2   In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great King, on the first day of Nisan, Mardochaeus son of Jairus, son of Semeius, son of Kisaeus, of the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream. 3   Mardochaeus was a Jew living in the city of Susa, a man of high standing, who was in the royal service; 4   he came of those whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem with Jechonias king of Judah. 5   This was his dream: din and tumult, peals of thunder and an earthquake, confusion upon the earth. 6   Then appeared two great dragons, ready to grapple with each other, and the noise they made was terrible. 7   Every nation was roused by it to prepare for war, to fight against the righteous nation. 8   It was a day of darkness and gloom, with distress and anguish, oppression and great confusion upon the earth. 9   And the whole righteous nation was troubled, dreading the evils in store for them, and they prepared for death. 10   They cried aloud to God; and in answer to their cry there came as though from a little spring a great river brimming with water. 11   It grew light, and the sun rose; the humble were exalted and they devoured the great. 12   After he had had this dream and had seen

A Jewess becomes queen what God had resolved to do, Mardochaeus woke; he kept it before his mind, seeking in every way to understand it, until nightfall.

1   Now when Mardochaeus was resting in the royal courtyard with Gabatha and Tharra, the two eunuchs who guarded the courtyard, he heard them deep in discussion. 2   He listened carefully to discover what was on their minds, and found that they were plotting violence against King Artaxerxes. 3   He denounced them to the king, who had the two eunuchs interrogated. They confessed and were led away to execution. 4   Then the king wrote an account of the affair, to have it on record; Mardochaeus also wrote an account of it. 5   The king gave Mardochaeus an appointment at court, and rewarded him for his services. 6   But Haman, the son of Hamadathus, a Bugaean, who enjoyed the king's favour, sought to injure Mardochaeus and his people because of the two eunuchs. A Jewess becomes queen in Persia

1   [Those events happened in the days of Artaxerxes, the Artaxerxes who ruled from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces. 2   At this time he sat on his royal throne in the city of Susa. 3   Then in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for the King's Friends and persons of various races, the Persian and Median nobles and the leading provincial governors. 4   And afterwards, after displaying to them the wealth of his empire and the splendour of his rich festivities for a hundred and eighty days, 5   when these days of feasting were over, the king gave a banquet for all the people of various races present in the city of Susa; it was held in the court of the king's palace and lasted six days. 6   The court was decorated with white curtains of linen and cotton stretched on cords of purple, and these were attached to blocks of gold and silver resting on stone and marble columns. There were couches of gold and silver set on a pavement of malachite, marble, and mother-of-pearl. There were mats of transparent weave elaborately embroidered with roses arranged in a circle. 7   The cups were of gold and silver, and there was displayed a miniature cup made of carbuncle worth thirty thousand talents. The wine was abundant and sweet, from the king's own cellar. 8   The drinking was not according to a fixed rule, but the

A Jewess becomes queen king had laid it down that all the stewards of his palace should respect his will and that of the guests. 9   In addition, Queen Astin gave a banquet for the women in the same palace where King Artaxerxes was.

10   On the seventh day, when he was in high good humour, the king ordered Haman, Mazan, Tharra, Borazes, Zatholtha, Abataza, and Tharaba, the seven eunuchs who were in attendance on the king's person, 11   to bring the queen before him, so that he might place the royal diadem on her head and let her display her beauty to the officers and people of various races; for she was indeed a beautiful woman. 12   But Queen Astin refused to obey him and come with the eunuchs. This offended the king and made him angry.

13   Then the king said to his courtiers, ‘You hear what Astin said. 14   Give your ruling and judgement in the matter.’ Then the nobles of Persia and Media who were closest to the king—Harkesaeus, Sarsathaeus, and Malesear, who sat next him in the chief seats— 15   approached him and declared what should be done according to the law to Queen Astin for disobeying the order which the king sent her by the eunuchs. 16   Then Muchaeus said to the king and the nobles: ‘Queen Astin has done wrong, and not to the king alone, but to all his nobles and officers as well.’ 17   (For he had repeated to them what the queen had said and how she had defied the king.) 18   ‘And just as she defied King Artaxerxes, so now the nobles of Persia and Media will find that all their ladies are bold enough to treat their husbands with contempt, when they hear what she said to the king. 19   If it please your majesty, let a royal decree go out from you, and let it be inscribed among the laws of the Medes and Persians, that Astin shall not again appear before the king; this is the only course. And let the king give her place as queen to another woman who is more worthy of it than she. 20   Let whatever law the king makes be proclaimed throughout his empire, and then all women will give due honour to their husbands, rich and poor alike.’ 21   The advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Muchaeus had proposed. 22   Letters were sent to all the provinces of the empire, to each province in its own language, in order that every man might be respected in his own house.

