\NormalFont\ShortTitle{Esther}

{\MT ESTHER


\par }\ChapOne{1}{\PP \VerseOne{1}[In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great king,
on the first
{\ADD{day}} of Nisan, Mardochaeus the
{\ADD{son}} of Jarius, the
{\ADD{son}} of Semeias, the
{\ADD{son}} of Cisaus, of the tribe of Benjamine, a Jew dwelling in the city Susa, a great man, serving
in the king's palace, saw a vision. Now he was of the captivity which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had
carried captive from Jerusalem, with Jachonias the king of Judea. And this was his dream: Behold, voices
and a noise, thunders and earthquake, tumult upon the earth. And, behold, two great serpents came forth,
both ready for conflict, and there came from them a great voice, and by their voice every nation was prepared
for battle, even to fight against the nation of the just. And, behold, a day of darkness and blackness,
tribulation and anguish, affection and tumult upon the earth. And all the righteous nation was troubled,
fearing their own afflictions; and they prepared to die, and cried to God: and from their cry there came
as it were a great river from a little fountain,
{\ADD{even}} much water. And light and the sun arose, and the lowly were exalted, and devoured the
honourable. And Mardochaeus who had seen this vision and what God desired to do, having
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 1:1 }{\FL{Or,
}}{\FT{arisen.
}}} awoke, kept it in his heart, and desired by all means to interpret it, even till night. And
Mardochaeus rested quiet in the palace with Gabatha and Tharrha the king's two chamberlains, eunuchs who
guarded the palace. And he heard their reasoning and searched out their plans, and learnt that they were
preparing to lay hands on king Artaxerxes: and he informed the king concerning them. And the king examined
the two chamberlains, and they confessed, and were
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 1:1 }{\FL{Lit
}}{\FT{led away, see
Acts 12:19.
}}} executed. And the king wrote these things for a memorial: also Mardochaeus wrote concerning
these matters. And the king commanded Mardochaeus to attend in the palace, and gave gifts for this service.
And Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugean was honourable in the sight of the king, and he endeavored to
hurt Mardochaeus and his people, because of the two chamberlains of the king.]
\FTNT{‡}{{\FR 1:1 }{\FL{Note. -
}}{\FT{In the
}}{\FL{Heb.
}}{\FT{and some copies of LXX, Esther begins here.
}}} And it came to pass after these
\FTNT{§}{{\FR 1:1 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{words.
}}} things in the days of Artaxerxes, —(this Artaxerxes ruled over one hundred and twenty-seven
provinces from India)—

\VS{2}in those days, when king Artaxerxes was on the throne in the city of Susa,

\VS{3}in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to his friends, and the other
nations, and to the nobles of the Persians and Medes, and the chief of the satraps.

\VS{4}And after this, after he had shown to them the wealth of his kingdom, and the
abundant glory of his wealth during one hundred and eighty days,

\VS{5}when,
{\ADD{I say}}, the days of the marriage feast were completed, the king made a banquet to the nations
who were present in the city six days, in the court of the king's house,

\VS{6}{\ADD{which was}} adorned with
{\ADD{hangings}} of fine linen and flax on cords of fine linen and purple, fastened to golden and silver
studs, on pillars of Parian marble and stone:
{\ADD{there were}} golden and silver couches on a pavement of emerald stone, and of pearl, and of Parian
stone,
\FTNT{**}{{\FR 1:6 }{\FL{Lit.
}}{\FT{transparent.
}}} and open-worked coverings variously flowered,
{\ADD{having}} roses worked round about;

\VS{7}gold and silver cups, and a small cup of carbuncle set out of the value of thirty
thousand talents, abundant and sweet wine, which the king himself drank.

\VS{8}And this banquet was not according to the appointed law; but so the king would
have it: and he charged the stewards to perform his will and that of the company.

\VS{9}Also Astin the queen made a banquet for the women in the palace where king Artaxerxes
{\ADD{lived}}.

\VS{10}Now on the seventh day the king, being merry, told Aman, and Bazan, and Tharrha,
and Barazi, and Zatholtha, and Abataza, and Tharaba, the seven chamberlains, servants of king Artaxerxes,

\VS{11}to bring in the queen to him, to
\FTNT{††}{{\FR 1:11 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{to make her queen.
}}} enthrone her, and crown her with the diadem, and to show her to the princes, and her beauty
to the nations: for she was beautiful.

\VS{12}But queen Astin listened not to him to come with the chamberlains: so the
king was grieved and angered.

\VS{13}And he said to his friends, Thus have Astin spoken: pronounce therefore upon
this
{\ADD{case}} law and judgement.

\VS{14}So Arkesaeus, and Sarsathaeus, and Malisear, the princes of the Persians and
Medes, who were near the king, who sat chief
{\ADD{in rank}} by the king, drew near to him,

\VS{15}and reported to him according to the laws how it was proper to do to queen
Astin, because she had not done the things commanded of the king by the chamberlains.

