Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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Esther
Esther 1
¶1. Now this came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to as far as Cush, one hundred twenty-seven provinces.
2. In those days, when king Ahasuerus sat on his kingdom’s throne which was at Shushan, the capital,
3.in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for all his rulers and his servants. The powerful men of Persia and Media, the nobles and the rulers of the provinces, were before him
4.while he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the precious splendor of his greatness for many days, one hundred and eighty days.
5. And when these days were finished, the king made a feast for all the people who were present in Shushan the capital, for both great and small, seven days, in the courtyard of the garden in the king’s palace.
6. There were white linen and blue canopies fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble. The couches were of gold and silver placed on a mosaic pavement of red[1], and marble, and mother-of-pearl[2], and precious stone.
7. And they were given drink in vessels of gold, with the vessels being different from one another. And the royal wine was in abundance according to the king’s bounty.
8. And the drinking was governed by an edict, “There is no compulsion”, for so had the king appointed to all the officials of his house, that they should do as each man desired.
9. Vashti, the queen, also made a feast for the women in the royal house that belonged to king Ahasuerus.
¶10. On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbonah, Bigtha, and Abagatha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who ministered in the presence of king Ahasuerus,
11.to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown to show the people and the rulers her beauty, for she was beautiful in appearance.
12. But queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command by the hand of the eunuchs. Then the king was very angry, and his wrath burned within him.
13. And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for such was the king’s manner before all who knew law and judgment)
14.and those near to him, Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media who saw the king’s face, those who sat first in the kingdom,
15.“What shall be done with queen Vashti by decree because she did not perform the commandment of king Ahasuerus by the hand of the eunuchs?”
16. Then Memucan said before the king and the rulers, “Not against the king only has Vashti the queen done wrong, but against all the rulers and all the people who are in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus.
17.For this matter of the queen will go abroad to all women, so that in their eyes they will despise their husbands when it is reported that king Ahasuerus commanded to bring Vashti the queen before him and she did not come.
18.For in that day, the noblewomen of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s rulers that which they heard that the queen said, and there will be much contempt and wrath.
19.If it please the king, let a royal decree go out from him and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and Medes, which may not be repealed, that Vashti no longer may come before king Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to her fellow who is better than she.
20.And the king’s edict which he makes will be heard throughout all his kingdom (for it is great), and all the wives shall give honor to their husbands, to both great and small.”
21. And the thing was good in the eyes of the king and the rulers, and the king did so according to the word of Memucan.
22. And he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province in its writing and to every people according to their language, that every man should rule in his own house, and it was published according to the language of his people.
Esther 2
¶1. After these things, when king Ahasuerus’ wrath subsided, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.
2. And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Let them seek young virgins of beautiful appearance, for the king.
3.And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather all the young virgins of beautiful appearance, to Shushan the capital, into the house of the women, to the custody of Hege the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women. And let the things for their purification be provided for them.
4.And let the maiden who is pleasing in the eyes of the king become queen instead of Vashti.” And the thing was good in the eyes of the king, and he did so.
¶5. Now there was in Shushan a man, a Jew, and his name was Mordecai ben-Jair, son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,
6.who had been carried away with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away.
7. And he had brought up Hadassar (she is Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. And the girl was beautiful in form, and of beautiful appearance, and when her father and her mother were dead, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
8. And it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree were heard, and when many maidens were being gathered to Shushan the capital, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought to the house of the king into the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
9. And the maiden was pleasing in his eyes, and she obtained favor in his eyes, and he quickly provided her with her things for purification. And her portions were given to her, and seven choice maidens from the house of the king were given to her; and he advanced her and her maidens to the best place in the house of the women.
10. Esther had not made known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her that she should not make it known.
11. And every day Mordecai walked back and forth before the court of the house of the women, to know of Esther’s welfare, and what was being done with her.
¶12. Now when each maiden’s turn came to go into king Ahasuerus, after her twelve months had passed according to the requirement for the women, (for in this manner were the days of purification completed: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with spices and the other things for purification of the women),
13.then the maiden went into the king with this: whatever she desired was given to her to go with her from the house of the women to the king’s house.
14. In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, into the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who kept the concubines; she did not go into the king again unless the king delighted in her, and she was summoned by name.
¶15. And when the turn came for Esther, daughter of Abihail, uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go into the king, she wanted nothing except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women, advised. And Esther had found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.