1   Later, when the anger of King Artaxerxes had died down, he remembered Astin and what she had done, and how he had given judgement against her. 2   So the king's attendants said: ‘Let beautiful girls of unblemished virtue be sought out for your majesty. 3   Let your

A Jewess becomes queen majesty appoint commissioners in all the provinces of the empire to select these beautiful virgins and bring them to the city of Susa, into the women's quarters. There let them be committed to the care of the king's eunuch in charge of the women, and let them be provided with cosmetics and everything else they need. 4   Then the one who is most acceptable to the king shall become queen in place of Astin.’ The advice pleased the king, and he acted on it.

5   Now there was a Jew in the city of Susa named Mardochaeus, son of Jairus, son of Semeius, son of Kisaeus, of the tribe of Benjamin; 6   he had been carried into exile from Jerusalem when it was taken by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 7   He had a foster-child named Esther, the daughter of his father's brother Aminadab. She had lost her parents, and he had brought her up to womanhood. She was a very beautiful girl. 8   When the king's edict was proclaimed, many girls were brought to Susa to be entrusted to Gai, who had charge of the women, and among them was Esther. 9   She attracted his notice and received his special favour: he readily provided her with her cosmetics and allowance of food, and also with seven maids assigned to her from the king's palace. He gave her and her maids honourable treatment in the women's quarters.

10   Esther had not disclosed her race or country, because Mardochaeus had forbidden her to do so. 11   Every day Mardochaeus passed along by the forecourt of the women's quarters to keep an eye on Esther and see what would happen to her.

12   The period after which a girl was to go to the king was twelve months. This was for the completion of the required treatment—six months with oil and myrrh and six months with perfumes and cosmetics. 13   Then the girl went to the king. She was handed to the person appointed, and accompanied him from the women's quarters to the king's palace. 14   She entered the palace in the evening and returned in the morning to Gai, the king's eunuch in charge of the women, in another part of the women's quarters. She did not go to the king again unless summoned by name.

15   When the time came for Esther, daughter of Aminadab the uncle of Mardochaeus, to go to the king, she neglected none of the instructions of Gai the king's eunuch in charge of the women; for Esther charmed all who saw her. 16   She was taken to King Artaxerxes in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, in the seventh year of his reign. 17   The king fell in love with her, finding her more acceptable

A Jewess becomes queen than any of the other girls, and crowned her with the queen's diadem. 18   Then the king gave a banquet lasting seven days for all the King's Friends and the officers, to celebrate Esther's marriage. He also granted a remission of taxation to all subjects of his empire.

19    20   Mardochaeus was in attendance in the courtyard. But Esther had not disclosed her country—such were the instructions of Mardochaeus; but she was to fear God and keep his commandments just as she had done when she was with him. So Esther made no change in her way of life.

21   Two of the king's eunuchs, officers of the bodyguard, were offended at the advancement of Mardochaeus and plotted to kill King Artaxerxes. 22   This became known to Mardochaeus, who told Esther, and she revealed the plot to the king. 23   The king interrogated the two eunuchs and had them hanged, and he ordered that the service Mardochaeus had rendered should be recorded in the royal archives to his honour. A plot against the Jews

1   After this King Artaxerxes promoted Haman son of Hamadathus the Bugaean, advancing him and giving him precedence above all the King's Friends. 2   So all who were at court did obeisance to Haman, for so the king had commanded; but Mardochaeus did not do obeisance. 3   Then the king's courtiers said to him, ‘Mardochaeus, why do you flout the king's command?’ 4   Day by day they challenged him, but he refused to listen to them. Then they informed Haman that Mardochaeus was resisting the king's command. 5   Mardochaeus had told them that he was a Jew. So when Haman learnt that Mardochaeus was not doing obeisance to him, he was 6   infuriated and plotted to exterminate all the Jews under Artaxerxes’ rule.