\VS{16}And Muchaeus said to the king and to the princes, Queen Astin has not wronged
the king only, but also all the king's rulers and princes:

\VS{17}for he has told them the words of the queen, and how she
\FTNT{‡‡}{{\FR 1:17 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{contradicted.
}}} disobeyed the king. As then,
{\ADD{said he}}, she refused
{\ADD{to obey}} king Artaxerxes,

\VS{18}so this day shall the other ladies of the chiefs of the Persians and Medes,
having heard what she said to the king, dare in the same way to dishonour their husbands.

\VS{19}If then it seem good to the king, let him make a royal decree, and let it
be written according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, and let him not alter
{\ADD{it}}: and let not the queen come in to him any more; and let the king give her royalty to a woman
better than she.

\VS{20}And let the law of the king which he shall have made, be widely proclaimed,
in his kingdom: and so shall all the women give honour to their husbands, from the poor even to the rich.

\VS{21}And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did as Muchaeus
had said,

\VS{22}and sent into all his kingdom through the several provinces, according to
their language,
\FTNT{§§}{{\FR 1:22 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{that there might be fear to them, etc.
}}} in order that men might be feared in their own houses.



\par }\Chap{2}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And after this the king's anger was pacified, and he no more mentioned
Astin, bearing in mind what she had said, and how he had condemned her.

\VS{2}Then the servants of the king said, Let there be sought for the king chaste
{\ADD{and}} beautiful young virgins.

\VS{3}And let the king appoint local governors in all the provinces of his kingdom,
and let them select fair
{\ADD{and}} chaste young damsels
{\ADD{and bring them}} to the city Susa, into the women's apartment, and let them be consigned to the
king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women; and let things for purification and other attendance be given
{\ADD{to them}}.

\VS{4}And let the woman who shall please the king be queen instead of Astin. And the
thing pleased the king; and he did so.

\VS{5}Now there was a Jew in the city Susa, and his name was Mardochaeus, the
{\ADD{son}} of Jairus,
{\ADD{the son}} of Semeias,
{\ADD{the son}} of Cisaeus, of the tribe of Benjamin;

\VS{6}who had been brought a prisoner from Jerusalem, which Nabuchodonosor king of
Babylon had carried into captivity.

\VS{7}And he had a foster child, daughter of Aminadab his father's brother, and her
name
{\ADD{was}} Esther; and when her parents were dead, he brought her up for a wife for himself: and the
damsel was beautiful.

\VS{8}And because the king's ordinance was published, many damsels were gathered to
the city Susa under the hand of Gai; and Esther was brought to Gai the keeper of the women.

\VS{9}And the damsel pleased him, and she found favour in his sight; and he hasted
to give her the things for purification, and her portion, and the seven maidens appointed her out of the
palace: and he treated her and her maidens well in the women's apartment.

\VS{10}But Esther did not reveal her family nor her kindred: for Mardochaeus had
charged her not to tell.

\VS{11}But Mardochaeus used to walk every day by the women's court, to see what would
become of Esther.

\VS{12}Now this was the time for a virgin to go into the king, when she should have
fulfilled twelve months; for so are the days of purification fulfilled, six months while they are anointing
themselves with oil of myrrh, and six months with spices and women's purifications.

\VS{13}And then
{\ADD{the damsel}} goes in to the king; and
{\ADD{the officer}} to whoever he shall give the command, will bring her to come in with him from the
women's apartment to the king's chamber.

\VS{14}She enters in the evening, and in the morning she departs to the second women's
apartment, where Gai the king's chamberlain
{\ADD{is}} keeper of the women: and she goes not in to the king again, unless she should be called
by name.

\VS{15}And when the time. was fulfilled for Esther the daughter of Aminadab the brother
of Mardochaeus' father to go in to the king, she neglected nothing which the chamberlain, the women's
keeper, commanded; for Esther found grace in the sight of all that looked upon her.

\VS{16}So Esther went in to king Artaxerxes in the twelfth month, which is Adar,
in the seventh year of his reign.

\VS{17}And the king loved Esther, and she found favour beyond all the
{\ADD{other}} virgins: and he put on her the queen's crown.

\VS{18}And the king made a banquet for all his friends and great men for seven days,
and he highly celebrated the marriage of Esther; and he made a release to those who were under his dominion.

\VS{19}But Mardochaeus served in the palace.

\VS{20}Now Esther had not revealed her
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 2:20 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{country.
}}} kindred; for so Mardochaeus commanded her, to fear God, and perform his commandments, as when
she was with him: and Esther changed not her manner of life.

\VS{21}And two chamberlains of the king, the chiefs of the body-guard, were grieved,
because Mardochaeus was promoted; and they sought to kill king Artaxerxes.

\VS{22}And the matter was revealed to Mardochaeus, and he made it known to Esther,
and she declared to the king the matter of the conspiracy.

\VS{23}And the king examined the two chamberlains, and hanged them: and the king
gave orders to make a note for a memorial in the royal
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 2:23 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{library.
}}} records of the good offices of Mardochaeus, as a commendation.



\par }\Chap{3}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And after this king Artaxerxes highly honoured Aman
{\ADD{son}} of Amadathes, the Bugaean, and exalted him, and set his seat above all his friends.

\VS{2}And all in the palace did him obeisance, for so the king had given orders to
do: but Mardochaeus did not do him obeisance.

\VS{3}And they in the king's palace said to Mardochaeus, Mardochaeus, why do you transgress
the commands of the king?

