1.1
In the second year of reign of Artaxerxes the great king, on the first
[day] of Nisan, Mardochaeus the [son] of Jairus, the [son] of Semeias,
the [son] of Chisaeus, of the tribe of Benjamin, 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 Jechonias 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 of 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, affliction and great tumult
upon the earth. And all the righteous nation was troubled, fearing
their own afflictions; and they prepared to die, an cried to God: and
from their cry there came as it were a great river from a little
fountain, [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 designed to do, having awoke, kept in his
heart, and desired by all means to interpret it, even till night. And
Mardochaeus rested quit in the palace with Gabatha and Tharrha the
king's two chamberlains, eunuchs who guarded the palace. And he heard
their reasonings 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 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 him gifts
for this service. And Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugaean was
honourable in the sight of the two king, and he endeavoured to hurt
Mardochaeus and his people, because of the two chamberlains of the
king. And it came to pass after these things in the days of
Artaxerxes.-- (this Artaxerxes ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven
provinces from India)--
1.2 in those days, when king Artaxerxes was on the throne in the city of Susa,
1.3 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.
1.4 And after this, after he had shewn to them
the wealth of his kingdom, and the abundant glory of his wealth during
a hundred and eighty days,
1.5 when, [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,
1.6 [which was] adorned with [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: [there were]
golden and silver couches on a pavement of emerald stone, and of pearl,
and of Parian stone, and open-worked coverings variously flowered,
[having] roses worked round about;
1.7 gold and silver cups, and a small cup of
carbuncle set out o the value of thirty thousand talents, abundant and
sweet wine, which the king himself drank.
1.8 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.
1.9 Also Astin the queen made a banquet for the women in the palace where king Artaxerxes [dwelt].
1.10 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,
1.11 to bring in the queen to him, to enthrone her,
and crown her with the diadem, and to shew her to the princes, and her
beauty to the nations: for she was beautiful.
1.12 But queen Astin hearkened not to him to come with the chamberlains: so the king was grieved and angered.
1.13 And he said to his friends, Thus hast Astin
spoken: pronounce therefore upon this [case] law and judgment.
1.14 So Arkesaeus, and Sarsathaeus, and Malisear, the
princes of the Persians and Medes, who were near the king, who sat
chief [in rank] by the king, drew near to him,
1.15 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.
1.16 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:
1.17 for he has told them the words of the queen, and
how she disobeyed the king. As then, [said he], she refused [to obey]
king Artaxerxes,
1.18 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.
1.19 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 [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.
1.20 And let the law of the king which h 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.
1.21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did as Muchaeus had said,
1.22 and sent into all his kingdom through the
several provinces, according to their language, in order that men might
be feared in their own houses.
2.1
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.
2.2 Then the servants of the king said, Let
there be sought for the king chaste [and] beautiful young virgins.
2.3 And let the king appoint local governors in
all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them select fair [and] chaste
young damsels [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 [to them].
2.4 And let the woman who shall please the king
be queen instead of Astin. And the thing pleased the king; and he did
so.
2.5 Now there was a Jew in the city Susa, and
his name was Mardochaeus, the [son] of Jairus, [the son] of Semeias,
[the son] of Cisaeus, of the tribe of Benjamin;
2.6 who had been brought a prisoner from
Jerusalem, which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried into
captivity.
2.7 And he had a foster child, daughter of
Aminadab his father's brother, and her name [was] Esther; and when her
parents were dead, he brought her up for a wife for himself: and the
damsel was beautiful.
2.8 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.
2.9 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.
2.10 But Ether discovered not her family nor her kindred: for Mardochaeus had charged her not to tell.
2.11 But Mardochaeus used to walk every day by the women's court, to see what would become of Esther.
2.12 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.
2.13 And then [the damsel] goes in to the king; and
[the officer] to whomsoever he shall give the command, will bring her
to come in with him from the women's apartment to the king's chamber.
