30 Thus I cleansed them from all foreign things, and restored the offices of the priests and the Levites, every man in his work,

31 and the delivery of wood at the appointed times and firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for my good!

Book of Esther

[…]

[In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great, on the first day of the month of Nisan, Mordecai, the son of Jairus, the Shemeites, the Kisses, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Judean who dwelt in the city of Shushan was a great man, who served in the king's palace, and he was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took captive from Jerusalem with Jeconiah king of Judah. thunder and earthquake and confusion on the earth; And behold, two great serpents came out, ready to fight with each other; and great was their howl, and because of their howling all the nations prepared for war, to smite the people of the righteous; and behold, a day of darkness and gloom, sorrow and distress, suffering and great confusion on earth; And all the righteous people were troubled, fearing their own troubles, and they prepared to perish, and cried out to the Lord. From their cry sprang up, as from a small spring, a great river with a great deal of water; and the light and the sun shone, and the humble were lifted up, and destroyed the vain. Mordecai, awakening from this dream, which represented what God wanted to accomplish, kept this dream in his heart and desired to understand it in all its parts, until nightfall. And Mordecai dwelt in the palace with Gabathah and Terah, the two royal eunuchs who guarded the palace, and heard their conversations, and inquired into their designs, and knew that they were preparing to lay hands on king Ahasuerus, and reported them to the king. and the king tortured these two eunuchs, and when they confessed, they were executed. The king wrote down the event as a keepsake, and Mordecai recorded the event. And the king commanded Mordecai to serve in the palace, and gave him gifts for it. And Haman the son of Amadath, the Bugeite, was then noble, and he sought to do evil to Mordecai and his people for the sake of the king's two eunuchs.]

Chapter 1

1 And it came to pass in the days of Artaxerxes, that this Artaxerxes reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia,

2 And it came to pass, while king Ahasuerus sat on his throne which is in Shushan the throne city,

3 And in the third year of his reign he made a feast for all his princes, and for those who were with him, for the chief captains of the army of Persia and of Media, and for the governors of his provinces,

4 showing the great riches of his kingdom, and the excellent splendor of his majesty, for many days, a hundred and eighty days.

5 And at the end of these days the king made a feast seven days for his people, which were in the throne city of Shushan, from great to small, in the garden court of the king's house.

6 White, paper, and jahont-colored woollen cloths, fastened with linen and purple cords, hung on silver rings and marble pillars.

7 And the couches of gold and silver were on the platform, which was covered with green stones, and marble, and mother-of-pearl, and black stones.

8 And the drinks were served in vessels of gold, and vessels of divers, at the price of thirty thousand talents; and the king's wine was plentiful, according to the king's wealth. Drinking was carried out in order, no one forced it, because the king gave such an order to all the stewards in his house, that they should do according to the will of each.