\VS{4}{\ADD{Thus}} they spoke daily to him, but he listened not to them; so they represented to Aman that
Mardochaeus resisted the commands of the king: and Mardochaeus had shown to them that he was a Jew.

\VS{5}And when Aman understood that Mardochaeus did not obeisance to him, he was greatly
enraged,

\VS{6}and took counsel to destroy utterly all the Jews who were under the rule of
Artaxerxes.

\VS{7}And he made a
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 3:7 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{vote by ballot.
}}} decree in the twelfth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, and cast lots daily and monthly, to kill
in one day the race of Mardochaeus: and the lot fell on the fourteenth
{\ADD{day}} of the month which is Adar.

\VS{8}And he spoke to king Artaxerxes, saying, There is a nation scattered amongst
the nations in all your kingdom, and their laws differ from
{\ADD{those of}} all the
{\ADD{other}} nations; and they disobey the laws of the king; and it is not expedient for the king
to let them alone.

\VS{9}If it seem good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them: and I will
remit into the king's treasury ten thousand talents of silver.

\VS{10}And the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Aman, to seal
the decrees against the Jews.

\VS{11}And the king said to Aman, Keep the silver, and treat the nation as you will.

\VS{12}So the king's recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth
{\ADD{day}}, and they wrote as Aman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from
India even to Ethiopia, to one hundred and twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according
to their
{\ADD{several}} languages, in the name of king Artaxerxes.

\VS{13}And
{\ADD{the message}} was sent by posts throughout the kingdom of Artaxerxes, to destroy utterly the
race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods.
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 3:13 }{\FL{Note. -
}}{\FT{The part in brackets is not in
}}{\FL{Heb.}}} [And the following is the copy of the letter; The great king Artaxerxes writes
thus to the rulers and inferior governors of one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India even to
Ethiopia, who hold authority under
{\ADD{him}}. Ruling over many nations and having obtained dominion over the whole world, I was minded
(not elated by the confidence of power, but ever conducting
{\ADD{myself}} with great moderation and gentleness) to make the lives of
{\ADD{my}} subjects continually tranquil, desiring both to maintain the kingdom quiet and orderly to
{\ADD{its}} utmost limits, and to restore the peace desired by all men. But when I had enquired of
my counsellors how this should be brought to pass. Aman, who excels in soundness of judgement amongst
us, and has been manifestly well inclined without wavering and with unshaken fidelity, and had obtained
the second post in the kingdom, informed us that a certain ill-disposed people is mixed up with all the
tribes throughout the world, opposed in their law to every
{\ADD{other}} nation, and continually neglecting the commands of the king, so that the united government
blamelessly administered by us is not quietly established. Having then conceived that this nation
{\ADD{alone of all others}} is continually set in opposition to every man, introducing as a change
a foreign code of laws, and injuriously plotting to accomplish the worst of evils against our interests,
and against the happy establishment of the monarchy; we signified to you in the letter written by Aman,
who is set over
{\ADD{the public}} affairs and is our second governor, to destroy them all utterly with their wives
and children by the swords of the enemies, without pitying or sparing any, on the fourteenth day of the
twelfth month Adar, of the present year; that the people aforetime and now ill-disposed
{\ADD{to us}} having been violently consigned to death in one day, may hereafter secure to us continually
a well constituted and quiet
{\ADD{state of affairs.]
}}

\VS{14}And the copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order
was given to all the nations to be ready against that day.

\VS{15}And the business was hastened, and
{\ADD{that}} at Susa: and the king and Aman began to drink; but the city was troubled.



\par }\Chap{4}{\PP \VerseOne{1}But Mardochaeus having perceived what was done, tore his garments,
and put on sackcloth, and sprinkled dust upon himself; and having rushed forth through the open street
of the city, he cried with a loud voice, A nation that has done no wrong is going to be destroyed.

\VS{2}And he came to the king's gate, and stood; for it was not lawful for him to
enter into the palace, wearing sackcloth and ashes.

\VS{3}And in every province where the letters were published,
{\ADD{there was}} crying and lamentation and great mourning on the part of the Jews: they spread for
themselves sackcloth and ashes.

\VS{4}And the queen's maids and chamberlains went in and told her: and when she had
heard what was done, she was disturbed; and she sent to clothe Mardochaeus, and take away his sackcloth;
but he consented not.

\VS{5-6}So Esther called for her chamberlain Achrathaeus, who waited upon her; and
she sent to learn the truth from Mardochaeus.

\VS{7}And Mardochaeus showed him what was done, and the promise which Aman had made
the king of ten thousand talents
{\ADD{to be paid}} into the treasury, that he might destroy the Jews.

\VS{8}And he gave him the copy
{\ADD{of the writing}} that was published in Susa concerning their destruction, to show to Esther;
and told him to charge her to go in and entreat the king, and to beg him for the people, remembering,
{\ADD{said he}}, the days of your low estate, how you were nursed by my hand: because Aman who holds
the next place to the king has spoken against us for death. Do you call upon the Lord, and speak to the
king concerning us, to deliver us from death.

\VS{9}So Achrathaeus went in and told her all these words.

