Esther

Chapter 1

¹ Now it happened in the days of Ahasuerus (he was Ahasuerus, the one who ruled from India even as far as Ethiopia, 127 provinces); ² in those days, as the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his royalty, which was in Susa the citadel: ³ in year three of his reign, he made a feast for all his officials and his administrators, the army of Persia and Media, the noblemen, and the officials of the provinces before his face, ⁴ when he displayed the wealth of the glory of his kingdom and the splendor of the beauty of his greatness for many days, 180 days.

⁵ And when those days were fulfilled, the king made a feast for all the people who were found in Susa the citadel, from the greatest even to the least, for seven days, in the courtyard of the garden of the palace of the king. ⁶ Linens cotton and blue were hanging by cords of byssus and purple on rings of silver and pillars of marble. Couches of gold and silver were on the pavement of porphyry and alabaster and pearl and precious stone. ⁷ And the serving was in vessels of gold, with vessels differing from other vessels, and the wine of royalty was abundant according to the hand of the king. ⁸ And the drinking was according to the law “There is no compulsion,” for thus the king had established for every overseer of his house to do according to the desire of man by man. ⁹ Also Vashti the queen made a feast of women in the palace of royalty that belonged to the king Ahasuerus.

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was pleased by the wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas (the seven eunuchs who served before the face of the king Ahasuerus), ¹¹ to bring Vashti the queen to the face of the king in a crown of royalty in order to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was pleasing of appearance. ¹² But the queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king that was by the hand of the eunuchs. Then the king became very angry, and his rage burned within him.

¹³ Then the king said to the wise men, who were knowers of the times (for thus was the manner of the king before the face of all those who were knowers of law and judgment, ¹⁴ and the ones near to him were Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Mersena, Memukan, seven officials of Persia and Media who were seers of the face of the king, the ones who sat first in the kingdom): ¹⁵ “According to law, what is to be done with the queen Vashti on account of this, that she did not perform the command of the king Ahasuerus by the hand of the eunuchs?”

¹⁶ And Memukan replied before the face of the king and the officials, “Not toward the king alone has Vashti the queen done wrong, but toward all the officials and toward all the peoples who are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. ¹⁷ For the matter of the queen will go out to all the women in order to make their husbands despised in their eyes when they say, ‘The king Ahasuerus said to bring Vashti the queen before his face, but she did not come.’ ¹⁸ Now this day, the noblewomen of Persia and Media who have heard the matter of the queen will speak to all the officials of the king. And there will be contempt and wrath enough! ¹⁹ If it is good to the king, let a decree of royalty go out from before his face, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media (which do not pass away) that Vashti shall never come before the face of the king Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royalty to her female neighbor, the woman who is better than she. ²⁰ And the decree of the king will be heard that he will make for all his kingdom, though it is great. Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the greatest to the least.”

²¹ And the word seemed good in the eyes of the king and the officials. And the king acted according to the word of Memukan. ²² And he sent letters to all the provinces of the king, to province by province according to its own writing, and to people by people according to its own tongue: that every man should be ruling in his house and speaking according to the tongue of his people.

Chapter 2

¹ After these things, when the rage of the king Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decided concerning her. ² And the young men of the king who served him said, “Let them seek for the king young women who are virgins and pleasing of appearance. ³ And let the king appoint administrators in all the provinces of his kingdom. Then let them gather every young woman who is a virgin and pleasing of appearance to Susa the citadel, to the house of women into the hand of Hegai (the eunuch of the king who is overseer of the women). Then give their ointments. ⁴ And let the young woman who is pleasing in the eyes of the king become queen instead of Vashti.” And the word was pleasing in the eyes of the king, so he did thus.

