1 Now it came to pass, after that Alexander the son of Philip the Macedonian, who first reigned in Greece, coming out of the land of Cethim, had overthrown Darius king of the Persians and Medes:

2 He fought many battles, and took the strong holds of all, and slew the kings of the earth:

3 And he went through even to the ends of the earth, and took the spoils of many nations: and the earth was quiet before him.

4 And he gathered a power, and a very strong army: and his heart was exalted and lifted up. And he subdued countries of nations, and princes: and they became tributaries to him.

5 And after these things, he fell down upon his bed, and knew that he should die.

6 And he called his servants the nobles that were brought up with him from his youth: and he divided his kingdom among them, while he was yet alive.

7 And Alexander reigned twelve years, and he died.

8 And his servants made themselves kings every one in his place:

9 And they all put crowns upon themselves after his death, and their sons after them many years, and evils were multiplied in the earth.

10 And there came out of them a wicked root, Antiochus the Illustrious, the son of king Antiochus, who had been a hostage at Rome: and he reigned in the hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.

11 In those days there went out of Israel wicked men, and they persuaded many, saying: Let us go, and make a covenant with the heathens that are round about us: for since we departed from them, many evils have befallen us.

12 And the word seemed good in their eyes.

13 And some of the people determined to do this, and went to the king: and he gave them license to do after the ordinances of the heathens.

14 And they built a place of exercise in Jerusalem, according to the laws of the nations:

15 And they made themselves prepuces, and departed from the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathens, and were sold to do evil.

16 And the kingdom was established before Antiochus, and he had a mind to reign over the land of Egypt, that he might reign over two kingdoms.

17 And he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots and elephants, and horsemen, and a great number of ships:

18 And he made war against Ptolemee king of Egypt, but Ptolemee was afraid at his presence, and fled, and many were wounded unto death.

19 And he took the strong cities in the land of Egypt: and he took the spoils of the land of Egypt.

20 And after Antiochus had ravaged Egypt in the hundred and forty-third year, he returned and went up against Israel.

21 And he went up to Jerusalem with a great multitude.

22 And he proudly entered into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof, and the table of proposition, and the pouring vessels, and the vials, and the little mortars of gold, and the veil, and the crowns, and the golden ornament that was before the temple: and he broke them all in pieces.

23 And he took the silver and gold, and the precious vessels: and he took the hidden treasures which he found: and when he had taken all away he departed into his own country.

24 And he made a great slaughter of men, and spoke very proudly.

25 And there was great mourning in Israel, and in every place where they were.

26 And the princes, and the ancients mourned, and the virgins and the young men were made feeble, and the beauty of the women was changed.

27 Every bridegroom took up lamentation: and the bride that sat in the marriage bed, mourned:

28 And the land was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house of Jacob was covered with confusion.

29 And after two full years the king sent the chief collector of his tributes to the cities of Juda, and he came to Jerusalem with a great multitude.

30 And he spoke to them peaceable words in deceit: and they believed him. And he fell upon the city suddenly, and struck it with a great slaughter, and destroyed much people in Israel.

31 And he took the spoils of the city, and burnt it with fire, and threw down the houses thereof, and the walls thereof round about:

32 And they took the women captive, and the children, and the cattle they possessed.

33 And they built the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with strong towers, and made it a fortress for them:

34 And they placed there a sinful nation, wicked men, and they fortified themselves therein: and they stored up armour, and victuals, and gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem;

35 And laid them up there: and they became a great snare.

36 And this was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil devil in Israel.

37 And they shed innocent blood round about the sanctuary, and defiled the holy place.

38 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled away by reason of them, and the city was made the habitation of strangers, and she became a stranger to her own seed, and her children forsook her.

39 Her sanctuary was desolate like a wilderness, her festival days were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her honours were brought to nothing.

