Now the period after which a young woman was to go to the king was twelve months. During this time the days of cosmetic treatment are completed: six months while they are anointing themselves with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women.

When the time was fulfilled for Esther daughter of Aminadab, the brother of Mordecai’s father, to go in to the king, she neglected none of the things that the eunuch in charge of the women had commanded. For Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

For if you take no heed at such a time as this, help and protection will come to the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows whether it was not for such a time as this that you were made queen?”

Addition C

Mordecai’s Prayer

Then Mordecai prayed to the Lord, calling to remembrance all the works of the Lord. He said, “O Lord, Lord, King of all powers, for the universe is in your power and there is no one who can oppose you when it is your will to save Israel, for you have made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under heaven. You are Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist you, the Lord. You know all things; you know, O Lord, that it was not in insolence or pride or for any love of glory that I did this and refused to bow down to this proud Haman, for I would have been willing to kiss the soles of his feet to save Israel! But I did this so that I might not set human glory above the glory of God, and I will not bow down to anyone but you, who are my Lord, and I will not do these things in pride. And now, O Lord God and King, God of Abraham, spare your people, for the eyes of our foes are upon us to annihilate us, and they desire to destroy the inheritance that has been yours from the beginning. Do not neglect your portion, which you redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt. Hear my prayer and have mercy upon your inheritance; turn our mourning into feasting that we may live and sing praise to your name, O Lord; do not destroy the lips of those who praise you.” And all Israel cried out with all their might, for their death was before their eyes.

Esther’s Prayer

Then Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, fled to the Lord. She took off the garments of her honor and put on the garments of distress and mourning, and instead of costly perfumes she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she utterly humbled her body; every part that she loved to adorn she covered with her tangled hair. She prayed to the Lord God of Israel and said: “O my Lord, you alone are our king; help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, for my danger is in my hand. Ever since I was born I have heard in the tribe of my family that you, O Lord, took Israel out of all the nations and our ancestors from among all their forebears for an everlasting inheritance and that you did for them all that you said. And now we have sinned before you, and you have delivered us into the hands of our enemies because we glorified their gods. You are righteous, O Lord! And now they are not satisfied that we are in bitter slavery, but they have set their hands on the hands of their idols to abolish what your mouth has ordained and to destroy your inheritance, to stop the mouths of those who praise you and to quench your altar and the glory of your house, to open the mouths of the nations for the praise of vain idols and to magnify forever a mortal king. “O Lord, do not surrender your scepter to what has no being, and do not let them laugh at our downfall, but turn their plan against them and make an example of him who began this against us. Remember, O Lord; make yourself known in this time of our affliction and give me courage, O King of the gods and Master of all dominion! Put eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion and turn his heart to hate the man who is fighting against us, so that there may be an end of him and those who agree with him. But save us by your hand and help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, O Lord. You have knowledge of all things, and you know that I hate the splendor of the lawless and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of any alien. You know my necessity, that I abhor the sign of my proud position that is upon my head on days when I appear in public. I abhor it like a menstrual cloth, and I do not wear it on the days when I am at rest. And your servant has not eaten at Haman’s table, and I have not honored the king’s feast or drunk the wine of libations. Your servant has had no joy since the day that I was brought here until now, except in you, O Lord God of Abraham. O God, whose might is over all, hear the voice of the despairing and save us from the hands of evildoers. And save me from my fear!”

