Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Now these were the names on the sealed document: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah. And Zedekiah,

²Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

³Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

⁴Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

⁵Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

⁶Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

⁷Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

⁸Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah—these were the priests.

⁹And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

¹⁰and their brothers: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

¹¹Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

¹²Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

¹³Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.

¹⁴The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

¹⁵Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

¹⁶Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

¹⁷Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

¹⁸Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

¹⁹Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

²⁰Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

²¹Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

²²Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

²³Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

²⁴Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

²⁵Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

²⁶Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,

²⁷Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

²⁸Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding—

²⁹are joining with their fellow Israelites, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, which was given through Moses the servant of God, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of GOD our Lord, and His ordinances and statutes:

³⁰and that we will not give our daughters [as wives] to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.

³¹As for the peoples of the land who bring merchandise or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day; and we will give up raising crops during the seventh year [leaving the land uncultivated], and forgive every debt.

³²Also we pledge ourselves to contribute yearly one third of a shekel for the service [expenses] of the house of our God:

³³for the showbread; for the continual grain offerings and the continual burnt offerings; [for the offerings on] the Sabbaths, the New Moons, the [feasts at] appointed times; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the work of the house of our God.

³⁴We have also cast lots—the priests, the Levites, and the people—for [contributing] the supply of wood, to bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers' households, at set times annually, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law;

³⁵and [we obligate ourselves] to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the LORD annually,

³⁶as well as the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to bring to the house of our God, for the priests who minister in the house of our God.

³⁷We will bring the first [and best] of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the [olive] oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who receive the tithes in all the rural towns.

³⁸The priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when they receive tithes, and they shall bring one-tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.

³⁹For the Israelites and the sons of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the chambers; the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers, and the singers are there. In this manner, we will not neglect the house of our God.

¹Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem; but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one [person] out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities.

²And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

³These are the heads of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judah everyone lived on his property in their cities—the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants.

⁴And some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. From the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;

⁵Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite.

⁶All the sons of Perez who lived at Jerusalem were 468 able men.

⁷These are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah;

⁸and after him Gabbai and Sallai, 928.

⁹Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second in command of the city.

¹⁰Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin,

¹¹Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the leader of the house of God,

¹²and their brothers (relatives, fellow workers) who did the work of the house, 822; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah,

¹³and his brothers, heads of fathers' households, 242; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,

¹⁴and their brothers, brave men, 128. Their overseer was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim [one of the great men].

¹⁵Now from the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;

¹⁶and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the leaders of the Levites, who were in charge of the outside work of the house of God;

¹⁷Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah, second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.

¹⁸All the Levites in the holy city totaled 284.

¹⁹The gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their kinsmen, who kept watch at the gates, totaled 172.

²⁰Now the rest of Israel, the priests and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his own inheritance.

²¹But the temple servants were living in Ophel; Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple servants.

²²The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, from Asaph's sons, who were the singers in regard to the work of the house of God.

²³For there was a command from the [ Persian] king regarding the singers, as to their daily task.

²⁴Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was the king's representative in all matters concerning the people.

²⁵As for the villages with their fields, some sons (descendants) of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its towns, Dibon and its towns, and Jekabzeel and its villages,

²⁶in Jeshua, in Moladah, in Beth-pelet,

²⁷in Hazar-shual and in Beersheba and its towns,

²⁸in Ziklag and in Meconah and its towns,

²⁹in En-rimmon, in Zorah, and in Jarmuth,

³⁰Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its towns. So they camped from Beersheba as far as the Hinnom Valley.

³¹The sons (descendants) of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its towns,

³²at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,

³³Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,

³⁴Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,

³⁵Lod, and Ono, the Valley of the Craftsmen.

³⁶And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah belonged to Benjamin.

¹Now these are the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,

³Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,

⁴Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,

⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,

⁶Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,

⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their kinsman in the days of Jeshua.

⁸The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving and praise, he and his brothers.

⁹Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in their divisions of service.

¹⁰Now Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, Joiakim of Eliashib, Eliashib of Joiada,

¹¹and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan of Jaddua.

