King James Version › Esther › 9

Esther

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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;) 2 The Jews gath­ered them­selves to­geth­er 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 waxed 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 unto 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, slew they; but on the spoil laid they 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 unto 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 please the king, let it be grant­ed to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to mor­row also ac­cord­ing unto 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 gath­ered them­selves to­geth­er 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 gath­ered them­selves to­geth­er, 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, 17 On the thir­teenth day of the month Adar; and on the four­teenth day of the same rest­ed they, and made it a day of feast­ing and glad­ness. 18 But the Jews that were at Shushan as­sem­bled to­geth­er on the thir­teenth day there­of, and on the four­teenth there­of; and on the fif­teenth day of the same they rest­ed, and made it a day of feast­ing and glad­ness. 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. 20 And Morde­cai wrote these things, and sent let­ters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Aha­suerus, both nigh and far, 21 To sta­b­lish this among them, that they should keep the four­teenth day of the month Adar, and the fif­teenth day of the same, year­ly, 22 As the days where­in the Jews rest­ed from their en­e­mies, and the month which was turned unto 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. 23 And the Jews un­der­took to do as they had be­gun, and as Morde­cai had writ­ten unto them; 24 Be­cause Haman the son of Hamme­datha, the Agagite, the en­e­my of all the Jews, had de­vised against the Jews to de­stroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to con­sume them, and to de­stroy them; 25 But when Esther came be­fore the king, he com­mand­ed by let­ters that his wicked de­vice, which he de­vised against the Jews, should re­turn upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gal­lows. 26 Where­fore they called these days Purim af­ter the name of Pur. There­fore for all the words of this let­ter, and of that which they had seen con­cern­ing this mat­ter, and which had come unto them, 27 The Jews or­dained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined them­selves unto 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; 28 And that these days should be re­mem­bered and kept through­out ev­ery gen­er­a­tion, ev­ery fam­i­ly, ev­ery province, and ev­ery city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memo­ri­al of them per­ish from their seed. 29 Then Es­ther the queen, the daugh­ter of Abi­hail, and Morde­cai the Jew, wrote with all au­thor­i­ty, to con­firm this sec­ond let­ter of Purim. 30 And he sent the let­ters unto all the Jews, to the hun­dred twen­ty and sev­en provinces of the king­dom of Aha­suerus, with words of peace and truth, 31 To con­firm these days of Purim in their times appointed, ac­cord­ing as Morde­cai the Jew and Es­ther the queen had en­joined them, and as they had de­creed for them­selves and for their seed, the mat­ters of the fast­ings and their cry. 32 And the de­cree of Es­ther con­firmed these mat­ters of Purim; and it was writ­ten in the book.