Greek Esther 1 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Note: The deuterocanonical portions of the book of Esther are several additional passages found in the Greek translation of the Hebrew book of Esther, a translation that differs also in other respects from the Hebrew text (the latter is translated in the NRSV Old Testament). The disordered chapter numbers come from the displacement of the additions to the end of the canonical book of Esther by Jerome in his Latin translation and from the subsequent division of the Bible into chapters by Stephen Langton, who numbered the additions consecutively as though they formed a direct continuation of the Hebrew text. So that the additions may be read in their proper context, the whole of the Greek version is here translated, though certain familiar names are given according to their Hebrew rather than their Greek form, for example, Mordecai and Vashti instead of Mardocheus and Astin. The order followed is that of the Greek text, but the chapter and verse numbers conform to those of the King James, or Authorized, Version. The additions, conveniently indicated by the letters A–F, are located as follows: A before 1.1; B after 3.13; C and D after 4.17; E after 8.12; F after 10.3.

Addition A

Mordecai’s Dream

11 2 [a]In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great, on the first day of Nisan, Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream.(A)3 He was a Jew living in the city of Susa, a great man serving in the court of the king.(B)4 He was one of the captives whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken captive from Jerusalem with King Jeconiah of Judea. And this was his dream:(C)5 Noises[b] and confusion, thunder and earthquake, tumult on the earth! 6 Then two great dragons came forward, both ready to fight, and they roared terribly.(D)7 At their roaring every nation prepared for war, to fight against a nation of righteous people.(E)8 It was a day of darkness and gloom, of tribulation and distress, affliction and great tumult on the earth!(F)9 And the whole righteous nation was troubled; they feared the evils that threatened them[c] and were ready to perish.(G)10 Then they cried out to God, and at their outcry, as though from a tiny spring, there came a great river with abundant water;(H)11 light came, and the sun rose, and the lowly were exalted and devoured those held in honor.(I)

12 Mordecai saw in this dream what God had determined to do, and after he awoke he had it on his mind, seeking all day to understand it in every detail.

A Plot against the King

12 Now Mordecai took his rest in the courtyard with Gabatha and Tharra, the two eunuchs of the king who kept watch in the courtyard.(J)2 He overheard their conversation and inquired into their purposes and learned that they were preparing to lay hands on King Artaxerxes, and he informed the king concerning them.(K)3 Then the king examined the two eunuchs, and after they had confessed it, they were led away.(L)4 The king wrote these things down as a commemoration, and Mordecai wrote an account of them. 5 And the king ordered Mordecai to serve in the court and rewarded him for these things. 6 But Haman son of Hammedatha, a Bougean, who was in great honor with the king, determined to injure Mordecai and his people because of the two eunuchs of the king.(M)

End of Addition A

Artaxerxes’ Banquet

1 It was after this that the following things happened in the days of Artaxerxes, the same Artaxerxes who ruled over one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia.[d](N)2 In those days, when King Artaxerxes was enthroned in the city of Susa, 3 in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for his Friends and other persons of various nations, the Persians and Median nobles, and the governors of the satrapies.(O)4 After this, when he had displayed to them the riches of his kingdom and the splendor of his bountiful celebration during the course of one hundred eighty days, 5 at the end of the wedding feast the king gave a drinking party for the people of various nations who lived in the city. This was held for six days in the courtyard of the royal palace, 6 which was adorned with curtains of fine linen and cotton, held by cords of linen and purple fabric attached to gold and silver blocks on pillars of marble and other stones. Gold and silver couches were placed on a mosaic floor of emerald, mother-of-pearl, and marble. There were coverings of gauze, embroidered in various colors, with roses scattered around them. 7 The cups were of gold and silver, and a miniature cup was displayed, made of ruby, worth thirty thousand talents. There was abundant sweet wine, such as the king himself drank.(P)8 This drinking party was not in accordance with established custom, but the king wished to have it so, and he commanded his stewards to comply with his pleasure and with that of the guests.

9 Meanwhile, Queen Vashti gave a drinking party for the women in the palace where King Artaxerxes was.

Dismissal of Queen Vashti

10 On the seventh day, when the king was in good humor, he told Haman, Bazan, Tharra, Boraze, Zatholtha, Abataza, and Tharaba, the seven eunuchs who served King Artaxerxes,(Q)11 to escort the queen to him in order to proclaim her as queen and to place the diadem on her head and to have her display her beauty to all the governors and the people of various nations, for she was indeed a beautiful woman.(R)12 But Queen Vashti refused to obey him and would not come with the eunuchs. This offended the king, and he became furious. 13 He said to his Friends, “This is how Vashti has answered me.[e] Give, therefore, your ruling and judgment on this matter.” 14 Arkesaeus, Sarsathaeus, and Malesear, the governors of the Persians and Medes who were closest to the king, who sat beside him in the chief seats, came to him(S)15 and told him what, according to the law, was to be done to Queen Vashti for not obeying the order that the king had sent her by the eunuchs. 16 Then Muchaeus said to the king and the governors, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also all the king’s governors and officials” 17 (for he had reported to them what the queen had said and how she had defied the king). “And just as she defied King Artaxerxes, 18 so now the other noble wives of the Persian and Median governors, on hearing what she has said to the king, will likewise dare to dishonor their husbands. 19 If, therefore, it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, inscribed in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians so that it may not be altered, that the queen may no longer come into his presence, and let the king give her royal rank to a woman better than she.(T)20 Let whatever law the king enacts be proclaimed in his kingdom, and thus all women will give honor to their husbands, rich and poor alike.”(U)21 This speech pleased the king and the governors, and the king did as Muchaeus had recommended. 22 The king sent the decree[f] into all his kingdom, to every province in its own language, so that men would be feared in their households.(V)

Footnotes

  1. 11.211.2–12.6 corresponds to A 1–17 in some translations.
  2. 11.5Or Voices
  3. 11.9Gk their own evils
  4. 1.1Other ancient authorities lack to Ethiopia
  5. 1.13Gk has said thus and so
  6. 1.22Gk lacks the decree

Cross references

  1. 11.2 : Esth 3.7; Add Esth 2.5; 3.7; 9.20, 26; 10.5
  2. 11.3 : Neh 1.1
  3. 11.4 : Esth 2.6; Add Esth 2.6
  4. 11.6 : Add Esth 10.7
  5. 11.7 : Ex 19.6; Wis 10.15
  6. 11.8 : Joel 2.2; Zeph 1.15
  7. 11.9 : Ex 19.6; Wis 10.15
  8. 11.10 : Add Esth 10.6
  9. 11.11 : 1 Sam 2.8; Lk 1.52
  10. 12.1 : Esth 2.21
  11. 12.2 : Esth 2.22
  12. 12.3 : Add Esth 2.23
  13. 12.6 : Esth 3.1, 6; Add Esth 16.10
  14. 1.1 : Esth 8.9; 9.30; Add Esth 8.9
  15. 1.3 : Esth 2.18; Add Esth 2.18
  16. 1.7 : Esth 2.18
  17. 1.10 : Esth 2.21; 7.9; Add Esth 7.9
  18. 1.11 : Esth 2.17; 6.8; Add Esth 2.17
  19. 1.14 : vv 16, 21; Ezra 7.14; Esth 1.14
  20. 1.19 : Dan 6.8, 12, 15; Add Esth 8.8
  21. 1.20 : Eph 5.22, 24, 33; Col 3.18
  22. 1.22 : Esth 8.9; Add Esth 3.12; 8.9

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