7   In the twelfth year of King Artaxerxes he arrived at a decision by casting lots, taking the days and the months one by one, to decide on one day for the destruction of the whole race of Mardochaeus. The lot fell on the thirteenth ^note day of the month Adar.

8   Then Haman said to King Artaxerxes: ‘There is a certain nation

A plot against the Jews dispersed among the other nations of your empire. Their laws are different from those of every other nation; they do not keep your majesty's laws. It is not to your majesty's advantage to tolerate them. 9   If it please your majesty, let an order be made for their destruction; and I will contribute ten thousand talents of silver to the royal treasury.’ 10   So the king took off his signet-ring and gave it to Haman to seal the decree against the Jews. 11   ‘Keep the money, and deal with these people as you will’, he said.

12   On the thirteenth day of the first month the king's secretaries were summoned, and in accordance with Haman's instructions, they wrote in the name of King Artaxerxes to his army commanders and governors in every province from India to Ethiopia. There were a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, and each was addressed in its own language. 13   Instructions were dispatched by courier to all the empire of Artaxerxes to exterminate the Jewish race, on a given day of the twelfth month, Adar, and to plunder their possessions.]

1   This is a copy of the letter:

  Artaxerxes the Great King to the governors of the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia, and to the subordinate officials.

   2   Ruler as I am over many nations and master of all the world, it is my will—not in the arrogance of power, but because my rule is mild and equitable—to ensure to my subjects a life permanently free from disturbance, to pacify my empire and make it safe for travel to its farthest limits, and to restore the peace that all men long for. 3   I asked my counsellors how this object might be achieved and received a reply from Haman. Haman is eminent among us for sound judgement, one whose worth is proved by his constant goodwill and steadfast loyalty, and who has gained the honour of the second place at our court. 4   He represented to us that scattered among all the races of the empire is a disaffected people, opposed in its laws to every nation, and continually ignoring the royal ordinances, so that our irreproachable plans for the unified administration of the empire cannot be made effective. 5   We understand that this nation stands alone in its continual opposition to all men, that it evades the laws by its strange manner of life, and in disloyalty to our government commits grievous offences, thus

A plot against the Jews undermining the security of our empire. 6   We therefore order that those who are designated to you in the indictments drawn up by Haman, our vicegerent and second father, shall all, together with their wives and children, be utterly destroyed by the sword of their enemies, without mercy or pity, on the thirteenth ^note day of Adar, the twelfth month, of the present year. 7   Those persons who have long been disaffected shall meet a violent death in one day so that our government may henceforth be stable and untroubled.

14   [Copies of the document were posted up in every province, and all nations of the empire were ordered to be ready by that day. 15   The matter was expedited also in Susa. While the king and Haman caroused together, the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

1   When Mardochaeus learnt all that was being done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and sprinkled himself with ashes; and he rushed through the city, crying loudly: ‘An innocent nation is being destroyed.’ 2   He went as far as the king's gate, and there he halted, because no one was allowed to enter the courtyard clothed with sackcloth and ashes. 3   In every province where the king's decree was posted up, there was a great cry of mourning and lamentation among the Jews, and they put on sackcloth and ashes. 4   When the queen's maids and eunuchs came and told her, she was distraught at the news, and sent clothes for Mardochaeus, urging him to take off his sackcloth; but he would not consent. 5   Then Esther summoned Hachrathaeus, the eunuch who waited upon her, and ordered him to obtain accurate information for her from Mardochaeus. ^note 7   So Mardochaeus told him all that had happened, and how Haman had promised to pay ten thousand talents into the royal treasury to bring about the destruction of the Jews. 8   He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction which had been posted up in Susa, to show to Esther; and he gave him a message for her, that she should go to the king and plead for his favour and entreat him for her people. ‘Remember’, he said, ‘those days when you were brought up in my humble home; for Haman, who stands next to the king, has spoken against us and demanded our death. Call upon the Lord, and then speak for us to the king and save our

A plot against the Jews lives.’ 9   Hachrathaeus returned and told her what Mardochaeus had said. 10    11   She sent him back with this message: ‘All nations of the empire know that if any person, man or woman, enters the king's presence in the inner court unbidden, there is no escape for him. Only one to whom the king stretches out the golden sceptre is safe; and it is now thirty days since I myself was called to go to the king.’