40 Her dishonour was increased according to her glory, and her excellency was turned into mourning.

41 And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people should be one: and every one should leave his own law.

42 And all nations consented according to the word of king Antiochus.

43 And many of Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed to idols, and profaned the sabbath.

44 And the king sent letters by the hands of messengers to Jerusalem, and to all the cities of Juda: that they should follow the law of the nations of the earth,

45 And should forbid holocausts and sacrifices, and atonements to be made in the temple of God. And should prohibit the sabbath, and the festival days, to be celebrated.

46 And he commanded the holy places to be profaned, and the holy people of Israel.

47 And he commanded altars to be built, and temples, and idols, and swine’s flesh to be immolated, and unclean beasts.

48 And that they should leave their children uncircumcised, and let their souls be defiled with all uncleannesses, and abominations, to the end that they should forget the law, and should change all the justifications of God.

49 And that whosoever would not do according to the word of king Antiochus should be put to death.

50 According to all these words he wrote to his whole kingdom, and he appointed rulers over the people that should force them to do these things.

51 And they commanded the cities of Juda to sacrifice.

52 Then many of the people were gathered to them that had forsaken the law of the Lord: and they committed evils in the land:

53 And they drove away the people of Israel into lurking holes, and into the secret places of fugitives.

54 On the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred and forty-fifth year, king Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation upon the altar of God, and they built altars throughout all the cities of Juda round about:

55 And they burnt incense, and sacrificed at the doors of the houses, and in the streets.

56 And they cut in pieces, and burnt with fire the books of the law of God:

57 And every one with whom the books of the testament of the Lord were found, and whosoever observed the law of the Lord, they put to death, according to the edict of the king.

58 Thus by their power did they deal with the people of Israel, that were found in the cities month after month.

59 And on the five and twentieth day of the month they sacrificed upon the altar of the idol that was over against the altar of God.

60 Now the women that circumcised their children, were slain according to the commandment of king Antiochus.

61 And they hanged the children about their necks in all their houses: and those that had circumcised them, they put to death.

62 And many of the people of Israel determined with themselves, that they would not eat unclean things: and they chose rather to die than to be defiled with unclean meats.

63 And they would not break the holy law of God, and they were put to death: And there was very great wrath upon the people.

1 And king Assuerus made all the land, and all the islands of the sea tributary.

2 And his strength and his empire, and the dignity and greatness wherewith he exalted Mardochai, are written in the books of the Medes, and of the Persians:

3 And how Mardochai of the race of the Jews, was next after king Assuerus: and great among the Jews, and acceptable to the people of his brethren, seeking the good of his people, and speaking those things which were for the welfare of his seed.

1 So on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which as we have said above is called Adar, when all the Jews were designed to be massacred, and their enemies were greedy after their blood, the case being altered, the Jews began to have the upper hand, and to revenge themselves of their adversaries.

2 And they gathered themselves together in every city, and town, and place, to lay their hands on their enemies, and their persecutors. And no one durst withstand them, for the fear of their power had gone through every people.

3 And the judges of the provinces, and the governors, and lieutenants, and every one in dignity, that presided over every place and work, extolled the Jews for fear of Mardochai:

4 For they knew him to be prince of the palace, and to have great power: and the fame of his name increased daily, and was spread abroad through all men’s mouths.

5 So the Jews made a great slaughter of their enemies, and killed them, repaying according to what they had prepared to do to them:

6 Insomuch that even in Susan they killed five hundred men, besides the ten sons of Aman the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews: whose names are these:

7 Pharsandatha, and Delphon, and Esphatha,

8 And Phoratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

9 And Phermesta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Jezatha.

10 And when they had slain them, they would not touch the spoils of their goods.

11 And presently the number of them that were killed in Susan was brought to the king.

12 And he said to the queen: The Jews have killed five hundred men in the city of Susan, besides the ten sons of Aman: how many dost thou think they have slain in all the provinces? What askest thou more, and what wilt thou have me to command to be done?

13 And she answered: If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews, to do tomorrow in Susan as they have done today, and that the ten sons of Aman may be hanged upon gibbets.

14 And the king commanded that it should be so done. And forthwith the edict was hung up in Susan, and the ten sons of Aman were hanged.

