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Esther Saves the Jews

8On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. ²Then the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

3 Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet, weeping and pleading with him to avert the evil design of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. ⁴The king held out the golden sceptre to Esther, ⁵and Esther rose and stood before the king. She said, ‘If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favour, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. ⁶For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?’ ⁷Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, ‘See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he plotted to lay hands on the Jews. ⁸You may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.’

15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king, wearing royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a mantle of fine linen and purple, while the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. ¹⁶For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honour. ¹⁷In every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict came, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a festival and a holiday. Furthermore, many of the peoples of the country professed to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

24 Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur—that is, ‘the lot’—to crush and destroy them; ²⁵but when Esther came before the king, he gave orders in writing that the wicked plot that he had devised against the Jews should come upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. ²⁶Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Thus because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, ²⁷the Jews established and accepted as a custom for themselves and their descendants and all who joined them, that without fail they would continue to observe these two days every year, as it was written and at the time appointed. ²⁸These days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every family, province, and city; and these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.

Judith Offers Her Hymn of Praise

14 Judith began this thanksgiving before all Israel, and all the people loudly sang this song of praise. 16¹And Judith said,
Begin a song to my God with tambourines,
   sing to my Lord with cymbals.
Raise to him a new psalm;^*
   exalt him, and call upon his name.
² For the Lord is a God who crushes wars;
   he sets up his camp among his people;
   he delivered me from the hands of my pursuers.
³ The Assyrian came down from the mountains of the north;
   he came with myriads of his warriors;
their numbers blocked up the wadis,
   and their cavalry covered the hills.
⁴ He boasted that he would burn up my territory,
   and kill my young men with the sword,
and dash my infants to the ground,
   and seize my children as booty,
   and take my virgins as spoil.

⁵ But the Lord Almighty has foiled them
   by the hand of a woman.^*
6 For their mighty one did not fall by the hands of the young men,
   nor did the sons of the Titans strike him down,
   nor did tall giants set upon him;
but Judith daughter of Merari
   with the beauty of her countenance undid him.

⁷ For she put away her widow’s clothing
   to exalt the oppressed in Israel.
She anointed her face with perfume;
⁸   she fastened her hair with a tiara
   and put on a linen gown to beguile him.
⁹ Her sandal ravished his eyes,
   her beauty captivated his mind,
   and the sword severed his neck!
¹⁰ The Persians trembled at her boldness,
   the Medes were daunted at her daring.

¹¹ Then my oppressed people shouted;
   my weak people cried out,^* and the enemy^* trembled;
   they lifted up their voices, and the enemy^* were turned back.
¹² Sons of slave-girls pierced them through
   and wounded them like the children of fugitives;
   they perished before the army of my Lord.

¹³ I will sing to my God a new song:
O Lord, you are great and glorious,
   wonderful in strength, invincible.
¹⁴ Let all your creatures serve you,
   for you spoke, and they were made.
You sent forth your spirit,^* and it formed them;^*
   there is none that can resist your voice.
¹⁵ For the mountains shall be shaken to their foundations with the waters;
   before your glance the rocks shall melt like wax.
But to those who fear you
   you show mercy.
¹⁶ For every sacrifice as a fragrant offering is a small thing,
   and the fat of all whole burnt-offerings to you is a very little thing;
but whoever fears the Lord is great for ever.

¹⁷ Woe to the nations that rise up against my people!
   The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgement;
he will send fire and worms into their flesh;
   they shall weep in pain for ever.

18 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they worshipped God. As soon as the people were purified, they offered their burnt-offerings, their freewill-offerings, and their gifts. ¹⁹Judith also dedicated to God all the possessions of Holofernes, which the people had given her; and the canopy that she had taken for herself from his bedchamber she gave as a votive offering. ²⁰For three months the people continued feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary, and Judith remained with them.

The Renown and Death of Judith

21 After this they all returned home to their own inheritances. Judith went to Bethulia, and remained on her estate. For the rest of her life she was honoured throughout the whole country. ²²Many desired to marry her, but she gave herself to no man all the days of her life after her husband Manasseh died and was gathered to his people. ²³She became more and more famous, and grew old in her husband’s house, reaching the age of one hundred and five. She set her maid free. She died in Bethulia, and they buried her in the cave of her husband Manasseh; ²⁴and the house of Israel mourned her for seven days. Before she died she distributed her property to all those who were next of kin to her husband Manasseh, and to her own nearest kindred. ²⁵No one ever again spread terror among the Israelites during the lifetime of Judith, or for a long time after her death.