2.14 She enters in the evening, and in the morning
she departs to the second women's apartment, where Gai the king's
chamberlain [is] keeper of the women: and she goes not in to the king
again, unless she should be called by name.
2.15 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.
2.16 So Esther went in to king Artaxerxes in the
twelfth month, which is Adar, in the seventh year of his reign.
2.17 And the king loved Esther, and she found favour
beyond all the [other] virgins: and he put on her the queen's crown.
2.18 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.
2.19 But Mardochaeus served in the palace.
2.20 Now Esther had not discovered her 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.
2.21 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.
2.22 And the matter was discovered to Mardochaeus,
and he made it known to Esther, and she declared to the king the matter
of the conspiracy.
2.23 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 records of the good offices of Mardochaeus, as a commendation.
3.1
And after this king Artaxerxes highly honoured Aman [son] of Amadathes,
the Bugaean, and exalted him, and set his seat above all his friends.
3.2 And all in the palace did him obeisance,
for so the king had given orders to do: but Mardochaeus did not do him
obeisance.
3.3 And they in the king's palace said to
Mardochaeus, Mardochaeus, why dost thou transgress the commands of the
king?
3.4 [Thus] they spoke daily to him, but he
hearkened not unto them; so they represented to Aman that Mardochaeus
resisted the commands of the king: and Mardochaeus had shewn to them
that he was a Jew.
3.5 And when Aman understood that Mardochaeus did not obeisance to him, he was greatly enraged,
3.6 and took counsel to destroy utterly all the Jews who were under the rule of Artaxerxes.
3.7 And he made a decree in the twelfth year of
the reign of Artaxerxes, and cast lots daily and monthly, to slay in
one day the race of Mardochaeus: and the lot fell on the fourteenth
[day] of the month which is Adar.
3.8 And he spoke to king Artaxerxes, saying,
There is a nation scattered among the nations in all thy kingdom, and
their laws differ from [those of] all the [other] nations; and they
disobey the laws of the king; and it is not expedient for the king to
let them alone.
3.9 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.
3.10 And the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Aman, to seal the decrees against the Jews.
3.11 And the king said to Aman, Keep the silver, and treat the nation as thou wilt.
3.12 So the king's recorders were called in the first
month, on the thirteenth [day], and they wrote as Aman commanded to the
captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia,
to a hundred and twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the
nations according to their [several] languages, in the name of king
Artaxerxes.
3.13 And [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. And the following is the copy of the letter; The great king
Artaxerxes writes thus to the rulers and inferior governors of a
hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia, who
hold authority under [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 [myself] with great
moderation and with gentleness,) to make the lives of [my] subjects
continually tranquil, desiring both to maintain the kingdom quite and
orderly to [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 judgment among us,
and has been manifestly well inclined without wavering and with
unshaken fidelity, and has obtained the second post in the kingdom,
informed us that a certain ill-disposed people is mixed up with all the
tribes throughout soundness of judgment among us, and has been
manifestly well inclined without wavering and with unshaken fidelity,
and has 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 laws to every [other] nation, and
continually neglecting the commands of the kings, so that the united
government blamelessly administered by us is not quietly established.
Having then conceived that this nation 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 have accordingly appointed those who are signified to
you the letters written by Aman, who is set over [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 [to us]
having been violently consigned to death in one day, may hereafter
secure to us continually a well constituted and quiet [state of]
affairs.
3.14 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.
3.15 And the business was hastened, and [that] at
Susa: and the king and Aman began to drink; but the city was troubled.
4.1
But Mardochaeus having perceived what was done, rent 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.
4.2 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.
4.3 And in every province where the letters
were published, [there was] crying and lamentation and great mourning
on the part of the Jews: they spread for themselves sackcloth and ashes.
4.4 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.
4.5 So Esther called for her chamberlain
Achrathaeus, who waited upon her; and she sent to learn the truth from
Mardochaeus.
4.6 [vide]
4.7 And Mardochaeus shewed him what was done,
and the promise which Aman had made the king of ten thousand talents
[to be paid] into the treasury, that he might destroy the Jews.