12    13   When Hachrathaeus delivered her message, Mardochaeus told him to go back and say: ‘Do not imagine, Esther, that you alone of all the Jews in the empire will escape alive. 14   For if you remain silent at such a time as this, the Jews will somewhere find relief and deliverance, but you and your father's family will perish. Who knows whether it is not for such a time as this that you have been made a queen?’ 15   Esther gave the messenger this answer to take back to Mardochaeus: 16   ‘Go and assemble all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me; for three days take neither food nor drink, night or day, and I and my maids will also go without food. Then in defiance of the law I will enter the king's presence, even if it costs me my life.’ 17   So Mardochaeus went away and did as Esther had bidden him.]

8   And Mardochaeus prayed to the Lord, calling to mind all the works of the Lord. 9   He said, ‘O Lord, Lord and King who rulest over all, because the whole world is under thy authority, and when it is thy will to save Israel there is no one who can stand against thee: 10   thou didst make heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under heaven; 11   thou art Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist thee, the Lord. 12   Thou knowest all things; thou knowest, Lord, that it was not from insolence or arrogance or vainglory that I refused to bow before proud Haman, 13   for I could gladly have kissed the soles of his feet to save Israel; 14   no, I did it so that I might not hold a man in greater honour than God; I will not bow before any but thee, my Lord, and it is not from arrogance that I refuse this homage. 15   And now Lord, God and King, God of Abraham, spare thy people; for our enemies are watching us to bring us to ruin, and they have set their hearts upon the destruction of thy chosen people, thine from the beginning. 16   Do not disdain thy own possession which thou didst ransom for thyself out of Egypt. 17   Hear my prayer, and have mercy on thy heritage, and turn our mourning into feasting, that we may live and sing of thy name, Lord; do not put to silence

A plot against the Jews the lips that give thee praise.’ 18   And all Israel cried aloud with all their might, for death stared them in the face.

1   Then Queen Esther, caught up in this deadly conflict, ^note took refuge in the Lord. 2   She stripped off her splendid attire and put on the garb of mourning and distress. Instead of proud perfumes she strewed ashes and dung over her head. She abased her body, and every part that she had delightfully adorned she covered with her dishevelled hair. 3   And so she prayed to the Lord God of Israel:

‘O my Lord, thou alone art our king; help me who am alone, with no helper but thee; for I am taking my life in my hands. 4    5   Ever since I was born I have been taught by my father's family and tribe that thou, O Lord, didst choose Israel out of all the nations, and out of all the founders of our race didst choose our fathers for an everlasting possession, and that what thou didst promise them, thou didst perform. 6   But now we have sinned against thee, and thou hast handed us over to our enemies because we honoured their gods; 7   thou art just, O Lord. 8   But they are not content with our bitter servitude; they 9   have now pledged themselves to their idols to annul thy decree and to destroy thy possession, silencing those who praise thee, extinguishing the glory of thy house, and casting down thy altar. 10   They would give the heathen cause to sing the praises of their worthless gods, and would have a mortal king held in everlasting honour.

11   ‘Yield not thy sceptre, O Lord, to gods that are nothing; let not our enemies mock at our ruin, but turn their plot against themselves, and make an example of the man who planned it. 12   Remember us, O Lord, make thy power known in the time of our distress, and give me courage, O King of gods, almighty Lord. 13   Give me the apt word to say when I enter the lion's den. Divert his hatred to our enemy, so that there may be an end of him and his confederates.

14   ‘Save us by thy power, and help me who am alone and have no helper but thee, Lord. 15   Thou knowest all; thou knowest that I hate the splendour of the heathen, I abhor the bed of the uncircumcised or of any Gentile. 16   Thou knowest in what straits I am: I loathe that symbol of pride, the headdress that I wear when I show myself abroad, I loathe it as one loathes a filthy rag; in private I refuse to wear it. 17   I, thy servant, have not eaten at Haman's table; I have not graced a banquet of the king or touched the wine of his drinkofferings; 18   I have not known festive joy from the time that I was

A plot against the Jews brought here until now except in thee, Lord God of Abraham. 19   O God who dost prevail against all, give heed to the cry of the despairing: rescue us from the power of wicked men, and rescue me from what I dread.’