15 And on the fourteenth day of the month Adar the Jews gathered themselves together, and they killed in Susan three hundred men: but they took not their substance.

16 Moreover through all the provinces which were subject to the king’s dominion the Jews stood for their lives, and slew their enemies and persecutors: insomuch that the number of them that were Billed amounted to seventy-five thousand, and no man took any of their goods.

17 Now the thirteenth day of the month Adar was the first day with them all of the slaughter, and on the fourteenth day they left off. Which they ordained to be kept holy day, so that all times hereafter they should celebrate it with feasting, joy, and banquets.

18 But they that were killing in the city of Susan, were employed in the slaughter on the thirteenth and fourteenth day of the same month: and on the fifteenth day they rested. And therefore they appointed that day to be a holy day of feasting and gladness.

19 But those Jews that dwelt in towns not walled and in villages, appointed the fourteenth day of the month Adar for banquets and gladness, so as to rejoice on that day, and send one another portions of their banquets and meats.

20 And Mardochai wrote all these things, and sent them comprised in letters to the Jews that abode in all the king’s provinces, both those that lay near and those afar off,

21 That they should receive the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the month Adar for holy days, and always at the return of the year should celebrate them with solemn honour:

22 Because on those days the Jews revenged themselves of their enemies, and their mourning and sorrow were turned into mirth and joy, and that these should be days of feasting and gladness, in which they should send one to another portions of meats; and should give gifts to the poor.

23 And the Jews undertook to observe with solemnity all they had begun to do at that time, which Mardochai by letters had commanded to be done.

24 For Aman, the son of Amadathi of the race of Agag, the enemy and adversary of the Jews, had devised evil against them, to kill them and destroy them: and had cast Phur, that is, the lot.

25 And afterwards Esther went in to the king, beseeching him that his endeavours might be made void by the king’s letters: and the evil that he had intended against the Jews, might return upon his own head. And so both he and his sons were hanged upon gibbets.

26 And since that time these days are called Phurim, that is, of lots: because Phur, that is, the lot, was cast into the urn. And all things that were done, are contained in the volume of this epistle, that is, of this book:

27 And the things that they suffered, and that were afterwards changed, the Jews took upon themselves and their seed, and upon all that had a mind to be joined to their religion, so that it should be lawful for none to pass these days without solemnity: which the writing testifieth, and certain times require, as the years continually succeed one another.

28 These are the days which shall never be forgot: and which all provinces in the whole world shall celebrate throughout all generations: neither is there any city wherein the days of Phurim, that is, of lots, must not be observed by the Jews, and by their posterity, which is bound to these ceremonies.

29 And Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mardochai the Jew, wrote also a second epistle, that with all diligence this day should be established a festival for the time to come.

30 And they sent to all the Jews that were in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of king Assuerus, that they should have peace, and receive truth,

31 And observe the days of lots, and celebrate them with joy in their proper time: as Mardochai and Esther had appointed, and they undertook them to be observed by themselves and by their seed, fasts, and cries, and the days of lots,

32 And all things which are contained in the history of this book, which is called Esther.

1 On that day king Assuerus gave the house of Aman, the Jews’ enemy, to queen Esther, and Mardochai came in before the king. For Esther had confessed to him that he was her uncle.

2 And the king took the ring which he had commanded to be taken again from Aman, and gave it to Mardochai. And Esther set Mardochai over her house.

3 And not content with these things, she fell down at the king’s feet and wept, and speaking to him besought him, that he would give orders that the malice of Aman the Agagite, and his most wicked devices which he had invented against the Jews, should be of no effect.

4 But he, as the manner was, held out the golden sceptre with his hand, which was the sign of clemency: and she arose up and stood before him,

5 And said: If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and my request be not disagreeable to him, I beseech thee, that the former letters of Aman the traitor and enemy of the Jews, by which he commanded that they should be destroyed in all the king’s provinces, may be reversed by new letters.

