Esther Cross References - Brenton

¹ And it came to pass after these things in the days of Artaxerxes, — (this Artaxerxes ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India) — ² in those days, when king Artaxerxes was on the throne in the city of Susa, ³ in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to his friends, and the other nations, and to the nobles of the Persians and Medes, and the chief of the satraps. ⁴ And after this, after he had shewn to them the wealth of his kingdom, and the abundant glory of his wealth during a hundred and eighty days, ⁵ when, I say, the days of the marriage feast were completed, the king made a banquet to the nations who were present in the city six days, in the court of the king's house, ⁶ which was adorned with hangings of fine linen and flax on cords of fine linen and purple, fastened to golden and silver studs, on pillars of Parian marble and stone: there were golden and silver couches on a pavement of emerald stone, and of pearl, and of Parian stone, and open-worked coverings variously flowered, having roses worked round about; ⁷ gold and silver cups, and a small cup of carbuncle set out of the value of thirty thousand talents, abundant and sweet wine, which the king himself drank. ⁸ And this banquet was not according to the appointed law; but so the king would have it: and he charged the stewards to perform his will and that of the company. ⁹ Also Astin the queen made a banquet for the women in the palace where king Artaxerxes dwelt. ¹⁰ Now on the seventh day the king, being merry, told Aman, and Bazan, and Tharrha, and Barazi, and Zatholtha, and Abataza, and Tharaba, the seven chamberlains, servants of king Artaxerxes, ¹¹ to bring in the queen to him, to enthrone her, and crown her with the diadem, and to shew her to the princes, and her beauty to the nations: for she was beautiful. ¹² But queen Astin hearkened not to him to come with the chamberlains: so the king was grieved and angered. ¹³ And he said to his friends, Thus hast Astin spoken: pronounce therefore upon this case law and judgment. ¹⁴ So Arkesaeus, and Sarsathaeus, and Malisear, the princes of the Persians and Medes, who were near the king, who sat chief in rank by the king, drew near to him, ¹⁵ and reported to him according to the laws how it was proper to do to queen Astin, because she had not done the things commanded of the king by the chamberlains. ¹⁶ And Muchaeus said to the king and to the princes, Queen Astin has not wronged the king only, but also all the king's rulers and princes: ¹⁷ for he has told them the words of the queen, and how she disobeyed the king. As then, said he, she refused to obey king Artaxerxes, ¹⁸ so this day shall the other ladies of the chiefs of the Persians and Medes, having heard what she said to the king, dare in the same way to dishonour their husbands. ¹⁹ If then it seem good to the king, let him make a royal decree, and let it be written according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, and let him not alter it: and let not the queen come in to him any more; and let the king give her royalty to a woman better than she. ²⁰ And let the law of the king which he shall have made, be widely proclaimed, in his kingdom: and so shall all the women give honour to their husbands, from the poor even to the rich. ²¹ And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did as Muchaeus had said, ²² and sent into all his kingdom through the several provinces, according to their language, in order that men might be feared in their own houses.

⁶ And in the reign of Assuerus, even in the beginning of his reign, they wrote a letter against the inhabitants of Juda and Jerusalem.

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.

³⁰ (OMITTED TEXT)

¹ Woe to you, ye wings of the land of ships, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.

⁹ And Tharaca king of the Ethiopians went forth to attack him. And when he heard it, he turned aside, and sent messengers to Ezekias, saying,

¹ And it pleased Darius, and he set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, to be in all his kingdom;

¹ In the first year of Darius the son of Assuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans,

¹ And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him an inheritance on every side free from all his enemies round about him;

⁴⁶ And Solomon is seated upon the throne of the kingdom.

¹ The words of Neemias the son of Chelcia. And it came to pass in the month Chaseleu, of the twentieth year, that I was in Susan the palace.

³ And let the king appoint local governors in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them select fair and chaste young damsels and bring them to the city Susa, into the women's apartment, and let them be consigned to the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women; and let things for purification and other attendance be given to them.