1   On the third day Esther brought her prayers to an end. She took off the clothes she had worn while she worshipped and put on all her splendour. 2   When she was in her royal robes and had invoked the all-seeing God, her preserver, she took two maids with her; 3    4   on one she leaned for support, as befitted a fine lady, while the other followed, bearing her train. 5   She was blushing and in the height of her beauty; her face was as cheerful as it was lovely, but her heart was in the grip of fear. 6   She passed through all the doors and reached the royal presence. The king was seated on his throne, in the full array of his majesty. He was all gold and precious stones, an awe-inspiring figure. 7   He looked up, his face glowing with regal dignity, and glanced at her in towering anger. The queen fell, changing colour in a faint, and swooning on the shoulder of the maid who went before her.

8   Then God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in deep concern he leapt from his throne and took her in his arms until she came to herself. 9   He soothed her with reassuring words: ‘Esther, what is it? 10   Have no fear of me, your loving husband; you shall not die, for our order is only for our subjects. 11   Come to me.’ And the king lifted his golden sceptre and laid it upon her neck; 12   then he kissed her and said, ‘You may speak to me.’ 13   She answered, ‘I saw you, my lord, looking like an angel of God, and I was awestruck at your glorious appearance; 14   your countenance is so full of grace, my lord, that I look on you in wonder.’ 15   But while she was speaking she fell down in a faint; 16   the king was distressed, and all his attendants comforted her.

3   [Then the king said, ‘What is your wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? 4   Up to half my empire, it shall be given you.’ ‘Today is a special day for me’, said Esther. ‘If it please your majesty, will you come, and Haman with you, to a banquet which I shall give today?’ 5   The king ordered Haman to be sent for in haste, so that Esther's wish might be fulfilled; and they both went to the banquet to which Esther had invited them. 6   Over the wine the king said to her, ‘What is it, Queen Esther? Whatever you ask for shall be

A plot against the Jews yours.’ 7    8   Esther said, ‘This is my humble request: if I have won your majesty's favour, will your majesty and Haman come again tomorrow to the banquet which I shall give for you both, and tomorrow I will do as I have done today.’

9   So Haman went out from the royal presence in good spirits and well pleased with himself. But when he saw Mardochaeus the Jew in the king's courtyard, he was filled with rage. 10   He went home, and called for his friends and his wife Zosara, 11   and held forth to them about his wealth and the honours with which the king had invested him, how he had made him first man in the empire. 12   ‘Queen Esther’, he said, ‘invited no one but myself to accompany the king to her banquet; and I am invited again for tomorrow. 13   Yet all this is no pleasure to me so long as I see that Jew Mardochaeus in the courtyard.’ 14   Then his wife Zosara and his friends said to him: ‘Have a gallows put up, seventy-five feet ^note high, and in the morning speak to the king and have Mardochaeus hanged upon it. Then you can go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.’ Haman thought this an excellent plan, and the gallows was made ready. The triumph of the Jews

1   That night the Lord kept sleep from the king, so he ordered his private secretary to bring the court chronicle and read it to him. 2   He found written there the record about Mardochaeus, how he had given information about the two royal eunuchs who, while they were on guard, had plotted violence against King Artaxerxes. 3   Whereupon the king said, ‘What honour or favour did we confer on Mardochaeus for this?’ The king's courtiers who were in attendance replied, ‘You have done nothing for him.’ 4   While the king was inquiring about the service that Mardochaeus had rendered, Haman appeared in the courtyard. ‘Who is that in the court?’ asked the king. Now Haman had just come in to recommend to the king that Mardochaeus should be hanged on the gallows which he had prepared; so the king's servants said, 5   ‘It is Haman standing in the court.’ 6   ‘Call him’, said the king. Then the king said to Haman, ‘What shall I do for the man I wish to honour?’ Haman said to

