Chapter
1
1 Now it came to pass in the days
of Ahasuerus--this is Ahasuerus who reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia,
over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces--
2 that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus
sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the castle,
3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast
unto all his princes and his servants; the army of Persia and Media,
the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him;
4 when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom
and the honour of his excellent majesty, many days, even a hundred and
fourscore days.
5 And when these days were fulfilled, the king
made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the castle,
both great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the
king's palace;
6 there were hangings of white, fine cotton,
and blue, bordered with cords of fine linen and purple, upon silver
rods and pillars of marble; the couches were of gold and silver, upon
a pavement of green, and white, and shell, and onyx marble.
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 bounty of the king.
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.
9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the
women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the
king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha,
and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that ministered
in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,
11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king
with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty;
for she was fair to look on.
12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the
king's commandment by the chamberlains; therefore was the king very
wroth, and his anger burned in him.
13 Then the king said to the wise men, who knew
the times--for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and
judgment;
14 and the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar,
Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of
Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat the first in the
kingdom:
15 'What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according
to law, forasmuch as she hath not done the bidding of the king Ahasuerus
by the chamberlains?'
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 peoples, that are in all the
provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
17 For this deed of the queen will come abroad
unto all women, to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when
it will be said: The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be
brought in before him, but she came not.
18 And this day will the princesses of Persia
and Media who have heard of the deed of the queen say the like unto
all the king's princes. So will there arise enough contempt and wrath.
19 If it please the king, let there go forth
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 that the king give her royal estate
unto another that is better than she.
20 And when the king's decree which he shall
make shall be published throughout all his kingdom, great though it
be, all the wives will give to their husbands honour, both to great
and small.'
21 And the word pleased the king and the princes;
and the king did according to the word of Memucan;
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 speak according to the language of his people.
Chapter 2
1 After these things, when the wrath of king
Ahasuerus was assuaged, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done,
and what was decreed against her.
2 Then said the king's servants that ministered
unto him: 'Let there be sought for the king young virgins fair to look
on;
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 castle, to the house of the women, unto
the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and
let their ointments be given them;
4 and let the maiden that pleaseth the king be
queen instead of Vashti.' And the thing pleased the king; and he did
so.
5 There was a certain Jew in Shushan the castle,
whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair the son of Shimei the son of
Kish, a Benjamite,
6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem with
the captives that had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah,
whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther,
his uncle's daughter; for she had neither father nor mother, and the
maiden was of beautiful form and fair to look on; and when her father
and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.
8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment
and his decree was published, and when many maidens were gathered together
unto Shushan the castle, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken
into the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained
kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her ointments, with her portions,
and the seven maidens, who were meet to be given her out of the king's
house; and he advanced her and her maidens to the best place in the
house of the women.
10 Esther had not made known her people nor her
kindred; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not tell it.
11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court
of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what would become
of her.
12 Now when the turn of every maiden was come
to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that it had been done to her according
to the law for the women, twelve months--for so were the days of their
anointing accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six
month with sweet odours, and with other ointments of the women--
13 when then the maiden came 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.
14 In the evening she went, and on the morrow
she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz,
the king's chamberlain, who kept the concubines; she came in unto the
king no more, except the king delighted in her, and she were called
by name.
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.
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.
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.
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 bounty of the king.
19 And when the virgins were gathered together
the second time, and Mordecai sat in the king's gate--
20 Esther had not yet made known 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--
21 in those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's
gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that
kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
22 And the thing became known to Mordecai, who
told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther told the king thereof in Mordecai's
name.
23 And when inquisition was made of the matter,
and it was found to be so, they were both hanged on a tree; and it was
written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
Chapter 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.
2 And all the king's servants, that were in the
king's gate, bowed down, and prostrated themselves before Haman; for
the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not down,
nor prostrated himself before him.
3 Then the king's servants, that were in the
king's gate, said unto Mordecai: 'Why transgressest thou the king's
commandment?'
4 Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily
unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see
whether Mordecai's words would stand; for he had told them that he was
a Jew.
5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not
down, nor prostrated himself before him, then was Haman full of wrath.
6 But it seemed contemptible in his eyes to lay
hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to 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.
7 In the first month, which 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, which is the month Adar.
8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus: 'There
is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples
in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from
those of every people; neither keep they the king's laws; therefore
it profiteth not the king to suffer them.