¹²And in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of fathers' households were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;

¹³of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

¹⁴of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;

¹⁵of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;

¹⁶of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;

¹⁷of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin and of Moadiah, Piltai;

¹⁸of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;

¹⁹of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

²⁰of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;

²¹of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

²²As for the Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the heads of fathers' households were registered; so were the priests, during the reign of Darius the Persian.

²³The sons of Levi, heads of fathers' households, were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.

²⁴The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, and their brothers opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, as commanded by David the man of God, [one] division [singing] in response to [the men in the opposite] division.

²⁵Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at the storehouses of the gates.

²⁶These men served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.

²⁷Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places in order to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving, and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps, and lyres.

²⁸So the sons of the singers gathered together from the district around Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites,

²⁹from Beth-gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem.

³⁰The priests and the Levites purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

³¹Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on the wall, and I appointed two large thanksgiving choirs, the first one proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Refuse Gate.

³²Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them,

³³with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,

³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,

³⁵and some of the priests' sons with trumpets, and Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,

³⁶and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went in front of them.

³⁷At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the City of David by the stairway of the wall above David's house to the Water Gate on the east.

³⁸The second choir went to the left; I followed with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of the Furnaces, to the Broad Wall,

³⁹and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate, by the Fish Gate, by the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard.

⁴⁰Then the two choirs stood in the house of God. So did I, and half of the officials with me;

⁴¹and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, with trumpets;

⁴²and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang, with Jezrahiah as their leader.

⁴³Also on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy; the women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away.

⁴⁴On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions required by the law for the priests and the Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who served.

⁴⁵And they performed the worship of their God and the service of purification; so did the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had commanded.

⁴⁶For in the days of David and Asaph, in ancient times, there were leaders of singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God.

⁴⁷So in the days of Zerubbabel and [later of] Nehemiah, all Israel would give the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart the consecrated portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecrated portion for the sons of Aaron [the priests].

¹On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses so that the people could hear [its words], and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite could ever enter the assembly of God,

²because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. Yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.

³When the Jews heard the law, they separated from Israel all who were of foreign descent.

⁴Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and was related to Tobiah [our adversary],

⁵had prepared for Tobiah a large room (chamber) where previously they had put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and [olive] oil which were given by commandment for the Levites, the singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.

⁶But during all this time I was not at Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes [Persian] king of Babylon I went to the king. Then after some time I asked for a leave [of absence] from the king,

⁷and I came to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil [thing] that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by preparing a room for him in the courtyards of the house of God.

⁸It was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiah's household furnishings out of the room.

⁹Then I gave an order, and they cleaned the rooms; and I put back there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.

¹⁰I also discovered that the portions due the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone away, each one back to his own field.

¹¹Then I reprimanded the officials and said, "Why is the house of God neglected?" So I gathered the Levites and singers together and restored them at their posts.

¹²Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the storehouses.

¹³I appointed [as treasurers] over the storehouses: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites; assisting them was Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful and reliable, and their task was to distribute [supplies] to their brothers (fellow Levites).

¹⁴O my God, remember me concerning this and do not wipe out my loyal deeds and kindnesses which I have done for the house of my God and for its services.

¹⁵In those days I saw some in Judah who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves or sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I protested and warned them on the day they sold the produce.

¹⁶Also men of Tyre were living there who brought fish and all kinds of merchandise, and they were selling them to the people of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem.

¹⁷Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah, and said to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day?

¹⁸Did your fathers (ancestors) not do the same, and did our God not bring all this trouble on us and on this city? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath."

¹⁹Now when it began to get dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath [began], I commanded that the doors be shut and not be opened until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load [of merchandise] would enter [Jerusalem] on the Sabbath day.

²⁰So once or twice the merchants and sellers of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem.

²¹But I warned them, saying, "Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you." From that time on, they did not come on the Sabbath.

²²And I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. O my God, remember me concerning this also and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

²³In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

²⁴As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them knew how to speak [Hebrew] the language of Judah, but only the language of his own people.