\VS{10}And Esther said to Achrathaeus, Go to Mardochaeus, and say,

\VS{11}All the nations of the empire know, that whoever, man or woman, shall go in
to the king into the inner court uncalled, that person can’t live: only to whoever the king shall stretch
out
{\ADD{his}} golden sceptre, he shall live: and I have not been called to go into the king, for these
thirty days.

\VS{12}And Achrathaeus reported to Mardochaeus all the words of Esther.

\VS{13}Then Mardochaeus said to Achrathaeus, Go, and say to her, Esther, say not
to yourself that you alone will escape in the kingdom, more than all the
{\ADD{other}} Jews.

\VS{14}For if you shall refuse to listen on this occasion, help and protection will
be to the Jews from another quarter; but you and your father's house will perish: and who knows, if you
have been made queen for this
{\ADD{very}} occasion?

\VS{15}And Esther sent the
{\ADD{man}} that came to her to Mardochaeus, saying,

\VS{16}Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and fast you⌃ for me, and eat not
and drink not for three days, night and day: and I also and my maidens will fast; and then I will go in
to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die.

\VS{17}So Mardochaeus went and did all that Esther commanded him.
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 4:17 }{\FL{Note. -
}}{\FT{The part between brackets,
}}{\FL{i.e.
}}{\FT{to the end of chap.
}}{\FL{iv.
}}{\FT{is not in the
}}{\FL{Heb.}}} [And he implored the Lord, making mention of all the works of the Lord; and he
said, Lord
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 4:17 }{\FT{See 3 Kings 8:53.
}}{\FL{Note.}}} God, king ruling over all, for all things are in your power, and there is no one
that shall oppose you, in your purpose to save Israel. - For you have made the heaven and the earth and
every wonderful thing in the
{\ADD{world}} under heaven. And you are Lord of all, and there is no one who shall resist you Lord.
You know all things: you know, Lord, that it is not in insolence, nor haughtiness, nor love of glory,
that I have done this, to refuse obeisance to the haughty Aman. For I would gladly have kissed the soles
of his feet for the safety of Israel. But I have done this, that I might not set the glory of man above
the glory of God: and I will not worship any one except you, my Lord, and I will not do these things in
haughtiness. And now, O Lord God, the King, the God of Abraam, spare your people, for
{\ADD{our enemies}} are looking upon us to
{\ADD{our}} destruction, and they have desired to destroy your ancient inheritance. Do not overlook
your
\FTNT{‡}{{\FR 4:17 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{portion.
}}} peculiar people, whom you have redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt. Listen to my
prayer, and be propitious to your inheritance, and turn our mourning into gladness, that we may live and
sing praise to your name, O Lord; and do not utterly destroy the mouth of them that praise you, O Lord.
And all Israel cried with
{\ADD{all}} their might, for death
{\ADD{was}} before their eyes. And queen Esther betook herself for refuge to the Lord, being taken
{\ADD{as it were}} in the agony of death. And having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on garments
of distress and mourning; and instead of grand perfumes she filled her head with ashes and dung, and she
greatly brought down her body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with the
{\ADD{torn}} curls of her hair. And she implored the Lord God of Israel, and said, O my Lord, you alone
are our king: help me
{\ADD{who am}} destitute, and have no helper but you, for my danger
{\ADD{is}}
\FTNT{§}{{\FR 4:17 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{in my hand.
}}} near at hand. I have heard from my birth, in the tribe of my kindred that you, Lord, took Israel
out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a perpetual inheritance, and have
wrought for them all that you have said. And now we have sinned before you, and you have delivered us
into the hands of our enemies, because we honoured their gods: you are righteous, O Lord. But now they
have not been contented with the bitterness of our slavery, but have laid their hands on the hands of
their idols,
{\ADD{in order}} to abolish the decree of your mouth, and utterly to destroy your inheritances, and
to stop the mouth of them that praise you, and to extinguish the glory of your house and your altar, and
to open the mouth of the Gentiles to
{\ADD{speak}} the
\FTNT{**}{{\FR 4:17 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{virtues.
}}} praises of vanities, and
{\ADD{in order}} that a mortal king should be admired for ever. O Lord, do not resign your sceptre
to them that are not, and let them not laugh at our fall, but turn their counsel against themselves, and
make an example of him who has
\FTNT{††}{{\FR 4:17 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{begun against us.
}}} begun
{\ADD{to injure}} us. Remember
{\ADD{us}}, O Lord, manifest yourself in the time of our affliction, and encourage me, O King of gods,
and ruler of all dominion. Put harmonious speech into my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to
hate him that fights against us, to the utter destruction of him that consent with him. But deliver us
by your hand, and help me
{\ADD{who am}} destitute, and have none but the, O Lord. You know all things, and know that I hate
the
\FTNT{‡‡}{{\FR 4:17 }{\FL{Or,
}}{\FT{opinion.
}}} glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the couch of the uncircumcised, and of every stranger.
You know my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in the days of
my
\FTNT{§§}{{\FR 4:17 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{vision.
}}{\FL{q. d.
}}{\FT{quo die
{\ADD{spectanda
}} fui.
}}} splendour: I abhor it as a menstruous cloth, and I wear it not in the days of my tranquillity.
And your handmaid has not eaten
{\ADD{at}} the table of Aman, and I have not honoured the banquet of the king, neither have I drunk
wine of libations. Neither has your handmaid rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except
in you, O Lord God of Abraam. O god, who has power over all, listen to the voice of the desperate, and
deliver us from the hand of them that devise mischief; and deliver me from my fear.]



