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Esther · read by Carter Conlon
49 verses, in order. Only the verses Carter read aloud are shown.
Esther 2
15
Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle from whom Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king's trusted official in charge of the harem, had advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.Read from NKJV · The Forward Motion of Faith
17
And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.Read from NKJV · The Forward Motion of Faith
Esther 3
9
If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out."Read from KJV · The Journey From Prayer to Obedience
10
So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.Read from KJV · The Journey From Prayer to Obedience
11
"Keep your money," said the king to Haman. "These people are given to you to do with them as you please."Read from KJV · The Journey From Prayer to Obedience
12
On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.Read from KJV · The Journey From Prayer to Obedience
13
And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.Read from KJV · The Journey From Prayer to Obedience
Esther 4
1
When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.Read from NKJV · A Cry at the King's Gate
2
But he went only as far as the king's gate, because the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering that gate.Read from NKJV · A Cry at the King's Gate
3
In every province to which the king's command and edict came, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.Read from NKJV · A Cry at the King's Gate
4
When Esther's maidens and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, the queen was overcome with distress. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.Read from NKJV · A Cry at the King's Gate
5
Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs appointed to her, and she dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what was troubling him and why.Read from NKJV · A Cry at the King's Gate
7
and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury in order to destroy the Jews.Read from NKJV · A Cry at the King's Gate
8
Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther, urging her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead before him for her people.Read from NKJV · A Cry at the King's Gate
14
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"Read from KJV · The Journey From Prayer to Obedience
16
"Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!"Read from KJV · The Journey From Prayer to Obedience
Esther 5
1
On the third day, Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court of the palace across from the king's quarters. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom, facing the entrance.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
2
As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
3
"What is it, Queen Esther?" the king inquired. "What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you."Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
4
"If it pleases the king," Esther replied, "may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for the king."Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
5
"Hurry," commanded the king, "and bring Haman, so we can do as Esther has requested." So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
6
And as they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, "What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled."Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
8
If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, may the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king's question."Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
9
That day Haman went out full of joy and glad of heart. At the king's gate, however, he saw Mordecai, who did not rise or tremble in fear at his presence. And Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
10
Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
11
Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
12
"What is more," Haman added, "Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
13
Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
14
His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, "Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself." The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows constructed.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
Esther 7
2
and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, "Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled."Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
3
Queen Esther replied, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lives of my people as my request.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
4
For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king."Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
5
Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, "Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?"Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
6
Esther replied, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked man—Haman!" And Haman stood in terror before the king and queen.Read from NKJV · Inviting The Devil To Dinner
Esther 8
1
That same day King Xerxes awarded Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai entered the king's presence because Esther had revealed his relation to her.Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
2
The king removed the signet ring he had recovered from Haman and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the estate of Haman.Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
3
And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
4
The king extended the gold scepter toward Esther, and she arose and stood before the king.Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
6
For how could I bear to see the disaster that would befall my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?"Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
8
Now you may write in the king's name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked."Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
9
At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan ), they recorded all of Mordecai's orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush —writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
10
Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
11
By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions.Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
17
In every province and every city, wherever the king's edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many of the people of the land themselves became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
Esther 9
11
On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king,Read from NKJV · Royal Horses
12
who said to Queen Esther, "In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman's ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled."Read from NKJV · Royal Horses