The triumph of the Jews himself, ‘Whom would the king wish to honour but me?’ 7   So he said to the king, 8   ‘For the man whom the king wishes to honour, let the king's attendants bring a robe of fine linen from the king's own wardrobe and a horse from the king's own stable. 9   Let both be delivered to one of the king's most honourable Friends, and let him robe the man whom the king loves and mount him on the horse, and let him proclaim through the city: “This shall be the lot of any man whom the king honours.”’ 10   Then the king said to Haman, ‘An excellent suggestion! Do all this for Mardochaeus the Jew who serves in the courtyard. Let nothing that you have said be omitted.’ 11   So Haman took the robe and put it on Mardochaeus, and mounted him on the horse; then he went through the city, proclaiming: ‘This shall be the lot of any man whom the king wishes to honour.’

12   Then Mardochaeus returned to the courtyard, and Haman hurried off home with head veiled in mourning. 13   He told his wife Zosara and his friends what had happened to him. They replied, ‘If Mardochaeus is a Jew, and you have been humiliated before him, you are a lost man. You cannot get the better of him, because the living God is on his side.’

14   While they were still talking with Haman, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried him away to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

1    2   So the king and Haman went to the queen's banquet. Again on that second day, over the wine, the king said, ‘What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? What is your petition? You shall have it, up to half my empire.’ 3   Queen Esther answered: ‘If I have won your majesty's favour, my request is for my life, my petition is for my people. 4   For it has come to my ears that we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, plundered, and enslaved, we and our children, male and female. Our adversary is a disgrace to the king's court.’ 5   The king said, ‘Who is it that has dared to do such a thing?’ ‘Our enemy’, said Esther, ‘is this wicked Haman.’ 6   Haman stood dumbfounded before the king and the queen. 7   The king rose from the banquet and went into the garden, and Haman began to plead with the queen, for he saw that things were going badly for him. 8   When the king returned to the banqueting hall from the garden, Haman in his entreaties had flung himself across the queen's couch. The king exclaimed, ‘What! You assault the queen in my own house?’ At those words Haman turned away in despair. 9   Then Bugathan, one of

The triumph of the Jews the eunuchs, said to the king, ‘Look! Haman has even prepared a gallows for Mardochaeus, the man who reported the plot against the king, and there it stands, seventy-five feet ^note high, in Haman's compound.’ 10   ‘Have Haman hanged on it’, said the king. So Haman was hanged on the gallows that he himself had prepared for Mardochaeus. After that the king's rage died down.

1   That day King Artaxerxes gave Esther all that had belonged to Haman the persecutor; and Mardochaeus was called into the king's presence, for Esther had told him how he was related to her. 2   Then the king took off his signet-ring, which he had taken back from Haman, and gave it to Mardochaeus. And Esther put Mardochaeus in charge of Haman's estate.

3   Once again Esther spoke before the king, falling at his feet and pleading with him to avert the calamity planned by Haman and to frustrate his plot against the Jews. 4   The king stretched out the golden sceptre to Esther, and she rose and stood before the king. 5   ‘May it please your majesty,’ she said; ‘if I have won your favour, let an order be issued recalling the letters which Haman sent in pursuance of his plan to destroy the Jews in your empire. 6   How can I bear to see the downfall of my people? How escape myself when my country is destroyed?’ 7   Then the king said to Esther: ‘I have given Haman's property to you, and hanged him on the gallows because he threatened the lives of the Jews. 8   If you want anything further, you may draw up an order in my name, in whatever terms you think fit, and seal it with my signet. An order written at the king's direction and sealed with the royal signet cannot be contravened.’

9   And so, on the twenty-third day of the first month, Nisan, in the same year, the king's secretaries were summoned; and the Jews were informed in writing of the instructions given to the administrators and chief governors in the provinces, from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, to each province in its own language. 10   The orders were written as from the king and sealed with his signet, and dispatched by courier. 11   By these documents the king granted permission to the Jews in every city to observe their own laws and to defend themselves, and to deal as they would with their opponents and enemies, 12   throughout the empire of Artaxerxes, on a given day, the thirteenth of the twelfth month, Adar.]

The triumph of the Jews

1   The following is a copy of this letter:

  Artaxerxes the Great King to the governors of the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia, and to those who are of our allegiance, greeting.