\par }\Chap{5}{\PP \VerseOne{1}\FTNT{*}{{\FR 5:1 }{\FT{From the first verse to the third, the}}{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{widely differs from the
}}{\FL{Heb.}}} And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put
off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. And being splendidly arrayed,
{\ADD{and}} having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids,
and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. And she
{\ADD{was}} blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face
{\ADD{was}} cheerful, and
{\ADD{it were}} benevolent, but her heart
{\ADD{was}} straitened for fear. And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king:
and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel,
{\ADD{covered}} all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. And having raised his
face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her colour
as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before
{\ADD{her}}. But God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang
from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceful
words, and said to her, What is
{\ADD{the matter}}, Esther? I
{\ADD{am}} your brother; be of good cheer, you shall not die, for our command is openly declared
{\ADD{to you}}, Draw near.

\VS{2}And having raised the golden sceptre he laid it upon her neck, and embraced
her, and said, Speak to me. And she said to him, I saw you,
{\ADD{my}} lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of your glory; for you,
{\ADD{my}} lord, are to be wondered at, and your face
{\ADD{is}} full of grace. And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled,
and all his servants comforted her.

\VS{3}And the king said, What will you, Esther? and what is your request?
{\ADD{ask}} even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be yours.

\VS{4}And Esther said, To-day is my great day: if then it seem good to the king, let
both him and Aman come to the feast which I will prepare this day.

\VS{5}And the king said, Hasten Aman hither, that we may perform the word of Esther.
So they both come to the feast of which Esther had spoken.

\VS{6}And at the banquet the king said to Esther, What is
{\ADD{your request}}, queen Esther?
{\ADD{speak}}, and you shall have all that you require.

\VS{7}And she said, My request and my petition
{\ADD{are}}:

\VS{8}if I have found favour in the sight of the king, let the king and Aman come
again to-morrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and to-morrow I will do the same.

\VS{9}So Aman went out from the king very glad
{\ADD{and}} merry: but when Aman saw Mardochaeus the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged.

\VS{10}And having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zosara.

\VS{11}And he showed them his wealth, and the glory with which the king had invested
him, and how he had caused him to take precedence and bear chief rule in the kingdom.

\VS{12}And Aman said, The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but
me, and I am invited to-morrow.

\VS{13}But these things please me not, while I see Mardochaeus the Jew in the court.

\VS{14}And Zosara his wife and his friends said to him, Let there be a
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 5:14 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{a tree cut.
}}} gallows made for you of fifty cubits, and in the morning do you speak to the king, and let Mardochaeus
be hanged on the gallows: but do you go in to the feast with the king, and be merry. And the saying pleased
Aman, and the gallows was prepared.



\par }\Chap{6}{\PP \VerseOne{1}But the Lord removed sleep from the king that night: and he told
his servant to bring in the
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 6:1 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{letters.
}}} books, the registers of daily events, to read to him.

\VS{2}And he found the
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 6:2 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{letters.
}}} records written concerning Mardochaeus, how he had told the king concerning the two chamberlains
of the king, when they were keeping guard, and sought to lay hands on Artaxerxes.

\VS{3}And the king said, What honour or favour have we done to Mardochaeus? And the
king's servants said, You have not done anything to him.

\VS{4}And while the king was enquiring about the kindness of Mardochaeus, behold,
Aman
{\ADD{was}} in the court. And the king said, Who
{\ADD{is}} in the court? Now Aman was come in to speak to the king, that he should hang Mardochaeus
on the gallows, which he had prepared.

\VS{5}And the king's servants said, Behold, Aman stands in the court. And the king
said, Call him.

\VS{6}And the king said to Aman, What shall I do to the man whom I wish to honour?
And Aman said within himself, Whom would the king honour but myself?

\VS{7}and he said to the king, As for the man whom the king wishes to honour,

\VS{8}let the king's servants bring the robe of fine linen which the king puts on,
and the horse on which the king rides,

\VS{9}and let him give
{\ADD{it}} to one of the king's noble friends, and let him array the man whom the king loves; and let
him mount him on the horse, and proclaim through the
\FTNT{‡}{{\FR 6:9 }{\FL{Or,
}}{\FT{wide space.
}}} street of the city, saying, Thus shall it be
{\ADD{done}} to every man whom the king honours.

\VS{10}Then the king said to Aman, You have well said: so do to Mardochaeus the Jew,
who waits in the palace, and let not a word of what you have spoken be neglected.

\VS{11}So Aman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mardochaeus, and mounted
him on the horse, and went through the street of the city, and proclaimed, saying, Thus shall it be to
every man whom the king wishes to honour.

\VS{12}And Mardochaeus returned to the palace: but Aman went home mourning, and having
his head covered.