4.8 And he gave him the copy [of the writing]
that was published in Susa concerning their destruction, to shew to
Esther; and told him to charge her to go in and intreat the king, and
to beg him for the people, remembering, [said he], the days of thy low
estate, how thou wert nursed by my hand: because Aman who holds the
next place to the king has spoken against us for death. Do thou call
upon the Lord, and speak to the king concerning us, to deliver us from
death.
4.9 So Achrathaeus went in and told her all these words.
4.10 And Esther said to Achrathaeus, Go to Mardochaeus, and say,
4.11 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 cannot live: only to whomsoever the king shall
stretch out [his] golden sceptre, he shall live: and I have not been
called to go into the king, for these thirty days.
4.12 And Achrathaeus reported to Mardochaeus all the words of Esther.
4.13 Then Mardochaeus said to Achrathaeus, Go, and
say to her, Esther, say not to thyself that thou alone wilt escape in
the kingdom, more than all the [other] Jews.
4.14 For if thou shalt refuse to hearken on this
occasion, help and protection will be to the Jews from another quarter;
but thou and thy father's house will perish: and who knows, if thou
hast been made queen for this [very] occasion?
4.15 And Esther sent the [man] that came to her to Mardochaeus, saying,
4.16 Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and
fast ye 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.
4.17 So Mardochaeus went and did all that Esther
commanded him. And he besought the Lord, making mention of all the
works of the Lord; and he said, Lord God, king ruling over all, for all
things are in thy power, and there is no one that shall oppose thee in
thy purpose to save Israel.-- For thou hast made the heaven and the
earth, and every wonderful thing in the [world] under heaven. And thou
art Lord of all, and there is no one who shall resist thee the ord.
Thou knowest all things: thou knowest, Lord, that it is not in the
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 thee, my Lord, and I will not do these
things in haughtiness. And now, O Lord God, the King, the God of
Abraam, spare thy people, for [our enemies] are looking upon us to
[our] destruction, and they have desired to destroy thine ancient
inheritance. Do not overlook thy peculiar people, whom thou hast
redeemed for thyself out of the land of Egypt. Hearken to my prayer,
and be propitious to thine in gladness, that we may live and sing
praise to thy name, O Lord; and do not utterly destroy the mount of
them that praise thee, O Lord. And all Israel cried with [all] their
might for their death [was] before their eyes. And queen Esther betook
herself for refuge to the Lord, being taken [as it were] in the agony
of death. And having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on
garments of distress and morning; and instead of grand perfumes she
filled her head and ashes and dung, and she greatly brought down her
body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with the [torn]
curls of her hair. And she besought the Lord God of Israel, and said, O
my Lord, thou alone art our king: help me [who am] destitute, and have
no helper but thee, for my danger [is] near at hand. I have heard from
my birth, in the tribe of my kindred, that thou, Lord, tookest Israel
out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a
perpetual inheritance, and hast wrought for them all that thou hast
said. And now we have sinned before thee, and thou hast delivered us
into the hands of our enemies, because we honoured their gods: thou art
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, [in order] to abolish the decree of thy mouth, and utterly
to destroy thine inheritance, and to stop the mouth of them that praise
thee, and to extinguish the glory of thine house and thine altar, and
to open the mouth of the Gentiles to [speak] the praises of vanities,
and [in order] that a mortal king should be admired for every. O Lord,
do not resign thy 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 begun [to injure] us. Remember [us], O Lord,
manifest thyself 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 and of them that consent
with him. But deliver us by thine hand, and help me [who am] destitute,
and have none but thee, O Lord. Thou knowest all things, and knowest
that I hate the glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the couth of
the uncircumcised, and of every stranger. Thou knowest my necessity,
for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in
the days of my splendour: I abhor it as a menstruous cloth, and I wear
it not in the days of my tranquillity. And thy handmaid has not eaten
[at] the table of Aman, and I have not honoured the banquet of the
king, neither have I drunk wine of libations. Neither has thy handmaid
rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except in thee, O
Lord God of Abraam. O God, who hast power over all, hearken to the
voice of the desperate, and deliver us from the hand of them that
devise mischief; and deliver me from my fear.
