Book of Esther

In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great, on the first of Nisan, Mordecai saw a dream. Mordecai, the son of Jair, of the family of Shimei, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Jewish man. And he dwelt in the city of Susa, and he was a great man, and he dwelt in the court of the king's house. And he was from the captivity which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away from Jerusalem with Jeconiah, king of Judah. And this was his dream: and behold, there was a voice, and a tumult, and confusion, and thunder, and earthquake upon the earth. And behold, two great dragons came, both of them fighting, and their voice was great. And by their voice the peoples were prepared for war, as if they would make war against the righteous people. And behold, a day of darkness, and gloom, and affliction, and torment, and pain, and great tumult upon the earth. And the righteous were troubled, and all the people feared because of their evil, and they were prepared to be destroyed.

And he prayed to God, and from his prayer there was a small spring of life, and a great river of abundant water. And the light of the sun rose over it, and the depths were lifted up and swallowed the nobles. And Mordecai arose, having seen this dream, because God willed to act, and he kept it in his heart, and he desired to know all the matter by night. And Mordecai dwelt in the court with the two eunuchs of the king, who guarded the court and the city. And he heard their counsel, which they plotted, and he learned and understood that they had conspired to kill Artaxerxes the king, and he told the king concerning them. And the king questioned his two eunuchs, and they confessed and were condemned. And the king wrote this matter in the book of the annals, and Mordecai also wrote it. And the king commanded Mordecai to be diligent in the court, and he honored him because of this.

And Haman, because of his noble birth, was honored, and he stood before the king and sought to do evil against Mordecai and against his people because of the two eunuchs of the king. Chapter 2 And after this, in the days of Artaxerxes—and he is Artaxerxes who reigned over one hundred twenty-seven provinces, from the land of India to the land of Ethiopia. And in those days, when he reigned in the city of Susa, in the third year from when he began to reign, he made a feast for his servants and for his nobles. And for the peoples who remained, of Persia and of Media, and for their nobles, and for the commanders of the army. And after this, he showed them the greatness of his kingdom and the glory of his joy, and the feast lasted one hundred eighty days. And when the days of the wedding were completed, the king made a second feast for the peoples who remained in the city, and in the king’s court for six days, and they were drunk.

And they adorned it with enamel and with agate, pure and beautiful, with enamel within the chains of the throne, with the work of gold and silver upon pillars of stone of Parinos, and with couches of gold and of silver, and inlaid with stone of the color of emerald, and with the stone of the phoenix, and with the stone of the garnet, and very beautifully they inlaid it; and its color was mixed, and it was bound, and what was beautiful was the flower of the pomegranate, arranged. And the vessels of gold and of silver and of the stone of the trachinus and of the chalcedony, their number was in the count of three thousand measures, and its wine was abundant and of good fragrance, which the king himself drinks. And the feast was not according to the former law which he had made, but as the king himself wished; he commanded them to do his will for the banquet, and the will of the people. And Queen Esther made a feast for the women who were within her palace, from the time of King Artaxerxes. And on the seventh day, when the king rejoiced, he said to Haman, and to Bazana, and to Tara, and to Bulaze, and to Zetwelita, and to Zeabego, and to Taraba, and to the seventy eunuchs of the king who serve him, that they should bring the queen and crown her and adorn her with a crown and show her to all the ambassadors of the nations, her beauty, for she is beautiful.

And Astin the queen refused to come with her eunuchs. And the king became angry and was enraged. And he told his nobles what Astin had said, and he said to them, "Make a decree according to the law and his judgment." And Arkesios, Sersitiyos, Malsiʿar, and his envoys from Persia and Media, who were near the king and who dwelt there with the king, came to him. And they told the king their law, how Astin the queen should be put to death, because she had not done as the king had commanded her eunuchs. And Meke'os said to the king and to his envoys, "It is not only against the king that Astin the queen has sinned, but against all the envoys and against the king's palace." And they told the queen's words, how she had refused the king. And when on that day she had refused King Artaxerxes, as from that day he made the nobles of Persia and Media hear all these things, how she had despised the king, so that they might be astonished and marvel at her insolence.