²⁵So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters [in marriage] to their sons, nor take [any of] their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

²⁶Did not Solomon king of Israel sin [greatly against God] regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin [by turning to other gods and so, judged by God, he lost his kingdom].

²⁷Do we then hear about you that you have done all this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign (pagan) women?"

²⁸One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him away from me.

²⁹O my God, remember them, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

³⁰Thus I cleansed and purified them from everything foreign (pagan), and I defined the duties of the priests and Levites, each one in his task;

³¹and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times and for the first fruits. O my God, [please] remember me for good [and imprint me on Your heart].

¹It was in the days of Ahasuerus ( Xerxes) who reigned from India to Ethiopia (Cush) over 127 provinces,

²in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa [the capital of the Persian Empire],

³in the third year of his reign he held a banquet for all his officials and his attendants. The army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the officials of the provinces were there in his presence.

⁴And he displayed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days in all.

⁵When these days were completed, the king held a banquet for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa [the capital], from the greatest [in importance] to the least, a seven-day feast in the courtyard of the garden of the king's palace.

⁶There were curtains (draperies) of fine white and violet linen fastened with cords of fine purple linen to silver rings and marble columns. The couches of gold and silver rested on a mosaic floor of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious colored stones.

⁷Drinks were served in various kinds of golden goblets, and the royal wine was plentiful, in accordance with the generosity of the king.

⁸The drinking was carried on in accordance with the law; no one was compelled [to drink], for the king had directed each official of his household to comply with each guest's wishes.

⁹Queen Vashti also held a [separate] banquet for the women in the palace of King Ahasuerus.

¹⁰On the seventh day, when the king's heart was joyful with wine (in high spirits), he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus [as his attendants],

¹¹to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown (high turban), to display her beauty before the people and the officials, for she was lovely to see.

¹²But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command, which was delivered [to her] by the eunuchs. So the king became extremely angry and burned with rage.

¹³Then the king spoke to the wise men who understood the times [asking for their advice]—for it was the custom of the king to speak before all those who were familiar with law and legal matters—

¹⁴and who were close to him [as advisors]: Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven officials of Persia and Media who had access to the king and were ranked highest in the kingdom.

¹⁵[He said,] "According to the law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus which was conveyed by the eunuchs?"

¹⁶And Memucan answered in the presence of the king and the officials, "Vashti the queen has not only wronged the king but [also] all the officials (royal representatives) and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

¹⁷For the queen's conduct will become known to all women, causing them to look on their husbands with contempt (disrespect), since they will say, 'King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not come.'

¹⁸This [very] day the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's refusal will speak [in the same way] to all the king's officials, and there will be plenty of contempt and anger.

¹⁹If it pleases the king, let a royal command be issued by him and let it be written in the laws of the Persians and Medes so that it cannot be repealed or modified, that Vashti is no longer to come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better and more worthy than she.

²⁰So when the king's great decree is proclaimed throughout his [extensive] kingdom, all women will give honor to their husbands, from the great to the insignificant."

²¹This statement (advice) pleased the king and the officials, and the king did what Memucan proposed.

²²So he sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, saying that every man should be the master and rule in his own home and that he should speak [in the household] in the language of his own people.

¹After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.

²Then the king's attendants, who served him, said, "Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

³"Let the king appoint administrators in all the provinces of his kingdom, and have them gather all the beautiful young virgins to the citadel in Susa, into the harem, under the custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let their beauty preparations be given to them.

⁴Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti." This pleased the king, and he did accordingly.

⁵There was a certain Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite,

⁶who had been deported from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled.

⁷He was the guardian of Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had no father or mother. The young woman was beautiful of form and face; and when her father and mother died, Mordecai took her in as his own daughter.

⁸So it came about when the king's command and his decree were proclaimed and when many young women were gathered together in the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king's palace [and placed] in the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women.

⁹Now the young woman pleased Hegai and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with beauty preparations and her [portion of] food, and he gave her seven choice maids from the king's palace; then he transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem.

¹⁰Esther did not reveal [the Jewish background of] her people or her family, for Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.

