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Esther · read by William MacDonald
67 verses, in order. Only the verses William read aloud are shown.
Esther 1
1
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.Read from ESV · Esther 1:1
2
In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.Read from NKJV · Studies in Esther-01 Esther1-2
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
4
And for a full 180 days he displayed the glorious riches of his kingdom and the magnificent splendor of his greatness.Read from NKJV · Esther 1:1
5
At the end of this time, in the garden court of the royal palace, the king held a seven-day feast for all the people in the citadel of Susa, from the least to the greatest.Read from NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-01 Esther1-2
7
Beverages were served in an array of goblets of gold, each with a different design, and the royal wine flowed freely, according to the king's bounty.Read from NKJV · Studies in Esther-01 Esther1-2
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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-01 Esther1-2
9
Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.Read from NKJV · Studies in Esther-01 Esther1-2
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
21
The king and his princes were pleased with this counsel; so the king did as Memucan had advised.Read from NKJV · Esther 1:1
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 NKJV · Esther 1:1
Esther 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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-01 Esther1-2
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 · Esther 4
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 · Studies in Esther-02 Esther 4
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 · Esther 4
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 · Esther 4
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 · Studies in Esther-02 Esther 4
6
So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the king's gate,Read from NKJV · Studies in Esther-02 Esther 4
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 · Studies in Esther-02 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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-02 Esther 4
9
So Hathach went back and relayed Mordecai's response to Esther.Read from NKJV · Studies in Esther-02 Esther 4
10
Then Esther spoke to Hathach and instructed him to tell Mordecai,Read from NKJV · Studies in Esther-02 Esther 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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-02 Esther 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 NKJV · Esther 4
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 NKJV · Esther 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 NKJV · Esther 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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
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 · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
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 · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
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 · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
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 · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
7
Esther replied, "This is my petition and my request:Read from NKJV · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
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 · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
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 · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
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 · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 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 NKJV · Studies in Esther-03 Esther 5-7
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 · Esther 5
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 · Esther 5
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 · Esther 5
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 · Esther 5
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 · Esther 5
7
In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him.Read from NKJV · Esther 5
8
Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, "Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?" As soon as the words had left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.Read from NKJV · Esther 5
9
Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: "There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman's house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king." "Hang him on it!" declared the king.Read from NKJV · Esther 5
10
So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.Read from NKJV · Esther 5
Esther 8
7
So King Xerxes said to Esther the Queen and Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, I have given Haman's estate to Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked the Jews.Read from NKJV · Esther 8:7
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 · Esther 8:7
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 · Esther 8:7
14
The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.Read from NKJV · Esther 8:7
Esther 10
1
Now King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the land, even to its farthest shores.Read from NKJV · Esther 8:7
2
And all of Mordecai's powerful and magnificent accomplishments, together with the full account of the greatness to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?Read from NKJV · Esther 8:7
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 NKJV · Esther 8:7