If the king wishes to command in his royal house, let this law be written for Persia and Media, how they should treat that woman who does not come to him; and that queen, let the king give her kingdom to another woman who is worthy. And let this law which the king made in his kingdom be heard; and then all women shall honor their husbands, masters, and lords. And this matter was pleasing to the king and his nobles, and the king did as Mecaeus said. And the king sent throughout all his kingdom to the governors, as this word, that they might make their women fear in their houses. Chapter 3 And after this matter, the king was pleased and no longer remembered Astin, for he remembered how she had despised him. And after the decree, the king's servants said to him, "Let them seek for the king beautiful virgins of good appearance.

And if the king wishes, throughout all his royal court, the angels and governors shall choose for him virgins of good appearance in the city of Susa, within the houses of women, and they shall bring them to the king's palace and give them ointment and all their adornment. And as for the one who pleases him among them, she shall be the king's wife, and she shall reign with him in place of Astin; and this matter pleased the king, and he did accordingly. Now there was a certain Jewish man in the city of Susa, and his name was Mordecai, son of Jair, who was called the Qesite, from the tribe of Benjamin. And he had been taken from Jerusalem, and those who took him were Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. And he had a daughter whom he had adopted, the daughter of Aminadab, his father's brother, and her name was Esther; and after she came out from her mother's womb, he adopted her to be his daughter, and that girl was of good appearance. And when the king commanded, many virgins were assembled for him in the city of Susa, at the house of the chief of the women.

And she adorned herself, that girl, and found favor before him, and she hastened her gifts: oil and ointment and seven virgins who serve her from the king's house, and she appointed good eunuchs for her within the house of women. And Esther did not tell her relatives nor her country, because Mordecai had commanded her that she should not reveal it. And every day Mordecai would come to the courtyard of the women to hear the news of Esther, how she was. And when the time came for those virgins to enter to the king, because the period of twelve months would pass while they were anointed and prepared, six months being anointed with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and with women's oil. And then, when the twelve months were completed, that one would enter to the king, and what he desired they would bring to him from the house of women. And in the morning she would enter and in the evening she would return to the house of women, to the king's nurse, the overseer of women, and she would not dare to enter to the king unless he himself summoned her.

And when the time of her turn came for Esther, daughter of Aminadab, brother of his father, of Mordecai, that she might go to the king, she did everything as that young eunuch, the overseer of women, had commanded, because favor was with Esther in the sight of all who saw her. And Esther entered to Artaxerxes the king in the twelfth month, in the month of Adar, in the seventh year of his reign. And Esther pleased the king, and she found favor exceedingly more than all the virgins, and he placed the crown of women upon her. And the king made a feast for his nobles and for his armies for seven days, and he magnified the feast of Esther, and he did all her desires throughout all the days of his kingdom. And Mordecai was appointed in the king’s court. And Esther did not know her people, because as he had commanded her, that she should fear her God and do his command, as she was with him, and Esther also did not abandon the law.

And the two eunuchs of the king, the chief of the eunuchs, were afraid of him because Mordecai was great, and they desired to kill Artaxerxes the king. And Mordecai heard and told Esther, and she knew the counsel of the king. And when she questioned those two eunuchs, they confessed, and she hanged them. And then the king commanded that this be written in the chronicles of his kingdom for the remembrance of the honor of Mordecai. Chapter 4 And after this, King Artaxerxes exalted Haman because he was a foreigner by birth, and he set him above all his companions. And all those who were in the court prostrated themselves to him, for the king commanded that they should do likewise, but Mordecai alone did not prostrate himself to him. And those who were in the court of the king’s house said to him, “You, Mordecai, why do you not obey the word of the king?” And all of them said to him thus, and he refused. And they heard his refusal and told Haman that Mordecai refused the command of the king, and they told him that he was a Jew.