¹¹Every day Mordecai [who was an attendant in the king's court] walked back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem to learn how Esther was getting along and what was happening to her.

¹²Now when it was each young woman's turn to go before King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with [sweet] spices and perfumes and the beauty preparations for women—

¹³then the young woman would go before the king in this way: anything that she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem into the king's palace.

¹⁴In the evening she would go in and the next morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

¹⁵Now as for Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her in as his [own] daughter, when her turn came to go in to the king, she requested nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch [and attendant] who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the sight of all who saw her.

¹⁶So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his royal palace in the tenth month, that is, the month of Tebeth (Dec-Jan), in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷Now the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the [other] virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in the place of Vashti.

¹⁸Then the king held a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his officials and his servants; and he made a festival for the provinces and gave gifts in accordance with the resources of the king.

¹⁹And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.

²⁰Esther had not revealed her family or her people [that is, her Jewish background], just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her just as when she was under his care.

²¹In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the door, became angry and conspired to attack King Ahasuerus.

²²But the plot became known to Mordecai, who informed Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in Mordecai's name.

²³Now when the plot was investigated and found to be true, both men were hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the king's presence.

¹After these things King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the officials who were with him.

²All the king's servants who were at the king's gate [in royal service] bowed down and honored and paid homage to Haman; for this is what the king had commanded in regard to him. But Mordecai [a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin] neither bowed down nor paid homage [to him].

³Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why are you disregarding the king's command?"

⁴Now it happened when they had spoken to him day after day and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai's reason [for his behavior] would stand [as valid]; for he had told them that he was a Jew.

⁵When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, he was furious.

⁶But he disdained laying hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were (his nationality); so Haman determined to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who lived throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷In the first month, the month of Nisan (Mar-Apr), in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Haman cast Pur, that is, the lot, cast before him day after day [to find a lucky day to approach the king], month after month, until the twelfth month, the month of Adar (Feb-Mar).

⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered [abroad] and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people, and they do not observe the king's laws. Therefore it is not in the king's interest to [tolerate them and] let them stay here.

⁹If it pleases the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry out the king's business, to put into the king's treasuries."

¹⁰Then the king removed his signet ring from his hand [that is, the special ring which was used to seal his letters] and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

¹¹The king said to Haman, "The silver is given to you, and the people also, to do with them as you please."

¹²Then the king's scribes (secretaries) were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to the king's satraps (chief rulers), and to the governors who were over each province and to the officials of each people, each province according to its script (writing), each people according to their own language; being written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring.

¹³Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar (March 7, 473 b.c.), and to seize their belongings as plunder.

¹⁴A copy of the edict to be decreed as law in every province was published to all the peoples, so that they would be ready for this day.

¹⁵The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa. And while the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was perplexed [by the unusual and alarming decree].

¹Now when Mordecai learned of everything that had been done, he tore his clothes [in mourning], and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the center of the city and cried out loudly and bitterly.

²He went [only] as far as the king's gate, because no one was to enter the king's gate dressed in sackcloth.

³In each and every province that the decree and law of the king reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.

⁴When Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and told her [what had happened], the queen was seized by great fear. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai so that he would remove his sackcloth, but he did not accept them.

⁵Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, whom the king had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to find out what this issue was and why it had come about.

⁶So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the [open] square of the city, which was in front of the king's gate.

⁷Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, and the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.

⁸Mordecai also gave him a copy of the text of the decree which had been issued in Susa for the Jews destruction, so that he might show Esther and explain it to her, and order her to go in to the king to seek his favor and plead with him for [the lives of] her people.

⁹Hathach came back and told Esther what Mordecai had said.

¹⁰Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai, saying:

¹¹"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court without being summoned, he has but one law, that he is to be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And as for me, I have not been summoned to come to the king for these [last] thirty days."

¹²So they told Mordecai what Esther had said.

¹³Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews.

¹⁴For if you remain silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father's house will perish [since you did not help when you had the chance]. And who knows whether you have attained royalty for such a time as this [and for this very purpose]?"

