A Chronological King James Version Bible
Book of Esther
Index
Ezra 5:2-6:22
[ 1 | 2 |
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 ]
Ezra 7-10
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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:)
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[That] in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the
throne of his kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,
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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:
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When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the
honour of his excellent majesty many days, [even] an
hundred and fourscore days.
-
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;
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[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.
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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.
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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.
-
Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women [in] the
royal house which [belonged] to king Ahasuerus.
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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,
-
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.
-
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.
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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:
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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;)
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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?
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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.
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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.
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[Likewise] shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this
day unto all the king's princes, which have heard of
the deed of the queen. Thus [shall there arise] too much
contempt and wrath.
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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.
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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.
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And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the
king did according to the word of Memucan:
-
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.
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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.
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Then said the king's servants that ministered unto
him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:
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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]:
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And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen
instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he
did so.
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[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;
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for
Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew [it].
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And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the
women's house, to know how Esther did, and what
should become of her.
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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;)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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And when the virgins were gathered together the second
time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate.
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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.
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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.
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And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told [it] unto
Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king [thereof]
in Mordecai's name.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Then the king's servants, which [were] in the
king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest
thou the king's commandment?
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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.
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And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him
reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
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And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for
they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore
Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that [were]
throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, [even] the
people of Mordecai.
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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.
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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.
-
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.
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And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it
unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the
Jews' enemy.
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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.
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Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth
day of the first month, and there was written according
to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's
lieutenants, and to the governors that [were] over every
province, and to the rulers of every people of every
province according to the writing thereof, and [to] every
people after their language; in the name of king
Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's
ring.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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;
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And came even before the king's gate: for none
[might] enter into the king's gate clothed with
sackcloth.
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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.
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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.
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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].
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So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the
city, which [was] before the king's gate.
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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.
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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.
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And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
-
Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment
unto Mordecai;
-
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.
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And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.
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Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with
thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house,
more than all the Jews.
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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?
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Then Esther bade [them] return Mordecai [this answer],
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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.
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So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that
Esther had commanded him.
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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.
-
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my
request [is];
-
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.
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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.
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Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came
home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his
wife.
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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.
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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.
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Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see
Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.
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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.
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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.
-
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.
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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.
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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.
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And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman
standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come
in.
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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?
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And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king
delighteth to honour,
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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:
-
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.
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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.
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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.
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And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman
hasted to his house mourning, and having his head
covered.
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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.
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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.
-
So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the
queen.
-
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.
-
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:
-
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.
-
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?
-
And Esther said, The adversary and enemy [is] this wicked
Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the
queen.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared
for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther.
So Esther arose, and stood before the king,
-
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:
-
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?
-
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.
-
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.
-
Then were the king's scribes called at that time in
the third month, that [is], the month Sivan, on the three
and twentieth [day] thereof; and it was written according
to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the
lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces
which [are] from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty
and seven provinces, unto every province according to the
writing thereof, and unto every people after their
language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and
according to their language.
-
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:
-
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,
-
Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus,
[namely], upon the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month,
which [is] the month Adar.
-
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.
-
[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.
-
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.
-
The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
-
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.
-
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;)
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed
five hundred men.
-
And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
-
And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
-
And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
-
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.
-
On that day the number of those that were slain in
Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
-
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.
-
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.
-
And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree
was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten
sons.
-
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.
-
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,
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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,
-
To stablish [this] among them, that they should keep the
fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day
of the same, yearly,
-
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.
-
And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as
Mordecai had written unto them;
-
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;
-
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.
-
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,
-
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;
-
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.
-
Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and
Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm
this second letter of Purim.
-
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,
-
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.
-
And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of
Purim; and it was written in the book.
-
And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and
[upon] the isles of the sea.
-
And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the
declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the
king advanced him, [are] they not written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
-
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.