⁵ A man, a Jew, was in Susa the citadel, and his name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish (a man, a Benjamite, ⁶ who had been exiled from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been exiled along with Jeconiah, the king of Judah, who Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled). ⁷ And he was fostering Hadassah (she is Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because there was not for her a father or a mother. Now the young woman was beautiful of form and pleasing of appearance. And at the death of her father and her mother, Mordecai had taken her for him as a daughter. ⁸ And it happened that, when the decree of the king and his law were heard, and when many young women were gathered to Susa the citadel into the hand of Hegai, Esther was taken to the palace of the king, into the hand of Hegai (who was overseer of the women). ⁹ And the young woman was pleasing in his eyes, and she lifted kindness before his face. And he quickly gave her ointments, gave her portions of food, and gave her seven young women chosen from the house of the king. And he transferred her and her young women to the best of the house of women. ¹⁰ Esther had not declared her people or her ancestry, for Mordecai had laid a charge upon her that she should not tell it. ¹¹ And always, day by day, Mordecai was walking about before the face of the courtyard of the house of women in order to know the peace of Esther and what was being done with her.

¹² Now when the turn came for young woman by young woman to go to the king Ahasuerus, it was after her 12 months, according to the law of women. For thus the days of their beautification would be fulfilled: six months by oil of myrrh, then six months by perfumes and by the ointments of women. ¹³ Then at this, the young woman would go to the king. Anything that she said would be given to her, to go with her from the house of women to the house of the king. ¹⁴ In the evening she would go, and in the morning she would return to the second house of women, into the hand of Shaashgaz (the eunuch of the king who was overseer of the concubines). She would not go to the king again unless the king had delighted in her and she was called by name.

¹⁵ Now when the turn of Esther (the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for him as a daughter) came to go to the king, she did not seek anything except what Hegai (the eunuch of the king who was overseer of the women) said. And Esther was a lifter of favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her. ¹⁶ And Esther was taken to the king Ahasuerus, to the palace of his royalty, in the tenth month (which is the month of Tebeth), in year seven of his reign. ¹⁷ And the king loved Esther more than all the women and she lifted favor and kindness before his face more than all the virgins. And he set a crown of royalty on her head, and he made her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ And the king made a great feast for all his officials and his servants, the feast of Esther. And he made a holiday for the provinces, and he gave gifts according to the hand of the king.

¹⁹ Now when virgins were being gathered a second time, Mordecai was then sitting at the gate of the king. ²⁰ Esther had not yet declared her ancestry (that is, her people), according to the charge that Mordecai had laid upon her. And Esther continued to do the command of Mordecai according to how she was with him in her fostering. ²¹ In those days, when Mordecai was sitting at the gate of the king, Bigthan and Teresh (two eunuchs of the king who were guardians of the doorway) became angry; and they sought to stretch out a hand against the king Ahasuerus. ²² And the matter was made known to Mordecai, and he declared it to Esther the queen. And Esther spoke to the king in the name of Mordecai. ²³ And the matter was sought out and was found out, and the two of them were hanged on a pole. And it was written in the book of the events of days before the face of the king.

Chapter 3

¹ After these things, the king Ahasuerus made Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, great. And he lifted him up and placed his seat of authority from over all the officials who were with him. ² And all the servants of the king who were at the gate of the king were bowing down and prostrating themselves to Haman, for thus the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would neither bow down nor would he prostrate himself. ³ And the servants of the king who were at the gate of the king said to Mordecai, “Why are you trespassing the command of the king?” ⁴ And it happened that, when they spoke to him day after day, he did not listen to them. So they told Haman to see if the words of Mordecai would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. ^{[1] 5} And Haman saw that Mordecai would neither bow down nor prostrate himself to him. And Haman was filled with rage. ⁶ And it was despised in his eyes to stretch out a hand against Mordecai alone, for they had told him the people of Mordecai. And Haman sought to annihilate all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷ In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in year 12 of the king Ahasuerus, a Pur (which is “the lot”) was cast before the face of Haman from day to day and from month to month: the twelfth, which is the month of Adar. ⁸ And Haman said to the king Ahasuerus, “He has one people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. And their laws are different from every people, and the laws of the king they do not obey. And there is no profit to the king to leave them untouched. ⁹ If it is good to the king, let it be written to destroy them, and I will weigh out 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of the doers of the work, to bring into the treasuries of the king.” ¹⁰ And the king removed his signet ring from on his hand, and he gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of the Jews. ¹¹ And the king said to Haman, “The silver is given to you, and the people, to do with them as is good in your eyes.”