5.1
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, [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 he other followed bearing her train. And
she [was] blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face [was]
cheerful, and [it were] benevolent, but her heart [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, [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 [her]. But God changed the spirit of the king
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
peaceable words, and said to her, What is [the matter], Esther? I [am]
thy brother; be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, for our command is
openly declared [to thee], Draw nigh.
5.2 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 thee, [my] lord, as an angel of God, and my heart
was troubled for fear of thy glory; for thou, [my] lord, art to be
wondered at, and thy face [is] full of grace. And while she was
speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his
servants comforted her.
5.3 And the king said, What wilt thou, Esther?
and what is thy request? [ask] even to the half of my kingdom, and it
shall be thine.
5.4 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.
5.5 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.
5.6 And at the banquet the king said to Esther,
What is [thy request], queen Esther? [speak], and thou shalt have all
that thou requirest.
5.7 And she said, My request and my petition [are]:
5.8 if I have found favour in te 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.
5.9 So Aman went out from the king very glad
[and] merry: but when Aman saw Mardochaeus the Jew in the court, he was
greatly enraged.
5.10 And having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zosara.
5.11 And he shewed 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.
5.12 And Aman said, The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited to-morrow.
5.13 But these things please me not, while I see Mardochaeus the Jew in the court.
5.14 And Zosara his wife and his friends said to him,
Let there be a gallows made for thee of fifty cubits, and in the
morning do thou speak to the king, and let Mardochaeus be hanged on the
gallows: but do thou go in to the feast with the king, and be merry.
And the saying pleased Aman, and the gallows was prepared.
6.1
But the Lord removed sleep from the king that night: and he told his
servant to bring in the books, the registers of daily events, to read
to him.
6.2 And he found the 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.
6.3 And the king said, What honour or favour
have we done to Mardochaeus? And the king's servants said, Thou hast
not done anything to him.
6.4 And while the king was enquiring about the
kindness of Mardochaeus, behold, Aman [was] in the court. And the king
said, Who [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.
6.5 And the king's servants said, Behold, Aman stands in the court. And the king said, Call him.
6.6 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?
6.7 and he said to the king, As for the man whom the king wishes to honour,
6.8 let the king's servants bring the robe of
fine linen which the king puts on, and the horse on which the king
rides,
6.9 and let him give [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 street of the
city, saying, Thus shall it be [done] to every man whom the king
honours.
6.10 Then the king said to Aman, Thou hast well said:
so do to Mardochaeus the Jew, who waits in the palace, and let not a
word of what thou hast spoken be neglected.
6.11 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.
6.12 And Mardochaeus returned to the palace: but Aman went home mourning, and having his head covered.
6.13 And Aman related the events that had befallen
him to Zosara his wife, and to [his] friends: and his friends and his
wife said to him, If Mardochaeus [be] of the race of the Jews, [and]
thou hast begun to be humbled before him, thou wilt assuredly fall, and
thou wilt not be able to withstand him, for the living God [is] with
him.
6.14 While they were yet speaking, the chamberlains
arrived, to hasten Aman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
7.1 So the king and Aman went in to drink with the queen.
7.2 And the king said to Esther at the banquet
on the second day, What is it, queen Esther? and what [is] thy request,
and what [is] thy petition? and it shall be [done] for thee, to the
half of my kingdom.
7.3 And she answered and said, If I have found
favour in the sight of the king, let [my] life be granted to my
petition, and my people to my request.
7.4 For both I and my people are sold for
destruction, and pillage, and slavery; [both] we and our children for
bondmen and bondwomen: and I consented not to it, for the slanderer
[is] not worthy of the king's palace.
7.5 And the king said, Who [is] this that has dared to do this thing?
7.6 And Esther said, the adversary [is] Aman,
this wicked man. Then Aman was troubled before the king and the queen.
