Bible (American Standard)/Esther

The Book of Esther
==Chapter 1==
 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this is
Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over a
hundred and seven and twenty provinces), 
 that in those
days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom,
which was in Shushan the palace, 
 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; 
 when he showed the riches of
his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many
days, even a hundred and fourscore days. 
 And when these
days were fulfilled, the king made a feast unto all the people
that were present in Shushan the palace, both great and small,
seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
 [There were hangings of] white [cloth], [of] green, and
[of] blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to
silver rings and pillars of marble: the couches were of gold and
silver, upon a pavement of red, and white, and yellow, and black
marble. 
 And they gave them drink in vessels of gold (the
vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in
abundance, according to the bounty of the king. 
 And the
drinking was according to the law; none could 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. 
 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 ministered in the presence of Ahasuerus
the king, 
 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with
the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty;
for she was fair to look on. 
 But the queen Vashti refused
to come at the king's commandment by the chamberlains: therefore
was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. 
 Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times, (for so
was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment;
 and the next unto him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha,
Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of
Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the
kingdom), 
 What shall we do unto the queen Vashti
according to law, because she hath not done the bidding of the
king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? 
 And Memucan answered
before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done
wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all
the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
 For this deed of the queen will come abroad unto all
women, to make their husbands contemptible 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. 
 And
this day will the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard
of the deed of the queen say [the like] unto all the king's
princes. So [will there arise] much contempt and wrath. 
 If it please the king, let there go forth a royal commandment
from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians
and the Medes, that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more
before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate
unto another that is better than she. 
 And when the king's
decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his
kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give to their
husbands honor, both to great and small. 
 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 should speak
according to the language of his people.
==Chapter 2==
 After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus
was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and
what was decreed against her. 
 Then said the king's
servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young
virgins sought for the king: 
 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 Hegai the
king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things
for purification be given them; 
 and let the maiden that
pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing
pleased the king; and he did so. 
 There was a certain Jew
in Shushan the palace, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair,
the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 
 who had
been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives that had been
carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar
the king of Babylon had carried away. 
 And he brought up
Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had
neither father nor mother, and the maiden was fair and
beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai
took her for his own daughter. 
 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 taken into the king's house,
to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 
 And the
maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he
speedily gave her her things for purification, with her
portions, and the seven maidens who were meet to be given her
out of the king's house: and he removed her and her maidens to
the best place of the house of the women. 
 Esther had not
made known her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai had charged
her that she should not make it known. 
 And Mordecai
walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know
how Esther did, and what would become of her. 
 Now when
the turn of every maiden was come to go in to king Ahasuerus,
after that it had been done to her according to the law for the
women twelve months (for so were the days of their purifications
accomplished, [to wit], six months with oil of myrrh, and six
months with sweet odors and with the things for the purifying of
the women), 
 then in this wise came the 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. 
 In the
evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second
house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's
chamberlain, who kept the concubines: she came in unto the king
no more, except the king delighted in her, and she were called
by name. 
 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 favor in the sight of all them
that looked upon her. 
 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. 
 And the
king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor
and kindness 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. 
 Then the king made a great feast unto all his
princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a
release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the
bounty of the king. 
 And when the virgins were gathered
together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting in the
king's gate. 
 Esther had not yet made known her kindred
nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the
commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with
him. 
 In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the
king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh,
of those that kept the threshold, were wroth, and sought to lay
hands on the king Ahasuerus. 
 And the thing became known
to Mordecai, who showed it unto Esther the queen; and Esther
told the king [thereof] in Mordecai's name. 
 And when
inquisition was made of the matter, and it was found to be so,
they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book
of the chronicles before the king.
==Chapter 3==
 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. 
 And all the
king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed down, and
did reverence to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning
him. But Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence. 
 Then the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, said
unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?
 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. 
 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not down,
nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. 
 But
he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had
made known to him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought
to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom
of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. 
 In the first
month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king
Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from
day to day, and from month to month, [to] the twelfth [month],
which is the month Adar. 
