Old/New Testament

1 ¶ Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces)

² That in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan, the palace,

³ In the third year of his reign, he made a banquet unto all his princes and his slaves, having before him the power of Persia and Media, the governors and princes of the provinces,

⁴ to show them the riches of the glory of his kingdom and the honour of beauty of his greatness for many days, even one hundred and eighty days.

⁵ And when these days were expired, the king made a banquet unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, for seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace.

⁶ There were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble; the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of porphyre and of marble and of alabaster and of blue.

⁷ And they gave them drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another) and royal wine in abundance, according to the power of the king.

⁸ And the drink was according to this law: let no one constrain themselves; for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house that they should do according to the will of each one.

⁹ Likewise Vashti, the queen, made a banquet for the women in the royal house of King Ahasuerus.

¹⁰ ¶ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs that served in the presence of Ahasuerus, the king,

¹¹ to bring Vashti, the queen, before the king with the crown of the kingdom, to show the people and the princes her beauty, for she was fair to behold.

¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s word by his eunuchs; therefore, the king was very wroth, and his anger burned in him.

¹³ Then the king asked the wise men, who knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew about the law and rights,

¹⁴ and the next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and who sat first in the kingdom;)

¹⁵ What shall we do unto Queen Vashti according to law because she has not performed the decree of King Ahasuerus by the eunuchs?

¹⁶ And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti, the queen, has not only committed iniquity against the king, but also against all the princes and against all the people that are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

¹⁷ For this deed of the queen shall be known abroad unto all the women so that they shall despise their husbands, saying, King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti, the queen, to be brought in before him, but she did not come.

¹⁸ And now the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the deed of the queen shall say this unto all the king’s princes, and there shall be much contempt and wrath.

¹⁹ If it pleases the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it not be altered, That Vashti come no more before King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.

²⁰ And this sentence which the king shall make shall be heard throughout all his empire, although it is great, and all the wives shall give their husbands honour, from the greatest to the least.

²¹ And this word pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan;

²² for he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, saying, That every man should bear rule in his own house and that it should be published according to the language of every people.

2 ¶ After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what was decreed against her.

² Then the king’s servants that ministered unto him said, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king,

³ and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan, the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women; and let them be given that which is necessary for their purification;

⁴ and let the maiden which pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king, and he did so.

⁵ Now in Shushan, the palace, there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;

⁶ who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried away.

⁷ And he had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter; for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; and as her father and mother were dead, Mordecai had taken her for his own daughter.

⁸ So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan, the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king’s house to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.

⁹ And the maiden pleased him, and she found mercy before him; and he speedily gave her that which was necessary for purification and her rations, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her out of the king’s house; and he moved her and her maids into the best place of the house of the women.

¹⁰ Esther had not declared her people nor her birth, for Mordecai had charged her that she should not declare it.

¹¹ And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house to know the peace of Esther and what was done with her.

¹² Now when each maid’s turn was come to go in to King Ahasuerus, after she had been twelve months according to the law regarding the women (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, that is, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with aromatic odours and oils for women),

¹³ then thus came each maiden unto the king; whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house.

¹⁴ In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who kept the concubines; she came in unto the king no more, unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name.

¹⁵ Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained grace in the sight of all those that looked upon her.

¹⁶ So Esther was taken unto King Ahasuerus into his royal house in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷ And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and mercy in his sight more than did all the other virgins so that he set the crown of the kingdom upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

¹⁸ Then the king made a great banquet unto all his princes and his slaves, the banquet of Esther; and he made a release to the provinces of their taxes and gave gifts according to the power of the king.

¹⁹ And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.

²⁰ Esther had not yet declared her birth nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her; for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai as when she was being brought up with him.

²¹ ¶ In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth and sought to lay hand on King Ahasuerus.

²² And the thing was known by Mordecai, who told it unto Esther, the queen; and Esther notified the king of this in Mordecai’s name.

²³ And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore, they were both hanged on a tree; and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

5 ¶ But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession

² and defrauded of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³ But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to defraud of the price of the land?

⁴ Retaining it, was it not thy own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

⁵ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the spirit; and great fear came on all those that heard these things.

⁶ And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out and buried him.

⁷ And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

⁸ Then Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yes, for so much.

⁹ Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried thy husband are at the door and shall carry thee out.

¹⁰ Then she fell down straightway at his feet and yielded up the spirit; and the young men came in and found her dead and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

¹¹ And great fear came upon all the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} and upon as many as heard these things.

¹² ¶ And by the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were wrought in the people. (And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

¹³ And of the others, no one dared join themself to them, but the people magnified them.

¹⁴ And those that believed in the Lord increased in number, multitudes both of men and women.)

¹⁵ So much that they brought forth the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

¹⁶ There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks and those who were tormented with unclean spirits, and they were healed every one.

¹⁷ ¶ Then the prince of the priests rose up, and all those that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees) were filled with jealousy

¹⁸ and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.

¹⁹ But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors and brought them forth and said,

²⁰ Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

²¹ And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning and taught. In the meantime, the prince of the priests came, and those that were with him, and called the council together and all the elders of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.