9 If it please the king, let it be written that
they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into
the hands of those that have the charge of the king's business, to bring
it into the king's treasuries.'
10 And the king took his ring from his hand,
and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews'
enemy.
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.'
12 Then were the king's scribes called in the
first month, on the thirteenth day thereof, and there was written, according
to all that Haman commanded, unto the king's satraps, and to the governors
that were over every province, and to the princes of every people; to
every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people
after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written,
and it was sealed with the king's ring.
13 And letters were sent by posts into all the
king's provinces, to destroy, to slay, 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.
14 The copy of the writing, to be given out for
a decree in every province, was to be published unto all peoples, that
they should be ready against that day.
15 The posts went forth in haste by the king's
commandment, and the decree was given out in Shushan the castle; and
the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.
Chapter 4
1 Now when Mordecai knew 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;
2 and he came even before the king's gate; for
none might enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.
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 And Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came
and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly pained; and she sent
raiment to clothe Mordecai; and to take his sackcloth from off him;
but he accepted it not.
5 Then called Esther for Hathach, one of the
king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and charged
him to go to Mordecai, to know what this was, and why it was.
6 So Hathach went forth to Mordecai unto the
broad place of the city, which was before the king's gate.
7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened
unto him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had promised to
pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of
the decree that was given out in Shushan to destroy them, to show 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.
9 And Hathach came and told Esther the words
of Mordecai.
10 Then Esther spoke unto Hathach, and gave him
a message unto Mordecai:
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 for him, that he be put 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.'
12 And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.
13 Then Mordecai bade them to return answer unto
Esther: 'Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's
house, more than all the Jews.
14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at
this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another
place, but thou and thy father's house will perish; and who knoweth
whether thou art not come to royal estate for such a time as this?'
15 Then Esther bade them return answer unto Mordecai:
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 in like manner;
and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law;
and if I perish, I perish.'
17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according
to all that Esther had commanded him.
Chapter 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 entrance of the house.
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.
3 Then said the king unto her: 'What wilt thou,
queen Esther? for whatever thy request, even to the half of the kingdom,
it shall be given thee.'
4 And Esther said: '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 Then the king said: 'Cause Haman to make haste,
that it may be done as Esther hath said.' So the king and Haman came
to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet
of wine: 'Whatever thy petition, it shall be granted thee; and whatever
thy request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be performed.'
7 Then answered Esther, and said: 'My petition
and my request is--
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.'
9 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and glad
of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood
not up, nor moved for him, Haman was filled with wrath against Mordecai.
10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself, and
went home; and he sent and fetched his friends and Zeresh his wife.
11 And Haman recounted unto them the glory of
his riches, and the multitude of his children, and everything as to
how the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the
princes and servants of the king.
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 also am I invited by her together with the
king.
13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long
as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.'
14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends
unto him: 'Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and in the morning
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.
Chapter 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.
2 And it was found written, that Mordecai had
told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, of those
that kept the door, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
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.'
4 And the king said: 'Who is in the court?' --Now
Haman was come into the outer court of the king's house, to speak unto
the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.--
5 And the king's servants said unto him: 'Behold,
Haman standeth in the court.' And the king said: 'Let him come in.'
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 said in his heart: 'Whom would the king delight to honour
besides myself?'--
7 And Haman said unto the king: 'For the man
whom the king delighteth to honour,
8 let royal apparel be brought which the king
useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and on whose
head a crown royal is set;
9 and let the apparel and the horse be delivered
to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array
the man therewith whom the king delighteth to honour, and cause him
to ride 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.'
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.'
11 Then took Haman the apparel and the horse,
and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the
city, and proclaimed before him: 'Thus shall it be done unto the man
whom the king delighteth to honour.'
12 And Mordecai returned to the king's gate.
But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered.
13 And Haman recounted unto 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, before whom thou hast
begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against
him, but shalt surely fall before him.'
14 While they were yet talking with him, came
the king's chamberlains, and hastened to bring Haman unto the banquet
that Esther had prepared.
Chapter 7
1 So the king and Haman came to banquet with
Esther the queen.
2 And the king said again unto Esther on the
second day at the banquet of wine: 'Whatever thy petition, queen Esther,
it shall be granted thee; and whatever thy request, even to the half
of the kingdom, it shall be performed.'