And when Haman learned that Mordecai would not bow to him, he was greatly angered. And he desired to destroy all the Jews who were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes. And he did thus: in the twelfth year from when Artaxerxes reigned, and he set a day from day and a month from month, as he would destroy the lineage of Mordecai in one day. And the lot fell upon the tenth and thirteenth of the month of Adar. And he told Artaxerxes and said to him, "There is a rebellious people among all the peoples of your kingdom, and their law is different from all the peoples, and they do not obey the king's law, and it is not right that the king should leave them." Then the king desired to command to destroy them. "And now I will write and bring a thousand talents of silver to the king's treasury." And the king gave his ring and put it into the hand of Haman, that he might seal when he wrote concerning the Jews.

And the king said to Haman, "Let gold be for you, and let the people be slaves, as you have desired." And the king summoned the scribes at the beginning of the month, on the thirteenth day of the month of Ṭer, and they wrote as Haman commanded them, to the messengers and to the governors of all the provinces, from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, each to their own peoples, each according to their own language, in the voice of King Artaxerxes. And he sent with the messengers into the whole of his kingdom, that of Artaxerxes, to destroy the race of the Jews on a single day, in the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, and to plunder their goods. And thus say the books of King Artaxerxes, from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to the messengers, to the governors, and to the judges, thus he wrote. "And many peoples have I conquered, and all the provinces of Greece have I desired, not by the strength of my kingdom which magnifies my head, but by the humility and the gentleness of this humble one, I have established all that is mine to be ruled and governed without fear, all according to my kingdom, strong and gentle.

And it shall be extended until the end of the journey, and I shall renew a peace from my side and from every person, and it shall be loved. And oh, I have said to my counselors, "By the time I had prepared this, this contemptible one, I came in purity, and I thought in my heart without repentance." And by Haman it was sent in purity from beneath me, the father-in-law who led us and guided us, so that in every journey and among every people in the whole world, a people of evil law and of contempt for the king's command was gathered, more than all peoples, and they despised our ordinance and our law. And we found this people to be distinct, with a law second only to that of all people, and strange and perverse and departing from our law, and they do evil in their conduct and reject our kingdom as nothing. And now we have commanded concerning what we have written to you in the letters of Haman, which was sealed over all that is under our father, that they should destroy all of them together with their women and their children by the sword of their enemies, without pitying them and without showing them mercy, on the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the month of Adar in this year.

And thus they will bring down both the small and the great into Sheol in one day, and there will be none who escape from among them, as if they were left behind, indeed, in our journey from the deeds of this wicked one. And he showed them the books of his counsel, and he placed (them) in their journey, and he commanded all the peoples that they should be for that day and should rejoice. In Susa they shall do likewise, the king and Haman, and the whole land will be troubled and disturbed. Chapter 5 And when Mordecai learned what had happened, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth, and he sprinkled ashes upon his head, and he ran into the midst of the city, crying out in a loud voice and saying, "Will you kill the people who are without sin?" And he arrived at the gate of the king and stood, for he was not permitted to enter into the king's court, while he was wearing sackcloth and ashes upon his head. And in every place where the letters were sent, there was crying and weeping and great lamentation; and the Jews put on sackcloth and ashes, all of them.

And her eunuchs and her maidservants for the queen, and they did not know, and she was troubled when she heard this, and she sent garments to Mordecai for him to wear, and as he put them on, he refused and rejected the sackcloth. And Esther summoned Akratos, the eunuch who stands before her, and to him she would listen to a secret matter concerning Mordecai. And Mordecai told him how it happened and how Haman said to the king, “I will bring forth a hundred talents from the king’s treasury to kill the Jews.” And he told the words of this book which they placed in Susa to kill them. And he gave his signet ring to show to Esther, and he said to her, “Go, go to the king and ask him and plead with him concerning your people. Remember the days of your affliction, when you took refuge in my hands, for Haman, under the king, ordered to kill us. And pray to God the Lord, and tell the king, and save us from death.

