If you want to accept God's
offer in his Son, say a prayer like this:
Jesus, I confess that you are not only the
most important person in history, but you are the Creator and Savior of the
world. Lord Jesus, I need you. I have done wrong. Please forgive me of my sins
and come into my life. I ask you not just to be part of my life, but to guide me
to live according to the words I read in the Bible. Thank you for your mercy and
forgiveness. I am now committed to be your follower.
Amen.
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The Book of Ester
Chapter 1
001:001 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:)
001:002 That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat
on the throne
of his kingdom,
which was in Shushan the palace,
001:003 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:
001:004 When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom
and the
honour of his excellent
majesty many days, even an hundred
and
fourscore days.
001:005 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;
001:006 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.
001:007 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.
001:008 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.
001:009 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women
in the royal
house which belonged
to king Ahasuerus.
001:010 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,
001:011 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.
001:012 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.
001:013 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:
001:014 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;)
001:015 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?
001:016 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.
001:017 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.
001:018 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.
001:019 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.
001:020 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.
001:021 And the saying pleased the king and the princes;
and the king
did according to the
word of Memucan:
001:022 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.
002:001 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.
002:002 Then said the king's servants that ministered
unto him, Let
there be fair young
virgins sought for the king:
002:003 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:
002:004 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be
queen instead of
Vashti. And the
thing pleased the king; and he did so.
002:005 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;
002:006 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.
002:007 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.
002:008 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.
002:009 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.
002:010 Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred:
for Mordecai
had charged her that
she should not shew it.
002:011 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of
the women's
house, to know how
Esther did, and what should become of her.
002:012 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;)
002:013 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.
002:014 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.
002:015 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.
002:016 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.
002:017 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.
002:018 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.
002:019 And when the virgins were gathered together the
second time,
then Mordecai sat in
the king's gate.
002:020 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.
002:021 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 hands on the
king
Ahasuerus.
002:022 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it
unto Esther
the queen; and Esther
certified the king thereof in
Mordecai's
name.
002:023 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.
003:001 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.
003:002 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.
003:003 Then the king's servants, which were in the
king's gate, said
unto Mordecai,
Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?
003:004 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.
003:005 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor
did him
reverence, then was Haman
full of wrath.
003:006 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.
003:007 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.
003:008 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.
003:009 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.
003:010 And the king took his ring from his hand, and
gave it unto
Haman the son of
Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.
003:011 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.
003:012 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.
003:013 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.
003:014 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.
003:015 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.
004:001 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;
004:002 And came even before the king's gate: for none
might enter
into the king's gate
clothed with sackcloth.
004:003 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.
004:004 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.
004:005 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.
004:006 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street
of the city,
which was before the
king's gate.
004:007 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.
004:008 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.
004:009 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
004:010 Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him
commandment unto
Mordecai;
004:011 All the king's servants, and the people of the
king's
provinces, do know, that
whosoever, whether man or women,
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.
004:012 And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.
004:013 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think
not with
thyself that thou shalt
escape in the king's house, more
than
all the Jews.
004:014 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?
004:015 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
004:016 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.
004:017 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to
all that Esther
had commanded
him.
005:001 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.
005:002 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.
005:003 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.
005:004 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.
005:005 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.
005:006 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.
005:007 Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is;
005:008 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.
005:009 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.
005:010 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he
came home,
he sent and called for
his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
005:011 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.
005:012 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.
005:013 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I
see Mordecai
the Jew sitting at
the king's gate.
005:014 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.
006:001 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.
006:002 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.
006:003 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.
006:004 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.
006:005 And the king's servants said unto him, Behold,
Haman standeth
in the court. And
the king said, Let him come in.
006:006 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?
006:007 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the
king
delighteth to honour,
006:008 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:
006:009 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.
006:010 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.
006:011 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.
006:012 And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But
Haman hasted
to his house
mourning, and having his head covered.
006:013 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.
006:014 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.
007:001 So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen.
007:002 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.
007:003 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:
007:004 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.
007:005 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?
007:006 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this
wicked Haman.
Then Haman was
afraid before the king and the queen.
007:007 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.
007:008 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
king's mouth, they covered
Haman's face.
007:009 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said
before the king,
Behold also, the
gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman
had
made for Mordecai, who spoken
good for the king, standeth in
the
house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
007:010 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had
prepared for
Mordecai. Then was
the king's wrath pacified.
008:001 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.
008:002 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.
008:003 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.
008:004 Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward
Esther. So
Esther arose, and stood
before the king,
008:005 And said, If it please the king, and if I have
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:
008:006 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?
008:007 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.
008:008 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.
008:009 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.
008:010 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:
008:011 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,
008:012 Upon one day in all the provinces of king
Ahasuerus, namely,
upon the
thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is
the
month Adar.
008:013 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.
008:014 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.
008:015 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.
008:016 The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
008:017 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.
009:001 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;)
009:002 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.
009:003 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.
009:004 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.
009:005 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.
009:006 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and
destroyed five
hundred men.
009:007 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
009:008 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
009:009 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
009:010 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.
009:011 On that day the number of those that were slain
in Shushan the
palace was brought
before the king.
009:012 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.
009:013 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.
009:014 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the
decree was
given at Shushan; and
they hanged Haman's ten sons.
009:015 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.
009:016 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,
009:017 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.
009:018 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.
009:019 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.
009:020 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,
009:021 To stablish this among them, that they should
keep the
fourteenth day of the
month Adar, and the fifteenth day of
the
same, yearly,
009:022 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.
009:023 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun,
and as
Mordecai had written unto
them;
009:024 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;
009:025 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.
009:026 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,
009:027 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;
009:028 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.
009:029 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail,
and Mordecai
the Jew, wrote with
all authority, to confirm this
second
letter of Purim.
009:030 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,
009:031 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.
009:032 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters
of Purim; and
it was written in
the book.
010:001 And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the
land, and upon
the isles of the
sea.
010:002 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?
010:003 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.