\VS{13}And Aman related the events that had befallen him to Zosara his wife, and
to
{\ADD{his}} friends: and his friends and his wife said to him,
\FTNT{§}{{\FR 6:13 }{\FL{Or,
}}{\FT{if it be M. etc. before whom.
}}} If Mardochaeus
{\ADD{be}} of the race of the Jews,
{\ADD{and}} you have begun to be humbled before him, you will assuredly fall, and you will not be able
to withstand him, for the living God
{\ADD{is}} with him.

\VS{14}While they were yet speaking, the chamberlains arrived, to hasten Aman to
the banquet which Esther had prepared.



\par }\Chap{7}{\PP \VerseOne{1}So the king and Aman went in to drink with the queen.

\VS{2}And the king said to Esther at the banquet on the second day, What is it, queen
Esther? and what
{\ADD{is}} your request, and what
{\ADD{is}} your petition? and it shall be
{\ADD{done}} for you, to the half of my kingdom.

\VS{3}And she answered and said, If I have found favour in the sight of the king,
let
{\ADD{my}} life be granted to my petition, and my people to my request.

\VS{4}For both I and my people are sold for destruction, and pillage, and slavery;
{\ADD{both}} we and our children for bondmen and bondwomen: and I consented not to it, for the
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 7:4 }{\FT{see
}}{\FQA{Heb. slanderer
}}}
{\ADD{is}} not worthy of the king's palace.

\VS{5}And the king said, Who
{\ADD{is}} this that has dared to do this thing?

\VS{6}And Esther said, the
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 7:6 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{hostile man.
}}} adversary
{\ADD{is}} Aman, this wicked man. Then Aman was troubled before the king and the queen.

\VS{7}And the king rose up from the banquet to go into the garden: and Aman began
to entreat the queen; for he saw that he was in
\FTNT{‡}{{\FR 7:7 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{evils.
}}} an evil case.

\VS{8}And the king returned from the garden; and Aman had fallen upon the bed, intreating
the queen. And the king said, Will you even force
{\ADD{my}} wife in my house? And when Aman heard it, he changed countenance.

\VS{9}And Bugathan, one of the chamberlains, said to the king, Behold, Aman has also
prepared a gallows for Mardochaeus, who spoke concerning the king, and a gallows of fifty cubits high
has been set up in the premises of Aman. And the king said, Let him be
\FTNT{§}{{\FR 7:9 }{\FL{Or,
}}{\FT{impaled.
}}} hanged thereon.

\VS{10}So Aman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mardochaeus:
and then the king's wrath was appeased.



\par }\Chap{8}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And in that day king Artaxerxes gave to Esther all that belonged
to Aman the slanderer: and Mardochaeus was called by the king; for Esther had shown that he was related
to her.

\VS{2}And the king took the ring which he had taken away from Aman, and gave it to
Mardochaeus: and Esther appointed Mardochaeus over all that had been Aman's.

\VS{3}And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and implored
{\ADD{him}} to do away the mischief of Aman, and all that he had done against the Jews.

\VS{4}Then the king stretched out to Esther the golden sceptre: and Esther arose to
stand near the king.

\VS{5}And Esther said, If it seem good to you, and I have found favour
{\ADD{in your sight}}, let an order be sent that the letters sent by Aman may be reversed, that were
written for the destruction of the Jews, who are in your kingdom.

\VS{6}For how shall I be able to look upon the affliction of my people, and how shall
I be able to survive the destruction of my
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 8:6 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{country.
}}} kindred?

\VS{7}And the king said to Esther, If I have given and freely granted you all that
was Aman's, and hanged him on a gallows, because he laid his hands upon the Jews, what do you yet further
seek?

\VS{8}Write you⌃ also in my name, as it seems good to you, and seal
{\ADD{it}} with my ring: for whatever
{\ADD{orders}} are written at the command of the king, and sealed with my ring, it is not
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 8:8 }{\FL{Or,
}}{\FT{possible
}}} lawful to gainsay them.

\VS{9}So the scribes were called in the first month, which is Nisan, on the three
and twentieth day of the same year; and
{\ADD{orders}} were written to the Jews, whatever
{\ADD{the king had}} commanded to the
\FTNT{‡}{{\FR 8:9 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{stewards.
}}} local governors and chiefs of the satraps, from India even to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven
satraps, according to the several provinces, according to their dialects.

\VS{10}And they were written by order of the king, and sealed with his ring, and
they sent the letters by the posts:

\VS{11}wherein he charged them to use their
{\ADD{own}} laws in every city, and to help each other, and to treat their adversaries, and those who
attacked them, as they pleased,

\VS{12}on one day in all the kingdom of Artaxerxes, on the thirteenth
{\ADD{day}} of the twelfth month, which is Adar.

