.iso/INFO/MISC/OLD_TEST.ZIP/17ESTH.KJV

Text File | 1980-01-01 | 31.5 KB | 603 lines

 1:1  Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this [is]
Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, [over]
an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)
 1:2  [That] in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the
throne of his kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,
 1:3  In 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:
 1:4  When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the
honour of his excellent majesty many days, [even] and hundred
and fourscore days.
 1:5  And when these days were expired, the king made a feast
unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace,
both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the
garden of the king's palace;
 1:6  [Where were] white, green, and blue, [hangings], fastened
with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars
of marble: the beds [were of] gold and silver, upon a pavement
of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble.
 1:7  And they gave [them] drink in vessels of gold, (the
vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in
abundance, according to the state of the king.
 1:8  And the drinking [was] according to the law; none did
compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of
his house, that they should do according to every man's
pleasure.
 1:9  Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women [in] the
royal house which [belonged] to king Ahasuerus.
 1:10  On 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 served
in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,
 1:11  To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown
royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she
[was] fair to look on.
 1:12  But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's
commandment by [his] chamberlains: therefore was the king very
wroth, and his anger burned in him.
 1:13  Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the
times, (for so [was] the king's manner toward all that knew law
and judgment:
 1:14  And the next unto him [was] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha,
Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of
Persia and Media, which saw the king's face, [and] which sat
the first in the kingdom;)
 1:15  What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law,
because she hath not performed the commandment of the king
Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?
 1:16  And 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 people that [are] in all the
provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
 1:17  For [this] deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all
women, so that they shall despise their husbands 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.
 1:18  [Likewise] shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this
day unto all the king's princes, which have heard of the deed
of the queen. Thus [shall there arise] too much contempt and
wrath.
 1:19  If it please the king, let there go 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.
 1:20  And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be
published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the
wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and
small.
 1:21  And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the
king did according to the word of Memucan:
 1:22  For 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 that [it] should be published according to
the language of every people.

 2:1  After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was
appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what
was decreed against her.
 2:2  Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him,
Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:
 2:3  And 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 Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the
women; and let their things for purification be given [them]:
 2:4  And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen
instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did
so.
 2:5  [Now] in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew,
whose name [was] Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei,
the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
 2:6  Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the
captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of
Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried
away.
 2:7  And he brought up Hadassah, that [is], Esther, his
uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and
the maid [was] fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her
father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
 2:8  So 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 brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of
Hegai, keeper of the women.
 2:9  And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of
him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with
such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, [which were]
meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred
her and her maids unto the best [place] of the house of the
women.
 2:10  Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred: for
Mordecai had charged her that she should not show [it].
 2:11  And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the
women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become
of her.
 2:12  Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king
Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to
the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their
purifications accomplished, [to wit], six months with oil of
myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with [other]
things for the purifying of the women;)
 2:13  Then thus came [every] 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.
 2:14  In 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, which kept the concubines:
she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in
her, and that she were called by name.
 2:15  Now 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 favour in the sight of all them that looked
upon her.
 2:16  So 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.
 2:17  And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she
obtained grace and favour 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.
 2:18  Then 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 state of the
king.
 2:19  And when the virgins were gathered together the second
time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate.
 2:20  Esther had not [yet] showed 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.
 2:21  In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate,
two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those
which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the
king Ahasuerus.
 2:22  And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told [it] unto
Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king [thereof] in
Mordecai's name.
 2:23  And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was
found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it
was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

 3:1  After 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.
 3:2  And all the king's servants, that [were] in the king's
gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so
commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did [him]
reverence.
 3:3  Then the king's servants, which [were] in the king's
gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's
commandment?
 3:4  Now 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.
 3:5  And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him
reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
 3:6  And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for
they had showed 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.
 3:7  In the first month, that [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], that [is], the month Adar.
 3:8  And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain
people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all
the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws [are] diverse from
all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it
[is] not for the king's profit to suffer them.
 3:9  If it please the king, let it be written that they may be
destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the
hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring
[it] into the king's treasuries.
 3:10  And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it
unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.
 3:11  And the king said unto Haman, The silver [is] given to
thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to
thee.
 3:12  Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth
day of the first month, and there was written according to all
that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to
the governors that [were] over every province, and to the
rulers of every people of every province according to the
writing thereof, and [to] every people after their language; in
the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the
king's ring.
 3:13  And the letters 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] upon the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month,
which is the month Adar, and [to take] the spoil of them for a
prey.
 3:14  The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in
every province was published unto all people, that they should
be ready against that day.
 3:15  The posts went out, being hastened by the king's
commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace.
And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan
was perplexed.

 4:1  When Mordecai perceived 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;
 4:2  And came even before the king's gate: for none [might]
enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.
 4:3  And 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.
 4:4  So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told [it]
her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent
raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from
him: but he received [it] not.
 4:5  Then called Esther for Hatach, [one] of the king's
chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and
gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it [was], and
why it [was].
 4:6  So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the
city, which [was] before the king's gate.
 4:7  And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him,
and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to
the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
 4:8  Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree
that was given at 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.
 4:9  And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
 4:10  Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment
unto Mordecai;
 4:11  All 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 of his to put [him] to death, except such 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.
 4:12  And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.
 4:13  Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with
thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than
all the Jews.
 4:14  For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time,
[then] shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the
Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall
be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the
kingdom for [such] a time as this?
 4:15  Then Esther bade [them] return Mordecai [this answer],
 4:16  Go, 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 likewise;
and so will I go in unto the king, which [is] not according to
the law: and if I perish, I perish.
 4:17  So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that
Esther had commanded him.

