ESTHER
Esther 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:)
2 [That] in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his
kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,
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:
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.
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;
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.
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.
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, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence
of Ahasuerus the king,
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.
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.
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:
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;)
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?
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.
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.
18 [Likewise] shall the ladies of
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.
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.
21 And the saying 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 that [it] should be
published according to the language of every people.
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 Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair
young virgins sought for the king:
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]:
4 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen
instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.
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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
10 Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred:
for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew [it].
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.
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;)
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.
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.
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 state of the king.
19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai
sat in the king's gate.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded
concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did [him] reverence.
3 Then the king's servants, which [were] in the king's gate, said unto
Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's
commandment?
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.
5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was
Haman full of wrath.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 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 ts ring.
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.
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.
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.
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;
2 And came even before the king's gate: for none [might] enter into 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 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.
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].
6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of
the city, which [was] before the king's gate.
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.
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.
9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of
Mordecai.
10 Again Esther spake
unto Hatach, and gave him commandment 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 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.
12 And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.
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.
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?
15 Then Esther bade [them] return Mordecai [this answer},
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.
17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded
him.
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.
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? And what [is] thy request? it shall be even
given thee to the half of the kingdom.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and
called for his friends, and Zeresh
his wife.
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.
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.
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 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.
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, the
keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand 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 outward 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 thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour
more than to myself?
7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth
to honour,
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:
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.
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 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.
12 And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house
mourning, and having his head covered.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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
tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.
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?
6 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy [is] this
wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
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.
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.
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.
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then
was the king's wrath pacified.
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 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.
4 Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward
Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,
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:
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 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.
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 proving to their language.
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:
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,
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 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.
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.
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
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 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.
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;)
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.
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.
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.
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.
6 And in Shushan the palace 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 Vajezatha,
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.
11 On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan
the palace 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 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.
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.
14 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
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.
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,
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.
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.
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.
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 stablish [this] among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of
the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
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.
23 And the Jews undertook 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 consume them, and to destroy them;
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.
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,
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;
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 with all authority, to confirm this second letter
of Purim.
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,
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.
32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was
written in the book.
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 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
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.