The Book of
ESTHER
-- Literal Translation of the Holy Bible - Copyright © 1976 - 2000 --

Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

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Esther 1
1 ¶ And it happened, in the days of Ahasuerus (he is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over a hundred and twenty seven provinces)
2 in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom in Shushan the palace,
3 in the third year of his reign, he made a banquet for all his rulers and his servants. The power of Persia and Media, the nobles and the rulers of the provinces, were before him,
4 when he made known the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the honor of his excellent greatness many days, even a hundred and eighty days.
5 And when these days were fulfilled, the king made a banquet for all the peoples who were found in Shushan the palace, both to great and to small, for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
6 There was overlaying with white linen and violet, with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of white marble. The couches were of gold and silver, on a red and white and pearl and black marble pavement.
7 And they gave out drink in vessels of gold, the vessels differing from one another, and royal wine in abundance, according to the hand of the king.
8 And the drinking was according to the law, no one compelling; for so the king had ordered every first one of his house that they should do according to every man's pleasure.
9 Also Vashti the queen made a banquet for the women in the royal house which King Ahasuerus owned.
10 ¶ In the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served before the face of Ahasuerus the king,
11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown, in order to make known to the people and the princes her beauty. For she was beautiful to look upon.
12 But Vashti the queen refused to come at the king's command by his eunuchs. And the king was very angry, and his fury burned within him.
13 And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king's manner toward all who knew law and judgment;
14 and the ones next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media who saw the king's face, who sat first in the kingdom)
15 What shall be done with Queen Vashti according to law, because she has not done the command of King Ahasuerus by the eunuchs?
16 And Memucan answered before the king and rulers, Vashti the queen has not only done wrong to the king, but also to all the rulers, and to all the people who are in all the provinces of Ahasuerus the king.
17 For the matter of the queen shall go out to all women, to make their husbands despised in their eyes, in their saying that King Ahasuerus said to bring in Vashti the queen before him, but she did not come.
18 And this day the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard the queen's word shall say the same to all the king's rulers and there shall be contempt and strife.
19 If it please the king, let there be a royal decree from him, and let it be written among the laws of Persia and Media so that it shall not pass away, that Vashti come no more before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal power to a neighbor who is better than she is.
20 And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be throughout all his empire, for it is great, all the wives shall give their husbands honor, both the small and the great.
21 And the saying pleased the king, and the rulers. And the king did according to the word of Memucan.
22 And he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to its writing, and to peoples and peoples, according to language, so that every man should be ruling in his house; and speaking according to the language of his people.

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Esther 2
1 ¶ After these things, when King Ahasuerus' wrath had calmed down, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what he had decreed against her.
2 And the king's servants who served him said, Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.
3 And let the king choose officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, so that they may gather together every beautiful young virgin to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the hand of Hegai the king's eunuch, keeper of the women, to give their purifications.
4 And let the young woman who pleases the king rule instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king, and he did so.
5 In Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, and his name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite,
6 who had been exiled from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been led away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had exiled.
7 And he was rearing Hadassah (she is Esther) his uncle's daughter, for she had no father nor mother. And the young woman was fair of appearance and beautiful of form. And at the death of her father and mother, Mordecai took her for his daughter.
8 And it happened, when the king's command and his order was heard, and when many young women had been gathered to Shushan the palace, into the hand of Hegai, Esther was taken into the king's house, into the hand of Hegai, keeper of the women.
9 And the young woman was good in his eyes, and she rose in favor before him. And he hastened her purifiers, and her portions, to give them to her. And seven young women were seen to be given to her out of the king's house. And he moved her and her maids to the best place in the house of the women.
10 Esther had not revealed her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her that she should not reveal it.
11 And Mordecai walked to and fro every day in front of the court of the women's house in order to know Esther's welfare, and what would be done with her.
12 And when the turn of each young woman had come to go in to King Ahasuerus, at the end of her being purified twelve months according to the law of the women, for so were fulfilled the days of their cleansings; six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with fragrances and with perfumes of the women.
13 And in this way the young woman goes in to the king. All she says is given to her to go with her out of the house of the women to the king's house.
14 She goes in the evening, and on the morning she returns to the second house of the women, into the hand of Shaashgaz the king's eunuch who kept the concubines. She does not come in to the king any more, unless the king delights in her, and she is called by name.
15 And when the turn of Esther had come (she being the daughter of Abihail, Mordecai's uncle, whom he had taken to himself for his daughter) to go in to the king, she did not seek a thing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, the keeper of the women, said. And Esther had favor in the sight of all who looked on her.
16 And Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus into his royal house in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she rose in grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins. And he set the royal crown on her head, and made her to rule instead of Vashti.
18 And the king made a great banquet for all his rulers and his servants, Esther's banquet. And he ordered a rest for the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.
19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate.
20 Esther had not revealed her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her. For Esther obeyed Mordecai's command, as she did when she was reared by him.
21 ¶ In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, of those who guarded the threshold, were angry, and sought to stretch out a hand against King Ahasuerus.
22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it to Esther the queen. And Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai.
23 And when the matter was searched into, it was found out; and the two of them were hanged on a tree. And it was written in the Book of the Matters of the Days before the king.

