^hen went Haman forth that day joyful and glad of hfeart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate,4that he stood not up nor moved for him, Haman was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10Nevcrtheless Ha- man refrained himself, and went home; ESTHER and he sent and fetched his friends and Zeresh his wife. nAnd Haman recounted unto them the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his chil- dren, and everything as to how th< king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. 12Haman said moreover: 'Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had pre- pared but myself; and to-morrow also am I invited by her together with the king. 13Yet all this availeth me noth- ing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate ' 14Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him: 'Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak thou unto the king that Mor- decai may be hanged thereon; then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet/ Aid the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
£ On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2And it was found written, that Morde- cai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, of those that kept the door, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahas- uerus. 3And the king said: 'What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordccai for this?' Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him: 'There is nothing done for him.' 4And the. king said: 'Who is in the court?' — Now Hainan was come into the outer court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordccai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.— r>Arid the king's servants said unto him: 'Behold, Haman standeth in the court.' And the king said: 'Let him, come in.' 6So Hamaii came m. And the king said unto him. 'What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?7 — Now Haman said in his heart 'Whom would the king delight to hon- our besides myself?' — 7And Haman said unto the king: 'For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, 8let royal be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and on whose head a crown royal is set; 9and let the ap- parel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man therewith whom the king delighteth to honour, and cause him to ride on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him: Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.' x°Then the king said to Haman: 'Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate; let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.' "Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him: 'Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.'
l2And Mordecai returned to the- Icing's gate. But Haman hastened to his house, mourning and having his head covered. I3And Haman recount- ed unto Zeresh his wife and all his •ricnds every thing that had befallen aim. Then said his wise men ami Zeresh his wife unto him: 'If Morde- cai, before whom thou hast begun to 'all, bo of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.' "While they ESTHER 88 were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hastened to bring Hainan unto the banquet that Esther had prepared, y So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. ^And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine: 'Whatever thy petition, •queen Esther, it shall be granted thee; and whatever^ thy request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be per- formed.' 3Then Esther the queen answered and said: 'If I have found favour in thy sight, 0 king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people .at my request; 4for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bond- women, I had held my peace, for the adversary is not worthy that the king be endamaged.'
5Then spoke the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen: 'Who is he, and where is ho, that durst presume in his heart to do so?7 6 And Esther said. 'An^adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Hainan.' Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. 7And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace gar- den; but Haman remained to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil deter- mined against him by the king. 8Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the bouquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the couch whereon Esther was. Then said the king: * Will he even force the queen before me in the house?' As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Then said Harbonah, one of the chamberlains that were before the king: 'Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman.' And the king said: 'Hang him there- on.' 10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath assuaged.
Q On that day did the king Ahasuerus ^ give the house of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her. 2And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman 3And Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Hainan the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. 4Then the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king. 6And she said: 'If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the tiling seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the eon of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king's provinces; sfor how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?'
7TKon the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew: ' Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon, the Jews. 8Write ye also concerning the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and ESTHER seal it with the king's ring; for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse/ 9Then were the king's scribes called at that time, in the third month, which is the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, even to the sa- traps, and the governors and princes of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, a hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their lan- guage. 10And they wrote in the name of king Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, riding on swift steeds that were used in the king's service, bred of the stud; uthat the king had granted the Jews that were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, and to slay, and to cause to perish, all the forces of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, "upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. 13The copy of the writing, to be given out for a decree in every province, was to be published unto all the peoples, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14So the posts that rode upon swift steeds that were used in the king's service went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's command- ment; and the decree was given out in Shushan the castle.
15And Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan shouted and was glad. 16The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honour. 17Ajad in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree canie, the Jews had gladness and joy, a feast and a good day. And many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen upon them.
G Now in the twelfth month, which ^ is the month Adar, on the thir- teenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them; whereas it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them; Hhe Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout ail the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt; and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them was fallen upon all the peoples. 3And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king's business, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai was fallen upon them. 4For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went forth throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai waxed greater and greater. *And the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they would unto them that hated them. 'And in Shushan the castle the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men. "And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and ESTHER ESTHER Aspatha, 8and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha, 9and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vaizatha, 10the ten sons of Haman the son of Ham- medatha, the Jews' enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
U0n that day the number of those that were slam in Shushan the castle was brought before the king. 12And the king said unto Esther the queen: 'The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the cas- tle, and the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! NOW whatever thy petition, it shall be granted thee; and whatever thy request further, it shall be done/ 13Then said Esther: 'If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews that are in Shushan to do to-morrow also according unto this day's decree, and let Hainan's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.' 14And the king commanded it so to be done; and a decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Hainan's ten sons. "And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their hand.
"And the other Jews that were in the king's. provinces gathered them- selves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of them that hated them seventy and five thousand- — but on the spoil they laid not their hand — 17on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 18But the Jews that were in Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day there- of, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. "Therefore do the Jews of the villages, that dwell in the un walled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.
20And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, 21to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, ^the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. 23And the Jews took upon them to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them; 24because Ha- man the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to de- stroy them, and had cast pur, that is, the lot, to discomfit them, and to destroy them; 25but when ashe came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head; and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. ^Wherefore they called these days Purim, after the name of pur. Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come unto them, 27the Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves » That is, Esther.