¹² And the scribes of the king were called in the first month, on day 13 of it, and it was written according to all that Haman commanded: to the satraps of the king, and to the governors who were over province by province, and to the officials of people by people, province by province according to its writing, and people by people according to its tongue. In the name of the king Ahasuerus it was written, and it was sealed with the signet ring of the king. ¹³ And letters were sent by the hand of runners to all of the provinces of the king, to annihilate, to slaughter, and to destroy all the Jews from young even to old, children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth of month 12 (which is the month of Adar), and to plunder their spoils. ¹⁴ A copy of the writing, to be given as a law in every province by province, was uncovered for all the peoples to be ready for this day. ¹⁵ The runners went out, hurrying by decree of the king, and the law was given in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.

Chapter 4

¹ Now when Mordecai knew about all that had been done, Mordecai tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. And he went out into the midst of the city and cried out a great and bitter outcry. ² And he came only as far as before the face of the gate of the king because no one was to come into the gate of the king while wearing sackcloth. ³ And in every province by province, any place where the decree of the king and his law reached, there was great mourning by the Jews, and fasting and weeping and lamenting; sackcloth and ashes were laid out by the multitudes. ⁴ When the young female attendants of Esther came with her eunuchs and they told her, even the queen was seized with extreme fear. And she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and to take off his sackcloth from upon him, but he did not accept.

⁵ And Esther called for Hathak, from the eunuchs of the king whom he had caused to stand before her face. She commanded him concerning Mordecai to know what this was and on account of what this was. ⁶ And Hathak went out to Mordecai, to the open place of the city that was before the face of the gate of the king. ⁷ And Mordecai reported to him all that had happened to him, and the exact amount of silver that Haman had said to weigh out into the treasuries of the king against the Jews to destroy them. ⁸ Also he gave to him a copy of the writing of the law that had been given in Susa to annihilate them, in order to show Esther and to inform her and to lay a charge upon her to go to the king to implore his favor and to seek from before his face concerning her people. ⁹ And Hathak went and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

¹⁰ And Esther spoke to Hathak and commanded him to say to Mordecai: ¹¹ “All the servants of the king and the people of the provinces of the king are knowing that for any man or woman who goes to the king, to the inner court, who has not been called, his law is one: to cause to die, apart from when the king holds out to him the scepter of gold; then he will live. But as for me, I have not been called to come to the king these 30 days.” ¹² And they told to Mordecai the words of Esther.

¹³ And Mordecai said to return to Esther: “Do not think to yourself to escape in the palace of the king, different from all the Jews. ¹⁴ For if you indeed remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and the house of your father will perish. And who knows if you have arrived at royalty for such a time as this?”

¹⁵ And Esther said to return to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews who are found in Susa. And fast on account of me, neither eating nor drinking for three days, both night and day. Also, I myself and my young female attendants will fast likewise. Then, in such circumstances, I will go to the king, which is not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷ And Mordecai went and did according to the whole charge that Esther had laid upon him.

Chapter 5

¹ And it happened on the third day that Esther put on royalty and stood in the inner court of the palace of the king, opposite to the house of the king. Now the king was sitting on the throne of his royalty in the palace of royalty opposite to the entrance of the palace. ² And it happened that, as soon as the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she lifted favor in his eyes. And the king held out to Esther the scepter of gold that was in his hand, so Esther approached and touched the head of the scepter.

³ And the king said to her, “What is to you, Esther the queen? And what is your request? As much as half of the kingdom, and let it be given to you.” ⁴ And Esther said, “If it is good to the king, let the king come with Haman today to the banquet that I have made for him.” ⁵ And the king said, “Bring Haman quickly in order to do the word of Esther.” And the king came with Haman to the banquet that Esther had made.