16. And Esther was taken to king Ahasuerus, into the royal house in the tenth month, which is Tebeth, during the seventh year of his reign.
17. And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found more favor and kindness in his presence than all the virgins, and he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
18. And the king made a great feast for all his rulers and his servants, a feast for Esther; and he made a holiday for the provinces, and he gave gifts according to the king’s bounty.
¶19. Now when the virgins were being gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
20. Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, just as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai’s command just as when she was brought up by him.
21. In those days, as Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who kept the door, became angry, and they sought to lay hands on king Ahasuerus.
22. And the thing came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Esther the queen, and Esther spoke to the king in Mordecai’s name.
23. And when the matter was investigated and was found out, then they were both hanged on a tree; and it was recorded in the book of the chronicles before the king.
Esther 3
¶1. After these things, king Ahasuerus promoted Haman ben-Hammadatha, the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the rulers who were with him.
2. And all the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, bowed down and did obeisance before Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed nor did obeisance.
3. Then the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the king’s command?”
4. And it came to pass when that they spoke to him daily, but he gave them no heed, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew.
5. And when Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or doing him obeisance, Haman was filled with wrath.
6. But it was not enough in his eyes to lay hands on Mordecai alone (for they had denounced Mordecai’s people to him), and Haman set about to exterminate all the Jews, Mordecai’s people, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7. In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast pur, that is, the lot, before Haman, for day to day, and for month to month, and the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, was taken.
8. Then Haman said to king Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people who have been scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of the kingdom, and their laws are different from those of all other people, and they do not observe the king’s laws. Therefore, it is not fitting for the king to let them remain.
9.If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those who have charge of business, to put it into the king’s treasuries.”
10. And the king took off his ring from his hand, and he gave it to Haman ben-Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
11. And the king said to Haman, “The silver is given to you with the people, to do with them as seems good in your eyes.”
12. Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written according to all that Haman commanded, to the king’s satraps, and to the governors who were over each province, and to the rulers of every people of each province in its writing, and to each people according to its language; it was written in the name of king Ahasuerus, and it was sealed with the king’s ring.
13. And the letters were sent by the hand of runners to all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the Jews, both young or old, little ones and women, on one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.
14. A copy of the letter was to be issued as a decree in each province as a proclamation to every people to be ready for that day.
15. The runners went out, hastened by the king’s command, and the decree was issued at Shushan the capital. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed.
Esther 4
¶1. And Mordecai learned all that had been done. Then he tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth and ashes, and he went out into the midst of the city and cried a loud and bitter cry.
2. He even went to the king’s gate, but no one could enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth.
3. (And in each province, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, and weeping, and lamentation, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.)
4. And Esther’s maids and her eunuchs came and told her. And the queen was greatly distressed, and she sent clothes to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth off him, but he would not accept them.
5. Then Esther called for Hatach, one of the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she commanded him to go to Mordecai, to learn what this was, and why it was so.
6. So Hatach went out to Mordecai in the street of the city that was in front of the king’s gate.
7. And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and of the sum of money which Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.
8. He also gave him a copy of the written decree, which was issued in Shushan for their destruction, to show Esther, and to make it known to her, and to charge her to go into the king to beg his favor, and to seek him on behalf of her people.
9. And Hatach went and told Mordecai’s words to Esther.
10. Esther again spoke to Hatach commanded him to go to Mordecai,
11.“All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, know that for any man or woman who goes into the king, to the inner court, who has not been summoned, his one decree is to put them to death, except to whomever the king holds out the golden scepter that they may live; and I have not been called to go into the king these thirty days.”
12. And they told Mordecai Esther’s words.
13. But Mordecai said in return to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that you will escape in the king’s house any more than all the other Jews.
14.For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. But who knows if you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
15. Then Esther said to reply to Mordecai,
16.“Go! Gather all the Jews present in Shushan, and all of you fast for me. Neither eat nor drink for three days, night and day. I and my maids will also fast likewise, and thus will I go into the king, which is against the decree. And if I perish, I perish.”
17. Mordecai then went on his way, and he did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Esther 5
¶1. And it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal garb, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house at the front of the king’s house. And the king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal house opposite the house’s entrance.
