Bible verses about "esther" | Brenton

¹ And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. ^(5:1A) And being splendidly arrayed, and having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. ^(5:1B) And she was blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face was cheerful, and it were benevolent, but her heart was straitened for fear. ^(5:1C) And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. ^(5:1D) And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her colour as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before her. ^(5:1E) But God changed the spirit of the king gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceable words, and said to her, ^(5:1F) What is the matter, Esther? I am thy brother; be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, for our command is openly declared to thee, Draw nigh. ² And having raised the golden sceptre he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her, and said, Speak to me. ^(5:2A) And she said to him, I saw thee, my lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy glory; for thou, my lord, art to be wondered at, and thy face is full of grace. ^(5:2B) And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her. ³ And the king said, What wilt thou, Esther? and what is thy request? ask even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be thine. ⁴ And Esther said, To-day is my great day: if then it seem good to the king, let both him and Aman come to the feast which I will prepare this day. ⁵ And the king said, Hasten Aman hither, that we may perform the word of Esther. So they both come to the feast of which Esther had spoken. ⁶ And at the banquet the king said to Esther, What is thy request, queen Esther? speak, and thou shalt have all that thou requirest. ⁷ And she said, My request and my petition are: ⁸ if I have found favour in the sight of the king, let the king and Aman come again to-morrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and to-morrow I will do the same. ⁹ So Aman went out from the king very glad and merry: but when Aman saw Mardochaeus the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged. ¹⁰ And having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zosara. ¹¹ And he shewed them his wealth, and the glory with which the king had invested him, and how he had caused him to take precedence and bear chief rule in the kingdom. ¹² And Aman said, The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited to-morrow. ¹³ But these things please me not, while I see Mardochaeus the Jew in the court. ¹⁴ And Zosara his wife and his friends said to him, Let there be a gallows made for thee of fifty cubits, and in the morning do thou speak to the king, and let Mardochaeus be hanged on the gallows: but do thou go in to the feast with the king, and be merry. And the saying pleased Aman, and the gallows was prepared.

¹⁷ And the king loved Esther, and she found favour beyond all the other virgins: and he put on her the queen's crown.

¹⁴ For if thou shalt refuse to hearken on this occasion, help and protection will be to the Jews from another quarter; but thou and thy father's house will perish: and who knows, if thou hast been made queen for this very occasion?

¹ And in that day king Artaxerxes gave to Esther all that belonged to Aman the slanderer: and Mardochaeus was called by the king; for Esther had shewn that he was related to her. ² And the king took the ring which he had taken away from Aman, and gave it to Mardochaeus: and Esther appointed Mardochaeus over all that had been Aman's. ³ And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and besought him to do away the mischief of Aman, and all that he had done against the Jews. ⁴ Then the king stretched out to Esther the golden sceptre: and Esther arose to stand near the king. ⁵ And Esther said, If it seem good to thee, and I have found favour in thy sight, let an order be sent that the letters sent by Aman may be reversed, that were written for the destruction of the Jews, who are in thy kingdom. ⁶ For how shall I be able to look upon the affliction of my people, and how shall I be able to survive the destruction of my kindred? ⁷ And the king said to Esther, If I have given and freely granted thee all that was Aman's, and hanged him on a gallows, because he laid his hands upon the Jews, what dost thou yet further seek? ⁸ Write ye also in my name, as it seems good to you, and seal it with my ring: for whatever orders are written at the command of the king, and sealed with my ring, it is not lawful to gainsay them. ⁹ So the scribes were called in the first-month, which is Nisan, on the three and twentieth day of the same year; and orders were written to the Jews, whatever the king had commanded to the local governors and chiefs of the satraps, from India even to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven satraps, according to the several provinces, according to their dialects. ¹⁰ And they were written by order of the king, and sealed with his ring, and they sent the letters by the posts: ¹¹ wherein he charged them to use their own laws in every city, and to help each other, and to treat their adversaries, and those who attacked them, as they pleased, ¹² on one day in all the kingdom of Artaxerxes, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar. ¹³ And let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout the kingdom, and let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies. ¹⁴ So the horsemen went forth with haste to perform the king's commands; and the ordinance was also published in Susa. ¹⁵ And Mardochaeus went forth robed in the royal apparel, and wearing a golden crown, and a diadem of fine purple linen: and the people in Susa saw it and rejoiced. ¹⁶ And the Jews had light and gladness, ¹⁷ in every city and province wherever the ordinance was published: wherever the proclamation took place, the Jews had joy and gladness, feasting and mirth: and many of the Gentiles were circumcised, and became Jews, for fear of the Jews.

¹⁶ Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and fast ye for me, and eat not and drink not for three days, night and day: and I also and my maidens will fast; and then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die.