{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.