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Esther 3
1 ¶ After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and raised him, and set his seat above all the rulers with him.
2 And all the king's servants who were in the king's gate were bowing and worshiping Haman, for the king had so commanded for him. But Mordecai did not bow nor worship.
3 And the king's servants who were at the gate of the king said to Mordecai, Why do you disobey the king's command?
4 And it happened, when they spoke daily to him, and he did not listen to them, they told Haman, to see if Mordecai's matters would stand. For he had told them that he was a Jew.
5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow nor worship him, then Haman was filled with fury.
6 And it was light in his eyes to reach forth a hand against Mordecai alone; for they had revealed to him Mordecai's people. And Haman sought to destroy all the Jews in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus, the people of Mordecai.
7 ¶ In the first month, it is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they made fall Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman day by day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, the month Adar.
8 And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, There is a people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom. And their laws are different from every people, and they are not doing the king's laws. And it is not for the king's gain to let them alone.
9 If it pleases the king, let it be written to destroy them; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king's treasuries.
10 And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the one distressing the Jews.
11 And the king said to Haman, The silver is given to you, also the people, to do with them as seems good to you.
12 Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written according to all that Haman had commanded to the king's satraps, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province, according to its writing, and to every people according to their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed with the king's ring.
13 And the documents were sent by the runners 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, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take what they owned for a prize.
14 A copy of the writing to be given as law in every province was published to all people to be ready for that day.
15 The runners went out, being burned by the king's word. And the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink. But the city, Shushan, was perplexed.

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Esther 4
1 ¶ And Mordecai understood all that was done, and Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry.
2 And he came until he was before the king's gate; for there was no entering into the king's gate in clothing of sackcloth.
3 And in every province, wherever the king's word and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping and wailing. Sackcloth and ash were spread on many.
4 And Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and told her. And the queen was exceedingly convulsed in pain. And she sent clothing to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him. But he did not accept.
5 ¶ And Esther called for Hathach, of the king's eunuchs, who was made to stand before her. And she charged him as to Mordecai, to know what this was and why this was.
6 And Hathach went out to Mordecai, to the city street in front of the king's gate.
7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened to him, and of the sum of the silver which Haman had said to weigh into the king's treasuries for the Jews in order to destroy them.
8 Also he gave him a copy of the writing of the law which was given at Shushan in order to destroy them, to show it to Esther, and to reveal to her, and to command her that she should go in to the king to make supplication to him, and to seek from him help for her people.
9 And Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
10 Again Esther spoke to Hathach, and ordered him to go to Mordecai,
11 for all the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that whoever, whether man or woman, shall come to the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his, to die; except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter so that he may live. But I have not been called to come into the king these thirty days.
12 And they told Mordecai Esther's words.
13 And Mordecai said to take back to Esther, Do not imagine within yourself to deliver yourself in the king's house more than all the Jews.
14 For if you are completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall rise up to the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house shall perish. And who knows if you have attained to the kingdom for such time as this?
15 And Esther said to take back to Mordecai,
16 Go, gather all the Jews being found in Shushan, and fast for me. And do not eat or drink three days, night or day. My maidens and I will also fast in this way. And so I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law. And if I have perished, I have perished.
17 And Mordecai passed over and did according all that Esther had commanded him.

