1 {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 {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 {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 {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 {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 {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 {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 {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 {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
Page 293 Esther
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 {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.