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;
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 peace, for the adversary is not worthy that
the king be endamaged.'
5 Then spoke the king Ahasuerus and said unto
Esther the queen: 'Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in
his heart to do so?'
6 And Esther said: 'An adversary and an enemy,
even this wicked Haman.' Then Haman was terrified before the king and
the queen.
7 And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet
of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman remained to make
request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was
evil determined against him by the king.
8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden
into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the
couch whereon Esther was. Then said the king: 'Will he even force the
queen before me in the house?' As the word went out of the king's mouth,
they covered Haman's face.
9 Then said Harbonah, one of the chamberlains
that were before the king: 'Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high,
which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, standeth
in the house of Haman.' And the king said: 'Hang him thereon.'
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he
had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath assuaged.
Chapter 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.
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.
3 And Esther spoke yet again before the king,
and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the
mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against
the Jews.
4 Then the king held out to Esther the golden
sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king.
5 And she 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 that are in all the king's provinces;
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?'
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 Write ye also concerning 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.'
9 Then were the king's scribes called at that
time, in the third month, which is the month Sivan, on the three and
twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai
commanded concerning the Jews, even to the satraps, and the governors
and princes of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, a 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.
10 And they wrote in the name of king Ahasuerus,
and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback,
riding on swift steeds that were used in the king's service, bred of
the stud;
11 that the king had granted the Jews that were
in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their
life, to destroy, and to slay, and to cause to perish, all the forces
of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones
and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
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.
13 The copy of the writing, to be given out for
a decree in every province, was to be published unto all the peoples,
and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves
on their enemies.
14 So the posts that rode upon swift steeds that
were used in the king's service went out, being hastened and pressed
on by the king's commandment; and the decree was given out in Shushan
the castle.
15 And Mordecai went forth from the presence
of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown
of gold, and with a rob of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan
shouted and was glad.
16 The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and
honour.
17 And in every province, and in every city,
whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had
gladness and joy, a feast and a good day. And many from among the peoples
of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen upon them.
Chapter 9
1 Now in the twelfth month, which 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 rule over them; whereas it was turned
to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;
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 was fallen upon all the peoples.
3 And all the princes of the provinces, and the
satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king's business, helped
the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai was fallen upon them.
4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house,
and his fame went forth throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai
waxed greater and greater.
5 And the Jews smote all their enemies with the
stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what
they would unto them that hated them.
6 And in Shushan the castle the Jews slew and
destroyed five hundred men.
7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
8 and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
9 and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and
Vaizatha,
10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha,
the Jews' enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
11 On that day the number of those that were
slain in Shushan the castle was brought before the king.
12 And the king said unto Esther the queen: 'The
Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the castle,
and the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest of the
king's provinces! Now whatever thy petition, it shall be granted thee;
and whatever thy request further, it shall be done.'
13 Then said Esther: 'If it please the king,
let it be granted to the Jews that 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.'
14 And the king commanded it so to be done; and
a decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
15 And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered
themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and
slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their
hand.
16 And 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 them that hated them seventy
and five thousand--but on the spoil they laid not their hand--
17 on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and
on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of
feasting and gladness.
18 But the Jews that were in 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.
19 Therefore do the Jews of the villages, that
dwell in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar
a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions
one to another.
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,
21 to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth
day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
22 the days wherein the Jews had rest from their
enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness,
and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of
feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts
to the poor.
23 And the Jews took upon them to do as they
had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
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 discomfit them, and to destroy
them;
25 but when she came before the king, he commanded
by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the
Jews, should return upon his own head; and that he and his sons should
be hanged on the gallows.
26 Wherefore they called these days Purim, after
the name of pur. Therefore because of all the words of this letter,
and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which
had come unto them,
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 the writing thereof, and according to the appointed time thereof,
every year;
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.
29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail,
and Mordecai the Jew, wrote down all the acts of power, to confirm this
second letter of Purim.
30 And he sent letters unto all the Jews, to
the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus,
with words of peace and truth,
31 to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed
times, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined
them, and as they had ordained for themselves and for their seed, the
matters of the fastings and their cry.
32 And the commandment of Esther confirmed these
matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
Chapter 10
1 And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon
the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
2 And all the acts of his power and of his might,
and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, how the king advanced
him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Media and Persia?
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 good of his people and speaking peace to all his seed.