⁶ And the king said to Esther during the banquet of wine, “What is your petition? And let it be given to you. And what is your request? As much as half of the kingdom, and let it be done.” ⁷ And Esther answered and said, “My petition and my request: ⁸ if I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it is good to the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king come with Haman to the banquet that I will make for them, and tomorrow I will do according to the word of the king.”

⁹ And Haman went out that day joyful and pleased of heart. But as soon as Haman saw Mordecai at the gate of the king, that he neither rose up nor trembled from him, then Haman was filled with rage on account of Mordecai. ¹⁰ But Haman restrained himself and went to his house. Then he sent and brought his friends and Zeresh his wife. ¹¹ And Haman recounted to them the glory of his wealth and the multitude of his sons and all about how the king had made him great and how he had lifted him over the officials and administrators of the king. ¹² And Haman said, “In addition, Esther the queen did not bring anyone with the king to the banquet that she had made except me. And also for tomorrow, I am called by her with the king. ¹³ But all of this is not equal for me to every time that I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the gate of the king.” ¹⁴ And Zeresh his wife, with all of his friends, said to him, “Let them make a pole 50 cubits high. And in the morning speak to the king, and let them hang Mordecai on it. Then go with the king to the banquet joyful.” And the word was good before the face of Haman, and he made the pole.

Chapter 6

¹ That night the sleep of the king fled away. And he said to bring the book of records of the events of days, and they were being called out before the face of the king. ² And it was found written that Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs of the king who were from the guardians of the doorway, that they had sought to stretch out a hand against the king Ahasuerus.

³ And the king said, “What honor or greatness was done for Mordecai on account of this?” And the young men of the king who served him said, “Not a thing has been done with him.” ⁴ And the king asked, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had come into the outer court of the house of the king to say to the king to hang Mordecai on the pole that he had prepared for him. ⁵ And the young men of the king said to him, “Behold, Haman is standing in the courtyard.” And the king said, “Let him come.”

⁶ And Haman came, and the king said to him, “What is one to do for the man in whose honor the king is delighted?” Then Haman said in his heart, “For whom would the king delight to do honor more than me?” ⁷ And Haman said to the king, “For a man whom the king delights to honor: ⁸ let them bring a garment of royalty with which the king has clothed himself, and a horse on which the king has ridden and which has been given a crown of royalty for its head. ⁹ And give this garment and this horse into the hand of a man from the most noble officials of the king. And let them clothe the man whom the king delights to honor, and cause him to ride on the horse in the open square of the city, and proclaim before his face, ‘Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king delights to honor!’” ¹⁰ And the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the garment and the horse, according to how you have spoken, and do thus for Mordecai the Jew, the man who sits at the gate of the king. Do not allow a word to fall of all that you have spoken.”

¹¹ And Haman took the garment and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai and caused him to ride in the open place of the city and called out before his face, “Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king delights to honor!” ¹² And Mordecai returned to the gate of the king, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning with a covering of head. ¹³ And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and to all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whose face you have begun to fall, is from the seed of the Jews, then you will not prevail against him, but you will surely fall before his face.” ¹⁴ They were still speaking with him when the eunuchs of the king arrived. And they hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had made.

Chapter 7

¹ And the king came with Haman to drink with Esther the queen. ² And the king said to Esther again on the second day during the banquet of wine, “What is your petition, Esther the queen? And let it be given to you. And what is your request? As much as half of the kingdom, and let it be done.” ³ And Esther the queen answered and said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it is good to the king, let my life be given to me at my petition and my people at my request. ⁴ For we have been sold, I and my people, for annihilation, for slaughter, and for destruction. Now if we had been sold as slaves and female servants, I would have kept silent, because the distress would not have been equal to a burden of the king.”