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Esther 5
1 ¶ And it happened on the third day that Esther put on royal clothing and stood in the inner court of the king's house, before the king's inner house. And the king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal house, in front of the gate of the house.
2 And it happened, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she rose in favor in his eyes. And the king held out the golden scepter that was in his hand to Esther. And Esther drew near and touched the top of the scepter.
3 And the king said to her. What shall be done to you, O Queen Esther, and what is your wish? It will be given to you also, even to half of the kingdom.
4 And Esther answered, If it seems good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet which I have prepared for him.
5 And the king said, Cause Haman to hurry to do the word of Esther. And the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
6 And the king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, What is your petition, and it shall be granted to you? And what is your wish? And it will be done, to half of the kingdom.
7 And Esther replied and said, As to my petition and my request,
8 if I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow according to the word of the king.
9 ¶ And Haman went out that day joyful and good of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the gate of the king, that he did not stand up or move for him, he was full of fury against Mordecai.
10 But Haman held himself in, and came to his house, and sent for and brought in his friends, and his wife Zeresh.
11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and his many sons, and all to which the king had promoted him, and how he lifted him up above the rulers and the servants of the king.
12 And Haman said, Also, Esther the queen did not let anyone come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared, except me. And also tomorrow I am called to it with the king.
13 Yet all this is no gain to me as long as I am seeing Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.
14 And his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, Make a wooden gallows fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak to the king and let them hang Mordecai on it; and go rejoicing in with the king to the banquet. And the thing was good in Haman's eyes. And he caused the wooden gallows to be made.

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Esther 6
1 ¶ On that night the king's sleep fled, and he said to bring in the Book of the Records of the Matter of the Days. And they were being read before the king.
2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, the guards of the threshold, who sought to send forth a hand against King Ahasuerus.
3 And the king said, What honor and dignity was done to Mordecai for this? And the king's young servants of his ministers said, Nothing has been done for him.
4 ¶ And the king said, Who is in the court? And Haman had come into the outer court of the king's house to speak to the king to hang Mordecai on the wooden gallows which he had prepared for him.
5 And the king's servants said to him, Behold, Haman stands in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.
6 And Haman came in. And the king said to him, What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? And Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself?
7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delights to honor,
8 let the royal clothing be brought, which the king puts on himself, and the horse on which the king rides, and the royal crown which is set on his head;
9 and let this clothing and horse be given into the hand of men, one of the king's most noble rulers, and let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and cause him to ride on the horse through the street of the city, and call out before him, In this way shall be done to the man whom the king delights, in honoring him!
10 And the king said to Haman, Hurry! Take the clothing and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. Do not fail to do any of all the things you have spoken.
11 And Haman took the clothing and the horse, and dressed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and called out before him, In this way shall be done to the man whom the king delights, in honoring him!
12 ¶ And Mordecai came again to the king's gate, but Haman hurried to his house mourning, and his head covered.
13 And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, If Mordecai is of the seed of the Jews, before whom you have begun to fall, you shall not prevail against him, but falling shall fall before him.
14 And while they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived, and they hurried to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

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Esther 7
1 ¶ And the king and Haman came to the banquet of Queen Esther.
2 And the king said again to Esther on the second day of the banquet of wine, What is your petition, Queen Esther, and it shall be given to you. And what is your request? It shall be done, to the half of the kingdom.
3 And Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
4 For we are sold, my people and I, for destruction, for murder and for perishing. But if we had been sold for male slaves and slave-girls, I would have kept silent, though the adversary could not make up for the king's loss.
5 And King Ahasuerus answered and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, this one? And where is this one, he who is filled with pride in his heart to do so?
6 And Esther said, A man, an enemy, and a hating one, Haman! This evil one! And Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
7 ¶ And the king, rising from the banquet of wine in his wrath, went into the palace garden. And Haman stood to beg for his life from Esther the queen, for he saw that evil was fulfilled against him by the king.
8 And the king returned out of the garden to the place of the banquet of wine. And Haman had fallen on the couch on which Esther lay. And the king said, Will he also ravish the queen with me in the house? The word went from the king's mouth, and they covered Haman's face.
9 And Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said before the king, Also, look! The wooden gallows which Haman made for Mordecai, who had spoken good toward the king, is standing at Haman's house. And the king said, Hang him on it!
10 And they hanged Haman on the wooden gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai. And the king's wrath lay down.