2. And it happened that when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his eyes, and he extended the golden scepter, which was in his hand, to Esther. Then Esther drew near and touched the tip of the scepter.
3. And the king said to her, “What is it, queen Esther, and what is your request? It shall be given to you, even to the half of the kingdom.”
4. And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king, with Haman, come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”
5. And the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, that he may do what Esther has said.” And the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6. And at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? For it shall be given to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom shall it be done.”
7. And Esther answered, and said, “My petition and my request:
8.If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them. And tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”
9. And Haman went out joyfully that day, and with a glad heart, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and he did not rise or tremble before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.
10. But Haman controlled himself, and when he entered his house, he sent for his friends, and they came, and Zeresh, his wife.
11. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the number of his sons, and of all the king’s promotion of him, and that he had advanced him above the rulers and servants of the king.
12. Haman also said, “Yea, Esther the queen let no one come with the king to the banquet that she prepared except me. And tomorrow also am I called to her with the king.
13.But all of this is nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting in the king’s gate.”
14. Then Zeresh, his wife, and all his friends, said to him, “Let wooden gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak to the king that Mordecai might be hanged on it. Then you can go joyfully to the banquet with the king. And the thing pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
Esther 6
¶1. During that night, the king’s sleep departed, and he commanded that the book of records, the chronicles, be brought. And they were read before the king.
2. And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who kept the door, who had sought to lay hands on king Ahasuerus.
3. And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”
4. Then the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had come to the outer court of the king’s house to speak to the king to have Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
5. And the king’s servants said to him, “Behold, Haman is standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.”
6. So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “To whom would the king delight to give honor more than myself?”
7. So Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor,
8.let royal apparel be brought that the king has worn himself, and a horse on which the king has ridden, and let the royal crown be set on his head.
9.And let the apparel and the horse be put into the hand of one of the rulers among the king’s nobles, that they may array the man whom the king delights to honor, and let him lead him on horseback through the street of the city and proclaim before him, ‘Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king delights to honor.’”
10. Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry! Take the apparel and the horse, just as you said, and do this for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting in the king’s gate. Let nothing fail of all that you said.”
11. So Haman took the apparel and the horse, and he arrayed Mordecai, and led him through the city street, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king delights to honor.”
12. Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his house mourning, and with his head covered.
13. And Haman recounted to Zeresh, his wife, and all his friends, everything that had happened, and his wise men, and Zeresh, his wife, said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not prevail against him, but you shall surely fall before him.”
14. But while they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived, and they hastened to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Esther 7
¶1. And the king, with Haman, went to drink with Esther the queen.
2. And the king again said to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, “What is your petition, queen Esther, for it shall be granted to you, and what is your request? Even to half the kingdom shall it be done.”
3. Then queen Esther answered, and said, “If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it please the king, let my life be given to me at my petition, and my people at my request.
4.For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to perish. For had we but been sold to be male slaves and female slaves, I would have kept silent, for the distress would not cause injury to the king.”
5. Then king Ahasuerus spoke, and he said to queen Esther, “Who is this one and where is this one, whose heart is satisfied to do so.”
6. And Esther said, “A man. The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
7. Then the king arose in fury from the banquet of wine and went to the palace garden, and Haman stood up to seek for his life from Esther the queen, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king.
8. And when the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also violate the queen with me in the house!” As the word went out from the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
9. And Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king, said, “Also, behold that the gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai who had spoken good for the king, are standing at Haman’s house.” And the king said, “Hang him on them.”
10. So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath abated.
Esther 8
¶1. On that day, king Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews’s enemy, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came in before the king, for Esther had told him what he was to her.
2. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken away 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 she fell down at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil that Haman the Agagite, and his plan that he had devised against the Jews.
4. And the king extended the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the king.
5. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor before him, and the thing is pleasing in the eyes of the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters, the device of Haman ben-Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces.
6.For how can I endure when I see the evil that will come to my people? And how can I endure when I see the destruction of my kindred?”
7. Then king Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen, and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and they hanged him on the gallows because he laid his hand upon the Jews.
8.But regarding the Jews, you must write what is good in your eyes in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring, for writing that is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring no one can revoke.”
9. And the king’s scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, the twenty-third day thereof, and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, and to the king’s satraps and governors, and the rulers of the provinces, that were from India to as far as Cush, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to each province in its writing, and to each people according to its language, and to the Jews in their writing and according to their language.