And Akratyos told Esther all this. And Esther said to Akratyos, “Go to Mordecai and tell him, ‘All the peoples are envious of this kingdom, as what happened to the king in the garden of the field. Neither a man nor a woman whom he has summoned has life. If the king strikes with his golden scepter, he is the one who lives. And now, summon me, that I may go to the king on the third day from today.’” And Akratyos reported to Mordecai what Esther had said. And Mordecai said to Akratyos, “Go, tell Esther thus: ‘I alone am alive from among all the Jews in my kingdom. If you fast today, for the Jews who are elsewhere, they will slaughter them, and you will not save them. And you and your father’s house will perish. And who will endure this day of your reign?’” And Esther brought in this one who had come to her from Mordecai, saying, “Go, gather the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me, and do not eat and do not drink until the third day, day and night. I and my maidservants will fast, and then I will go to the king. And if not, I will die a death.

And Mordecai went and did all that Esther had commanded him. And he prayed to the Lord, recalling all that the Lord had done. And he said, “O Lord, King of all, who rules all that is under your authority, you have done everything, and there is none who can oppose you. If you wish, you can save the Israelites. For you made the heavens and the earth and all the world that is under heaven. And you are Lord over all, and there is none who can oppose you, O Lord. And you know everything, O Lord, that it was not through deceit, nor through pride, nor through arrogance of self that I did this, but rather that I should not bow down to the arrogant Haman. Did I not cause his servants to fast so that the Israelites might live? Did I not do this so that I should not seek honor from the children of the living above the honor of the Lord, and so that I should not bow down to anyone except you, my Lord? And I did not do this out of pride. And now, O Lord, Lord God, King, God of Abraham, save your people, for they have risen against us to destroy us, and they have sought to destroy your first inheritance.

And he was not troubled. “O Lord, forgive your servant, who has been scattered from the land of Egypt. And hear our prayer, and have mercy on your people, and grant us joy, that in our life we may praise your name, O Lord, and do not disappoint the hope of those who trust in you.” And all Israel cried out and shouted with a loud voice in their strength, for death had come before their eyes. And Esther also entrusted her soul to the Lord, for she had come into the fear of death. And she removed her garments of honor which she wore, and put on garments of mourning and sorrow, and she cast away the fragrance of joy, and filled her head with dust and ashes, and she greatly afflicted her body, and in the place of her honor she scattered her hair and cast dust. And she prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, and said, “O Lord, our God, you alone are my helper. Help me, a solitary one who has no helper except you, for death has come upon me in your hand.

And I have heard from my youth, from the people of my fathers, that you, O Lord, took the Israelites out from all the nations, and our fathers from all their relatives, that they might be your inheritance forever. And now you have done for them all that you said. And you have made us good in your sight, and you have delivered us into the hand of our enemy, because we have worshipped the gods of the nations. You are just, O Lord. And now they have abandoned us, they have cursed us with bitterness, those who have raised their hands over their gods. That they might abolish the ordinance of your mouth, and defile your inheritance, and stop the mouths of those who praise you, and destroy the ordinance of your house and your sanctuary. And they might open the mouth of the nations to speak vanity, and praise the name of the king of flesh forever. And do not strike them, O Lord, who are in what you have established, and do not let them mock us in our humiliation, but rather let the bitterness of their counsel be upon their own heads, and diminish what is established over us. Remember us, O Lord, in the time of our affliction, and strengthen me, the king of the gods, whom you have strengthened over every head.

And I placed a good word in my mouth before the lion, and a supplication in his heart, that he might strike down the one who strikes us, this insolent one, and those who are with him. And as for us, save us by your hand, and deliver me, the solitary one who has no helper. Who is there besides you, O Lord? I will destroy the glory of the sinners, and I will overturn the tents of the wicked, and of all that is alien. You know my affliction, that I have never adorned the crown of my glory which is upon my head; show it forth in the time of my glory, and overturn it like a garment of linen, and do not adorn the time of my rest and my glory. And I have not eaten the bread of Haman at your table, and I have not bowed down to the king, and I have not drunk from their cups. And I have not rejoiced in them, from the time I was until now, except in you, O Lord, God of Abraham, O Lord of all power. Hear the prayer of the righteous, and save us from the hand of those who have plotted against us, and save me from that which I fear.

