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Did not your fathers do the same, so our God brought on us and on this city all this calamity? Yet you are adding to His anger on Israel by profaning the sabbath."

As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but only the tongue of his own people.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God gave him to be king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin.

Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign and ensured that the responsibilities stood for the priests and the Levites, each in his work,

in those days as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa,

in the third year of his reign, he held a feast for all his princes and servants, the military officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence,

while he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days.

And the drinking was done according to the law; there was no compulsion, for so the king had established it for each official of his household—that he should do according to what pleased each person.

But Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king which was delivered by the hand of the eunuchs. Then the king became exceedingly furious, and his wrath burned within him.

For the word about the queen will get out to all the women causing them to despise their husbands in their eyes by saying, ‘King Ahasuerus said for Queen Vashti to be brought in to his presence, but she did not come.'

And the king's sentence, which he will make, will be heard throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, and all women will give respect to their husbands, great and small."

So he sent letters to all the king's provinces, to each province according to its script and to every people according to their tongue, that every man should be the ruler in his own house and the one who speaks in the tongue of his own people.

And let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every young virgin, beautiful in appearance, to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the hand of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who keeps charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given to them.

Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew. And his name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite,

And he was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

And the young lady was good in his eyes, and she advanced in lovingkindness before him. So he hurried to give her cosmetics and portions of food to her, and to give to her seven choice young women from the king's house. And he transferred her and her young women to the best place in the harem.

Now when it reached the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she did not seek anything except what Hegai, the king's eunuch who kept charge of the women, said. And Esther advanced in favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

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

Then the king held a great feast, Esther's feast, for all his princes and his servants; he also held a remission of taxes for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king's hand.

After these things, King Ahasuerus magnified Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.