6 For how call I endure the murdering and slaughter of my people?

7 And king Assuerus answered Esther the queen, and Mardochai the Jew: I have given Aman’s house to Esther, and I have commanded him to be hanged on a gibbet, because he durst lay hands on the Jews.

8 Write ye therefore to the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king’s name, and seal the letters with my ring. For this was the custom, that no man durst gainsay the letters which were sent in the king’s name, and were sealed with his ring.

9 Then the king’s scribes and secretaries were called for (now it was the time of the third month which is called Siban) the three and twentieth day of the month, and letters were written, as Mardochai had a mind, to the Jews, and to the governors, and to the deputies, and to the judges, who were rulers over the hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia: to province and province, to people and people, according to their languages and characters, and to the Jews, according as they could read and hear.

10 And these letters which were sent in the king’s name, were sealed with his ring, and sent by posts: who were to run through all the provinces, to prevent the former letters with new messages.

11 And the king gave orders to them, to speak to the Jews in every city, and to command them to gather themselves together, and to stand for their lives, and to kill and destroy all their enemies with their wives and children and all their houses, and to take their spoil.

12 And one day of revenge was appointed through all the provinces, to wit, the thirteenth of the twelfth month Adar.

13 And this was the content of the letter, that it should be notified in all lands and peoples that were subject to the empire of king Assuerus, that the Jews were ready to be revenged of their enemies.

14 So the swift posts went out carrying the messages, and the king’s edict was hung up in Susan.

15 And Mardochai going forth out of the palace, and from the king’s presence, shone in royal apparel, to wit, of violet and sky colour, wearing a golden crown on his head, and clothed with a cloak of silk and purple. And all the city rejoiced and was glad.

16 But to the Jews a new light seemed to rise, joy, honour, and dancing.

17 And in all peoples, cities, and provinces, whithersoever the king’s commandments came, there was wonderful rejoicing, feasts and banquets, and keeping holy day: insomuch that many of other nations and religion, joined themselves to their worship and ceremonies. For a great dread of the name of the Jews had fallen upon all.

1 So the king and Aman went in, to drink with the queen.

2 And the king said to her again the second day, after he was warm with wine: What is thy petition, Esther, that it may be granted thee? and what wilt thou have done: although thou ask the half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it.

3 Then she answered: If I have found Favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please thee, give me my life for which I ask, and my people for which I request.

4 For we are given up, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. And would God we were sold for bondmen and bondwomen: the evil might be borne with, and I would have mourned in silence: but now we have an enemy, whose cruelty redoundeth upon the king.

5 And king Assuerus answered and said: Who is this, and of what power, that he should do these things?

6 And Esther said: It is this Aman that is our adversary and most wicked enemy. Aman hearing this was forthwith astonished, not being able to bear the countenance of the king and of the queen.

7 But the king being angry rose up, and went from the place of the banquet into the garden set with trees. Aman also rose up to entreat Esther the queen for his life, for he understood that evil was prepared for him by the king.

8 And when the king came back out of the garden set with trees, and entered into the place of the banquet, he found Aman was fallen upon the bed on which Esther lay, and he said: He will force the queen also in my presence, in my own house. The word was not yet gone out of the king’s mouth, and immediately they covered his face.

9 And Harbona, one of the eunuchs that stood waiting on the king, said: Behold the gibbet which he hath prepared for Mardochai, who spoke for the king, standeth in Aman’s house, being fifty cubits high. And the king said to him: Hang him upon it.

10 So Aman was hanged on the gibbet, which he had prepared for Mardochai: and the king’s wrath ceased.

1 That night the king passed without sleep, and he commanded the histories and chronicles of former times to be brought him. And when they were reading them before him,

2 They came to that place where it was written, how Mardochai had discovered the treason of Bagathan and Thares the eunuchs, who sought to kill king Assuerus.

3 And when the king heard this, he said: What honour and reward hath Mardochai received for this fidelity? His servants and ministers said to him: He hath received no reward at all.

4 And the king said immediately: Who is in the court? for Aman was coming in to the inner court of the king’s house, to speak to the king, that he might order Mardochai to be hanged upon the gibbet which was prepared for him.

