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- The next file is: ESTHER
- 1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this [is]
- Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Cush, [over] a 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 to 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
- honor of his excellent majesty many days, [even] a hundred and
- eighty days.
- 1:5 And when these days had expired, the king made a feast for
- all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both
- for 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
- constrained: 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, who knew the times,
- (for so [was] the king's manner towards all that knew law and
- judgment:
- 1:14 And the next to him [was] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha,
- Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of
- Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, [and] who sat the
- first in the kingdom;)
- 1:15 What shall we do to 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 will come abroad to all women,
- so that they will 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] will the ladies of Persia and Media say this day
- to all the king's princes, who have heard of the deed of the
- queen. Thus [will there arise] too much contempt and wrath.
- 1:19 If it pleaseth the king, let a royal commandment go 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
- to 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 will give to their husbands honor, 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 of it, 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 to 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 collect all the fair young virgins
- to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, into 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 who 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 Benjaminite;
- 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 were heard, and when many maidens were assembled at
- Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was
- brought also to the king's house, to the custody of Hegai,
- keeper of the women.
- 2:9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from
- him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with
- such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens [who were]
- meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred
- her and her maids to 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 would become of
- her.
- 2:12 Now when every maid's turn had 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 odors, and with [other] things
- for the purifying of the women;)
- 2:13 Then thus came [every] 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.
- 2:14 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, who kept the concubines: she
- came in to the king no more, except that the king delighted in
- her, and she was 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, had come
- to go in to 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.
- 2:16 So 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.
- 2:17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she
- obtained grace and favor 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 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 state of the king.
- 2:19 And when the virgins were assembled 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 performed the commandment
- of Mordecai, 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 who
- 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] to
- Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king [of it] in
- Mordecai's name.
- 2:23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was
- discovered; 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 king Ahasuerus promoted 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 who [were] in the king's gate, said
- to Mordecai, Why dost thou transgress the king's commandment?
- 3:4 Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he
- hearkened not to 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 scorned to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had
- shown 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 to 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 shall 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 to
- Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews enemy.
- 3:11 And the king said to 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 to 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 of it,
- 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 to all people, that they should
- be ready against that day.
- 3:15 The posts departed, 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] to
- 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, to the street of the city,
- which [was] before the king's gate.
- 4:7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened to 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] 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.
- 4:9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
- 4:10 Again Esther spoke to Hatach, and gave him commandment to
- Mordecai;
- 4:11 All 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 of his to put [him] to death, except him 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.
- 4:12 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 shalt altogether hold thy peace at this time,
- [then] will there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews
- from another place; but thou and thy father's house will be
- destroyed: and who knoweth, whether thou hast come to the
- kingdom for [such] a time as this?
- 4:15 Then Esther bade [them] return Mordecai [this answer],
- 4:16 Go, assemble 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 to 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 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.
- 5:3 Then said the king to 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 shall seem] good to the king,
- let the king and Haman come this day to 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 to 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 favor in the sight of the king, and if it
- shall 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] in which the
- king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the
- princes and servants of the king.
- 5:12 Haman said moreover, Yes, Esther the queen let no man come
- in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but
- myself; and to-morrow I am invited to 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 to him, Let a
- gallows be made fifty cubits high, and to-morrow speak thou to
- the king that Mordecai may be hanged upon it: then go thou in
- merrily with the king to the banquet. And the thing pleased
- Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
- 6:1 In that night the king could not 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 informed 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 honor and dignity hath been done to
- Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that
- ministered to him, There is nothing done for him.
- 6:4 And the king said, Who [is] in the court? Now Haman had 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.
- 6:5 And the king's servants said to 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 to him, What shall be
- done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman
- thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do
- honor more than to myself?
- 6:7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king
- delighteth to honor,
- 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 whom the king delighteth to honor, 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 honor.
- 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 Haman took 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 to
- the man whom the king delighteth to honor.
- 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 to him, If Mordecai [is] of the seed of the
- Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou wilt not
- prevail against him, but wilt surely fall before him.
- 6:14 And while they [were] yet talking with him, came the king's
- chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman to 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 to 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
- favor in thy sight, O king, and if it shall 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 bond-men and
- bond-women, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not
- countervail the king's damage.
- 7:5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said to 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 had fallen upon the bed
- on which 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 upon it.
- 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 the king Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the
- Jews' enemy, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the
- king; for Esther had told what he [was] to her.
- 8:2 And the king took off his ring which he had taken from
- Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over
- the house of Haman.
- 8:3 And Esther spoke 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 scepter towards Esther. So
- Esther arose, and stood before the king,
- 8:5 And said, If it shall please the king, and if I have found
- favor in his sight, and the thing [shall seem] right before the
- king, and I [am] 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:
- 8:6 For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my
- people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my
- kindred?
- 8:7 Then the king Ahasuerus said to 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 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, no man may 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] of it; and it was written, according to all
- that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, and to the lieutenants,
- and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which [are] from
- India to Cush, a hundred twenty and 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.
- 8:10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus's 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 In which the king granted the Jews who [were] in every city
- to assemble, 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 to 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 honor.
- 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 assembled 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
- became 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
- to 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, they slew; but on the spoil they laid 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 to 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 shall please the king, let it be
- granted to the Jews who [are] in Shushan to do to-morrow also
- according to 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 assembled 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
- assembled, 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 they rested, and made it a day of
- feasting and gladness.
- 9:18 But the Jews that [were] at Shushan assembled on the
- thirteenth [day] of the month, 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.
- 9:19 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 to all
- the Jews that [were] in all the provinces of the king
- Ahasuerus, [both] nigh and far,
- 9:21 To establish [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 in which the Jews rested from their enemies,
- and the month which was turned to 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 to 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
- to them,
- 9:27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed,
- and upon all such as joined themselves to 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 to 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, to which 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 to king Ahasuerus, and
- great among the Jews, and accepted by the multitude of his
- brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace
- to all his seed.
-
-