⁵ And the king Ahasuerus spoke and said to Esther the queen, “Who is he, this man? Where is this man, he whose heart is full to do thus?” ⁶ Esther answered, “A man, an adversary, and an enemy—this evil Haman!” Then Haman was terrified from before the face of the king and the queen. ⁷ And the king rose up in his rage from the banquet of wine to the garden of the palace. But Haman remained in order to seek for his life from Esther the queen, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. ⁸ Now when the king returned from the garden of the palace to the house of the banquet of wine, Haman was fallen on the couch on which Esther was. And the king said, “Is it also to subdue the queen with me in the house?” The word was going out from the mouth of the king when they covered the face of Haman.

⁹ And Harbona, one from the eunuchs before the face of the king, said, “Also, behold, the pole that Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, is standing at the house of Haman 50 cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” ¹⁰ And they hanged Haman on the pole that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the rage of the king subsided.

Chapter 8

¹ On that day, the king Ahasuerus gave to Esther the queen the house of Haman, the adversary of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the face of the king because Esther told what he was to her. ² And the king removed his signet ring, which he had caused to pass from Haman, and he gave it to Mordecai. And Esther placed Mordecai over the house of Haman.

³ And Esther repeated her action, and she spoke before the face of the king. She fell before the face of his feet and wept and implored favor from him to take away the evil of Haman the Agagite and his plot that he had plotted against the Jews. ⁴ And the king held out to Esther the scepter of gold, so Esther rose up and stood before the face of the king. ⁵ And she said, “If it is good to the king, and if I have found favor before his face, and the word is proper before the face of the king, and I am good in his eyes, let it be written to bring back the letters, the plot of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. ⁶ For how could I bear to see the evil that my people would find? And how could I bear seeing the destruction of my kindred?”

⁷ And the king Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and they have hanged him on the pole on account of this, that he stretched out his hand against the Jews. ⁸ So, in the name of the king, you write for the Jews as is good in your eyes, and seal it with the signet ring of the king. For there is none to take back a writing that has been written in the name of the king and has been sealed with the signet ring of the king.”

⁹ And the scribes of the king were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third of it. And according to all that Mordecai commanded, it was written to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and officials of the provinces that were from India even as far as Ethiopia: 127 provinces, province by province according to its writing, and people by people according to its tongue, and to the Jews according to their writing and according to their tongue. ¹⁰ And he wrote in the name of the king Ahasuerus, and he sealed with the signet ring of the king. And he sent letters (by the hand of runners on horses, riders of the royal pack horses, sons of the mares) ¹¹ that the king gave to the Jews who were in every city, city by city: to gather and to stand for their life, to annihiliate, and to slaughter, and to destroy any strength of a people or province that would attack them, children and women, and plunder their spoil; ¹² on one day in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth of month 12, which is the month of Adar. ¹³ A copy of the writing was to be given as a law in every province by province, being uncovered for all the peoples, and for the Jews to be prepared for that day to take revenge from their enemies. ¹⁴ The runners, the riders of the royal pack horses, went out hastened and hurried by the word of the king. And the law was given in Susa the citadel.

¹⁵ And Mordecai went out from before the face of the king in a garment of royalty of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a robe of fine linen and purple, and the city of Susa cheered and rejoiced. ¹⁶ For the Jews there was light and joy and rejoicing and honor. ¹⁷ In every province by province and in every city by city, any place where the word of the king and his law came, there was joy and rejoicing for the Jews, a feast and a good day. And many from the peoples of the land became Jews because dread of the Jews had fallen upon them.

Chapter 9

¹ Now in month 12, which is the month of Adar, on day 13 of it, when the word of the king and his law had reached the time to be done, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to dominate them: but being overturned, it happened that the Jews themselves dominated those who hated them. ² The Jews assembled themselves in their cities in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus to stretch out a hand against those seeking their evil. But a man did not stand to their face, for sudden fear of them had fallen on all the peoples. ³ And all the officials of the provinces, and the satraps and the governors and those doing the work that was for the king were lifting up the Jews, for dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. ⁴ For Mordecai was great in the palace of the king, and the report of him was going out into all the provinces, for the man Mordecai was progressing and becoming great.