5 The servants answered: Aman standeth in the court, and the king said: Let him come in.

6 And when he was come in, he said to him: What ought to be done to the man whom the king is desirous to honour? But Aman thinking in his heart, and supposing that the king would honour no other but himself,

7 Answered: The man whom the king desireth to honour,

8 Ought to be clothed with the king’s apparel, and to be set upon the horse that the king rideth upon, and to have the royal crown upon his head,

9 And let the first of the king’s princes and nobles hold his horse, and going through the street of the city, proclaim before him and say: Thus shall he be honoured, whom the king hath a mind to honour.

10 And the king said to him: Make haste and take the robe and the horse, and do as thou hast spoken to Mardochai the Jew, who sitteth before the gates of the palace. Beware thou pass over any of those things which thou hast spoken.

11 So Aman took the robe and the horse, and arraying Mardochai in the street of the city, and setting him on the horse, went before him, and proclaimed: This honour is he worthy of, whom the king hath a mind to honour.

12 But Mardochai returned to the palace gate: and Aman made haste to go to his house, mourning and having his head covered:

13 And he told Zares his wife, and his friends, all that had befallen him. And the wise men whom he had in counsel, and his wife answered him: If Mardochai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou canst not resist him, but thou shalt fall in his sight.

14 As they were yet speaking, the king’s eunuchs came, and compelled him to go quickly to the banquet which the queen had prepared.

1 And on the third day Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s hall: now he sat upon his throne in the hall of the palace, over against the door of the house.

2 And when he saw Esther the queen standing, she pleased his eyes, and he held out toward her the golden sceptre, which he held in his hand: and she drew near, and kissed the top of his sceptre.

3 And the king said to her: What wilt then, queen Esther? what is thy request? if thou shouldst even ask one half of the kingdom, it shall be given to thee.

4 But she answered: If it please the king. I beseech thee to come to me this day, and Aman with thee to the banquet which I have prepared.

5 And the king said forthwith: Call ye Aman quickly, that he may obey Esther’s will. So the king and Aman came to the banquet which the queen had prepared for them.

6 And the king said to her, after he had drunk wine plentifully: What dost thou desire should be given thee? and for what thing askest thou? although thou shouldst ask the half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it.

7 And Esther answered: My petition and request is this:

8 If I have found favour in the king’s sight, and if it please the king to give me what I ask, and to fulfill my petition: let the king and Aman come to the banquet which I have prepared them, and tomorrow I will open my mind to the king.

9 So Aman went out that day joyful and merry. And when he saw Mardochai sitting before the gate of the palace, and that he not only did not rise up to honour him, but did not so much as move from the place where he sat, he was exceedingly angry:

10 But dissembling his anger, and returning into his house, he called together to him his friends, and Zares his wife:

11 And he declared to them the greatness of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and with how great glory the king had advanced him above all his princes and servants.

12 And after this he said: Queen Esther also hath invited no other to the banquet with the king, but me: and with her I am also to dine tomorrow with the king:

13 And whereas I have all these things, I think I have nothing, so long as I see Mardochai the Jew sitting before the king’s gate.

14 Then Zares his wife, and the rest of his friends answered him: Order a great beam to be prepared, fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak to the king, that Mardochai may be hanged upon it, and so thou shalt go full of joy with the king to the banquet. The counsel pleased him, and he commanded a high gibbet to be prepared.

1 Now when Mardochai had heard these things, he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth, strewing ashes on his head: and he cried with a loud voice in the street in the midst of the city, shewing the anguish of his mind.

2 And he came lamenting in this manner even to the gate of the palace: for no one clothed with sackcloth might enter the king’s court.

3 And in all provinces, towns, and places, to which the king’s cruel edict was come, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, wailing, and weeping, many using sackcloth and ashes for their bed.

4 Then Esther’s maids and her eunuchs went in, and told her. And when she heard it she was in a consternation: and she sent a garment, to clothe him, and to take away the sackcloth: but he would not receive it.

