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ISA-11:9 ...for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD,

as the waters cover the sea.

Copyright (c) 1985-2007

king james study

ES-1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this [is]

Ahasuerus which

reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, [over] an hundred and

seven and twenty

provinces:)

ES-1:2 [That] in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the

throne of his

kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,

ES-1:3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all

his princes and his

servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes

of the provinces,

[being] before him:

ES-1:4 When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and

the honour of his

excellent majesty many days, [even] and hundred and fourscore

days.

ES-1:5 And when these days were expired, the king made a feast

unto all the people

that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and

small, seven days, in

the court of the garden of the king's palace;

ES-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.

ES-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.

ES-1:8 And the drinking [was] according to the law; none did

compel: for so the

king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they

should do according

to every man's pleasure.

ES-1:9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women [in]

the royal house which

[belonged] to king Ahasuerus.

ES-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,

ES-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.

ES-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.

ES-1:13 Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the

times, (for so [was] the

king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment:

ES-1:14 And the next unto him [was] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha,

Tarshish, Meres,

Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media,

which saw the king's

face, [and] which sat the first in the kingdom;)

ES-1:15 What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law,

because she hath

not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the

chamberlains?

ES-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.

ES-1:17 For [this] deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all

women, so that they

shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be

reported, The king

Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him,

but she came not.

ES-1:18 [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.

ES-1:19 If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment

from him, and let

it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that

it be not altered,

That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king

give her royal

estate unto another that is better than she.

ES-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

shall give to their

husbands honour, both to great and small.

ES-1:21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and

the king did according

to the word of Memucan:

ES-1:22 For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into

every province

according to the writing thereof, and to every people after

their language, that

every man should bear rule in his own house, and that [it]

should be published

according to the language of every people.

ES-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.

ES-2:2 Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him,

Let there be fair

young virgins sought for the king:

ES-2:3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces

of his kingdom, that

they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan

the palace, to the

house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's

chamberlain, keeper of the

women; and let their things for purification be given [them]:

ES-2:4 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen

instead of Vashti. And

the thing pleased the king; and he did so.

ES-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

Benjamite;

ES-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.

ES-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.

ES-2:8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his

decree was heard,

and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the

palace, to the custody

of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to

the custody of

Hegai, keeper of the women.

ES-2:9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of

him; and he

speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things

as belonged to her,

and seven maidens, [which were] meet to be given her, out of the

king's house: and

he preferred her and her maids unto the best [place] of the

house of the women.

ES-2:10 Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred: for

Mordecai had charged

her that she should not show [it].

ES-2:11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the

women's house, to

know how Esther did, and what should become of her.

ES-2:12 Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king

Ahasuerus, after that

she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women,

(for so were the

days of their purifications accomplished, [to wit], six months

with oil of myrrh,

and six months with sweet odours, and with [other] things for

the purifying of the

women;)

ES-2:13 Then thus came [every] maiden unto the king; whatsoever

she desired was

given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the

king's house.

ES-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, 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.

ES-2:15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail

the uncle of Mordecai,

who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the

king, she required

nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the

women, appointed.

And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked

upon her.

ES-2:16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house

royal in the tenth

month, which [is] the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his

reign.

ES-2:17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she

obtained grace and

favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set

the royal crown upon

her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

ES-2:18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes

and his servants,

[even] Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces,

and gave gifts,

according to the state of the king.

ES-2:19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second

time, then Mordecai

sat in the king's gate.

ES-2:20 Esther had not [yet] showed 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.

ES-2:21 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate,

two of the king's

chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door,

were wroth, and

sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.

ES-2:22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told [it] unto

Esther the queen;

and Esther certified the king [thereof] in Mordecai's name.

ES-2:23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was

found out; therefore

they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book

of the chronicles

before the king.

ES-3:1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the

son of Hammedatha

the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the

princes that [were]

with him.

ES-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.

ES-3:3 Then the king's servants, which [were] in the king's

gate, said unto

Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

ES-3:4 Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and

he hearkened not

unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's

matters would stand: for

he had told them that he [was] a Jew.

ES-3:5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him

reverence, then was

Haman full of wrath.

ES-3:6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for

they had showed 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.

ES-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.