ESTHER unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to the writing thereof, and according to the appointed time there- of, every year; 28and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation^ every family, every 'province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.
29Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote down all the acts of power, to confirm this second letter of Purim. 30And he sent letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven prov- inces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, 31to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had or- dained for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry. 32And the commandment of Esther confirmed those matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
1 A And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. 2And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mor- decai, how the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3For Morcleeai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuorus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren; seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his seed.
DANIEL DANIEL "I IN the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 2And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and lie carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god, and the vessels he brought into the treasure-house of his god. 3And the king spoke unto Ash- penaz his chief officer, that he should bring in certain of the children of Israel, and of the seed royal, and of the nobles, ^ouths in whom was no blemish, but fair to look on, and skilful in all wisdom, and skilful in knowledge, and discerning in thought, and such as had ability to stand in the king's palace; and that he should teach them the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 6And the king appointed for them a daily portion of th,e king's food, and of the wine which he draqk, and that they should be nourished three years; that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. °Now among these were, of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 7And the chief of the officers gave names unto them: unto Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Moshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.
8But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the officers that he might not defile himself. 9And God granted Daniel mercy and compassion in the sight of the chief of the officers. 10And the chief of the officers said unto Daniel: ' I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces sad in comparison with the youths that are of your own age? so would ye endanger my head with the king.' uThen said Daniel to the steward, whom the chief of the officers had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and AzariaL: 12'Try thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13Then let our coun- tenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths that eat of the king's food; and as thou seest, deal with thy servants/ 14So he hearkened unto them in this matter, and tried them ten days. "And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh, than all the youths that did eat of the king's food 16So the steward took away their food, and the wine that they should drink, and gave thorn puke.
17Now as for these four youths^ God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18And at the end of tho days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the chief of tho officers brought them in before Nebu- DANIEL chadnezzar. 19And the king spoke with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Michael, and Azariah; therefore stood they be- fore the king. 20And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired oi; them, he found ^them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his realm. ^And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. O And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebu- chadnezzar dreamed dreams;^and his spirit, was troubled, and his sleep broke from him. 2Then the king com- manded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3And the king said unto them 'I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.' *Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Aramaic: '0 king, live for ever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.' The king answered and said to the Chaldeans: 'The % thing is certain with me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. 6But if ye declare the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour; only declare unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof/ 7They answered the second time and said: 'Let the king tell his servants the dreanij and we will declare the interpretation/ 8The king answered and said: 'I know of a truth that ye would gain time, inasmuch as ye see the thing is certain with me, 9that, if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law for you; and ye have agreed together to speak before me lying and corrupt words, till the time be changed; only tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can declare unto me the interpretation thereof/ 10The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said: 'There is not a man upon the earth that can declare the king's matter; forasmuch as no great and powerful king hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean. "And it is a hard thing that the king asketh, and there is none other that can de- clare it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh/ 12For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and com- manded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his com- panions' to be slain.
14Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and discretion to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise. men. of Babylon; 15he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain: 'Where- fore is the decree so peremptory from the king?' Then Arioch nuiae the thing known to Daniel. 16Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, that he might declare unto the king the inter- pretation.
"Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions; 18that they might ask mercy of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19Then was the secret re- vealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20Daniel spoke and saM: DANIEL Blessed be the name of God From everlasting even unto everlasting; For wisdom and might are His; 21 And He changeth the times and the seasons; He removeth kings, and setteth up kings; He giveth wisdom unto the wise, And knowledge to them that know understanding; ^He revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, And the light dwelleth with Him. 23I thank Thee, and praise Thee, 0 Thou God of my fathers, Who hast given me wisdom and might, And hast now made known unto me what we desired of Thee; For Thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.
24Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: ' Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will de- clare unto the king the interpreta- tion/ ^hen Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him:. ' I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.' 26The king spoke and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar: 'Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?' 27Daniel answered before the king, and said: 'The secret which the king hath asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor as- trologers, declare unto the king; **but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and He hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the end of days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head up- on thy bed, are these: 29as for thee, 0 king, thy thoughts came [into thy mind] upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and He that reveal- eth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to pass. 30But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31Thou, 0 king, sawest, and behold a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was sur- passing, stood before theej and the appearance thereof was terrible. 32As for that image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, 83its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay. 34Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without ' hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 36Then was the iron,, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 3<JThis is the dream; and we will telHhe iixterprotation thereof before the king.
57Thou, 0 king, king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; 38and where- soever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven dwell, hath He given them into thy DANIEL hand, and hath, made thee to rule over them all; thou art the head of gold. 39And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and beateth down all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. ' ^And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the firmness of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. ^And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part thereof broken. ^And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed witfy miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay. 44And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a king- dom, which shall never be destroyed; nor shall the kingdom be left to anoth- er people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever. ^Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.' ^Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odours unto him. 47The king spoke unto Daniel, and said: 'Of a truth it is, that youri God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret/ 48Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the gate of the king.
O Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Baby- lon. 2Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the ag had set up. 8Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together un- to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had sot up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4And the herald cried aloud: 'To you it is commanded, 0 peoples, nations, and languages, Hhat at what time ye hear the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, ana all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnea- zar the king hath set up; *and whoso f alleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.' there- fore at that time, when all the peoples DANIEL