\VS{13}And let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout the kingdom,
and let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies. And the following is the
copy of the letter of the orders.
\FTNT{§}{{\FR 8:13 }{\FT{the passages in brackets are not in the
}}{\FL{Hebrew.}}} [The great king Artaxerxes sends greetings to the rulers of provinces
{\ADD{in}} one hundred and twenty-seven satrapies, from India to Ethiopia, even to those who are faithful
to our interests. Many who have been frequently honoured by the most abundant kindness of their
\FTNT{**}{{\FR 8:13 }{\FT{perhaps rulers, see
Luke 22:25.
}}} benefactors have conceived ambitious designs, and not only endeavour to hurt our subjects, but
moreover, not being able to bear prosperity, they also endeavour to plot against their own benefactors.
And they not only would utterly abolish gratitude from amongst men, but also, elated by the boastings
of men who are strangers to all that is good, they supposed that they shall escape the sin-hating vengeance
of the ever-seeing God. And oftentimes
{\ADD{evil}} exhortation has made partakers of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and has involved
in irremediable calamities, many of those who had been appointed to offices of authority, who had been
entrusted with the management of their friends' affairs; while
{\ADD{men}}, by the false sophistry of an evil disposition, have deceived the simple candour of the
ruling powers. And it is possible to see
{\ADD{this}}, not so much from more ancient traditionary accounts, as it is immediately in your power
{\ADD{to see it}} by examining what things have been wickedly
\FTNT{††}{{\FR 8:13 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{contrived.
}}} perpetrated by the baseness of men unworthily holding power. And
{\ADD{it is right}} to take heed with regard to the future, that we may maintain the government in
undisturbed peace for all men, adopting
{\ADD{needful}} changes, and ever judging those cases which come under our notice, with truly equitable
decision. For whereas Aman, a Macedonian, the son of Amadathes, in reality an alien from the blood of
the Persians, and differing widely from our mild course of government, having been hospitable entertained
by us, obtained so large a share of our universal kindness, as to be called our father, and to continue
the person next to the royal throne, reverenced of all;
{\ADD{he however}},
\FTNT{‡‡}{{\FR 8:13 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{not having borne.
}}} overcome by the pride
{\ADD{of his station}}, endeavored to deprive us of our dominion, and our
\FTNT{§§}{{\FR 8:13 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{spirit.
}}} life: having by various and subtle artifices demanded for destruction both Mardochaeus our deliverer
and perpetual benefactor, and Esther the blameless consort of
{\ADD{our}} kingdom, with their whole nation. For by these methods he thought, having surprised us
in a defenceless state, to transfer the dominion of the Persians to the Macedonians. But we find that
the Jews, who have been consigned to destruction by the
\FTNT{***}{{\FR 8:13 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{thrice guilty.
}}} most abominable of men, are not malefactors, but living according to the justest laws, and being
the sons of the living God, the most high and
\FTNT{†††}{{\FR 8:13 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{greatest.
}}} mighty, who maintains the kingdom. to us as well as to our forefathers, in the most excellent
order. You⌃ will therefore do well in refusing to obey the letter sent by Aman the son of Amadathes, because
he that has done these things, has been hanged with his whole family at the gates of Susa, Almighty God
having swiftly returned to him a worthy recompence,
{\ADD{We enjoin you}} then, having openly published a copy of this letter in every place, to give the
Jews permission to use their own lawful customs, and to strengthen them, that on the thirteenth of the
twelfth month Adar, on the self-same day, they may defend themselves against those who attack them in
a time of affliction. For in the place of the destruction of the chosen race, Almighty God has granted
them this
{\ADD{time of}} gladness. Do you⌃ therefore also, amongst your
{\ADD{notable}} feasts, keep a distinct day with all festivity, that both now and hereafter it may
be a day of deliverance to us and who are well disposed towards the Persians, but to those that plotted
against us a memorial of destruction. And every city and province collectively, which shall not do accordingly,
shall be consumed with vengeance by spear and fire: it shall be made not only inaccessible to men, but
most hateful to wild beasts and birds for ever.] And let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout
the kingdom and let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies.

\VS{14}So the horsemen went forth with haste to perform the king's commands; and
the ordinance was also published in Susa.

\VS{15}And Mardochaeus went forth robed in the royal apparel, and wearing a golden
crown, and a diadem of fine purple linen: and the people in Susa saw
{\ADD{it}} and rejoiced.

\VS{16}And the Jews had light and gladness,

\VS{17}in every city and province wherever the ordinance was published: wherever
the proclamation took place, the Jews had joy and gladness, feasting and mirth: and many of the Gentiles
were circumcised, and became Jews, for fear of the Jews.



\par }\Chap{9}{\PP \VerseOne{1}For in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the month which
is Adar, the letters written by the king arrived.

\VS{2}In that day the adversaries of the Jews perished: for no one resisted, through
fear of them.

\VS{3}For the chiefs of the satraps, and the princes and the royal scribes, honoured
the Jews; for the fear of Mardochaeus lay upon them.

\VS{4-5}For the order of the king was in force, that he should be celebrated in all
the kingdom.

\VS{6}And in the city Susa the Jews killed five hundred men:

\VS{7}both Pharsannes, and Delphon and Phasga,

\VS{8}and Pharadatha, and Barea, and Sarbaca,

\VS{9}and Marmasima, and Ruphaeus, and Arsaeus, and Zabuthaeus,

\VS{10}the ten sons of Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugaean, the enemy of the Jews,
and they plundered
{\ADD{their property}} on the same day:

\VS{11}and the number of them that perished in Susa was rendered to the king.

\VS{12}And the king said to Esther, The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city
Susa; and how, think you, have they used them in the rest of the country? What then do you yet ask, that
it may be
{\ADD{done}} for you?