⁵ And the Jews struck to all their enemies a strike of sword and slaughter and destruction. And they did to those who hated them according to their pleasure. ⁶ And in Susa the citadel the Jews slaughtered and destroyed 500 men. ⁷ And Parshandatha and Dalphon and Aspatha ⁸ and Poratha and Adalia and Aridatha ⁹ and Parmashta and Arisai and Aridai and Vaizatha, ¹⁰ the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the adversary of the Jews, they slaughtered. But they did not stretch out their hand to the plunder. ¹¹ On that day, the report of the number of those who were killed in Susa the citadel came to the face of the king.

¹² And the king said to Esther the queen, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have slaughtered and destroyed 500 men, with the ten sons of Haman. In the rest of the provinces of the king, what have they done? Now what is your petition? And it will be given to you. And what is your request? Again, and it will be done.” ¹³ And Esther said, “If it is good to the king, let it be given also tomorrow to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the law of today, and let the ten sons of Haman hang on the pole.” ¹⁴ And the king said for this to be done. And a law was given in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. ¹⁵ And the Jews who were in Susa assembled themselves also on day 14 of the month of Adar, and they killed 300 men in Susa. But they did not stretch out their hand to the plunder.

¹⁶ And the rest of the Jews who were in the provinces of the king assembled themselves and stood for their lives, and they rested from their enemies, and they slaughtered 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not stretch out their hand to the plunder. ¹⁷ On day 13 of the month of Adar, then they rested. On the fourteenth of it, then they made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. ¹⁸ But the Jews who were in Susa assembled themselves on the thirteenth of it and on the fourteenth of it. And they rested on the fifteenth of it, and they made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. ¹⁹ Therefore, the Jews, the ones of the open country, the ones who dwell in the cities of the open areas, make day 14 of the month of Adar for rejoicing and for feasting and a good day and for the sending of gifts, a man to his friend.

²⁰ And Mordecai wrote these things. And he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, the near ones and the far ones, ²¹ to set up for them to be making day 14 of the month of Adar and day 15 of it, every year by year, ²² as the days when the Jews rested on them from their enemies and as the month when it had turned for them from sorrow into joy and from mourning into a good day, in order to make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending of gifts, a man to his friend and gifts to the needy. ²³ And the Jews accepted what they had begun to do and what Mordecai had written to them.

²⁴ For Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had plotted concerning the Jews to annihilate them. And he had cast a Pur (which is “the lot”) to vex them and to destroy them. ²⁵ But when she came to the face of the king, he said with the letter, “Let his evil plot that he plotted concerning the Jews return on his head, and let them hang him and his sons on the pole.” ²⁶ Therefore, they called these days “Purim,” on account of the name of Pur. Therefore, on account of all the words of this letter and what they had seen concerning this and what had come upon them, ²⁷ the Jews set up and accepted for themselves and for their seed and for all those who unite themselves to them (and it will not pass away) to be making these two days according to their writing and according to their appointed time every year by year. ²⁸ And these days are remembered and are made in every generation by generation, family by family, province by province, and city by city. And these days of Purim will not pass away from the midst of the Jews, and their remembrance will not come to an end from their seed.

²⁹ And Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote with all power to set up this second letter of Purim. ³⁰ And he sent letters to all the Jews, to 127 provinces, the kingdom of Ahasuerus, words of peace and truth ³¹ to set up these days of Purim at their appointed times according to what Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had set up for them and according to what they had set up concerning their lives and concerning their seed, the matters of the fasts and their outcry. ³² And the decree of Esther set up these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.

Chapter 10

¹ And the king Ahasuerus set a tribute on the land and the islands of the sea. ² And all the deeds of his power and his might, with the full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king had made him great, are they not written in the book of the events of days for the kings of Media and Persia? ³ For Mordecai the Jew was second to the king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and favored by the multitude of his brothers, seeking good for his people and speaking peace to all its seed.