Chapter 6 And after three days, when she had finished praying, she removed her garments and put on her glorious apparel, and she became beautiful and called upon the Lord, the Saviour, who sees all. And she took her two handmaidens, her companions, to be pitied, for they loved her, and the others arranged her garments and adorned her; and she was adorned in everything, and she was arrayed and prepared, and her face became cheerful as one who goes to her friends, but she wore a sad garment from fear of death; and she entered every chamber and arrived before the king, and he was sitting upon his throne of his kingdom. And his garment was his glorious apparel, and his crown of gold and of precious stones, of which the setting was abundant, and it was very magnificent; and his face was changed with his glory, and he looked at her in wrath and fear, the queen and suppliant, and she trembled and was afraid, and she cast herself upon her head and her daughter who went before her. And the Lord moved the spirit of the king within his heart, and he was moved and rose from his throne, and he drew her and placed her in his bosom, and began to speak with her in a good word, and said to her, "What has happened to you, Esther? I am your brother, as if you were dead, for the evil law of our country.

And she raised the scepter of gold and placed it upon her neck and embraced it, and he said to her, “Tell me.” And she said to him, “When I saw you, my Lord, as an angel of the Lord, my heart trembled from fear of your glory, for you are magnificent, O Lord, and your face is full of grace.” And while she was speaking, she trembled and became agitated and fell upon her face, and the king and all his men trembled and began to console her. And the king said, “What do you desire, Esther? And why do you weep before me? Until the half of my kingdom, I will raise it up for you; let it be yours.” And Esther said, “Since it is a feast day for me, if you wish, O king, come to my feast which I will make today, you and Haman.” And the king said, “Summon Haman quickly, that I may do what you say, Esther.” And the two of them went to the feast which Esther had made. And during the feast, the king said to Esther, “What do you desire, Esther, queen? What you have asked of me, I will do for you.

And she said to him, “My petition is that which I have sought from you when I found favor before your eyes, O king, that you might come, and Haman, the executioner, into the feast which the king has made for you, and the executioner I will make.” And Haman went out from before the joyful face, hiding himself and threatening. When Haman saw Mordecai the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged. And he went to his house and summoned his friends and Zeresh, his wife. And he showed them his wealth and his honor, and how he had magnified himself within his kingdom. And Haman said to them, “The queen has invited the king to the feast, and she has not invited me to the feast without the king, and she has not invited me.” “But only to me she has not given this, when I saw Mordecai the Jew in the court.” And Zeresh, his wife, and his friends said to him, “Make a tree of fifty cubits, set it up, and in the morning tell the king, and let Mordecai be hanged upon it; and you, go into the feast to the king and rejoice.

And Haman knew this matter and prepared the wood. Chapter 7 And the Lord removed sleep from the king on that night, and he said to his scribe, “Bring to him the books of record of the nobles, of the days of the kingdom, and let them read to him from the books.” And then they found in the book where it was written concerning Mordecai, how he had saved the king from the two eunuchs of the king who were guarding the king and had intended to kill King Artaxerxes. And the king said, “O, the honor and gift that we have given to Mordecai!” And the king’s servants said to him, “There is nothing that we have given to Mordecai, my lord.” And while the king was speaking about the gratitude of Mordecai, Haman entered the courtyard, and the king said, “Who is this in the courtyard?” And they said to him, “Haman.” And then Haman came to tell the king how he would crucify Mordecai on the wood that he had prepared.

And they said to him, the nobles, to the king, “Now Haman stands in the courtyard.” And the king said to them, “Summon him.” And the king said to Haman, “What shall I do for the man whom I wish to honor?” And Haman said in his heart, “Whom does the king wish to honor, if not me?” And he said to the king, “For the man whom the king wishes to honor, let them bring to him the king’s children, a garment that the king wears, and a horse that the king rides.” And he gave to one of the king’s nobles, who were honored, and they clothed that man whom the king had honored, and they mounted him upon his horse, and they proclaimed for him in the streets within the city square, saying, “Thus shall it be for the man whom the king has honored.” And the king said to Haman, “You speak well; do likewise for Mordecai the Jew, who is bound in the courtyard, and omit not one word of what you have recited.” And Haman took the garments and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai and mounted him upon the horse, and he led him about in the city square, and he proclaimed, saying, “Thus shall be the reward for every man whom the king wishes to honor.