¹⁵Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,

¹⁶"Go, gather all the Jews that are present in Susa, and observe a fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids also will fast in the same way. Then I will go in to [see] the king [without being summoned], which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish."

¹⁷So Mordecai went away and did exactly as Esther had commanded him.

¹On the third day [of the fast] Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace opposite his [throne] room. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the [main] entrance of the palace.

²When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she found favor in his sight; and the king extended to her the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.

³Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you, up to half of the kingdom."

⁴Esther said, "If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him."

⁵Then the king said, "Bring Haman quickly so that we may do as Esther says." So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

⁶As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, "What is your petition? It shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done."

⁷Then Esther replied, "My petition and my request is this:

⁸if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and to do as I request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them; and tomorrow I will do as the king says [and express my request]."

⁹Haman went away that day joyful and in good spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king's gate refusing to stand up or show fear before him, he was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

¹⁰Nevertheless, Haman controlled himself and went home. There he sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh.

¹¹Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, the large number of his sons, and every instance in which the king had magnified him and how he had promoted him over the officials and servants of the king.

¹²Haman also said, "Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the banquet she had prepared; and tomorrow also I am invited by her [together] with the king.

¹³Yet all of this does not satisfy me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."

¹⁴Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Have a gallows fifty cubits high made, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully to the banquet with the king." And the advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

¹On that night the king could not sleep; so he ordered that the book of records and memorable deeds, the chronicles, be brought, and they were read before the king.

²It was found written there how Mordecai had reported that Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who were doorkeepers, had planned to attack King Ahasuerus (Xerxes).

³The king said, "What honor or distinction has been given Mordecai for this?" Then the king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him."

⁴So the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to ask the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared for him.

⁵The king's servants said to him, "Look, Haman is standing in the court." And the king said, "Let him come in."

⁶So Haman came in and the king said to him, "What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?" Now Haman thought to himself, "Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?"

⁷So Haman said to the king, "For the man whom the king desires to honor,

⁸let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed;

⁹and let the robe and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble officials. Let him dress the man whom the king delights to honor [in the royal robe] and lead him on horseback through the open square of the city, and proclaim before him, 'This is what shall be done for the man whom the king desires to honor.'"

¹⁰Then the king said to Haman, "Quickly take the royal robe and the horse, as you have said, and do this for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king's gate. Leave out nothing of all that you have said."

¹¹So Haman took the royal robe and the horse and dressed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him, "This is what shall be done for the man whom the king desires to honor."

¹²Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his [own] house, mourning and with his head covered [in sorrow].

¹³Then Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise counselors and his wife Zeresh said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall in status, is of Jewish heritage, you will not overcome him, but will certainly fall before him."

¹⁴While they were still speaking with him, the king's eunuchs (attendants) arrived and hurriedly brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

¹So the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen.

²And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be done."

³Then Queen Esther replied, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be spared as my petition, and my people [be spared] as my request;

⁴for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed and wiped out of existence. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for our hardship would not be sufficient to burden the king [by even mentioning it]."

⁵Then King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) asked Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who dares to do such a thing?"

⁶Esther said, "An adversary and an enemy is Haman, this evil man." Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

⁷Then in his fury, the king stood up from drinking wine and went into the palace garden [to decide what he should do]; but Haman stayed to plead for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king.

⁸When the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, "Will he even attempt to assault the queen with me in the palace?" As the king spoke those words, the servants covered Haman's face [in preparation for execution].

⁹Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs serving the king said, "Now look, there are gallows fifty cubits (75 ft.) high standing at Haman's house, which Haman made for Mordecai, whose good warning saved the king." And the king said, "Hang him on it."

¹⁰So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's anger subsided.

¹On that day King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, because Esther had disclosed what [ relation] he was to her.

²The king took off his signet ring which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther put Mordecai in charge of the house of Haman.

³Then Esther spoke again to the king and fell down at his feet and wept and implored him to avert the evil plot of Haman the Agagite and his plan which he had devised against the Jews [because the decree to annihilate the Jews was still in effect].

