And when we parted from them and set sail, we took a straight course and came to Cos, and on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

And having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail.

And when we sighted Cyprus and left it on the left, we sailed to Syria and came down to Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo.

And when we had sought out the disciples, we remained there seven days. These  ¹told Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem.

And when we completed the days, we went forth and went on our way, with all of them, including the women and children, escorting us until we were outside the city. And when we had knelt down on the beach and prayed,

We took leave of one another and went on board the ship; and they returned home.

And when we finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we greeted the brothers and remained with them one day.

And on the next day we went forth and came to Caesarea; and entering into the  ¹house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we remained with him.

Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

And while we remained there many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

And he came to us and took Paul's belt; and having bound his own feet and hands, he said, Thus  ¹says the Holy Spirit, In this way will the Jews in Jerusalem bind the man whose belt this is and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

And when we heard these things, both  ¹we and those in that place entreated him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

And since he would not be persuaded, we became silent, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

And after these days we gathered our baggage and went up to Jerusalem.

And some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing us to a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to  ¹lodge.

And when we had  ¹come to Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.

 ¹Now in the days of  ²Ahasuerus (this is the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over one hundred twenty-seven provinces)

In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Susa the capital,

In the third year of his reign, he held a banquet for all his princes and his servants. The army of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces were before him

As he showed the glorious wealth of his kingdom and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, for one hundred eighty days.

And when these days were completed, the king held a banquet for seven days for all the people found in Susa the capital, both great and small, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.

There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings tied with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and marble pillars, as well as couches of gold and silver upon a pavement of porphyry, white marble, mother-of-pearl, and mosaics.

And drinks were served in vessels of gold, and the vessels were different from one another; and the royal wine was abundant, according to the king's bounty.

And the drinking was, by commandment, without constraint; for so the king had ordered all the officials of his house to do as each man desired.

Also Vashti the queen held a banquet for the women in the royal house that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,

To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the peoples and the princes; for she was beautiful in appearance.

But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command given through the king's eunuchs; and the king became very angry, and his wrath burned within him.

Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times (for such was the custom of the king toward all who knew law and justice;

And those next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face and sat first in the kingdom):

According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus given through the eunuchs?

And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen has done wrong not only to the king but also to all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

For this deed of the queen will go out to all women, causing them to view their husbands contemptibly as they say, King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought to his presence, but she did not come.

And this day the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's deed will speak likewise to all the king's princes, and contempt and wrath will abound.

If it please the king, let a royal order go forth from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be overruled, that Vashti come no more into the presence of King Ahasuerus and that the king give her royal estate to another who is better than she.

And when the king's decree which he will make is heard throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is, all women will give honor to their husbands, great and small.

And this word pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to Memucan's word.

So he sent letters to all the king's provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, that every man should be master in his own house and speak in the language of his own people.

After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.

Then the king's attendants who served him said, Let young virgins, beautiful in appearance, be sought for the king;

And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the young virgins, beautiful in appearance, to Susa the capital, to the house of the women and into the custody of Hegai the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given to them.

And let the young woman who pleases the king become queen in place of Vashti. And the word pleased the king, and he did so.

There was a Jew in Susa the capital whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried away with Jeconiah the king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.

And he was foster father to  ¹Hadassah, that is,  ²Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had neither father nor mother; and the young woman was beautiful in form and appearance. And when her father and mother died, Mordecai took her to himself as his daughter.

So when the king's commandment and his decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered to Susa the capital into the custody of Hegai, Esther was taken to the king's house into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women.

And the young woman pleased him, and she obtained kindness in his presence. And he quickly gave her her cosmetics and her portions as well as the seven choice young maids who were to be given her from the king's house. And he transferred her and her young maids to the best place in the house of the women.

Esther did not make known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her not to make these known.

And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the house of the women to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.

Now when the turn of each young woman came to go in to King Ahasuerus, at the end of the twelve months of her preparation according to the regulation for the women (for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and with the women's cosmetics),

The young woman would go in to the king in this way: Anything that she desired was given her to go with her from the house of the women to the house of the king.

In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go again in to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

Now when the turn of Esther the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her to himself as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she requested nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her.

So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

And the king loved Esther more than all the other women. And she obtained favor and kindness with him more than all the other virgins, so he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

And the king held a great banquet for all his princes and his servants, Esther's banquet; and he made it a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king's bounty.

And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate.

Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had charged her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her, as she had when he was bringing her up.

In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, among those who were in charge of the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.

And the thing became known to Mordecai, and he told Esther the queen; and Esther told the king in Mordecai's name.

And when the matter was investigated and found to be so, the two of them were hanged on the gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.