Then Mordecai entered the courtyard, and Haman went to his house, bowing his head. And he told his wife Zeres and his nobles, and his nobles and his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, from the lineage of the Jews, humbled himself before him and fell, you cannot kill him, for God is with him.” And they brought Haman to the feast that Esther had made. Chapter 8 And the king and Haman were drinking with the queen. And the king said to Esther, “When you prepared the feast, what is your request, Esther, and what is it that you desire of me, since I have given you half of my kingdom?” And she answered him and said, “If I have found favor before you, O king, let my life’s request be granted. And let me reveal my desire, for I and my people have been sold, and we are destined for death, destruction, and annihilation—we and our children. And I have been grieved, for they do not allow the mediator to enter the king’s courtyard.

The king said, “Who is this that has been humbled, that he should do this deed?” And Esther said, “Our enemy, Haman.” And when Haman heard, he feared the king and the queen. And the king arose from where he was drinking and entered the garden, and Haman troubled the queen, for he knew that his end was evil. And the king came from his garden, and Haman fell into the courtyard and prostrated himself before the queen. And the king said to him, “Do you mock me, my wife, in my house?” And when Haman was sated, his face darkened. And one of the eunuchs of the king said to him, “There is a tree which Mordecai had prepared, by which he knew concerning the king, a tree of fifty cubits in the house of Haman.” And the king said, “Hang him upon it.” And they hung him upon that tree which Mordecai had prepared. And after that, the king forgave his wrath. Chapter 9 And on that day, King Artaxerxes gave to Esther all the possessions of Haman the Agagite. And the king summoned Mordecai, and Esther made known to the king that he was her uncle.

And the king took the ring which he had taken from Haman’s hand, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over all that was Haman’s. And then she again spoke to the king and entreated him, and she prostrated herself at his feet that he might forgive all the evil that Haman had done against the Jews. And the king raised the golden scepter and placed it upon Esther’s head, and she arose and stood before the king. And Esther said to him, “If you love me and I have found favor in your sight, let them bring the letter which Haman wrote, that he might kill the Jews throughout your kingdom. How can I behold the evil of my people? And how can I live after the death of my people?” And the king said to Esther, “Behold, all the possessions of Haman I have given to you and bestowed upon you, and I have hanged him upon a tree because he raised his hand against the Jews. What do you desire to be written? Let us take my ring, and let them seal with my seal as you desire, because everything that is written by the king’s command is sealed with the king’s seal; there is none who can alter it.

And they summoned the scribes at the beginning of the month of Nisan, in the thirteenth year, and they wrote to the Jews, as the king had commanded them, for his kingdom and for his governors and for his nobles, from India to Ethiopia, each in their own provinces and according to the custom of their lands. And they wrote in the king’s name and sealed with his seal, and they sent his letters with the messengers. And thus he commanded them to act in his name in all the provinces, and to instruct them and to protect them from the hands of their enemies and from those who would rise up against them, as they themselves desired. On that day, throughout the whole kingdom of King Artaxerxes, on the tenth and twenty-third of the month of Adar, of the twelfth year. Chapter 10 Where these great king Artaxerxes’ letters were written, for the land of India and for the land of Ethiopia, for one hundred twenty-seven provinces, and for the nobles and for the governors. Upon our embassy, they shall make a feast for you, many, with abundance, those who will pierce them with instruction and with swiftness, greatly increasing pride.

And woe to those who are judged for us because of what they desire, to oppress them and to destroy them. They are unable to bear, except against those who pierce them, they hasten as if to honor them. And woe to the honor of men who are able alone, moreover, as if new evil, they raise their heads in pride, and to the Lord of all, who sees always, and the Lord, an evil enemy, appears to them as one who flees from his judgment. And the multitude of them only for the many who are judged, and the nobles who are trusted, are judged in agreement, as if it were said, "Woe to them!" They participate in innocent blood and inflict upon them a grievous punishment with evil intent. And by the counsel of the wise, they cast out the kingdom that dwells in peace and tranquility. And only by intent does it happen, and woe, as if we are scattered from what is before us, and as we were born, we have the law as it is. And after this, only we recount what was done without law, for they found honor that does not suit them, those who are unable to render a just judgment.