7.7 And the king rose up from the banquet to go
into the garden: and Aman began to intreat the queen; for he saw that
he was in an evil case.
7.8 And the king returned from the garden; and
Aman had fallen upon the bed, intreating the queen. And the king said,
Wilt thou even force [my] wife in my house? And when Aman heard it, he
changed countenance.
7.9 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
hanged thereon.
7.10 So Aman was hanged on the gallows that had been
prepared for Mardochaeus: and then the king's wrath was appeased.
8.1
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 shewn that he was related to her.
8.2 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.
8.3 And she spoke yet again to the king, and
fell at his feet, and besought [him] to do away the mischief of Aman,
and all that he had done against the Jews.
8.4 Then the king stretched out to Esther the golden sceptre: and Esther arose to stand near the king.
8.5 And Esther said, If it seem good to thee,
and I have found favour [in thy 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 thy kingdom.
8.6 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 kindred?
8.7 And the king said to Esther, If I have
given and freely granted thee all that was Aman's, and hanged him on a
gallows, because he laid his hands upon the Jews, what dost thou yet
further seek?
8.8 Write ye also in my name, as it seems good
to you, and seal [it] with my ring: for whatever [orders] are written
at the command of the king, and sealed with my ring, it is not lawful
to gainsay them.
8.9 So the scribes were called in the
first-month, which is Nisan, on the three and twentieth day of the same
year; and [orders] were written to the Jews, whatever [the king had]
commanded to the local governors and chiefs of the satraps, from India
even to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven satraps, according to the
several provinces, according to their dialects.
8.10 And they were written by order of the king, and
sealed with his ring, and they sent the letters by the posts:
8.11 wherein he charged them to use their [own] laws
in every city, and to help each other, and to treat their adversaries,
and those who attacked them, as they pleased,
8.12 on one day in all the kingdom of Artaxerxes, on the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which is Adar.
8.13 And the following is the copy of the letter of
the orders. The great king Artaxerxes sends greeting to the rulers of
provinces [in] a 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
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 among men, but also, elated
by the boastings of men who are strangers to all that is good, they
suppose that they shall escape the sin-hating vengeance of the
ever-seeing God. And oftentimes [evil] exhortation has made partakers
of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and has involved in
irremediable calamities, many of those who were appointed to offices of
authority, who had been entrusted with the management of their friends'
affairs; while [men], by the false sophistry of an evil disposition,
have deceived the simple candour of the ruling powers. And it is
possible to see [this], not so much from more ancient traditionary
accounts, as it is immediately in your power [to see it] by examining
what things have been wickedly perpetrated by the baseness of men
unworthily holding power. And [it is right] to take heed with regard to
the future, that we may maintain the government in undisturbed peace
for all men, adopting [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 hospitably 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; [he, however], overcome by the pride [of his
station], endeavoured to deprive us of our dominion, and our life;
having by various and subtle artifices demanded for destruction both
Mardochaeus our deliverer and perpetual benefactor, and Esther the
blameless consort of [our] kingdom, with their whole nation. For by
these methods; the thought, having surprised us in a defenceless rate,
to transfer the dominion of the Persians to the Macedonians. But we
find that the Jews, who have been consigned to destruction by the 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
mighty, who maintains the kingdom, to us as well as to our forefathers,
in the most excellent order. Ye will therefore do well in refusing to
obey the letters 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 worth
recompence. [We enjoin you] then, having openly published a copy of
this letter in every place, t give the Jews permission to use their own
lawful customs, and to strengthen them, that on the thirteenth of the
twelfth month Adar, on self-same day, they made defend themselves
against those who attacked them in a time or affliction. For in the
place of the destruction of the chosen race, Almighty God has granted
them this [time of] gladness. Do ye therefore also among your [notable]
feasts, keep a distinct day with all festivity, that both now and
hereafter it may be a day of deliverance to us and those who are well
disposed toward 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 also
most hateful to wild beasts and birds forever. 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.
