CM
Esther · read by Chuck Missler
107 verses, in order. Only the verses Chuck read aloud are shown.
Esther 1
2
In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
3
In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the provinces.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
6
Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of fine white and purple material to silver rings on the marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were arranged on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
8
By order of the king, no limit was placed on the drinking, and every official of his household was to serve each man whatever he desired.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
9
Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
11
to bring Queen Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, to display her beauty to the people and officials. For she was beautiful to behold.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
12
Queen Vashti, however, refused to come at the king's command brought by his eunuchs. And the king became furious, and his anger burned within him.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
13
Then the king consulted the wise men who knew the times, for it was customary for him to confer with the experts in law and justice.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
14
His closest advisors were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who had personal access to the king and ranked highest in the kingdom.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
15
"According to law," he asked, "what should be done with Queen Vashti, since she refused to obey the command of King Xerxes delivered by the eunuchs?"Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
16
And in the presence of the king and his princes, Memucan replied, "Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but all the princes and the peoples in all the provinces of King Xerxes.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
17
For the conduct of the queen will become known to all women, causing them to despise their husbands and say, 'King Xerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not come.'Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
18
This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard about the queen's conduct will say the same thing to all the king's officials, resulting in much contempt and wrath.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
19
So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
20
The edict the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom—and so all women, from the least to the greatest, will honor their husbands."Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
21
The king and his princes were pleased with this counsel; so the king did as Memucan had advised.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
22
He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be master of his own household.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
Esther 2
1
Some time later, when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
2
Then the king's attendants proposed, "Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king,Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
3
and let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom to assemble all the beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the women, and let them be given beauty treatments.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
4
Then let the young woman who pleases the king become queen in place of Vashti." This suggestion pleased the king, and he acted accordingly.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
5
Now there was at the citadel of Susa a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
6
He had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
7
And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her in as his own daughter.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
8
When the king's command and edict had been proclaimed, many young women gathered at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the palace and placed under the care of Hegai, the custodian of the women.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
10
Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
11
And every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn about Esther's welfare and what was happening to her.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
13
When the young woman would go to the king, she was given whatever she requested to take with her from the harem to the king's palace.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
14
She would go there in the evening, and in the morning she would return to a second harem under the care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he delighted in her and summoned her by name.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
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 KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
16
She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
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 KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
18
Then the king held a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king's bounty.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
19
When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
20
Esther still had not revealed her lineage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed. She obeyed Mordecai's command, as she had done under his care.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
21
In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
22
When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she informed the king on Mordecai's behalf.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
23
After the report had been investigated and verified, both officials were hanged on the gallows. And all this was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.Read from KJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
Esther 3
1
After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.Read from NKJV · Esther #1 Ch. 1-2
3
Then the royal servants at the king's gate asked Mordecai, "Why do you disobey the command of the king?"Read from KJV · Esther #2 Ch. 3-4
5
When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.Read from KJV · Esther #2 Ch. 3-4
6
And when he learned the identity of Mordecai's people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.Read from KJV · Esther #2 Ch. 3-4
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 · Esther #2 Ch. 3-4
Esther 4
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 KJV · Esther #2 Ch. 3-4
11
"All the royal officials and the people of the king's provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days."Read from KJV · Esther #2 Ch. 3-4
13
he sent back to her this reply: "Do not imagine that because you are in the king's palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews.Read from KJV · Esther #2 Ch. 3-4
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 · Esther #2 Ch. 3-4
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 KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
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 KJV · Esther #5 Macrocodes in Esther Part 1
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 KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
10
Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
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 KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
13
Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
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 KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
Esther 6
1
That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
7
And Haman told the king, "For the man whom the king is delighted to honor,Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
8
have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
10
"Hurry," said the king to Haman, "and do just as you proposed. Take the robe and the horse to Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king's gate. Do not neglect anything that you have suggested."Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
11
So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, "This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!"Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
12
Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
Esther 7
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 KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
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 KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
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 KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
6
Esther replied, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked man—Haman!" And Haman stood in terror before the king and queen.Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
10
So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.Read from KJV · Esther #3 Ch. 5-7
Esther 8
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 KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
5
"If it pleases the king," she said, "and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order be written to revoke the letters that the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
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 KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
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 KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
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 KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
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 KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
13
A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
15
Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
16
For the Jews it was a time of light and gladness, of joy and honor.Read from ESV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
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 KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
Esther 9
1
On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king's command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
2
In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
4
For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
5
The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
6
In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men,Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
10
They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
11
On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king,Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
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 KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
13
Esther replied, "If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today's edict, and may the bodies of Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows."Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
15
On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
16
The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
17
This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
18
The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
19
This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
21
to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of AdarRead from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
22
as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
24
For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
25
But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
27
the Jews bound themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should not fail to celebrate these two days at the appointed time each and every year, according to their regulation.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
28
These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
29
So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
30
And Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes,Read from NASB1995 · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
31
in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
32
So Esther's decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
Esther 10
1
Now King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the land, even to its farthest shores.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10
3
For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews and highly favored by his many kinsmen, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.Read from KJV · Esther #4 Ch. 8-10