5 And she called for Athach the eunuch, whom the king had appointed to attend upon her, and she commanded him to go to Mardochai, and learn of him why he did this.

6 And Athach going out went to Mardochai, who was standing in the street of the city, before the palace gate:

7 And Mardochai told him all that had happened, how Aman had promised to pay money into the king’s treasures, to have the Jews destroyed.

8 He gave him also a copy of the edict which was hanging up in Susan, that he should shew it to the queen, and admonish her to go in to the king, and to entreat him for her people.

9 And Athach went back and told Esther all that Mardochai had said.

10 She answered him, and bade him say to Mardochai:

11 All the king’s servants, and all the provinces that are under his dominion, know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, cometh into the king’s inner court, who is not called for, is immediately to be put to death without any delay: except the king shall hold out the golden sceptre to him, in token of clemency, that so he may live. How then can I go in to the king, who for these thirty days now have not been called unto him?

12 And when Mardochai had heard this,

13 He sent word to Esther again, saying: Think not that thou mayst save thy life only, because thou art in the king a house, more than all the Jews:

14 For if thou wilt now hold thy peace, the Jews shall be delivered by some other occasion: and thou, and thy father’s house shall perish. And who knoweth whether thou art not therefore come to the kingdom, that thou mightest be ready in such a time as this?

15 And again Esther sent to Mardochai in these words:

16 Go, and gather together all the Jews whom thou shalt find in Susan, and pray ye for me. Neither eat nor drink for three days and three nights: and I with my handmaids will fast in like manner, and then I will go in to the king, against the law, not being called, and expose myself to death and to danger.

17 So Mardochai went, and did all that Esther had commanded him.

1 After these things, king Assuerus advanced Aman, the son of Amadathi, who was of the race of Agag: and he set his throne above all the princes that were with him.

2 And all the king’s servants, that were at the doors of the palace, bent their knees, and worshipped Aman: for so the emperor had commanded them, only Mardochai did not bend his knee, nor worship him.

3 And the king’s servants that were chief at the doors of the palace, said to him: Why dost thou alone not observe the king’s commandment?

4 And when they were saying this often, and he would not hearken to them; they told Aman, desirous to know whether he would continue in his resolution: for he had told them that he was a Jew.

5 Now when Aman had heard this, and had proved by experience that Mardochai did not bend his knee to him, nor worship him, he was exceeding angry.

6 And he counted it nothing to lay his hands upon Mardochai alone: for he had heard that he was of the nation of the Jews, and he chose rather to destroy all the nation of the Jews that were in the kingdom of Assuerus.

7 In the first month (which is called Nisan) in the twelfth year a of the reign of Assuerus, the lot was cast into an urn, which in Hebrew is called Phur, before Aman, on what day and what month the nation of the Jews should be destroyed: and there came out the twelfth month, which is called Adar.

8 And Aman said to king Assuerus: There is a people scattered through all the provinces of thy kingdom, and separated one from another, that use new laws and ceremonies, and moreover despise the king’s ordinances: and thou knowest very well that it is not expedient for thy kingdom that they should grow insolent by impunity.

9 If it please thee, decree that they may he destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents to thy treasurers.

10 And the king took the ring that he used, from his own hand, and gave it to Aman, the son of Amadathi of the race of Agag, the enemy of the Jews,

11 And he said to him: As to the money which thou promisest, keep it for thyself: and as to the people, do with them as seemeth good to thee.

12 And the king’s scribes were called in the first month Nisan, on the thirteenth day of the same month: and they wrote, as Aman had commanded, to all the king’s lieutenants, and to the judges of the provinces, and of divers nations, as every nation could read, and hear according to their different languages, in the name of king Assuerus: and the letters, sealed with his ring,

13 Were sent by the king’s messengers to all provinces, to kill and destroy all the Jews, both young and old, little children, and women, in one day, that is, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which is called Adar, and to make a spoil of their goods.