 5:1  Now 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 gate
of the house.
 5:2  And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen
standing in the court, [that] she obtained favour 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.
 5:3  Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen
Esther? and what [is] thy request? it shall be even given thee
to the half of the kingdom.
 5:4  And Esther answered, If [it seem] good unto the king, let
the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have
prepared for him.
 5:5  Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he
may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the
banquet that Esther had prepared.
 5:6  And 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.
 5:7  Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my
request [is];
 5:8  If I have found favour 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.
 5:9  Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad
heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he
stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation
against Mordecai.
 5:10  Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came
home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
 5:11  And Haman told them of 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.
 5:12  Haman 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 am I invited unto her also
with the king.
 5:13  Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see
Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.
 5:14  Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him,
Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow 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.

 6:1  On 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.
 6:2  And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of
Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the
keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king
Ahasuerus.
 6:3  And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done
to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that
ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.
 6:4  And 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.
 6:5  And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman
standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.
 6:6  So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall
be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now
Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to
do honour more than to myself?
 6:7  And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king
delighteth to honour,
 6:8  Let the royal apparel be brought which the king [useth]
to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown
royal which is set upon his head:
 6:9  And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand
of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array
the man [withal] whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring
him 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 honour.
 6:10  Then 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.
 6:11  Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed
Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of
the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto
the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
 6:12  And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman
hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.
 6:13  And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every
[thing] that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and
Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai [be] of the seed of the
Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not
prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.
 6:14  And while they [were] yet talking with him, came the
king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet
that Esther had prepared.

 7:1  So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the
queen.
 7:2  And 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? and it
shall be performed, [even] to the half of the kingdom.
 7:3  Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found
favour 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:
 7:4  For 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 tongue, although the enemy could not
countervail the king's damage.
 7:5  Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the
queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his
heart to do so?
 7:6  And Esther said, The adversary and enemy [is] this wicked
Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
 7:7  And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his
wrath [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.
 7:8  Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the
place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed
whereon Esther [was]. Then said the king, Will he force the
queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the
king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.
 7:9  And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the
king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman
had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king,
standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him
thereon.
 7:10  So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared
for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.

 8:1  On 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.
 8:2  And 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.
 8:3  And 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.
 8:4  Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther.
So Esther arose, and stood before the king,
 8:5  And said, If it please the king, and if I have found
favour 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 which [are] in all
the king's provinces:
 8:6  For 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?
 8:7  Then 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.
 8:8  Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh 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.
 8:9  Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the
third month, that [is], the 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 lieutenants,
and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which [are] from
India unto Ethiopia, an 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.
 8:10  And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed
[it] with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on
horseback, [and] riders on mules, camels, [and] young
dromedaries:
 8:11  Wherein the king granted the Jews which [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,
[both] little ones and women, and [to take] the spoil of them
for a prey,
 8:12  Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus,
[namely], upon the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which
[is] the month Adar.
 8:13  The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in
every province [was] published unto all people, and that the
Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on
their enemies.
 8:14  [So] the posts that rode upon mules [and] camels went
out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment.
And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.
 8:15  And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in
royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of
gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city
of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
 8:16  The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
 8:17  And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever
the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy
and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of
the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

 9:1  Now in the twelfth month, that [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, in the day that
the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though
it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them
that hated them;)
 9:2  The 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 fell upon all people.
 9:3  And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants,
and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews;
because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.
 9:4  For Mordecai [was] great in the king's house, and his
fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man
Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
 9:5  Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of
the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they
would unto those that hated them.
 9:6  And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed
five hundred men.
 9:7  And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
 9:8  And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
 9:9  And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
 9:10  The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy
of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their
hand.
 9:11  On that day the number of those that were slain in
Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
 9:12  And 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 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.
 9:13  Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be
granted to the Jews which [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.
 9:14  And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree
was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
 9:15  For the Jews that [were] in Shushan gathered themselves
together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew
three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not
their hand.
 9:16  But 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 their foes seventy and
five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,
 9:17  On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the
fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of
feasting and gladness.
 9:18  But the Jews that [were] at 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.
 9:19  Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the
unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar [a
day of] gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending
portions one to another.
 9:20  And 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,
 9:21  To stablish [this] among them, that they should keep the
fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the
same, yearly,
 9:22  As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies,
and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy,
and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them
days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to
another, and gifts to the poor.
 9:23  And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as
Mordecai had written unto them;
 9:24  Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the
enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy
them, and had cast Pur, that [is], the lot, to consume them,
and to destroy them;
 9:25  But when [Esther] came before the king, he commanded by
letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the
Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons
should be hanged on the gallows.
 9:26  Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of
Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and [of that]
which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come
unto them,
 9:27  The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their
seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as
it should not fail, that they would keep these two days
according to their writing, and according to their [appointed]
time every year;
 9:28  And [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 memorial of them perish from their
seed.
 9:29  Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and
Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this
second letter of Purim.
 9:30  And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the
hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus,
[with] words of peace and truth,
 9:31  To confirm these days of Purim in their times
[appointed], according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen
had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and
for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
 9:32  And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of
Purim; and it was written in the book.

 10:1  And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and
[upon] the isles of the sea.
 10:2  And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the
declaration 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?
 10:3  For Mordecai the Jew [was] next unto king Ahasuerus, and
great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his
brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace
to all his seed.