¹⁵ And the business was hastened, and that at Susa: and the king and Aman began to drink; but the city was troubled.

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.

¹² And the king said to Esther, The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city Susa; and how, thinkest thou, have they used them in the rest of the country? What then dost thou yet ask, that it may be done for thee? ¹³ And Esther said to the king, let it be granted to the Jews so to treat them tomorrow as to hand the ten sons of Aman. ¹⁴ And he permitted it to be so done; and he gave up to the Jews of the city the bodies of the sons of Aman to hang. ¹⁵ And the Jews assembled in Susa on the fourteenth day of Adar, and slew three hundred men, but plundered no property.

^{4 (4:1)} I Nabuchodonosor was thriving in my house, and prospering.

² And I was in Susa the palace, which is in the land of Aelam, and I was on the bank of Ubal.

²⁰ And it came to pass on the third day that it was Pharao's birth-day, and he made a banquet for all his servants, and he remembered the office of the cupbearer and the office of the baker in the midst of his servants.

¹⁵ And Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream: and he arose and came to Jerusalem, and stood before the altar that was in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord in Sion: and he offered whole-burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings, and made a great banquet for himself and all his servants.

² Thus said Cyrus king of the Persians, The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has given me a charge to build him a house in Jerusalem that is in Judea.

¹⁴ So Arkesaeus, and Sarsathaeus, and Malisear, the princes of the Persians and Medes, who were near the king, who sat chief in rank by the king, drew near to him,

¹⁸ And the king made a banquet for all his friends and great men for seven days, and he highly celebrated the marriage of Esther; and he made a release to those who were under his dominion.

² so a fearful and a grievous vision was declared to me: he that is treacherous deals treacherously, the transgressor transgresses. The Elamites are upon me, and the ambassadors of the Persians come against me: now will I groan and comfort myself.

^{11 (28:11)} Prepare the arrows; fill the quivers: the Lord has stirred up the spirit of the king of the Medes: for his wrath is against Babylon, to destroy it utterly; for it is the Lord's vengeance, it is the vengeance of his people.

² And he sent forth to gather the governors, and the captains, and the heads of provinces, chiefs, and princes, and those who were in authority, and all the rulers of districts, to come to the dedication of the image. ³ So the heads of provinces, the governors, the captains, the chiefs, the great princes, those who were in authority, and all the rulers of districts, were gathered to the dedication of the image which king Nabuchodonosor had set up; and they stood before the image.

¹ Baltasar the king made a great supper for his thousand nobles, and there was wine before the thousand.

²⁸ Phares; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

⁶ Then the governors and satraps stood by the king, and said to him, King Darius, live for ever. ⁷ All who preside over thy kingdom, captains and satraps, chiefs and local governors, have taken counsel together, to establish by a royal statue and to confirm a decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.

²⁰ The ram which thou sawest that had the horns is the king of the Medes and Persians.

¹¹ Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the might: for thou art Lord of all things that are in heaven and upon the earth: before thy face every king and nation is troubled. ¹² From thee come wealth and glory: thou, O Lord, rulest over all, the Lord of all dominion, and in thy hand is strength and rule; and thou art almighty with thy hand to increase and establish all things.

²⁵ And the Lord magnified Solomon over all Israel, and gave him royal glory, such as was not upon any king before him.

^{10 (40:5)} Assume now a lofty bearing and power; and clothe thyself with glory and honour.

^{5 (20:5)} His glory is great in thy salvation: thou wilt crown him with glory and majesty.

^{3 (44:3)} Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O Mighty One, in thy comeliness, and in thy beauty;

^{1 (75:1)} For the end, among the Hymns, a Psalm for Asaph; a Song for the Assyrian. God is known in Judea: his name is great in Israel. ^{2 (75:2)} And his place has been in peace, and his dwelling-place in Sion. ^{3 (75:3)} There he broke the power of the bows, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Pause. ^{4 (75:4)} Thou dost wonderfully shine forth from the everlasting mountains.

