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And I ordered the Levites that they were to purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the Sabbath day. For this also remember me, my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your mercy.

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

So I quarreled with them and cursed them, and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

and I arranged for the delivery of wood at appointed times and for the first fruits. Remember me, my God, for good.

in the third year of his reign he held a banquet for all his officials and attendants, the army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the officials of his provinces, in his presence.

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

When these days were finished, the king held a banquet lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the greatest to the least, in the courtyard of the garden of the king's palace.

But the drinking was done according to the royal law; there was no compulsion, for so the king had given orders to each official of his household, that he was to do as each person pleased.

Queen Vashti also held a banquet for the women in the palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal turban in order to display her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful.

Then the king said to the wise men who understood the times—for it was the custom of the king to speak this way before all who knew Persian law and justice

"For the queen's conduct will become known to all the women so as to make their own husbands despicable in their sight, when they say, 'King Ahasuerus commanded that Queen Vashti be brought in to his presence, but she did not come.'

Then the king's attendants, who served him, said, "Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

He was the guardian to Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young woman was beautiful of form and face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beauty treatment were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with balsam oil and the cosmetics for women—

Then the king held a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his officials and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts in proportion to the king's bounty.

Now when the virgins were gathered together for the second time, then Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.

Esther still had not revealed her relatives or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her just as she had when under his care.

All the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded regarding him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage.

Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai's reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.