Beginning
1 1-3 It was the third year of the reign of King Ahasuerus, emperor of vast Media-Persia, with its 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. This was the year of the great celebration at Shushan Palace, to which the emperor invited all his governors, aides, and army officers, bringing them in from every part of Media-Persia for the occasion. 4 The celebration lasted six months, a tremendous display of the wealth and glory of his empire.
5 When it was all over, the king gave a special party for the palace servants and officials—janitors and cabinet officials alike—for seven days of revelry, held in the courtyard of the palace garden. 6 The decorations were green, white, and blue, fastened with purple ribbons[a] tied to silver rings imbedded in marble pillars. Gold and silver benches stood on pavements of black, red, white, and yellow marble. 7 Drinks were served in gold goblets of many designs, and there was an abundance of royal wine, for the king was feeling very generous. 8 The only restriction on the drinking was that no one should be compelled to take more than he wanted, but those who wished could have as much as they pleased. For the king had instructed his officers to let everyone decide this matter for himself.
9 Queen Vashti gave a party for the women of the palace at the same time.
10 On the final day when the king was feeling high, half drunk from wine, he told the seven eunuchs who were his personal aides—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas— 11 to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown upon her head so that all the men could gaze upon her beauty—for she was a very beautiful woman. 12 But when they conveyed the emperor’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. The king was furious 13-15 but first consulted his lawyers, for he did nothing without their advice. They were men of wisdom who knew the temper of the times as well as Persian law and justice, and the king trusted their judgment. These men were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan—seven high officials of Media-Persia. They were his personal friends as well as being the chief officers of the government.
“What shall we do about this situation?” he asked them. “What penalty does the law provide for a queen who refuses to obey the king’s orders, properly sent through his aides?”
16 Memucan answered for the others, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but every official and citizen of your empire. 17 For women everywhere will begin to disobey their husbands when they learn what Queen Vashti has done. 18 And before this day is out, the wife of every one of us officials throughout your empire will hear what the queen did and will start talking to us husbands the same way, and there will be contempt and anger throughout your realm. 19 We suggest that, subject to your agreement, you issue a royal edict, a law of the Medes and Persians that can never be changed, that Queen Vashti be forever banished from your presence and that you choose another queen more worthy than she. 20 When this decree is published throughout your great kingdom, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will be respected by their wives!”
21 The king and all his aides thought this made good sense, so he followed Memucan’s counsel 22 and sent letters to all of his provinces, in all the local languages, stressing that every man should rule his home and should assert his authority.
2 But after King Ahasuerus’ anger had cooled, he began brooding over the loss of Vashti, realizing that he would never see her again.
2 So his aides suggested, “Let us go and find the most beautiful girls in the empire and bring them to the king for his pleasure. 3 We will appoint agents in each province to select young lovelies for the royal harem. Hegai, the eunuch in charge, will see that they are given beauty treatments, 4 and after that, the girl who pleases you most shall be the queen instead of Vashti.”
This suggestion naturally pleased the king very much, and he put the plan into immediate effect.
5 Now there was a certain Jew at the palace named Mordecai (son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite). 6 He had been captured when Jerusalem was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and had been exiled to Babylon along with King Jeconiah of Judah and many others. 7 This man had a beautiful and lovely young cousin, Hadassah (also called Esther), whose father and mother were dead, and whom he had adopted into his family and raised as his own daughter.[b] 8 So now, as a result of the king’s decree, Esther was brought to the king’s harem at Shushan Palace along with many other young girls. 9 Hegai, who was responsible for the harem, was very much impressed with her and did his best to make her happy; he ordered a special menu for her, favored her for the beauty treatments, gave her seven girls from the palace as her maids, and gave her the most luxurious apartment in the harem. 10 Esther hadn’t told anyone that she was a Jewess, for Mordecai had said not to. 11 He came daily to the court of the harem to ask about Esther and to find out what was happening to her.
12-14 The instructions concerning these girls were that before being taken to the king’s bed, each would be given six months of beauty treatments with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments. Then, as each girl’s turn came for spending the night with King Ahasuerus, she was given her choice of clothing or jewelry she wished, to enhance her beauty. She was taken to the king’s apartment in the evening and the next morning returned to the second harem where the king’s wives lived. There she was under the care of Shaashgaz, another of the king’s eunuchs and lived there the rest of her life, never seeing the king again unless he had especially enjoyed her and called for her by name.
15 When it was Esther’s[c] turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem, dressing according to his instructions. And all the other girls exclaimed with delight when they saw her. 16 So Esther was taken to the palace of the king in January of the seventh year of his reign. 17 Well, the king loved Esther more than any of the other girls. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. 18 To celebrate the occasion, he threw another big party for all his officials and servants, giving generous gifts to everyone and making grants to the provinces in the form of remission of taxes.
19 Later the king demanded a second bevy of beautiful girls.[d] By that time Mordecai had become a government official.
20 Esther still hadn’t told anyone she was a Jewess, for she was still following Mordecai’s orders, just as she had in his home.
