The Greatness of Xerxes and Mordecai

10 King Xerxes imposed a tribute throughout his empire, even to the distant coastlands.

The Birth of Jesus

2 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.

¹⁸ “After this, he will turn his attention to the coastland and conquer many cities. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and cause him to retreat in shame.

⁹ So on June 25^[a] the king’s secretaries were summoned, and a decree was written exactly as Mordecai dictated. It was sent to the Jews and to the highest officers, the governors, and the nobles of all the 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.^[b] The decree was written in the scripts and languages of all the peoples of the empire, including that of the Jews.

The King’s Banquet

1 These events happened in the days of King Xerxes,^[a] who reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.^[b]

⁵ Their descendants became the seafaring peoples that spread out to various lands, each identified by its own language, clan, and national identity.