ES-3:8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain

people scattered

abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of

thy kingdom; and their

laws [are] diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's

laws: therefore it

[is] not for the king's profit to suffer them.

ES-3:9 If it please the king, let it be written that they may

be destroyed: and I

will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those

that have the charge

of the business, to bring [it] into the king's treasuries.

ES-3:10 And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it

unto Haman the son of

Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.

ES-3:11 And the king said unto Haman, The silver [is] given to

thee, the people

also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.

ES-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 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.

ES-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.

ES-3:14 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given

in every province was

published unto all people, that they should be ready against

that day.

ES-3:15 The posts went out, being hastened by the king's

commandment, and the

decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman

sat down to drink;

but the city Shushan was perplexed.

ES-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;

ES-4:2 And came even before the king's gate: for none [might]

enter into the king's

gate clothed with sackcloth.

ES-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.

ES-4:4 So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told

[it] her. Then was the

queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe

Mordecai, and to take away

his sackcloth from him: but he received [it] not.

ES-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].

ES-4:6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the

city, which [was]

before the king's gate.

ES-4:7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him,

and of the sum of

the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's

treasuries for the Jews, to

destroy them.

ES-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] 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.

ES-4:9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

ES-4:10 Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him

commandment unto Mordecai;

ES-4:11 All the king's servants, and the people of the king's

provinces, do know,

that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king

into the inner court,

who is not called, [there is] one law of his to put [him] to

death, except such to

whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may

live: but I have not

been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.

ES-4:12 And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.

ES-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.

ES-4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time,

[then] shall there

enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;

but thou and thy

father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou

art come to the

kingdom for [such] a time as this?

ES-4:15 Then Esther bade [them] return Mordecai [this answer],

ES-4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in

Shushan, and fast ye

for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I

also and my maidens

will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which

[is] not according to

the law: and if I perish, I perish.

ES-4:17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that

Esther had

commanded him.

ES-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.

ES-5:2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen

standing in the court,

[that] she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out

to Esther the golden

sceptre that [was] in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched

the top of the

sceptre.

ES-5:3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen

Esther? and what [is] thy

request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.

ES-5:4 And Esther answered, If [it seem] good unto the king,

let the king and Haman

come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.

ES-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.

ES-5:6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine,

What [is] thy

petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what [is] thy

request? even to the half

of the kingdom it shall be performed.

ES-5:7 Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my

request [is];

ES-5:8 If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if

it please the king

to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king

and Haman come to the

banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow

as the king hath

said.

ES-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.

ES-5:10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came

home, he sent and

called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.

ES-5:11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the

multitude of his

children, and all [the things] wherein the king had promoted him,

and how he had

advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

ES-5:12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no

man come in with the

king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to

morrow am I invited

unto her also with the king.

ES-5:13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see

Mordecai the Jew sitting

at the king's gate.

ES-5:14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him,

Let a gallows be

made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the

king that Mordecai may

be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto

the banquet. And the

thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

ES-6:1 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded

to bring the book

of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.

ES-6:2 And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of

Bigthana and Teresh, two

of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought

to lay hand on the

king Ahasuerus.

ES-6:3 And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been

done to Mordecai for

this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him,

There is nothing done

for him.

ES-6:4 And the king said, Who [is] in the court? Now Haman was

come into the

outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to

hang Mordecai on the

gallows that he had prepared for him.

ES-6:5 And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman

standeth in the court.

And the king said, Let him come in.

ES-6:6 So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall

be done unto the

man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his

heart, To whom

would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?

ES-6:7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king

delighteth to honour,

ES-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:

ES-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 [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.

ES-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.

ES-6:11 Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed

Mordecai, and

brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and

proclaimed before him,

Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to

honour.

ES-6:12 And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman

hasted to his house

mourning, and having his head covered.

ES-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 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.

ES-6:14 And while they [were] yet talking with him, came the

king's chamberlains,

and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had

prepared.

ES-7:1 So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the

queen.

ES-7:2 And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at

the banquet of

wine, What [is] thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be

granted thee: and what

[is] thy request? and it shall be performed, [even] to the half

of the kingdom.

ES-7:3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found

favour in thy

sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given

me at my petition,

and my people at my request:

ES-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 bondmen and bondwomen, I had

held my tongue,

although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.