^{1 (92:1)} For the day before the Sabbath, when the land was first inhabited, the praise of a Song by David. The Lord reigns; he has clothed himself with honour: the Lord has clothed and girded himself with strength; for he has established the world, which shall not be moved.

^{5 (144:5)} And they shall speak of the glorious majesty of thy holiness, and recount thy wonders.

^{12 (144:12)} to make known to the sons of men thy power, and the glorious majesty of thy kingdom. ^{13 (144:13)} Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures through all generations. ^(144:13A) The Lord is faithful in his words, and holy in all his works.

² And Ezekias was glad of their coming, and he shewed them the house of his spices, and of silver, and gold, and myrrh, and incense, and ointment, and all the houses of his treasures, and all that he had in his stores: and there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, which Ezekias did not shew.

⁵ By thy abundant knowledge and thy traffic thou hast multiplied thy power; thy heart has been lifted up by thy power.

³⁷ Thou, O king, art a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a powerful and strong and honourable kingdom, ³⁸ in every place where the children of men dwell: and he has given into thine hand the wild beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and he has made thee lord of all. ³⁹ Thou art the head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, an a third kingdom which is the brass, which shall have dominion over all the earth; ⁴⁰ and a fourth kingdom, which shall be strong as iron: as iron beats to powder and subdues all things, so shall it beat to powder and subdue. ⁴¹ And whereas thou sawest the feet and the toes, part of earthenware and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet there shall be in it of the strength of iron, as thou sawest the iron mixed with earthenware. ⁴² And whereas the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of earthenware, part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part of it shall be broken. ⁴³ Whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with earthenware, they shall be mingled with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave together, as the iron does not mix itself with earthenware. ⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and his kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall beat to pieces and grind to powder all other kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

^{30 (4:27)} the king answered and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for a royal residence, by the might of my power, for the honour of my glory?

^{36 (4:33)} At the same time my reason returned to me, and I came to the honour of my kingdom; and my natural form returned to me, and my princes, and my nobles, sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and more abundant majesty was added to me.

¹⁸ O king, the most high God gave to thy father Nabuchodonosor a kingdom, and majesty, and honour, and glory:

⁹ I beheld until the thrones were set, and the Ancient of days sat; and his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head, as pure wool: his throne was a flame of fire, and his wheels burning fire. ¹⁰ A stream of fire rushed forth before him: thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousands of myriads, attended upon him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened. ¹¹ I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke, until the wild beast was slain and destroyed, and his body given to be burnt with fire. ¹² And the dominion of the rest of the wild beasts was taken away; but a prolonging of life was given them for certain times. ¹³ I beheld in the night vision, and, lo, one coming with the clouds of heaven as the Son of man, and he came on to the Ancient of days, and was brought near to him. ¹⁴ And to him was given the dominion, and the honour, and the kingdom; and all nations, tribes, and languages, shall serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed.

⁸ And Solomon kept the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entering in of Aemath, and as far as the river of Egypt. ⁹ And on the eighth day he kept a solemn assembly: for he kept a feast of seven days as the dedication of the altar.

²¹ And the children of Israel who were present in Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great joy; and they continued to sing hymns to the Lord daily, and the priests and the Levites played on instruments to the Lord. ²² And Ezekias encouraged all the Levites, and those that had good understanding of the Lord: and they completely kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days, offering peace-offerings, and confessing to the Lord God of their fathers. ²³ And the congregation purposed together to keep other seven days: and they kept seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Ezekias set apart for Juda, even for the congregation, a thousand calves and seven thousand sheep; and the princes set apart for the people a thousand calves and ten thousand sheep: and the holy things of the priests abundantly. ²⁵ And all the congregation, the priests and the Levites, rejoiced, and all the congregation of Juda, and they that were present of Jerusalem, and the strangers that came from the land of Israel, and the dwellers in Juda.