End of Addition C

Addition D

Esther Is Received by the King

On the third day, when she ended her prayer, she took off the garments in which she had worshiped and arrayed herself in the garments of her honor. Then, majestically adorned, after invoking the aid of the all-seeing God and Savior, she took two maids with her; on one she leaned gently for support, while the other followed, carrying her train. She was radiant with perfect beauty, and she looked happy, as if beloved, but her heart was frozen with fear. When she had gone through all the doors, she stood before the king. He was seated on his royal throne, clothed in the full array of his majesty, all covered with gold and precious stones. He was most terrifying. Lifting his face, ablaze with glory, he looked at her in fierce anger. The queen faltered, turned pale and faint, and collapsed on the head of the maid who went in front of her. Then God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in alarm he sprang from his throne and took her in his arms until she came to herself. He comforted her with soothing words and said to her, “What is it, Esther? I am your kin. Take courage. You shall not die, for our law applies only to our subjects. Come near.” Then he raised the golden scepter and touched her neck with it; he embraced her and said, “Speak to me.” She said to him, “I saw you, my lord, like an angel of God, and my heart was shaken with fear at your glory. For you are wonderful, my lord, and your countenance is full of grace.” And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was agitated, and all his attendants tried to comfort her.

on a single day, the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which is Adar, throughout all the kingdom of Artaxerxes.

Addition E

The Decree of Artaxerxes

The following is a copy of this letter: “The Great King, Artaxerxes, to the governors of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, and to those who are loyal to our government, greetings. “Many people, the more they are honored with the most generous kindness of their benefactors, the more proud do they become, and not only seek to injure our subjects, but in their inability to stand prosperity, they even undertake to scheme against their own benefactors. They not only take away thankfulness from others, but, carried away by the boasts of those who know nothing of goodness, they even assume that they will escape the evil-hating justice of God, who always sees everything. And often many of those who are set in places of authority have been made in part responsible for the shedding of innocent blood and have been involved in irremediable calamities, by the persuasion of friends who have been entrusted with the administration of public affairs, when these persons by the false trickery of their evil natures beguile the sincere goodwill of their sovereigns. “What has been wickedly accomplished through the pestilent behavior of those who exercise authority unworthily can be seen not so much from the more ancient records that we hand on as from investigation of matters close at hand. In the future we will take care to render our kingdom quiet and peaceable for all, by changing our methods and always judging what comes before our eyes with more equitable consideration. For Haman son of Hammedatha, a Macedonian (really an alien to the Persian blood and quite devoid of our kindliness), having become our guest, enjoyed so fully the goodwill that we have for every nation that he was called our father and was continually bowed down to by all as the person second to the royal throne. But, unable to restrain his arrogance, he undertook to deprive us of our kingdom and our life and with intricate craft and deceit asked for the destruction of Mordecai, our savior and perpetual benefactor, and of Esther, the blameless partner of our kingdom, together with their whole nation. He thought that by these methods he would catch us undefended and would transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians. “But we find that the Jews, who were consigned to annihilation by this thrice-accursed man, are not evildoers but are governed by most righteous laws and are children of the living God, most high, most mighty, who has directed the kingdom both for us and for our ancestors in the most excellent order. “You will therefore do well not to put in execution the letters sent by Haman son of Hammedatha, since he, the one who did these things, has been executed at the gates of Susa with all his household—for God, who rules over all things, has speedily inflicted on him the punishment that he deserved. “Therefore post a copy of this letter publicly in every place and permit the Jews to live according to their own customs. And lend them support, so that on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, on that very day, they may defend themselves against those who attack them at the time of affliction. For God, who rules over all things, has made this day to be a joy for his chosen people instead of a day of destruction for them. “Therefore you shall observe this with all good cheer as a notable day among your commemorative festivals, so that both now and hereafter it may represent deliverance for us and for those loyal to the Persians but a reminder of destruction for those who plot against us. “Every city and country, without exception, that does not act accordingly shall be destroyed in wrath with spear and fire. It shall be made not only impassable for humans but also most hateful to wild animals and birds for all time.

for on these days the Jews got relief from their enemies. The whole month (namely, Adar) in which their condition had been changed from sorrow into gladness and from a time of distress to a holiday was to be celebrated as a time for feasting and gladness and for sending presents of food to their friends and to the poor.

These days of Purim shall be observed for all time, and the commemoration of them shall never cease among their descendants.