   2   Many who have been honoured only too often by the lavish 3   generosity of their benefactors have grown arrogant and not only attempt to ill-treat our subjects but, unable to carry the favours heaped upon themselves, even plot mischief against those who grant them. 4   Not content with destroying gratitude in men, they are carried away by the insolence of those who are strangers to good breeding; they even suppose that they will escape the justice of all-seeing God, who is no friend to evil-doers. 5   And often, when the king's business has been entrusted to those he counts his friends, they have, by their plausibility, made those in supreme authority partners in shedding innocent blood and involved them in irreparable misfortunes, 6   for their malevolence with its misleading sophistries has imposed upon the sincere goodwill of their rulers. 7   The evil brought about by those who wield power unworthily you can observe, not only in records of tradition and history but also in your familiar experience, 8   and apply the lesson to the future. Thus we shall peacefully free this realm from disturbance for the benefit of all, 9   making no changes but always deciding matters which come under our notice with firmness and equity. 10   Now Haman son of Hamadathus, a Macedonian, an alien in fact with no Persian blood, a man with nothing of our kindly nature, ^note 11   was accepted by us and enjoyed ^note so fully the benevolence with which we treat every nation that he was proclaimed our Father, and all along received obeisance from everyone as second only to our royal throne. 12   But this man in his unbridled arrogance 13   planned to deprive us of our empire and our life by using fraud and tortuous cunning to bring about the destruction of Mardochaeus, our constant benefactor who had saved our life, and of Esther, our blameless consort, together with their whole nation. 14   For he thought that by these methods he would catch us defenceless and would transfer to the Macedonians the sovereignty now held by the Persians. 15   But we find that the Jews, whom this triple-dyed villain had consigned to extinction, are no evil-doers; they

The triumph of the Jews order their lives by the most just of laws, 16   and are children of the living God, most high, most mighty, who maintains the empire in most wonderful order, for us as for our ancestors.

   17   You will therefore disregard the letters sent by Haman son of Hamadathus, 18   because he, the contriver of all this, has been hanged aloft at the gate of Susa with his whole household, God who is Lord of all having speedily brought upon him the punishment that he deserved. 19   Copies of this letter are to be posted up in all public places. Permit the Jews to live under their own laws, 20   and give them every assistance so that on the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month, on that very day, they may avenge themselves on those who were ranged against them ^note in the time of their oppression. 21   For God, who has all things in his power, has made this a day not of ruin, but of joy, for his chosen people. 22   Therefore you also must keep it with all good cheer, as a notable day among your feasts of commemoration, 23   so that henceforth it may be a standing symbol of deliverance to us and our loyal Persians, but a reminder of destruction to those who plot against us. 24   Any city or country whatsoever which does not act upon these orders shall incur our wrath and be wiped out with fire and sword. No man shall set foot in it and even the beasts and birds shall shun it for all time.

   13   [Let copies be posted up conspicuously throughout the empire, so that the Jews may be prepared by that day to fight against their enemies.

14   Mounted messengers set out with all speed to do what the king commanded; and the decree was posted up also in Susa.

15   Mardochaeus left the king's presence in royal robes, wearing a golden crown and a turban of fine linen dyed purple, and all in Susa rejoiced to see him. 16    17   For the Jews there was light and gladness in every province and every city. Wherever the decree was posted up there was joy and gladness for the Jews, feasting and merriment. And many of the Gentiles were circumcised and professed Judaism, because they were afraid of the Jews.

1   On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, the decree drawn up by the king arrived. On that very day the

The triumph of the Jews enemies of the Jews perished. 2   No one offered resistance, because they were afraid of them. 3   The leading provincial governors, the princes, and the royal secretaries paid all respect to the Jews, because fear of Mardochaeus weighed upon them. 4   For they had received the king's decree that his name should be honoured throughout the empire. ^{note note} 6   In the city itself the Jews slaughtered five hundred men, including Pharsanestan, 7    8   Delphon, Phasga, Pharadatha, Barsa, Sarbacha, 9    10   Marmasima, Ruphaeus, Arsaeus, and Zabuthaeus, the ten sons of Haman son of Hamadathus, the Bugaean, the Jews' great enemy; and that day they took plunder.