⁷ And the king rose up from the banquet to go into the garden: and Aman began to intreat the queen; for he saw that he was in an evil case. ⁸ And the king returned from the garden; and Aman had fallen upon the bed, intreating the queen. And the king said, Wilt thou even force my wife in my house? And when Aman heard it, he changed countenance.

¹ And thou shalt make the tabernacle, ten curtains of fine linen spun, and blue and purple, and scarlet spun with cherubs; thou shalt make them with work of a weaver.

³¹ And thou shalt make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet woven, and fine linen spun: thou shalt make it cherubs in woven work. ³² And thou shalt set it upon four posts of incorruptible wood overlaid with gold; and their tops shall be gold, and their four sockets shall be of silver.

³⁶ And thou shalt make a screen for the door of the tabernacle of blue, and purple, and spun scarlet and fine linen spun, the work of the embroiderer. ³⁷ And thou shalt make for the veil five posts, and thou shalt gild them with gold; and their chapiters shall be gold; and thou shalt cast for them five brazen sockets.

⁸ And the king returned from the garden; and Aman had fallen upon the bed, intreating the queen. And the king said, Wilt thou even force my wife in my house? And when Aman heard it, he changed countenance.

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.

⁴¹ and satest on a prepared bed, and before it there was a table set out, and as for mine incense and mine oil, they rejoiced in them,

⁸ And binding their clothes with cords they have made them curtains near the altar, and they have drunk wine gained by extortion in the house of their God.

⁴ who sleep upon beds of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls;

²¹ And all the vessels made by Solomon were of gold, and the lavers were golden, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; there was no silver, for it was not accounted of in the days of Solomon.

²⁰ And all king Solomon's vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were covered with gold: silver was not thought anything of in the days of Solomon.

² And Baltasar drinking gave orders as he tasted the wine that they should bring the gold and silver vessels, which Nabuchodonosor his father had brought forth from the temple in Jerusalem; that the king, and his nobles, and his mistresses, and his concubines, should drink out of them. ³ So the gold and silver vessels were brought which Nabuchodonosor had taken out of the temple of God in Jerusalem; and the king, and his nobles, and his mistresses, and his concubines, drank out of them. ⁴ They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of iron, and of wood, and of stone.

^{8 (42:8)} And we hearkened to the voice of Jonadab our father, so as to drink no wine all our days, we, and our wives, and our sons, and our daughters;

^{7 (28:7)} Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, causing all the earth to be drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore they were shaken.

¹⁵ Woe to him that gives his neighbour to drink the thick lees of wine, and intoxicates him, that he may look upon their secret parts. ¹⁶ Drink thou also thy fill of disgrace instead of glory: shake, O heart, and quake, the cup of the right hand of the Lord has come round upon thee, and dishonour has gathered upon thy glory.

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.

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.

³⁴ And they took their portions from him to themselves; but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as the portions of the others. And they drank and were filled with drink with him.

²⁵ And when their heart was merry, then they said, Call Sampson out of the prison-house, and let him play before us: and they called Sampson out of the prison-house, and he played before them; and they smote him with the palms of their hands, and set him between the pillars.

³⁶ And Abigaia came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a banquet in this house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal was merry within him, and he was very drunken: and she told him nothing great or small till the morning light. ³⁷ And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal recovered from his wine, his wife told him these words; and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

²⁸ And Abessalom charged his servants, saying, Mark when the heart of Amnon shall be merry with wine, and I shall say to you, Smite Amnon, and slay him: fear not; for is it not I that command you? Be courageous, and be valiant.

⁹ And Bugathan, one of the chamberlains, said to the king, Behold, Aman has also prepared a gallows for Mardochaeus, who spoke concerning the king, and a gallows of fifty cubits high has been set up in the premises of Aman. And the king said, Let him be hanged thereon.