10. And he wrote in the name of king Ahasuerus, and he sealed it with the king’s ring. Then he sent the letters by the hand of couriers on horseback, riding steeds bred from royal stock,
11.in which the king permitted the Jews who were in each city to gather and to take a stand for their life to destroy, and kill, and to annihilate any force of a people or a province that might attack them, both little ones and women, and plunder their goods,
12.in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus on one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
13. A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in each province as a proclamation to every people, that the Jews would be ready for that day to take vengeance on their enemies.
14. The couriers went out riding the royal steeds, hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment. And the decree was issued at Shushan the capital.
15. And Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in royal apparel of blue and white, and a large golden crown, and a garment of fine linen and purple. And the city of Shushan shouted and rejoiced.
16. For the Jews there was light, and gladness, and rejoicing, and honor.
17. And in each province, and in each city, to whatever place the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was gladness and rejoicing for the Jews, feasting and a day of happiness. And many of the people of the land declared themselves to be Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.
Esther 9
¶1. Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day thereof, when the day that the king’s commandment and his decree could be acted upon arrived, on the day when the Jews’ enemies hoped to have the mastery over them, but it had been reversed, so that the Jews had mastery over them who hated them,
2.the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of king Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm; and no man could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all the peoples.
3. And all the rulers of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and the king’s officials assisted the Jews because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.
4. For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces; indeed, the man Mordecai grew even greater.
5. So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and they did with those who hated them as they pleased.
6. And in Shushan the capital, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.
7. And 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 ben-Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, they killed, but they did not lay their hands on the spoil.
¶11. On that day, the number of those killed in Shushan the capital was brought to the king.
12. And the king said to Esther the queen, “In Shushan the capital, the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, and the ten sons of Haman. What will they have done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now, what is your petition? For it shall also be granted to you. And what is your further request? It, too, shall be performed.”
13. Then Esther said, “If it please the king, let it also be granted tomorrow, for the Jews who are in Shushan to act in accordance with today’s decree, and hang the ten sons of Haman on the gallows.
14. And the king commanded it to be done so, and the decree was issued at Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.
15. And the Jews who were in Shushan also gathered on the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and they killed three hundred men in Shushan, but they did not lay their hands on the spoil.
16. But the other Jews who were throughout the king’s provinces gathered and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and they killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they did not lay their hands on the spoil,
17.on the thirteenth day of the month Adar. But on the fourteenth thereof, they rested and made a day of feasting and gladness.
18. But the Jews who were in Shushan gathered on the thirteenth thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof, and on the fifteenth thereof, they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.
19. Therefore, the Jews in the villages, who dwelt in unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of feasting and gladness, and a day of happiness, and of sending portions from each to his neighbor.
¶20. And Mordecai had these things written, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, both near and far off,
21.to establish for them that they should observe the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day thereof, in each year,
22.as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned from sorrow to gladness for them, and from mourning to a day of happiness, to make them days of feasting and joy, and the sending of portions from each to his neighbor, and gifts for the poor.
23. And the Jews took on what they had already begun to do, even as Mordecai had written to them,
24.for Haman bem-Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast pur, that is, the lot, to consume them and destroy them.
25. But when Esther came before the king, he commanded through letters, that his wicked design which he devised against the Jews, return on his head, and that he and his sons be hanged on the gallows.
26. Therefore, these days were name “Purim”, after the name of the pur. And concerning all the words of this instruction, and what they had seen concerning this, and what had happened to them,
27.the Jews established and took upon themselves, and upon their seed, and upon all who joined themselves to them, that they would not fail to keep these two days in accordance with their writing, and according to their set time in every year.
28. And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, and that these days of Purim should not pass away among the Jews, or their remembrance cease among their seed.
¶29. Then Esther the queen, daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second instruction concerning Purim.
30. And he sent the letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
31.to confirm these days of Purim at their set time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had established, and just as they had instituted for themselves, and for their seed, with instructions for the fasting and their crying out.
32. And Esther’s command confirmed these details for Purim; and it was written in the book.
Esther 10
¶1. And king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
2. And all the deeds of his strength and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king promoted him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
3. For Mordecai the Jew was second to king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and in favor with the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his seed.
Footnotes
[1] Possibly porphyry.
[2] Hebrew uncertain.