Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/kjavver/es.av

Text File | 1993-01-27 | 32KB | 586 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 shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the
 honour of his excellent majesty many days, [even] an 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 shew 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 shewed her people nor her kindred: for
 Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew [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] shewed 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 shewed 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 shew [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.