¹ Wine is an intemperate thing, and strong drink full of violence: but every fool is entangled with them.

^{2 (7:3)} It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the banquet house: since this is the end of every man; and the living man will apply good warning to his heart. ^{3 (7:4)} Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart will be made better. ^{4 (7:5)} The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

¹⁹ Men prepare bread for laughter, and wine and oil that the living should rejoice: but to money all things will humbly yield obedience.

³ And the king told Asphanez his chief eunuch, to bring in some of the captive children of Israel, and of the seed of the kingdom, and of the princes; ⁴ young men in whom was no blemish, and beautiful in appearance, and skilled in all wisdom, and possessing knowledge, and acquainted with prudence, and who had ability to stand in the house before the king, and the king gave commandment to teach them the learning and language of the Chaldeans. ⁵ And the king appointed them a daily portion from the king's table, and from the wine which he drank; and gave orders to nourish them three years, and that afterwards they should stand before the king.

¹⁸ And at the end of the days, after which the king had given orders to bring them in, then the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nabuchodonosor. ¹⁹ And the king spoke with them; and there were not found out of them all any like Daniel, and Ananias and Misael, and Azarias: and they stood before the king.

³ And the man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigaia: and his wife was of good understanding and very beautiful in person: but the man was harsh, and evil in his doings, and the man was churlish.

²⁵ And there was not a man in Israel so very comely as Abessalom: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

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

⁸ let the king's servants bring the robe of fine linen which the king puts on, and the horse on which the king rides,

^{9 (16:5C)} All of the works of the Lord are done with righteousness; and the ungodly man is kept for the evil day.

²⁹ Who has woe? who trouble? who has quarrels? and who vexations and disputes? who has bruises without a cause? whose eyes are livid? ³⁰ Are not those of them that stay long at wine? are not those of them that haunt the places where banquets are? Be not drunk with wine; but converse with just men, and converse with them openly. ³¹ For if thou shouldest set thine eyes on bowls and cups, thou shalt afterwards go more naked than a pestle. ³² But at last such a one stretches himself out as one smitten by a serpent, and venom is diffused through him as by a horned serpent. ³³ Whenever thine eyes shall behold a strange woman, then thy mouth shall speak perverse things.

³⁰ Charms are false, and woman's beauty is vain: for it is a wise woman that is blessed, and let her praise the fear the Lord.

^{16 (3:17)} And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pains and thy groanings; in pain thou shalt bring forth children, and thy submission shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

¹⁹ And when he drew nigh to the camp, he sees the calf and the dances; and Moses being very angry cast the two tables out of his hands, and broke them to pieces under the mountain.

²² And Aaron said to Moses, Be not angry, my lord, for thou knowest the impetuosity of this people.

²⁰ God shall by no means be willing to pardon him, but then the wrath of the Lord and his jealousy shall flame out against that man; and all the curses of this covenant shall attach themselves to him, which are written in this book, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.

^{1 (73:1)} A Psalm of instruction for Asaph. Wherefore hast thou rejected us, O God, for ever? wherefore is thy wrath kindled against the sheep of thy pasture?

^{5 (78:5)} How long, O Lord? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

¹² The threatening of a king is like the roaring of a lion; but as dew on the grass, so is his favour.

² The threat of a king differs not from the rage of a lion; and he that provokes him sins against his own soul.

¹² Then the king in rage and anger commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

¹³ Then Nabuchodonosor in wrath and anger commanded to bring Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago: and they were brought before the king.

¹⁹ Then Nabuchodonosor was filled with wrath, and the form of his countenance was changed toward Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago: and he gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than usual, until it should burn to the uttermost.

⁶ Who shall stand before his anger? and who shall withstand in the anger of his wrath? his wrath brings to nought kingdoms, and the rocks are burst asunder by him.

