Esther

1.1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, that Ahasuerus reigned from Dod to Cush, over an hundred and twenty and seven provinces.

1.2 In those days, when 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 for all his officials and servants, the army of Persia and Media, the Parthians, and the princes of the provinces before him.

1.4 When he showed the tenfold glory of his kingdom and the precious splendor of his greatness, for a hundred and eighty days.

1.5 And at the end of those days the king made a feast for all the people who were present in Shushan the palace, both great and small, seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace.

1.6 A hole of blue and purple, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple, on silver sockets and six pillars of gold and silver, on a floor of acacia wood, and six cedar and cedar.

1.7 And the drinks were served in golden vessels, and vessels of all kinds, and royal wine in abundance, according to the king's own hand.

1.8 And the drinking was according to the law, and there was no compulsion, for so the king had appointed over all the officers of his house, to do according to the will of every man.

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 king's heart was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Baztha, Harbona, Bagatha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carches, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus.

1.11 To bring Queen Vashti before the king with the royal crown, to shew the people and the princes her beauty. for she was fair to look upon.

1.12 But Queen Vashti refused to come to the king's commandment which was in the hand of the chamberlains. wherefore the king was very wroth, and his anger burned in him.

1.13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times, "For the king's commandment is before all who know law and judgment,

1.14 And there came to him Krsna, Sether, Admah, Tarshish, Mars, Marsena, Memech, the seven princes of Persia and Media, the seers of the king's face, who sat first in the kingdom.

1.15 What shall be done to Queen Vashti, because she did not perform the commandment of King Ahasuerus by the eunuchs?

1.16 And Momchen said before the king and the princes, Not for the king only, nor for Queen Vashti, but for all the princes, and for all the people that are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

1.17 For the queen's word went out to all the women to make their husbands despised in their eyes, saying, King Ahasuerus commanded to bring Queen Vashti before him, but she came not.

1.18 And this day the Persian and Medes who have heard the queen's words will say to all the king's officials, and to their shame and indignation,

1.19 If it please the king, and a royal decree go forth from him, and it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, that it pass not, that Vashti shall not come before king Ahasuerus, and the king shall give her kingdom to her neighbour that is better than her.

1.20 And the king's proverb shall be heard, which he shall make throughout all his kingdom. for it is great, and all wives shall give honour to their husbands, both great and small.

1.21 And the thing pleased the king and the princes. and the king did as the thing was commanded.

1.22 And he sent letters into all the king's provinces, to every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should rule in his own house, and speak after the language of his people.

2.1 After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was aroused, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.

2.2 And the king's servants said, Let there be sought for the king fair and beautiful virgins.

2.3 Then the king appointed officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and they gathered together all the beautiful virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the custody of the king's eunuch, the keeper of the women, and gave them their gifts.

2.4 And the young woman who pleases the king shall reign instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king, and he did so.

2.5 Now there was a certain Jew in Shushan the capital, whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Jeminiite.

2.6 Whom he carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity, which he carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carried away.

2.7 And it came to pass, that Amen, that is, Esther the daughter of Dado, for she had neither father nor mother, and the damsel was fair and beautiful to look upon. and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her to be his daughter.

2.8 And it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree were heard, and when many maidens were gathered together to Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken into the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.

2.9 And the damsel pleased him, and obtained favour in his sight. and he gave her her ointments, and her portion, and seven maidens, that she might be given out of the king's house, and she and her maidens, for the good of the house of the women.

2.10 Esther had not revealed her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her that she should not reveal it.

2.11 And every day Mordecai walked before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther was, and what should be done for her.

2.12 And when a young woman came to go in to king Ahasuerus, after the manner of the women was twelve months, according to the custom of the women, they should complete the days of their purification. six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and with the women's cosmetics.

2.13 And when the young woman came to the king, whatever she said was given her to take with her from the harem to the king's house.

2.14 In the evening she came, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the hand of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch, who kept the concubines. She came no more to the king, except the king delighted in her, and she was called by name.