And after this, our kingdom dwells without understanding, and while it increases the property of the peoples, and what is shown, we always judge with their hands. And like Hamasa, son of Amadotu, he is more exalted from righteousness, and before Persia, he was far, many from our nobility, and he was cunning while we dwell among us. He found, moreover, what is above the people: mercy and compassion, and in turn he found mercy, until our father we call him, and the foundation of our kingdom, and with our throne he found. Again, this one did not magnify his greatness, and he remained to drive us from our kingdom and to fill our soul. And for Mordecai, who in everything reproaches us and shames us and makes us stumble, and for Esther, the partner of our kingdom, without loss, with all their people, in much affliction and with a contrived plan, he makes them weak. And between us this matter, because with their hands we dwell, we found the kingdom of Persia, and he desired to change by the law of Macedonia.

And we, only for those who wished to humiliate the Jews, we found them, not because of their wickedness, but because of the righteousness of their law. And Aman, son of God Most High, Great, and Living, God who rules over us and over those before us in the kingdom, and over us also, according to our heart. And you do only evil if you hear the command of Hamasa, son of Amadotu, and the word of the book he sent. For he himself prepared for this deed before the gate of the city of Susa, fighting with all his people, for his ransom, which all will rule, God swiftly decreed his punishment. And show this book openly in every place, and leave the Jews to live according to their law. And kill them on the days of their affliction, which they established before, on the tenth and thirteenth of the month of Adar, from that day until this hour.

From all, the Lord God strengthens for the destruction of the chosen people; he made for them a feast of joy. And you also, as is customary on your festivals, on the day of the decree and separation, do likewise. And now after this life, it will be for those who desire good for Persia and for those who desire us, they will raise the memorial of their destruction. And every region or city that has done like this, with spears and fire, will be destroyed in wrath; and not only for humans alone will destruction occur, but also for wild animals and for birds, for the creeping thing it will be. And show this book openly; spread it and display it; and let all the Jews be prepared on that day to kill their enemies. And those who ride horses went out, galloping as if to execute the king's command; and this command was established in the city of Susa. And Mordecai went out, wearing the vestments of royalty, with a crown of gold and a necklace of precious stones; and those who were in Susa saw him and rejoiced.

And for the Jews, there was light and joy in each of their cities and in each of their regions, where the decree was established, and where the book of joy and gladness for the Jews, and rest and peace, was found. And many of the Gentiles who believed, and who were circumcised and became proselytes because of their fear of the Jews. Chapter 11 For on the eleventh month, on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, the king’s decree arrived. On that day, those who had risen against the Jews were destroyed, and there was no one who could kill the Jews, because they feared them. And the princes of the Gentiles, and the governors, and the scribes, and the king’s nobles honor the Jews because of their fear of Mordecai. And they tremble, because it was decreed in the king’s book throughout his entire kingdom. And in the city of Susa, the Jews killed five hundred and seventy-three. And Goran, and Delafon, and Fasga, and Ferdenta, and Berya, and Serbeka, and Mershon, and Arofyon, and Ersewon, and Zebotitan, the sons of Haman, son of Amedotu the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews—they seized ten of them, and hanged them, and plundered their goods on that day.

And they reported to the king the number of people who died in the city of Susa. And the king said to Esther, "The Jews killed in the city of Susa five hundred and seventy-three men." "And what, then, shall they do in the other provinces? How much more will you complain before me? I will do for you." And Esther said to the king, "Let the Jews do as they have done, and let them hang the ten sons of Haman, and command that they do likewise." And he commanded the Jews who were in the city to hang the bodies of the sons of Haman. And the Jews assembled in the city of Susa on the tenth and thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed three hundred men, and there was no one who fled. And the remaining Jews, who were circumcised, and the nobles also assembled, and they made peace among themselves, and there was no one who fled, and they ceased from killing them. And those who killed on the tenth and thirteenth day of the month of Adar were one thousand five hundred, and there was no one who fled.

