Esther 8 Cross References - Webster

¹ On that day the king Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews' enemy, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her. ² And the king took off his ring which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. ³ And Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. ⁴ Then the king held out the golden scepter towards Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king, ⁵ And said, If it shall please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing shall seem right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces: ⁶ For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred? ⁷ Then the king Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. ⁸ Write ye also for the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, no man may reverse. ⁹ Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day of it; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India to Cush, a hundred twenty and seven provinces, to every province according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language. ¹⁰ And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus's name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries: ¹¹ In which the king granted the Jews who were in every city to assemble, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, ¹² Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, ¹³ The copy of the writing for a commandment, to be given in every province was published to all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. ¹⁴ So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace. ¹⁵ And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced, and was glad: ¹⁶ The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honor. ¹⁷ And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

¹⁴ And the next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and who sat the first in the kingdom;)

⁷ And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.

¹⁵ Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, had come to go in to the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her.

⁶ And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.

¹⁶ Though he should heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay? ¹⁷ He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

⁶ (39:5)Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth; and my age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

⁶ (49:5)Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall encompass me? ⁷ (49:6)They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; ⁸ (49:7)None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: ⁹ (49:8)(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) ¹⁰ (49:9)That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. ¹¹ (49:10)For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. ¹² (49:11)Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. ¹³ (49:12)Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

²² A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

⁸ He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.

¹⁸ Yes, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it to the man that shall be after me. ¹⁹ And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

²⁰ But God said to him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

⁴² And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

⁷ And David said to him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for the sake of Jonathan thy father, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. ⁸ And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am? ⁹ Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to thy master's son all that pertained to Saul, and to all his house. ¹⁰ Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

¹⁰ And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews enemy.

³⁴ Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

¹⁸ Yes, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it to the man that shall be after me. ¹⁹ And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. ²⁰ Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun. ²¹ For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not labored in it, shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²² For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, in which he hath labored under the sun? ²³ For all his days are sorrows, and his labor grief; yes, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. ²⁴ There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat, or who else can hasten to it more than I? ²⁶ For God giveth to a man who is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth toil, to gather, and to amass, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

¹³ (5:14)But those riches perish by evil labor: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. ¹⁴ (5:15)As he came into the world, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.

¹⁹ And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. ²⁰ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: ²¹ And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. ²² And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

⁴⁸ Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

²⁴ And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thy audience, and hear the words of thy handmaid.

²⁷ And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is sorrowful within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me?

⁸ And Haman said to king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. ⁹ If it shall 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 that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. ¹⁰ And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews enemy. ¹¹ And the king said to Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. ¹² Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded to the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province, according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring. ¹³ And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. ¹⁴ The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province, was published to all people, that they should be ready against that day. ¹⁵ The posts departed, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

⁴ For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bond-men and bond-women, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.

² Then Hezekiah turned his face towards the wall, and prayed to the LORD,

⁴ (12:3)He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:

⁷ Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to him that was able to save him from death, and was heard, in that he feared;

¹¹ All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whoever, whether man or woman, shall come to the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except him to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.

² And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter.

¹³ Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

¹⁶ For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

²⁹ And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother he hath commanded me to be there: and now if I have found favor in thy eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not to the king's table.

⁴ And let the maiden who pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.

¹⁷ And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

¹² Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded to the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province, according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring. ¹³ And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

⁸ If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it shall please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to-morrow as the king hath said.

³ Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it shall please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:

³⁴ For how shall I return to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest perhaps I see the evil that shall come on my father.

³ And said to the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lieth waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?

¹ Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)

¹⁹ My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

¹ Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

⁴¹ And when he had come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, ⁴² Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thy eyes.

² That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. ³ For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

¹ Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved.

¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.

¹³ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Accursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

¹⁹ If it pleaseth the king, let a royal commandment go from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another that is better than she.

¹² Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded to the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province, according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.

⁵ And said, If it shall please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing shall seem right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces:

¹⁰ And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus's name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:

⁸ (6:7)All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.