⁴Then the king held out to Esther the golden scepter. So Esther arose and stood before the king.

⁵Then she said, "If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter is proper in the king's view and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote [in order] to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces.

⁶For how can I endure to see the tragedy that will happen to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?"

⁷Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he stretched out his hand against the Jews.

⁸Also, concerning the Jews, write as you see fit, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's signet ring—for a decree which is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring may not be revoked."

⁹So the king's scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan) on the twenty-third day; and it was written in accordance with everything that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, to the chief rulers (satraps), and the governors and officials of the provinces which extended from India to Ethiopia (Cush), 127 provinces, to every province in its own script (writing), and to every people in their own language and to the Jews according to their script and their language.

¹⁰He wrote [a decree] in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on the royal [mail] relay horses, the offspring of the racing mares.

¹¹In it the king granted the Jews who were in every city the right to assemble and to defend their lives; to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force that might attack them, their little children, and women; and to take the enemies' goods as plunder,

¹²on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).

¹³A copy of the edict was to be issued as a law in every province and as a proclamation to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready on that day, to avenge themselves on their enemies.

¹⁴So the couriers, who were mounted on the royal relay horses, left quickly, urged on by the king's command; and the decree was issued at the citadel in Susa [the capital].

¹⁵Then Mordecai departed from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and with a robe of fine linen and purple wool; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

¹⁶For [at this time] the Jews had light [a dawn of new hope] and gladness and joy and honor.

¹⁷In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king's command and his decree arrived, the Jews celebrated with gladness and joy, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews [and their God] had fallen on them.

¹Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar) on the thirteenth day when the king's command and edict were about to be executed, on the [very] day when the enemies of the Jews had hoped to gain power over them [and slaughter them], it happened the other way around so that the Jews themselves gained power over those who hated them.

²The Jews assembled in their cities throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) to apprehend those who wanted to do them harm; and no one could stand before them, for the fear of them [and their God] had fallen on all the peoples.

³Even all the officials of the provinces and the chief rulers (satraps) and the governors and those who attended to the king's business supported the Jews [in defeating their enemies], because the fear of Mordecai [and his God's power] had fallen on them.

⁴For Mordecai was great and respected in the king's palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.

⁵So the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.

⁶At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men,

⁷and [they killed] Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

⁸Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

⁹Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha,

¹⁰the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews' enemy; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

¹¹On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa was reported to the king.

¹²The king said to Queen Esther, "The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. What is your further request? It shall also be done."

¹³Esther replied, "If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to act tomorrow also in accordance with the decree of today; and let [the dead bodies of] Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows."

¹⁴So the king commanded it to be done; the decree was given in Susa, and they hanged [the bodies of] Haman's ten sons.

¹⁵The Jews who were in Susa also gathered together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

¹⁶Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces assembled, to defend their lives and rid themselves of their enemies, and kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

¹⁷This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

¹⁸But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth of the same month, and on the fifteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.

¹⁹Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the rural [unwalled] towns, make the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a holiday for rejoicing and feasting and sending choice portions of food to one another.

²⁰Now Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who lived in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

²¹obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually,

²²because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and as the month which was turned for them from grief to joy and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending choice portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

²³So the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

²⁴For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, [to find the right time] to disturb and destroy them.

²⁵But when it came before the king, he commanded in writing that Haman's wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews was to return on his own head, and that he and his sons should [endure what he planned for the Jews and] be hanged on the gallows.

²⁶Therefore they called these days Purim after the name Pur (lot). And because of all the instructions in this letter, and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them,

²⁷the Jews established and made it a custom for themselves and for their descendants and for all who joined them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days as it was written and at the appointed time annually.

²⁸So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to cease from among the Jews, nor their memory fade from their descendants.

²⁹Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full power and authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.

³⁰He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth,

³¹to establish these days of Purim [to be observed] at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and as they had established for themselves and for their descendants with instructions regarding their times of fasting and their lamentations (expressions of needing help).

³²The command of Esther established these customs for Purim, and it was written in the book [of the royal archives].