MacWorld 1996 July/Macworld (1996-07).dmg/Shareware World/Communication/WarpSearch CGI 1.0/The_Bible/esther.txt

Text File | 1996-04-13 | 31KB | 583 lines

The next file is: ESTHER
1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this [is]
 Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Cush, [over] a 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 to 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 showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the
 honor of his excellent majesty many days, [even] a hundred and
 eighty days.
1:5 And when these days had expired, the king made a feast for
 all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both
 for 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
 constrained: 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 show 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, who knew the times,
 (for so [was] the king's manner towards all that knew law and
 judgment:
1:14 And the next to him [was] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha,
 Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of
 Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, [and] who sat the
 first in the kingdom;)
1:15 What shall we do to 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 will come abroad to all women,
 so that they will 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] will the ladies of Persia and Media say this day
 to all the king's princes, who have heard of the deed of the
 queen. Thus [will there arise] too much contempt and wrath.
1:19 If it pleaseth the king, let a royal commandment go 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
 to 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 will give to their husbands honor, 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 of it, 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 to 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 collect all the fair young virgins
 to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, into 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 who 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 Benjaminite;
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 were heard, and when many maidens were assembled at
 Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was
 brought also to the king's house, to the custody of Hegai,
 keeper of the women.
2:9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from
 him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with
 such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens [who were]
 meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred
 her and her maids to the best [place] of the house of the
 women.
2:10 Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred: for
 Mordecai had charged her that she should not show [it].
2:11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the
 women's house, to know how Esther did, and what would become of
 her.
2:12 Now when every maid's turn had 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 odors, and with [other] things
 for the purifying of the women;)
2:13 Then thus came [every] maiden to the king; whatever she
 desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the
 women to 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, who kept the concubines: she
 came in to the king no more, except that the king delighted in
 her, and she was 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, had come
 to go in to the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the
 king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And
 Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon
 her.
2:16 So Esther was taken to 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 favor 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 to 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 assembled the second time, then
 Mordecai sat in the king's gate.
2:20 Esther had not [yet] showed her kindred, nor her people; as
 Mordecai had charged her: for Esther performed the commandment
 of Mordecai, 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 who
 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] to
 Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king [of it] in
 Mordecai's name.
2:23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was
 discovered; 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 king Ahasuerus promoted 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 who [were] in the king's gate, said
 to Mordecai, Why dost thou transgress the king's commandment?
3:4 Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he
 hearkened not to 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 scorned to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had
 shown 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 to 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 shall 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 to
 Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews enemy.
3:11 And the king said to 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 to 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 of it,
 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 to all people, that they should
 be ready against that day.
3:15 The posts departed, 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] to
 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, to the street of the city,
 which [was] before the king's gate.
4:7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened to 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 show [it] to Esther,
 and to declare [it] to her, and to charge her that she should
 go in to the king, to make supplication to 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 spoke to Hatach, and gave him commandment to
 Mordecai;
4:11 All the king's servants, and the people of the king's
 provinces, do know, that whoever, whether man or woman, shall
 come to the king into the inner court, who is not called,
 [there is] one law of his to put [him] to death, except him to
 whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may
 live: but I have not been called to come in to 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 shalt altogether hold thy peace at this time,
 [then] will there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews
 from another place; but thou and thy father's house will be
 destroyed: and who knoweth, whether thou hast come to the
 kingdom for [such] a time as this?
4:15 Then Esther bade [them] return Mordecai [this answer],
4:16 Go, assemble 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 to 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 favor in his sight: and the
 king held out to Esther the golden scepter that [was] in his
 hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter.
5:3 Then said the king to 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 shall seem] good to the king,
 let the king and Haman come this day to 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 to 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 favor in the sight of the king, and if it
 shall 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] in which the
 king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the
 princes and servants of the king.
5:12 Haman said moreover, Yes, Esther the queen let no man come
 in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but
 myself; and to-morrow I am invited to 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 to him, Let a
 gallows be made fifty cubits high, and to-morrow speak thou to
 the king that Mordecai may be hanged upon it: then go thou in
 merrily with the king to the banquet. And the thing pleased
 Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
6:1 In that night the king could not 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 informed 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 honor and dignity hath been done to
 Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that
 ministered to him, There is nothing done for him.
6:4 And the king said, Who [is] in the court? Now Haman had come
 into the outward 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 to 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 to him, What shall be
 done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman
 thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do
 honor more than to myself?
6:7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king
 delighteth to honor,
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 whom the king delighteth 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 delighteth
 to honor.
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 Haman took 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 to
 the man whom the king delighteth to honor.
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 to him, If Mordecai [is] of the seed of the
 Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou wilt not
 prevail against him, but wilt surely fall before him.
6:14 And while they [were] yet talking with him, came the king's
 chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman to 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 to 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
 favor in thy sight, O king, and if it shall 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 bond-men and
 bond-women, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not
 countervail the king's damage.
7:5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said to 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 had fallen upon the bed
 on which 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 upon it.
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 the king Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the
 Jews' enemy, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the
 king; for Esther had told what he [was] to her.
8:2 And the king took off his ring which he had taken from
 Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over
 the house of Haman.
8:3 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.
8:4 Then the king held out the golden scepter towards Esther. So
 Esther arose, and stood before the king,
8:5 And said, If it shall please the king, and if I have found
 favor in his sight, and the thing [shall seem] right before the
 king, and I [am] 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 who [are] in all
 the king's provinces:
8:6 For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my
 people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my
 kindred?
8:7 Then the king Ahasuerus said to 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 pleaseth 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, no man may 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] of it; and it was written, according to all
 that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, and to the lieutenants,
 and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which [are] from
 India to Cush, a hundred twenty and seven provinces, to every
 province according to the writing of it, and to 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's 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 In which the king granted the Jews who [were] in every city
 to assemble, 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 to 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 honor.
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 assembled 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
 became 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
 to 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, they slew; but on the spoil they laid 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 to 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 shall please the king, let it be
 granted to the Jews who [are] in Shushan to do to-morrow also
 according to 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 assembled 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
 assembled, 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 they rested, and made it a day of
 feasting and gladness.
9:18 But the Jews that [were] at Shushan assembled on the
 thirteenth [day] of the month, and on the fourteenth of it: 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 to all
 the Jews that [were] in all the provinces of the king
 Ahasuerus, [both] nigh and far,
9:21 To establish [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 in which the Jews rested from their enemies,
 and the month which was turned to 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 to 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
 to them,
9:27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed,
 and upon all such as joined themselves to 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 to 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, to which 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 to king Ahasuerus, and
 great among the Jews, and accepted by the multitude of his
 brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace
 to all his seed.