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Esther 8
1 ¶ On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the one distressing the Jews, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.
2 And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 ¶ And Esther spoke yet again before the king and fell down at his feet. And she begged him with tears to put away the evil of Haman the Agagite, and his purpose which he had plotted against the Jews.
4 Then the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther rose up and stood before the king,
5 and said, If it pleases the king, and if I have fond favor before him, and the thing is right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to bring back the documents (a sly plot by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite) which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces.
6 For how shall I be able to look on the evil that shall find my people? Or how shall I be able to look on the slaughter of my kindred?
7 And King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Haman's house to Esther, and they have hanged him on the wooden gallows because he put forth his hand against the Jews.
8 And you write to the Jews according to the good in your eyes, 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, there is no taking back.
9 And the king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the twenty third of it. And it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors, and the rulers of the provinces which were from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty seven provinces, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews; according to their writing and according to their language.
10 And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed with the king's ring. And he sent letters by riders on horses, riders on stallions, mules, even sons of mares.
11 In them the king gave to the Jews in every single city the right to assemble, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province, the ones compressing them, little ones and women, and to take what they owned for a prize,
12 on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
13 The copy of the writing to be made law in every province was openly revealed to all peoples, even to the Jews being ready for this day, to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 The runners, riders on stallions, mules, went out, being hurried and pressed on by the king's command. And the order was given at Shushan the palace.
15 ¶ And Mordecai went out from before the king in apparel of the kingdom, 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.
16 For the Jews it was light and gladness and joy and honor.
17 And in every province and in every city and city, the place wherever the word of the king and his law touched, 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 on them.

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Esther 9
1 ¶ And in the twelfth month, that is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's command and his order came to be done, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to take power over them (though it was turned around, so that the Jews ruled, they over the ones hating them),
2 the Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to stretch out a hand against those seeking their evil. And no man stood in their presence, for their fear fell on all the peoples.
3 And all the rulers of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and those doing the king' business, were lifting up the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell on them.
4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house and his fame went out into all the provinces, for this man Mordecai was going on and growing greater.
5 And the Jews struck against all their enemies with a stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they desired to those who hated them.
6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.
7 And they killed Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
8 and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
9 and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the one distressing the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the spoil.
11 On that day the number of those who were killed in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
12 And the king said to Esther the queen, The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the provinces of the king? And what is your petition, and it is given to you? And what further request, and it will be done?
13 And Esther said, If it pleases the king, let it be given to the Jews in Shushan to do tomorrow also according to this day's decree; and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the wooden gallows.
14 And the king commanded it to be done so. And the order was given at Shushan, and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
15 And the Jews in Shushan also assembled on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; but they did not lay their hands on the spoil.
16 But the rest of the Jews in the king's provinces gathered and stood for their lives, and a rest from their enemies, and to kill seventy five thousand of their foes. But they did not lay their hands on the spoil.
17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day of the same, they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
18 And the Jews at Shushan assembled on the thirteenth day of it, and on the fourteenth day of it, and to rest on the fifteenth of the same, and to make it a day of feasting and gladness.
19 On account of this the Jews of the villages who lived in the unwalled villages made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and a day of sending portions to one another.
20 ¶ And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, near and far,
21 to cause to rise among them to make a feast the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly;
22 as the days in which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day, to make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions to one another, and gifts to the poor.
23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them,
24 because Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the one distressing all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to torment them and to destroy them.
25 But when Esther came to the king, he commanded by the letter, Let this evil plot which he plotted against the Jews return on his own head; and they hanged him and his sons on the wooden gallows.
26 On account of this they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur. For on account of this all the words of this letter, and what they saw concerning this matter, and what had touched them,
27 the Jews rose up and took on themselves and on their seed, and on all joining themselves to them, even not to pass, to be keeping those two days according to their writing, and according to their time every year;
28 and that these days should be remembered and acted upon in generation and generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not pass from among the Jews, and their memory not perish from their seed.
29 And Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim.
30 And he sent the letters to all the Jews, to the hundred and twenty seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus words of peace and truth,
31 in order to confirm these days of Purim in their set times, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had caused to rise up on them, and as they caused to rise up on themselves and on their seed, the matters of the fastings and of their cry.
32 And the decree of Esther made rise these matters of Purim. And it was written in the book.

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Esther 10
1 ¶ And King Ahasuerus laid a tax on the land and on the isles of the sea.
2 And all the acts of his authority and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, with which the king made him great, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Media and Persia?
3 For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and pleasing to the multitude of his brothers, seeking the welfare of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

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Scripture taken from the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
Copyright © 1976 - 2000
By Jay P. Green, Sr.
Used by permission of the copyright holder

[Policy for Reprint & Quoting from the Literal Translation]