And they rest, moreover, on the tenth and the twenty-third of that month, and they celebrate that day as a feast, as they rest with joy and gladness. And the Jews who were gathered in the city of Susa on the tenth and the twenty-third of the month of Adar did not rest until it was finished, and on the tenth and the fifteenth they made a feast and joy. And because of this matter, the Jews who are scattered throughout all the provinces make that day good on the tenth and the twenty-third of gladness, while they give gifts to their neighbors and to their relatives and to those who dwell in the mountains of the cities; and on the tenth and the fifth they made for it good joy, while they give a portion to their neighbors and to their relatives. And Mordecai wrote this matter in a book and sent it to the Jews who were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, to those near and far, that they should make those days a feast on the tenth and the twenty-third and on the tenth and the fifteenth of the month of Adar.

For in those days the Jews rested from their enemies and their adversaries, in the month of Ṭaḫśaś (Ṭaḫśaś) they entered from sorrow into joy and from sickness into a good day, which is Adar (Adār), and they made it in all their days a festival and a feast, and they give gifts to their poor and to those who are in need. And the Jews accepted as Mordecai (Mardokəyōs) wrote to them. How Haman (Ḥāmā), son of Amadathu (Amadotu) of the Macedonians (Maḳʷədonəyā), killed them, as he plotted and conspired for their destruction. And how he came to the king and asked him to crucify Mordecai, and all that he desired to do evil against the Jews turned upon his own head, and he himself and his sons were crucified. And by reason of this, those days are called "Dəḥən" (Dəḥən) because of what was established; for in their language they call "Dəḥən" (Dəḥən) "salvation" because of the word of this book and because of all that is found in it and all that happened to them. And in what they wrote, the Jews accepted for themselves and for their descendants and for those who would come after them, and that they should not transgress from these and those days; the commemoration shall be performed forever and ever, in every city and in every region and nation.

And in those days the commemoration of the festival is performed, because they were saved, so that their memory may not be destroyed forever. And Esther, daughter of Aminadab, and Mordecai the Jew wrote all that they did and established the book of salvation. And Mordecai and Queen Esther decreed for themselves, and they swore and agreed in their lifetime and by their counsel. And Esther also commanded for eternity, and it was written for remembrance. Chapter 12 And the king also wrote throughout his kingdom, for every land and for every region. And upon his strength and upon his glory and upon his greatness and honor and his kingdom which is under him, behold, it is written in the book of Persia and Media for remembrance. And Mordecai alone guards the kingdom of the great king Artaxerxes; he is great, and his kingdom is honored among the Jews, and he is beloved and speaks the wealth of every people in their generations. And Mordecai said, "From the Lord God this thing happened.

I remembered the dream that I saw in the midst of this matter, for the time of that dream had passed. That little spring of water, which was a river, and there was the light of the sun and much water—Esther is the one who gave drink to the king and made him king. And those two cups: I and Haman, we. And the peoples who gathered to destroy the name of the Jews. And my people Israel, they who cried out to the Lord and were saved, and the Lord saved his people, and the Lord saved us from all evil. And the Lord performed a great sign and wonder and marvel, such as had not happened among the peoples. And in the midst of this, he made two parts: one for the people of the Lord and one for the other peoples. And those two parts arrived at the hour and time and day of judgment before the Lord and over all the peoples.

And the Lord remembered his people and purified the land. And it was in those days, in the month of Adar, on the tenth and the third, and on the tenth and the fifth, for the east is that month, while they were gathering in joy before the Lord in their generations forever, within Israel, his people. Chapter 13 And in the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the priest Abdos, the Lord said to the high priest, “I have seen,” and the priest and the Levite shall write. And Ptolemy his son shall offer the book which is in it, the judgment which he said existed. And the translation for Simakos the Ptolemaic, who is from Jerusalem.