14 And the contents of the letters were to this effect, that all provinces might know and be ready against that day.

15 The couriers that were sent made haste to fulfill the king’s commandment. And immediately the edict was hung up in Susan, the king and Aman feasting together, and all the Jews that were in the city weeping.

1 After this, when the wrath of king Assuerus was appeased, he remembered Vasthi, and what she had done and what she had suffered:

2 And the king’s servants and his officers said: Let young women be sought for the king, virgins and beautiful,

3 And let some persons be sent through all the provinces to look for beautiful maidens and virgins: and let them bring them to the city of Susan, and put them into the house of the women under the hand of Egeus the eunuch, who is the overseer and keeper of the king’s women: and let them receive women’s ornaments, and other things necessary for their use.

4 And whosoever among them all shall please the king’s eyes, let her be queen instead of Vasthi. The word pleased the king: and he commanded it should be done as they had suggested.

5 There was a man in the city of Susan, a Jew, named Mardochai, the son of Jair, the son of Semei, the son of Cis, of the race of Jemini,

6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem at the time that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon carried away Jechonias king of Juda,

7 And he had brought up his brother’s daughter Edissa, who by another name was called Esther: now she had lost both her parents: and was exceeding fair and beautiful. And her father and mother being dead, Mardochai adopted her for his daughter.

8 And when the king’s ordinance was noised abroad, and according to his commandment many beautiful virgins were brought to Susan, and were delivered to Egeus the eunuch: Esther also among the rest of the maidens was delivered to him to be kept in the number of the women.

9 And she pleased him, and found favour in his sight. And he commanded the eunuch to hasten the women’s ornaments, and to deliver to her her part, and seven of the most beautiful maidens of the king’s house, and to adorn and deck out both her and her waiting maids.

10 And she would not tell him her people nor her country. For Mardochai had charged her to say nothing at all of that:

11 And he walked every day before the court of the house, in which the chosen virgins were kept, having a care for Esther’s welfare, and desiring to know what would befall her.

12 Now when every virgin’s turn came to go in to the king, after all had been done for setting them off to advantage, it was the twelfth month: so that for six months they were anointed with oil of myrrh, and for other six months they used certain perfumes and sweet spices.

13 And when they were going in to the king, whatsoever they asked to adorn themselves they received: and being decked out, as it pleased them, they passed from the chamber of the women to the king’s chamber.

14 And she that went in at evening, came out in the morning, and from thence she was conducted to the second house, that was under the hand of Susagaz the eunuch, who had the charge over the king’s concubines: neither could she return any more to the king, unless the king desired it, and had ordered her by name to come.

15 And as the time came orderly about, the day was at hand, when Esther, the daughter of Abihail the brother of Mardochai, whom he had adopted for his daughter, was to go in to the king. But she sought not women’s ornaments, but whatsoever Egeus the eunuch the keeper of the virgins had a mind, he gave her to adorn her. For she was exceeding fair, and her incredible beauty made her appear agreeable and amiable in the eyes of all.

16 So she was brought to the chamber of king Assuerus the tenth month, which is called Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

17 And the king loved her more than all the women, and she had favour and kindness before him above all the women, and he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vasthi.

18 And he commanded a magnificent feast to be prepared for all the princes, and for his servants, for the marriage and wedding of Esther. And he gave rest to all the provinces, and bestowed gifts according to princely magnificence.

19 And when the virgins were sought the second time, and gathered together, Mardochai stayed at the king’s gate,

20 Neither had Esther as yet declared her country and people, according to his commandment. For whatsoever he commanded, Esther observed: and she did all things in the same manner as she was wont at that time when he brought her up a little one.

21 At that time, therefore, when Mardochai abode at the king’s gate, Bagathan and Thares, two of the king’s eunuchs, who were porters, and presided in the first entry of the palace, were angry: and they designed to rise up against the king, and to kill him.

22 And Mardochai had notice of it, and immediately he told it to queen Esther: and she to the king in Mardochai’s name, who had reported the thing unto her.

23 It was inquired into, and found out: and they were both hanged on a gibbet. And it was put in the histories, and recorded in the chronicles before the king.