³² And of the sons of Issachar having wisdom with regard to the times, knowing what Israel should do, two hundred; and all their brethren with them.

⁷ (OMITTED TEXT)

² And the king gave orders to call the enchanters, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king.

²⁷ And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks the explanation of is not in the power of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, or soothsayers to declare to the king.

^{6 (4:3)} And I made a decree to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ^{7 (4:4)} So the enchanters, magicians, soothsayers, and Chaldeans came in: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me the interpretation thereof;

⁷ And the king cried aloud to bring in the magicians, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; and he said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and make known to me the interpretation, shall be clothed with scarlet, and there shall be a golden chain upon his neck, and he shall be the third ruler in my kingdom.

¹⁹ And they took out of the city one eunuch who was commander of the men of war, and five men that saw the face of the king, that were found in the city, and the secretary of the commander-in-chief, who took account of the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land that were found in the city.

¹⁴ One has been sent from the king and the seven councillors, to visit Judea and Jerusalem, according to the law of their God that is in thine hand.

⁶ And the king said to Aman, What shall I do to the man whom I wish to honour? And Aman said within himself, Whom would the king honour but myself?

¹⁶ And it came to pass as the ark arrived at the city of David, that Melchol the daughter of Saul looked through the window, and saw king David dancing and playing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

²⁹ Her wise ladies answered her, and she returned answers to herself, saying,

³ And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. ^(11:3) And the strange women turned away his heart after their gods.

²⁸ And Samuel said to him, The Lord has rent thy kingdom from Israel out of thy hand this day, and will give it to thy neighbour who is better than thou.

²⁸ and all Israel heard this judgement which the king judged, and they feared before the king; because they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute judgement.

²¹ And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did as Muchaeus had said,

⁹ If it seem good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them: and I will remit into the king's treasury ten thousand talents of silver.

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.

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.

⁸ Now then, O king, establish the decree, and publish a writ, that the decree of the Persians and Medes be not changed. ⁹ Then king Darius commanded the decree to be written. ¹⁰ And when Daniel knew that the decree was ordered, he went into his house; and his windows were opened in his chambers toward Jerusalem, and three times in the day he knelt upon his knees, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he used to do before. ¹¹ Then these men watched, and found Daniel praying and supplicating to his God. ¹² And they came and said to the king, O king, has thou not made a decree, that whatsoever man shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, but of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? And the king said, The word is true, and the decree of the Medes and Persians shall not pass. ¹³ Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel of the children of the captivity of Judea, has not submitted to thy decree; and three times in the day he makes his requests of his God. ¹⁴ Then the king, when he heard the saying, was much grieved for Daniel and he greatly exerted himself for Daniel to deliver him: and he exerted himself till evening to deliver him. ¹⁵ Then those men said to the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is that we must not change any decree of statue which the king shall make.

¹⁷ And they brought a stone, and put it on the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his ring, and with the ring of his nobles; that the case might not be altered with regard to Daniel.

¹³ And all the people shall hear and fear, and shall no more commit impiety.

²¹ And the men of his city shall stone him with stones, and he shall die; and thou shalt remove the evil one from yourselves, and the rest shall hear and fear.

³⁷ And the word was pleasing in the sight of Pharao, and in the sight of all his servants.

¹⁹ If then it seem good to the king, let him make a royal decree, and let it be written according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, and let him not alter it: and let not the queen come in to him any more; and let the king give her royalty to a woman better than she.

⁴ And let the woman who shall please the king be queen instead of Astin. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.

¹² So the king's recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day, and they wrote as Aman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to a hundred and twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their several languages, in the name of king Artaxerxes.

²⁹ Wherefore I publish a decree: Every people, tribe, or language, that shall speak reproachfully against the God of Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago shall be destroyed, and their houses shall be plundered: because there is no other God who shall be able to deliver thus.

^{1 (3:31)} King Nabuchodonosor to all nations, tribes, and tongues, who dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you.