2.15 Now when Esther the daughter of Abihail, the father of Mordecai, whom he had taken as his daughter, came to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king's eunuch, the keeper of the women, said. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all that saw her.

2.16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his royal house 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 favor in his sight more than all the virgins. and he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

2.18 Then the king made a great feast for all his princes and servants, even Esther's feast, and gave a present to the provinces, and gave a present according to the king's hand.

2.19 And when the virgins were gathered together a second time, Mordecai sat in the king's gate.

2.20 Esther did not reveal her kindred and her people, as Mordecai had charged her; and Esther did according to the commandment of Mordecai, as she was in covenant with him.

2.21 In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, Hagar and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.

2.22 And the thing became known to Mordecai, and he told it unto Esther the queen. and Esther spake unto the king in Mordecai's name,

2.23 And he sought the matter, and it was found out, and 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 within the king's gate bowed and reverenced Haman. for so the king had commanded him. but Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.

3.3 Then said the king's servants that were in the king's gate unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

3.4 And it came to pass, when they spake unto him day by day, 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.

3.5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, Haman was filled with wrath.

3.6 And he thought it scornful to lay hands on Mordecai alone, because they had told him of Mordecai's people. And Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, and Mordecai.

3.7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Pur, the lot, was cast before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

3.8 And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered and divided among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom, whose customs are different from those of every people, and they do not observe the king's customs, and it is not fitting for the king to allow them.

3.9 If it please the king to write to them to destroy them, I will weigh out ten thousand talents of silver by the hands of those who have the work done, and bring it into the king's treasuries.

3.10 And the king took off his signet ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

3.11 And the king said to Haman, The money is given to you, and the people, to do with it as it seemeth good to you.

3.12 And the king's letters were read in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the same month. and it was written according to all that Haman commanded, unto the king's chamberlains, and to the captains that were over every province, and to the princes of every people, and of every people, according to the writing thereof, in the name of king Ahasuerus, and sealed with the king's ring.

3.13 And letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take their spoil to the uttermost.

3.14 The scripture that religion should be given in every country and state is evident to all nations to be prepared for this day.

3.15 The runners went out in haste by the king's command, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, and the city of Shushan was perplexed.

4.1 Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a great and bitter cry.

4.2 And he came even before the king's gate. for it is not lawful to come into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.

4.3 And in every province and city, wherever the king's command and his decree come, there will be great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and mourning, and sackcloth and ashes for many.

4.4 Then Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and told her. And the queen was exceedingly grieved, and sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from off him. but he received it not.

4.5 Then Esther called for Heth, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed before her, and commanded him to tell Mordecai what this was, and what it was for.

4.6 Then Hatach went out to Mordecai into the street of the city that was before the king's gate.

4.7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened, and the sum of money that Haman had said to weigh out of the king's treasuries upon the Jews, to destroy them.

4.8 And the edict of the law, which he had given in Shushan to destroy, he gave to show Esther, and to tell her, and to command her to go in unto the king, to beseech him, and to make supplication unto him for her people.

4.9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

4.10 Then Esther said to him, "Go and tell Mordecai."

4.11 All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who comes to the king into the inner court and does not ask for a single person to be put to death, except the king holds out to him the golden scepter and lives. But I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.

4.12 And they told Mordecai Esther's words.

4.13 Then Mordecai said to Esther, “Do not think in your heart to escape the king’s house any more than all the Jews.”

4.14 For if you are silent, at this time a spirit and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom at such a time as this?

4.15 Then Esther said to answer Mordecai,

4.16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I also and my maid will fast likewise. and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law. and as I perish, so perish.

4.17 And Mordecai went and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

5.1 And 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 king's house, over against the door of the house.

5.2 And it came to pass, when the king saw Queen Esther 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. and Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

5.3 And the king said unto her, What wilt thou, Queen Esther? and what is thy request? Up to half the kingdom, and it shall be given thee.