8.14 So the horsemen went forth with haste to perform
the king's commands; and the ordinance was also published in Susa.
8.15 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 [it] and rejoiced.
8.16 And the Jews had light and gladness,
8.17 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.
9.1
For in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the month which is
Adar, the letters written by the king arrived.
9.2 In that day the adversaries of the Jews perished: for no one resisted, through fear of them.
9.3 For the chiefs of the satraps, and the
princes and the royal scribes, honoured the Jews; for the fear of
Mardochaeus lay upon them.
9.4 For the order of the king was in force, that he should be celebrated in all the kingdom.
9.5 [vide]
9.6 And in the city Susa the Jews slew five hundred men:
9.7 both Pharsannes, and Delphon and Phasga,
9.8 and Pharadatha, and Barea, and Sarbaca,
9.9 and Marmasima, and Ruphaeus, and Arsaeus, and Zabuthaeus,
9.10 the ten sons of Aman the son of Amadathes the
Bugaean, the enemy of the Jews, and they plundered [their property] on
the same day:
9.11 and the number of them that perished in Susa was rendered to the king.
9.12 And the king said to Esther, The Jews have slain
five hundred men in the city Susa; and how, thinkest thou, have they
used them in the rest of the country? What then dost thou yet ask, that
it may be [done] for thee?
9.13 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.
9.14 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.
9.15 And the Jews assembled in Susa on the fourteenth
[day] of Adar, and slew three hundred men, but plundered no property.
9.16 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
[day] of Adar, but took no spoil.
9.17 And they rested on the fourteenth of the same month, and kept it as a day of rest with joy and gladness.
9.18 And the Jews in the city Susa assembled also on
the fourteenth [day] and rested; and they kept also the fifteenth with
joy and gladness.
9.19 On this account then [it is that] the Jews
dispersed in every foreign land keep the fourteenth of Adar [as] a holy
day with joy, sending portions each to his neighbour.
9.20 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,
9.21 to establish these [as] joyful days, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar;
9.22 for on these days the Jews obtained rest from
their enemies; and [as to] the month, which was Adar, in which a change
was made for tem, from mourning to joy, and from sorrow to a good day,
to spend the whole of it [in] good days of feasting and gladness,
sending portions to their friends, and to the poor.
9.23 And the Jews consented [to this] accordingly as Mardochaeus wrote to them,
9.24 [shewing] how Aman the son of Amadathes the
Macedonian fought against them, how he made a decree and cast lots to
destroy them utterly;
9.25 also how he went in to the king, telling [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.
9.26 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 [because of] all they suffered
on this account, and all that happened to them.
9.27 And [Mardochaeus] established it, and the Jews
took upon themselves, and upon their seed, and upon those that were
joined to them [to observe it], neither would they on any account
behave differently: but these days [were to be] a memorial kept in
every generation, and city, and family, and province.
9.28 And these days of the Phrurae, [said they,]
shall be kept for ever, and their memorial shall not fail in any
generation.
9.29 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.
9.30 [vide]
9.31 And Mardochaeus and Esther the queen appointed
[a fast] for themselves privately, even at that time also having formed
their plan against their own health.
9.32 And Esther established it by a command for ever, and it was written for a memorial.
10.1 And the king levied [a tax] upon [his] kingdom both by land and sea.
10.2 And [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.
10.3 And Mardochaeus 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 is nation. And Mardochaeus 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.
There was the little fountain, which became a river, and there was a
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 [nations] that combined to destroy the name of the
Jews. But [as for] my nation, this is Israel, [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 among the nations. Therefore
did he ordain two lots, one for the people of God, and one for all the
[other] nations. And these two lots came for an appointed season, and
for a day of judgment, 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 [day] of the month, with an assembly, and joy and gladness
before God, throughout the generations for ever among his people
Israel. In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra,
Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and Ptolemy his
son, brought in the published letter of Phrurae, which they said
existed, and [which] Lysimachus the son of...