 And Haman said unto king
Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and
dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom;
and their laws are diverse from [those of] every people; neither
keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's
profit to suffer them. 
 If it please the king, let it be
written that they be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand
talents of silver into the hands of those that have the charge
of the [king's] business, to bring it into the king's
treasuries. 
 And the king took his ring from his hand, and
gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews'
enemy. 
 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. 
 Then were the king's scribes called in the first
month, on the thirteenth day thereof; and there was written
according to all that Haman commanded unto the king's satraps,
and to the governors that were over every province, and to the
princes of every people, to every province according to the
writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in
the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and it was sealed
with the king's ring. 
 And letters were sent by posts into
all the king's provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to
perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women,
in one day, even upon the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month,
which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a
prey. 
 A copy of the writing, that the decree should be
given out in every province, was published unto all the peoples,
that they should be ready against that day. 
 The posts
went forth in haste by the king's commandment, and the decree
was given out in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat
down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.
==Chapter 4==
 Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent
his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into
the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
 and he came even before the king's gate: for none might
enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 
 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. 
 And Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came and
told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent
raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off
him; but he received it not. 
 Then called Esther for
Hathach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed
to attend upon her, and charged him to go to Mordecai, to know
what this was, and why it was. 
 So Hathach went forth to
Mordecai unto the broad place of the city, which was before the
king's gate. 
 And Mordecai told him of all that had
happened unto him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had
promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to
destroy them. 
 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of
the decree that was given out in Shushan to destroy them, to
show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge
her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication
unto him, and to make request before him, for her people. 
 And Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 
 Then Esther spake unto Hathach, and gave him a message unto
Mordecai [saying]: 
 All the king's servants, and the
people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether
man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who
is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to
death, except those 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. 
 And they told to
Mordecai Esther's words. 
 Then Mordecai bade them return
answer unto Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt
escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. 
 For
if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then will
relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but
thou and thy father's house will perish: and who knoweth whether
thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? 
 Then Esther bade them return answer unto Mordecai, 
 Go,
gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and
fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or
day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will
I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if
I perish, I perish. 
 So Mordecai went his way, and did
according to all that Esther had commanded him.
==Chapter 5==
 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put
on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's
house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his
royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of
the house. 
 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 sceptre that
was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the
sceptre. 
 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou,
queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be given thee
even to the half of the kingdom. 
 And Esther said, If it
seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day
unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. 
 Then the
king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that it may be done as
Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that
Esther had prepared. 
 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. 
 Then answered Esther, and said, My
petition and my request is: 
 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 shall prepare for them, and I will do
to-morrow as the king hath said. 
 Then went Haman forth
that day joyful and glad of heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai
in the king's gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he
was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 
 Nevertheless,
Haman refrained himself, and went home; and he sent and fetched
his friends and Zeresh his wife. 
 And Haman recounted unto
them 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.
 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man
come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but
myself; and to-morrow also am I invited by her together with the
king. 
 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see
Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. 
 Then said
Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be
made fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak thou unto the
king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in
merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased
Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
==Chapter 6==
 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, of those that kept the threshold, who had sought
to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus. 
 And the king said,
What honor and dignity hath been bestowed on Mordecai for this?
Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is
nothing done for him. 
 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. 
 And the king's servants said
unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king
said, Let him come in. 
 So Haman came in. And the king said
unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king
delighteth to honor? Now Haman said in his heart, To whom would
the king delight to do honor more than to myself? 
 And
Haman said unto the king, For the man whom the king delighteth
to honor, 
 let royal apparel be brought which the king
useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and on
the head of which a crown royal is set: 
 and let the
apparel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the
king's most noble princes, that they may array the man therewith
whom the king delighteth to honor, and cause him to ride on
horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before
him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth
to honor. 
 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. 
 Then took
Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and
caused him to ride through the street of the city, and
proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom
the king delighteth to honor. 
 And Mordecai came again to
the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and
having his head covered. 
 And Haman recounted unto Zeresh
his wife and all his friends everything that had befallen him.
Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If
Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, be of the seed of
the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely
fall before him. 
 While they were yet talking with him,
came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the
banquet that Esther had prepared.
==Chapter 7==
 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? even to
the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. 
 Then Esther
the queen answered and said, If I have found favor 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
peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the
king's damage. 
 Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said unto
Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume
in his heart to do so? 
 And Esther said, An adversary and
an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before
the king and the queen. 
 And the king arose in his wrath
from the banquet of wine [and 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
couch whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he even force
the queen before me in the house? As the word went out of the
king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. 
 Then said
Harbonah, one of the chamberlains that were before the king,
Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman hath
made for Mordecai, who spake good for the king, standeth in the
house of Haman. And 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.
==Chapter 8==
 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 to
Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the
king. 
 And she said, If it please the king, and if I have
found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before the
king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to
reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the
Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the
king's provinces: 
 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 to 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, may no man
reverse. 
 Then were the king's scribes called at that time,
in the third 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 the governors
and princes of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia,
a hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province
according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after
their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and
according to their language. 
 And he wrote the name of
king Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent
letters by post on horseback, riding on swift steeds that were
used in the king's service, bred of the stud: 
 wherein the
king granted the Jews that 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, [their] 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.
 A copy of the writing, that the decree should be given
out in every province, was published unto all the peoples, and
that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge
themselves on their enemies. 
 So the posts that rode upon
swift steeds that were used in the king's service went out,
being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment; and the
decree was given out in Shushan the palace. 
 And Mordecai
went forth from the presence of the king in royal apparel of
blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe
of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan shouted and
was glad. 
 The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and
honor. 
 And in every province, and in every city,
whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the
Jews had gladness and joy, a feast and a good day. And many from
among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the
Jews was fallen upon them.
==Chapter 9==
 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on
the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and
his decree drew near to be put in execution, on the day that the
enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them, (whereas it
was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them
that hated them,) 
 the Jews gathered themselves together in
their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus,
to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could
withstand them; for the fear of them was fallen upon all the
peoples. 
 And all the princes of the provinces, and the
satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king's
business, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai was
fallen upon them. 
 For Mordecai was great in the king's
house, and his fame went forth throughout all the provinces; for
the man Mordecai waxed greater and greater. 
 And the Jews
smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with
slaughter and destruction, and did what they would unto them
that hated them. 
 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
Vaizatha, 
 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha,
the Jew's enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid 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 then 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 that are in Shushan to do to-morrow also
according unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be
hanged upon the gallows. 
 And the king commanded it so to
be done: and a decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged
Haman's ten sons. 
 And the Jews that were in Shushan
gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the
month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the
spoil they laid not their hand. 
 And the other Jews that
were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and
stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew
of them that hated them seventy and five thousand; but on the
spoil they laid not their hand. 
 [This was done] 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. 
 But the Jews that were in Shushan assembled
together on the thirteenth [day] thereof, and on the fourteenth
thereof; and on the fifteenth [day] of the same they rested, and
made it a day of feasting and gladness. 
 Therefore, do the
Jews of the villages, that dwell in the unwalled towns, make the
fourteenth day of the month Adar [a day of] gladness and
feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to
another. 
 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 enjoin 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 had rest from their enemies, and the month which was
turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into
a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and
gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to
the poor. 
 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
plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that
is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; 
 but
when [the matter] came before the king, he commanded by letters
that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews,
should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should
be hanged on the gallows. 
 Wherefore they called these
days Purim, after the name of Pur. Therefore, because of all the
words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning
this matter, and that which had come unto them, 
 the Jews
ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all
such as joined themselves unto them, so that it should not fail,
that they would keep these two days according to the writing
thereof, and according to the appointed time thereof, every
year; 
 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 remembrance 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 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 appointed times, according as
Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as
they had ordained for themselves and for their seed, in the
matter of the fastings and their cry. 
 And the commandment
of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written
in the book.
==Chapter 10==
 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 full account 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 good of his people, and speaking peace to
all his seed.