5.4 And Esther said, If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.

5.5 And the king said, Make haste, Haman, that he may do Esther's word. And 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, and it shall be done?

5.7 Then Esther answered and said, My request and my petition is,

5.8 If I have found favor 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 will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.

5.9 So Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. And when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, he did not rise or depart from there. And Haman was filled with wrath against Mordecai.

5.10 Then Haman restrained himself, and went into his house, and sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife.

5.11 And Haman told them the glory of his ten sons, and the multitude of his sons, and all that the king had promoted, and that he had bestowed upon the princes and servants of the king.

5.12 And Haman said, Neither did Queen Esther bring in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared, but me; and to morrow also am I bidden with her with the king.

5.13 And all this is of no avail to me, 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 them make a gallows fifty cubits high. and in the morning he spake unto the king, and let Mordecai be hanged thereon. and he came with the king to the banquet joyfully. and the thing pleased Haman, and the gallows was made.

6.1 That night the king's sleep was troubled, and he commanded to bring the book 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 threshold, who sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.

6.3 And the king said, What honor and greatness shall be done to Mordecai for this? And the king's servants said, There shall be nothing done unto him.

6.4 And the king said, Who is in the court? Haman came into the outer court of the king's house, to speak to 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 he said, The king shall come in.

6.6 Then came Haman, and the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? And Haman said in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do more honour than I?

6.7 And Haman said unto the king, The man whom the king delighteth to visit.

6.8 Let them bring the royal robes that the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head the royal crown has been set.

6.9 And the apparel and the horse were delivered to the hand of one of the king's nobles, that they might array the man whom the king delighted to honor, 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 delighted to honor.

6.10 Then the king said to Haman, "Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. Let nothing fail of all that you have spoken."

6.11 Then Haman took the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and led him through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor.

6.12 And Mordecai sat in the king's gate. but Haman was driven into his house mourning, and had his head covered.

6.13 Then Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends all that had happened. And his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not prevail against him, but he will fall, you will fall before him."

6.14 While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

7.1 And the king and Haman came to drink with Esther the queen.

7.2 And the king said unto Esther again 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, even to the half of the kingdom, and it shall be done?

7.3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, If I have found favor in your 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 have been sold, I and my people, to destroy, to kill, and to destroy; and they have been sold for bondmen and bondwomen. I have heard that the trouble is not equal to the king's loss.

7.5 Then king Ahasuerus spake and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and what is he, that hath conceived in his heart to do so?

7.6 And Esther said, O wicked man and enemy, this wicked Haman! Haman is afraid before the king and the queen.

7.7 And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine into the palace garden. and Haman stood to beg for his life of Esther the queen. for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king.

7.8 And the king returned from the palace to the house of the banquet of wine. And Haman fell on the couch whereon Esther was. And the king said, How can I take the queen with me in the house? The word went out from the king's mouth, and Haman's face was covered.

7.9 Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said before the king, “Behold, the gallows that Haman had made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, stands in Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on it.”

7.10 And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king's anger was kindled.

8.1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jew's enemy, to Queen Esther. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what was in it for 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 Then Esther spoke again before the king, and fell at his feet, and wept, and besought him to put away the evil of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.

8.4 Then the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther arose and stood before the king.

8.5 And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing is right before the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to reverse the devices devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king's provinces.

8.6 For I have seen the evil that will come upon my people, and I have seen the destruction of my people.

8.7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him shall they hang on the gallows, because he laid his hand on the Jews.”

8.8 And you write concerning the Jews as it seems good to you in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring. for a writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may not be revoked.

8.9 And the king's letters were read 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 unto the Jews, and to the satraps, and to the lesser, and to the princes of the provinces which were from Judah even to Cush, an hundred and twenty and seven provinces, every province according to their writing, and every people according to their language, and unto the Jews according to their writing and their language.

8.10 And he wrote in the name of king Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by the hand of horsemen, and chariots of the Ahasuerus, the sons of the Remachaans.