21 One day as Mordecai was on duty at the palace, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh—who were guards at the palace gate—became angry at the king and plotted to assassinate him. 22 Mordecai heard about it and passed on the information to Queen Esther, who told the king, crediting Mordecai with the information. 23 An investigation was made, the two men found guilty, and impaled alive.[e] This was all duly recorded in the book of the history of King Ahasuerus’ reign.
3 Soon afterwards King Ahasuerus appointed Haman (son of Hammedatha the Agagite) as prime minister. He was the most powerful official in the empire next to the king himself. 2 Now all the king’s officials bowed before him in deep reverence whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow.
3-4 “Why are you disobeying the king’s commandment?” the others demanded day after day, but he still refused. Finally they spoke to Haman about it to see whether Mordecai could get away with it because of his being a Jew, which was the excuse he had given them. 5-6 Haman was furious but decided not to lay hands on Mordecai alone, but to move against all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, and destroy all of them throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 The most propitious time for this action was determined by throwing dice. This was done in April of the twelfth year of the reign of Ahasuerus, and February of the following year was the date indicated.
8 Haman now approached the king about the matter. “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your kingdom,” he began, “and their laws are different from those of any other nation, and they refuse to obey the king’s laws; therefore, it is not in the king’s interest to let them live. 9 If it please the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will pay $20,000,000 into the royal treasury for the expenses involved in this purge.”
10 The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his ring from his finger and giving it to Haman,[f] telling him, 11 “Keep the money, but go ahead and do as you like with these people—whatever you think best.”
12 Two or three weeks later,[g] Haman called in the king’s secretaries and dictated letters to the governors and officials throughout the empire, to each province in its own languages and dialects; these letters were signed in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with his ring.
13 They were then sent by messengers into all the provinces of the empire, decreeing that the Jews—young and old, women and children—must all be killed on the 28th day of February of the following year and their property given to those who killed them. 14 “A copy of this edict,” the letter stated, “must be proclaimed as law in every province and made known to all your people, so that they will be ready to do their duty on the appointed day.” 15 The edict went out by the king’s speediest couriers, after being first proclaimed in the city of Shushan. Then the king and Haman sat down for a drinking spree as the city fell into confusion and panic.
4 When Mordecai learned what had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail. 2 Then he stood outside the gate of the palace, for no one was permitted to enter in mourning clothes. 3 And throughout all the provinces there was great mourning among the Jews, fasting, weeping, and despair at the king’s decree; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was deeply distressed and sent clothing to him to replace the sackcloth, but he refused it. 5 Then Esther sent for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been appointed as her attendant, and told him to go out to Mordecai and find out what the trouble was and why he was acting like that. 6 So Hathach went out to the city square and found Mordecai just outside the palace gates, 7 and heard the whole story from him, and about the $20,000,000 Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the king’s decree dooming all Jews, and told him to show it to Esther and to tell her what was happening and that she should go to the king to plead for her people. 9 So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai’s message. 10 Esther told Hathach to go back and say to Mordecai, 11 “All the world knows that anyone, whether man or woman, who goes into the king’s inner court without his summons is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter; and the king has not called for me to come to him in more than a month.”
12 So Hathach gave Esther’s message to Mordecai.
13 This was Mordecai’s reply to Esther: “Do you think you will escape there in the palace when all other Jews are killed? 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, God will deliver the Jews from some other source, but you and your relatives will die; what’s more, who can say but that God has brought you into the palace for just such a time as this?”
15 Then Esther sent this message to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Shushan and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day; and I and my maids will do the same; and then, though it is strictly forbidden, I will go in to see the king; and if I perish, I perish.”
17 So Mordecai did as Esther told him to.
5 Three days later Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court just beyond the royal hall of the palace, where the king was sitting upon his royal throne. 2 And when he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her, holding out the golden scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched its tip.
3 Then the king asked her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
4 And Esther replied, “If it please Your Majesty, I want you and Haman to come to a banquet I have prepared for you today.”
5 The king turned to his aides. “Tell Haman to hurry!” he said. So the king and Haman came to Esther’s banquet.
6 During the wine course the king said to Esther, “Now tell me what you really want, and I will give it to you, even if it is half of the kingdom!”
7-8 Esther replied, “My request, my deepest wish, is that if Your Majesty loves me and wants to grant my request, that you come again with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I shall prepare for you. And tomorrow I will explain what this is all about.”
9 What a happy man was Haman as he left the banquet! But when he saw Mordecai there at the gate, not standing up or trembling before him, he was furious. 10 However, he restrained himself, went on home, and gathered together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 and boasted to them about his wealth, his many children, and promotions the king had given him, and how he had become the greatest man in the kingdom next to the king himself.
12 Then he delivered his punch line: “Yes, and Esther the queen invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she prepared for us; and tomorrow we are invited again! 13 But yet,” he added, “all this is nothing when I see Mordecai the Jew just sitting there in front of the king’s gate, refusing to bow to me.”
14 “Well,” suggested Zeresh, his wife, and all his friends, “get ready a 75-foot-high gallows, and in the morning ask the king to let you hang Mordecai on it; and when this is done you can go on your merry way with the king to the banquet.” This pleased Haman immensely, and he ordered the gallows built.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.