Esther:6-10
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On that night could not the king sleep ,
and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles ;
and they were read before the king .
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And it was found written ,
that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh ,
two of the king '
s chamberlains ,
the keepers of the door ,
who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus .
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And the king said ,
What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this ?
Then said the king '
s servants that ministered unto him ,
There is nothing done for him .
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And the king said ,
Who is in the court ?
Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king '
s house ,
to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him .
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And the king '
s servants said unto him ,
Behold ,
Haman standeth in the court .
And the king said ,
Let him come in .
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So Haman came in .
And the king said unto him ,
What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour ?
Now Haman thought in his heart ,
To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself ?
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And Haman answered the king ,
For the man whom the king delighteth to honour ,
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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 :
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And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king '
s most noble princes ,
that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour ,
and bring him on horseback through the street of the city ,
and proclaim before him ,
Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour .
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Then the king said to Haman ,
Make haste ,
and take the apparel and the horse ,
as thou hast said ,
and do even so to Mordecai the Jew ,
that sitteth at the king '
s gate :
let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken .
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Then took Haman 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 unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour .
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And Mordecai came again to the king '
s gate .
But Haman hasted to his house mourning ,
and having his head covered .
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And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him .
Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him ,
If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews ,
before whom thou hast begun to fall ,
thou shalt not prevail against him ,
but shalt surely fall before him .
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And while they were yet talking with him ,
came the king '
s chamberlains ,
and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared .
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So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen .
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And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine ,
What is thy petition ,
queen Esther ?
and it shall be granted thee :
and what is thy request ?
and it shall be performed ,
even to the half of the kingdom .
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Then Esther the queen answered and said ,
If I have found favour in thy sight ,
O king ,
and if it please the king ,
let my life be given me at my petition ,
and my people at my request :
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For we are sold ,
I and my people ,
to be destroyed ,
to be slain ,
and to perish .
But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen ,
I had held my tongue ,
although the enemy could not countervail the king '
s damage .
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Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen ,
Who is he ,
and where is he ,
that durst presume in his heart to do so ?
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And Esther said ,
The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman .
Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen .
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And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden :
and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen ;
for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king .
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Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine ;
and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was .
Then said the king ,
Will he force the queen also before me in the house ?
As the word went out of the king '
s mouth ,
they covered Haman '
s face .
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And Harbonah ,
one of the chamberlains ,
said before the king ,
Behold also ,
the gallows fifty cubits high ,
which Haman had made for Mordecai ,
who had spoken good for the king ,
standeth in the house of Haman .
Then the king said ,
Hang him thereon .
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So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai .
Then was the king '
s wrath pacified .
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On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews '
enemy unto Esther the queen .
And Mordecai came before the king ;
for Esther had told what he was unto her .
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And the king took off his ring ,
which he had taken from Haman ,
and gave it unto Mordecai .
And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman .
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And Esther spake 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 .
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Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther .
So Esther arose ,
and stood before the king ,
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And said ,
If it please the king ,
and if I have found favour in his sight ,
and the thing seem right before the king ,
and I be 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 which are in all the king '
s provinces :
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For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people ?
or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred ?
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Then the king Ahasuerus said unto 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 .
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Write ye also for the Jews ,
as it liketh 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 ,
may no man reverse .
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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 thereof ;
and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews ,
and to the lieutenants ,
and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia ,
an hundred twenty and seven provinces ,
unto every province according to the writing thereof ,
and unto every people after their language ,
and to the Jews according to their writing ,
and according to their language .
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And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus '
name ,
and sealed it with the king '
s ring ,
and sent letters by posts on horseback ,
and riders on mules ,
camels ,
and young dromedaries :
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Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together ,
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 ,
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Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus ,
namely ,
upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month ,
which is the month Adar .
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The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people ,
and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies .
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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 .
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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 .
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The Jews had light ,
and gladness ,
and joy ,
and honour .
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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 .
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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 ;)
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men .
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And Parshandatha ,
and Dalphon ,
and Aspatha ,
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And Poratha ,
and Adalia ,
and Aridatha ,
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And Parmashta ,
and Arisai ,
and Aridai ,
and Vajezatha ,
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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 .
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On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king .
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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 .
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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 .
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And the king commanded it so to be done :
and the decree was given at Shushan ;
and they hanged Haman '
s ten sons .
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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 .
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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 ,
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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 .
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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 .
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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 .
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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 ,
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To stablish this among them ,
that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar ,
and the fifteenth day of the same ,
yearly ,
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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 .
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And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun ,
and as Mordecai had written unto them ;
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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 ;
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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 .
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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 ,
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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 ;
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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 .
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Then Esther the queen ,
the daughter of Abihail ,
and Mordecai the Jew ,
wrote with all authority ,
to confirm this second letter of Purim .
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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 ,
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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 .
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And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim ;
and it was written in the book .
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And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land ,
and upon the isles of the sea .
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And all the acts of his power and of his might ,
and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai ,
whereunto the king advanced him ,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia ?
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For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus ,
and great among the Jews ,
and accepted of the multitude of his brethren ,
seeking the wealth of his people ,
and speaking peace to all his seed .
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