\VS{13}And Esther said to the king, let it be granted to the Jews so to treat them
tomorrow as to hand the ten sons of Aman.

\VS{14}And he permitted it to be so done; and he gave up to the Jews of the city
the bodies of the sons of Aman to hang.

\VS{15}And the Jews assembled in Susa on the fourteenth
{\ADD{day}} of Adar, and killed three hundred men, but plundered no property.

\VS{16}And the rest of the Jews who were in the kingdom assembled, and helped one
another, and obtained rest from their enemies: for they destroyed fifteen thousand of them on the thirteenth
{\ADD{day}} of Adar, but took no spoil.

\VS{17}And they rested on the fourteenth of the same month, and kept it as a day
of rest with joy and gladness.

\VS{18}And the Jews in the city Susa assembled also on the fourteenth
{\ADD{day}} and rested; and they kept also the fifteenth with joy and gladness.

\VS{19}On this account then
{\ADD{it is that}} the Jews dispersed in every foreign land keep the fourteenth of Adar
{\ADD{as}} a
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 9:19 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{good day.
}}} holy day with joy, sending portions each to his neighbour.

\VS{20}And Mardochaeus wrote these things in a book, and sent them to the Jews, as
many as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off,

\VS{21}to establish these
{\ADD{as}} joyful days, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar;

\VS{22}for on these days the Jews obtained rest from their enemies; and
{\ADD{as to}} the month, which was Adar, in which a change was made for them, from mourning to joy,
and from sorrow to a good day, to spend the whole of it
{\ADD{in}} good days of
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 9:22 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{weddings.
}}} feasting and gladness, sending portions to their friends, and to the poor.

\VS{23}And the Jews consented
{\ADD{to this}} accordingly as Mardochaeus wrote to them,

\VS{24}{\ADD{showing}} how Aman the son of Amadathes the Macedonian fought against them, how he made a decree
and cast
\FTNT{‡}{{\FR 9:24 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{lot.
}}} lots to destroy them utterly;

\VS{25}also how he went in to the king, telling
{\ADD{him}} to hang Mardochaeus: but all the calamities he tried to bring upon the Jews came upon himself,
and he was hanged, and his children.

\VS{26}Therefore these days were called Phrurae, because of the lots; (for in their
language they are called Phrurae;) because of the words of this letter, and
{\ADD{because of}} all they suffered on this account, and all that happened to them.

\VS{27}And
{\ADD{Mardochaeus}} established it, and the Jews took upon themselves, and upon their seed, and upon
those that were joined to them
{\ADD{to observe it}}, neither would they on any account behave differently: but these days
{\ADD{were to be}} a memorial kept in every generation, and city, and family, and province.

\VS{28}And these days of the Phrurae,
{\ADD{said they,
}}shall be kept for ever, and their memorial shall not fail in any generation.

\VS{29-30}And queen Esther, the daughter of Aminadab, and Mardochaeus the Jew, wrote
all that they had done, and the confirmation of the letter of Phrurae.

\VS{31}And Mardochaeus and Esther the queen appointed
{\ADD{a fast}} for themselves privately, even at that time also having formed their plan against their
own health.

\VS{32}And Esther established it by a command for ever, and it was written for a
memorial.



\par }\Chap{10}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And the king levied
{\ADD{a tax}} upon
{\ADD{his}} kingdom both by land and sea.

\VS{2}And
{\ADD{as for}} his strength and valour, and the wealth and glory of his kingdom, behold, they are written
in the book of the Persians and Medes, for a memorial.

\VS{3}And Mardochaeus
\FTNT{*}{{\FR 10:3 }{\FL{Gr.
}}{\FT{succeded to
}}{\FL{Or,
}}{\FT{came into the place of.
}}} was viceroy to king Artaxerxes, and was a great man in the kingdom, and honoured by the Jews,
and passed his life beloved of all his nation.
\FTNT{†}{{\FR 10:3 }{\FT{the passages in brackets are not in the
}}{\FL{Hebrew.}}} [And Mardocheus said, These things have been done of God. For I remember the
dream which I had concerning these matters: for not one particular of them has failed.
{\ADD{There was}} the little fountain which became a river, and there was light, and the sun and much
water. The river is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen. And the two serpents are I and Aman.
And the nations are those
{\ADD{nations}} that combined to destroy the name of the Jews. But
{\ADD{as for}} my nation, this is Israel,
{\ADD{even}} they that cried to God and were delivered: for the Lord delivered his people. And the
Lord rescued us out of all these calamities; and God wrought such signs and great wonders as have not
been done amongst the nations. Therefore did he ordain two lots. One for the people of God, and one for
all the other
{\ADD{nations}}. And these two lots came for an appointed season, and for a day of judgement, before
God, and for all the nations. And God remembered his people, and vindicated his inheritance. And they
shall observe these days in the month Adar, on the fourteenth and on the fifteenth
{\ADD{day}} of the month, with an assembly, and joy and gladness before God, throughout the generations
for ever amongst his people Israel. In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemeus and Cleopatra, Dositheus,
who said he was a priest and Levite, and Ptolemeus his son, brought this epistle of Phurim, which they
said was the same, and that Lysimachus the son of Ptolemeus, that was in Jerusalem, had interpreted.]


\par }