¹² (6:11)Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. ¹³ (6:12)Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. ¹⁴ (6:13)Then they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. ¹⁵ (6:14)Then the king, when he heard these words, was much displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he labored till the setting of the sun to deliver him.

¹⁹ Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth firm, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

¹⁷ Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: ¹⁸ That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

²⁶ Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah, to Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews language in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

¹ Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Cush, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

²² For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.

¹ Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you.

¹ (5:31)And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about sixty and two years old.

⁹ So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye will speak into the air. ¹⁰ There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. ¹¹ Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh will be a barbarian to me.

²⁸ Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries they brought to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

⁶ So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you that have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

²⁵ Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

⁴ Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say to him, what doest thou?

⁶ The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD.

²⁰ And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.

²³ How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

²¹ And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and its rider;

¹³ And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

² The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people. ³ And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. ⁴ For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai became greater and greater. ⁵ Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would to those that hated them. ⁶ And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew 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 the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, they slew; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. ¹¹ On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king. ¹² And the king said to Esther the queen, the Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done. ¹³ Then said Esther, If it shall please the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do to-morrow also according to this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows. ¹⁴ And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons. ¹⁵ For the Jews that were in Shushan assembled on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand. ¹⁶ But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces assembled, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, (but they laid not their hands on the prey.)

¹⁴ The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as are of upright deportment. ¹⁵ Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

³ (68:2)As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

⁸ O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.

⁶ Who made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that is in them: who keepeth truth for ever: ⁷ Who executeth judgment for the oppressed: who giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners: ⁸ The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: ⁹ The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

⁶ I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

¹⁰ So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall lay waste those that wasted them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.

⁹ The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. ¹⁰ Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sunk as lead in the mighty waters.

⁶ But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. ⁷ And Adoni-bezek said, seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table; as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

²⁸ And Samson called to the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

¹⁴ The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province, was published to all people, that they should be ready against that day.

²³ (68:22)The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea.

¹⁰ (92:9)For lo, thy enemies, O LORD, for lo, thy enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. ¹¹ (92:10)But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; ⁷ To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; ⁸ To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; ⁹ To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

⁷ And will not God avenge his own elect, who cry day and night to him, though he beareth long with them?

¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

⁸ And David said to Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand a spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.

¹ The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, ² That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,

³ And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may collect all the fair young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, into the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:

¹⁵ The posts departed, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

¹⁰ Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

² And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river Ulai.

⁶ Where were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black marble.

¹ Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

⁸ Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head:

¹¹ Then Haman took the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor.

² When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

²⁹ And yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

⁸ But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

¹⁹ There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

¹ When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; ² And came even before the king's gate: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. ³ And in every province whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

¹⁶ Go, assemble all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.

¹⁷ On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

²⁸ (18:27)For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

⁵ (30:4)Sing to the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. ⁶ (30:5)For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. ⁷ (30:6)And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. ⁸ (30:7)LORD, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. ⁹ (30:8)I cried to thee, O LORD; and to the LORD I made supplication. ¹⁰ (30:9)What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? ¹¹ (30:10)Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

¹¹ Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

⁴ To the upright there ariseth light in darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

¹⁸ But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more to the perfect day. ¹⁹ The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

¹⁰ When the righteous prosper, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.

²⁹ Ye shall have a song, as in the night, when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come upon the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. ³⁰ And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.

¹⁰ And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

⁵ And they journeyed: and the terror of God was on the cities that were round them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

¹⁶ Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thy arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.

²⁵ This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

²⁵ There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you, and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said to you.

⁸ Ask thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thy eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatever cometh to thy hand, to thy servants, and to thy son David.

¹⁰ Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy to our Lord: neither be ye sad; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

² The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.

¹⁹ Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

²² As the days in which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day, that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

²⁷ The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves to them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;

⁴³ (18:42)Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

²⁰ Thus saith the LORD of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: ²¹ And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. ²² And many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. ²³ Thus saith the LORD of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men out of all languages of the nations, shall take hold, shall even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.