ES-7:5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther

the queen, Who is he,

and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?

ES-7:6 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy [is] this

wicked Haman. Then Haman

was afraid before the king and the queen.

ES-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.

ES-7:8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the

place of the

banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon

Esther [was]. Then said

the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house?

As the word went out

of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.

ES-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

thereon.

ES-7:10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had

prepared for Mordecai. Then

was the king's wrath pacified.

ES-8:1 On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of

Haman the Jews' enemy

unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for

Esther had told what

he [was] unto her.

ES-8:2 And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from

Haman, and gave it

unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

ES-8:3 And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell

down at his feet, and

besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the

Agagite, and his

device that he had devised against the Jews.

ES-8:4 Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther.

So Esther arose,

and stood before the king,

ES-8:5 And said, If it please the king, and if I have found

favour in his sight,

and the thing [seem] right before the king, and I [be] pleasing

in his eyes, let it

be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of

Hammedatha the

Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which [are] in all

the king's provinces:

ES-8:6 For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come

unto my people? or how

can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?

ES-8:7 Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and

to Mordecai the Jew,

Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they

have hanged upon the

gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.

ES-8:8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the

king's name, and seal

[it] with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in

the king's name, and

sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.

ES-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] 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.

ES-8:10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed

[it] with the king's

ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, [and] riders on

mules, camels, [and]

young dromedaries:

ES-8:11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which [were] in every

city to gather

themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to

slay, and to cause

to perish, all the power of the people and province that would

assault them, [both]

little ones and women, and [to take] the spoil of them for a

prey,

ES-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.

ES-8:13 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given

in every province

[was] published unto all people, and that the Jews should be

ready against that day

to avenge themselves on their enemies.

ES-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.

ES-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.

ES-8:16 The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.

ES-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.

ES-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;)

ES-9:2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities

throughout all the

provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought

their hurt: and no

man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all

people.

ES-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.

ES-9:4 For Mordecai [was] great in the king's house, and his

fame went out

throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed

greater and greater.

ES-9:5 Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of

the sword, and

slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those

that hated them.

ES-9:6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed

five hundred men.

ES-9:7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,

ES-9:8 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

ES-9:9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,

ES-9:10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy

of the Jews, slew

they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.

ES-9:11 On that day the number of those that were slain in

Shushan the palace was

brought before the king.

ES-9:12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have

slain and destroyed

five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of

Haman; what have they

done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what [is] thy

petition? and it shall

be granted thee: or what [is] thy request further? and it shall

be done.

ES-9:13 Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be

granted to the Jews

which [are] in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this

day's decree, and

let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.

ES-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.

ES-9:15 For the Jews that [were] in Shushan gathered themselves

together on the

fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred

men at Shushan; but on

the prey they laid not their hand.

ES-9:16 But the other Jews that [were] in the king's provinces

gathered themselves

together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their

enemies, and slew of

their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their

hands on the prey,

ES-9:17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the

fourteenth day of the

same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

ES-9:18 But the Jews that [were] at Shushan assembled together

on the thirteenth

[day] thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the

fifteenth [day] of the same

they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

ES-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.

ES-9:20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto

all the Jews that

[were] in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, [both] nigh

and far,

ES-9:21 To stablish [this] among them, that they should keep

the fourteenth day of

the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,

ES-9:22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies,

and the month which

was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into

a good day: that

they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending

portions one to

another, and gifts to the poor.

ES-9:23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as

Mordecai had written

unto them;

ES-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;

ES-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.

ES-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 unto them,

ES-9:27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their

seed, and upon all

such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail,

that they would keep

these two days according to their writing, and according to

their [appointed] time

every year;

ES-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.

ES-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.

ES-9:30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the

hundred twenty and seven

provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, [with] words of peace and

truth,

ES-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.

ES-9:32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of

Purim; and it was

written in the book.

ES-10:1 And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land,

and [upon] the isles

of the sea.

ES-10:2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the

declaration of the

greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, [are]

they not written in

the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

ES-10:3 For Mordecai the Jew [was] next unto king Ahasuerus,

and great among the

Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the

wealth of his

people, and speaking peace to all his seed.