11   When the number of those killed in Susa was reported to the king, he said to Esther, 12   ‘In the city of Susa the Jews have killed five hundred men. What do you suppose they have done in the surrounding country? Whatever further request you have will be granted.’ Esther answered him, 13   ‘Let the Jews be allowed to do the same tomorrow, and hang up the bodies of Haman's ten sons.’ 14   The king consented; he handed over the bodies of Haman's sons to the Jews of the city to be hung up. 15   The Jews in Susa assembled on the fourteenth day of Adar also, and killed three hundred, but they took no plunder.

16    17   The rest of the Jews in the empire rallied together in self-defence, and so were quit of their enemies; for they slaughtered fifteen thousand of them on the thirteenth of Adar; but they took no plunder. On the fourteenth they rested, and made that day a day of rest, with rejoicing and merriment. 18   The Jews in the city of Susa had assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month; they did not rest on that day, but they kept the fifteenth day with rejoicing and merriment. 19   That is why Jews who are dispersed over the remoter parts keep the fourteenth day of Adar as a holiday with rejoicing and merriment, sending presents of food to one another; but those who live in the principal cities keep the fifteenth of Adar as a holiday, sending presents of food to one another.

20   Then Mardochaeus wrote down the whole story in a book and sent it to all the Jews in the empire of Artaxerxes, 21   far and near, ordering them to establish these holidays, and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar, 22   because these were the days on which the Jews were quit of their enemies, and to keep the whole month of Adar, in

The triumph of the Jews which came the great change from sorrow to joy and from mourning to holiday, as a time for feasting and merriment, days for sending presents of food to friends and to the poor.

23   So the Jews formally accepted the account which Mardochaeus wrote: 24   how Haman son of Hamadathus, the Bugaean, ^note fought against them; 25   how he cast lots to decide the date of their destruction; how he came before the king with a proposal to hang Mardochaeus; and how all the evils which he had plotted against the Jews recoiled on his own head, and he and his sons were hanged. 26   This is why these days were named ‘Purim’, which in the Jews' language means ‘lots’. Because of all that was recorded in this letter—all that they had experienced, all that had happened—Mardochaeus directed that this festival should be observed, 27   and the Jews undertook, on behalf of themselves, their descendants, and all who should join them, to do so without fail. 28   These were to be days of commemoration, duly celebrated age after age in every town, family, and province. These days of Purim were to be kept for all time, and the commemoration was never to cease throughout all ages.

29   Queen Esther daughter of Aminadab, and Mardochaeus the Jew, recorded in writing all that they had done, and confirmed the regulations for Purim. 30    31   They made themselves responsible for this decision and staked their life upon the plan. ^note 32   Esther established it for all time by her decree, and it was put on record.

1    2   The king made decrees for the empire by land and sea. His strength and courage, his wealth and the splendour of his empire, are recorded in the annals of the kings of the Persians and Medes. Mardochaeus acted for King Artaxerxes; 3   he was a great man in the empire and honoured by the Jews. His way of life won him the affection of his whole nation.]

4    5   Mardochaeus said, ‘All this is God's doing. For I have been reminded of the dream I had about these things; not one of the visions I saw proved meaningless. 6   There was the little spring which became a river, and there was light and sun and water in abundance. 7   The river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen; the two dragons are Haman and myself; 8   the nations are those who gathered to wipe out the Jews; 9   my nation is Israel, which cried aloud

The triumph of the Jews to God and was delivered. The Lord has delivered his people, he has rescued us from all these evils. God performed great miracles and signs such as have not occurred among the nations. 10   He made ready two lots, one for the people of God and one for all the nations; 11   then came the hour and the time for these two lots to be cast, the day of decision by God before ^note all the nations; 12   he remembered his people and gave the verdict for his heritage.

13   ‘So they shall keep these days in the month of Adar, the fourteenth and fifteenth of that month, by gathering with joy and gladness before God from one generation of his people to another, for ever.’

1   In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a levitical priest, and Ptolemaeus his son, brought the foregoing letter about Purim, which they said was authentic and had been translated by Lysimachus son of Ptolemaeus, a resident in Jerusalem.

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