8.11 Which the king gave to the Jews that were in every city, to gather themselves together, and to stand for their lives, to destroy, and to kill, and to utterly destroy all the people and country that besieged them, both little ones and women, and their spoil to be utterly destroyed.

8.12 On one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar,

8.13 The scripture says that in every country and state religion must be given to all nations, and that the Jews should be prepared for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

8.14 The runners in the chariots of the Achashternites went out in haste and haste at the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace.

8.15 And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and purple, and with a great crown of gold, and with a covering of fine linen and purple. and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.

8.16 The Jews had light and joy, and wealth and honor.

8.17 In every province and city, wherever the king's command and decree reach, there is joy and gladness for the Jews, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land are Jews, because the fear of the Jews has fallen upon them.

9.1 ​​And in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same month, the king's commandment and his decree came to be carried out, on the day that the enemies of the Jews had broken through to rule over them, and that the Jews themselves should rule over their enemies.

9.2 The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm, and no one stood before them, for the fear of them had fallen on all nations.

9.3 And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and all the king's workmen, carried the Jews. for the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.

9.4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went throughout all the provinces. for the man Mordecai waxed great.

9.5 And the Jews smote all their enemies with the sword, and slew and destroyed them, and did unto them that hated them as they pleased.

9.6 And in Shushan the capital the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.

9.7 And Pharsendatha, and Delphi, and Asphetha.

9.8 And Portha, and Adalia, and Aridatha.

9.9 And Parmeshtha, and Arisi, and Aridi, and Vyztha

9.10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, they slew, and laid not their hand upon the spoil.

9.11 On that day the number of those killed in Shushan the capital was brought before the king.

9.12 Then the king said to Esther the queen, In Shushan the palace the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, and the ten sons of Haman in the rest of the king's provinces, what have they done? What is your request, and it shall be granted you? And what is your request, and it shall be done?

9.13 Then Esther said, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according to this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows.

9.14 And the king commanded it to be done so. and a decree was given in Shushan, and Haman's ten sons were hanged.

9.15 And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but they laid not their hand upon the spoil.

9.16 And the rest of the 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, and laid not their hand on the spoil.

9.17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day of the same, he rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

9.18 And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered together on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth of it, and rested on the fifteenth of it, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

9.19 Therefore the Jews of the Perizzites who dwell in the cities of the Perizzites make the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a day of joy and feasting, 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 King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

9.21 They were to observe the fourteenth day of the month Adar and the fifteenth day of it every year.

9.22 As the days in which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the new moon, which was turned from mourning to joy, and from mourning to a good day, to make them days of feasting and joy, and to send portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

9.23 And the Jews accepted what they had begun to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

9.24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite had conspired against all the Jews to destroy them, and the lot was to overthrow and destroy them.

9.25 And when he came before the king, he said with the scribe, Let his evil thought, which he had thought against the Jews, return upon his own head, and let them hang him and his sons on the tree.

9.26 Therefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur, because of all the words of this letter, and what they saw concerning this, and what came to them.

9.27 The Jews established and accepted them, and their descendants, and all who were with them, and it was not to be omitted to keep these two days according to their writing and at their time every year.

9.28 And these days shall be remembered and observed in every generation, family and family, state and state, and city and city. and these days of Purim shall not pass away from among the Jews, nor shall their remembrance perish from among their seed.

9.29 And Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote to all that were present, to make this second letter of the bullocks.

9.30 And he sent letters unto all the Jews, unto the hundred and twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, words of peace and truth.

9.31 Establish these days of fasting at their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had established for them, and as they had established for themselves and for their seed the words of the fasts and their cry.

9.32 And Esther said, These words of the bullocks were written in the book.

10.1 And king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.

10.2 And all the acts of his might, and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, by which the king magnified him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

10.3 For Mordecai the Jew, second to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and acceptable to the multitude of his brethren, sought the good of his people, and spake peace to all his seed.