⁵ And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of ^(A)the garden of the king's palace.

Haman Is Hanged

⁷ And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into ^(A)the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. ⁸ And the king returned from ^(B)the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on ^(C)the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face.

²¹ And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^(A)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might^[a] to the Lord. ²² And Hezekiah spoke ^(B)encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing ^(C)peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast ^(D)for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(E)gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests ^(F)consecrated themselves in great numbers. ²⁵ The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, ^(G)and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced.

⁸ At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from ^(A)Lebo-hamath to the ^(B)Brook of Egypt. ⁹ And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days.