In the second year of the rule of Artaxerxes the Great, on the first day of Nisan, Mordecai had a dream. He was Jair’s son, Shimei’s grandson, and Kish’s great-grandson, from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Jew living in the city of Susa, an important man serving in the royal court. He was one of the prisoners of war whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had brought from Jerusalem along with Judea’s King Jeconiah. This was his dream: Look! Noise and confusion, thunder and earthquake, and chaos on the earth. Look! Two mighty dragons came forward, both ready to fight, and they roared loudly. At their roar every nation got ready for battle, to make war on the righteous nation. Look! A day of darkness and gloom, misery and suffering, distress and chaos on the earth. The entire righteous nation was thrown into a state of panic, dreading the evil that was coming against them. They expected to die. So they cried out to God. Their cry was small at first, like a little spring, but soon it became loud as a mighty river, an abundance of water. Then the sun with its light shone, the lowly were raised up high, and it devoured those who were held in honor. Then Mordecai, who had this dream and saw what God had planned to do, woke up and kept it secret. He wished to examine it in every detail before nightfall. Mordecai was relaxing in the courtyard with Gabatha and Tharra, two castrated men, attendants of King Artaxerxes who were guarding the courtyard. He overheard their plans and investigated their intentions. He learned that they were preparing to attack King Artaxerxes, so he informed the king about them. The king questioned the two eunuchs. Once they had confessed, they were taken away to be executed. The king wrote these matters down so they would be remembered, and Mordecai also wrote about them. The king appointed Mordecai to serve in the court and gave him gifts for his service. But Haman, Hammedatha’s son, a Bougaean who was greatly respected by the king, sought to injure Mordecai and his people for the sake of the king’s two eunuchs. After these events, this is what happened back during the rule of Artaxerxes, the very one who ruled as far as India, one hundred twenty-seven provinces in all.

In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great, on the first day of Nisan, Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream. He was a Jew living in the city of Susa, a great man, serving in the court of the king. He was one of the captives whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had brought from Jerusalem with King Jeconiah of Judea. And this was his dream: Noises and confusion, thunders and earthquake, tumult on the earth! Then two great dragons came forward, both ready to fight, and they roared terribly. At their roaring every nation prepared for war, to fight against the righteous nation. It was a day of darkness and gloom, of tribulation and distress, affliction and great tumult on the earth! And the whole righteous nation was troubled; they feared the evils that threatened them, and were ready to perish. Then they cried out to God; and at their outcry, as though from a tiny spring, there came a great river, with abundant water; light came, and the sun rose, and the lowly were exalted and devoured those held in honour. Mordecai saw in this dream what God had determined to do, and after he awoke he had it on his mind, seeking all day to understand it in every detail. Now Mordecai took his rest in the courtyard with Gabatha and Tharra, the two eunuchs of the king who kept watch in the courtyard. He overheard their conversation and inquired into their purposes, and learned that they were preparing to lay hands on King Artaxerxes; and he informed the king concerning them. Then the king examined the two eunuchs, and after they had confessed it, they were led away to execution. The king made a permanent record of these things, and Mordecai wrote an account of them. And the king ordered Mordecai to serve in the court, and rewarded him for these things. But Haman son of Hammedatha, a Bougean, who was held in great honour by the king, determined to injure Mordecai and his people because of the two eunuchs of the king. It was after this that the following things happened in the days of Artaxerxes, the same Artaxerxes who ruled over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia.

Note: The deuterocanonical portions of the book of Esther are several additional passages found in the Greek translation of the Hebrew book of Esther, a translation that differs also in other respects from the Hebrew text (the latter is translated in the NRSVue Old Testament). The disordered chapter numbers come from the displacement of the additions to the end of the canonical book of Esther by Jerome in his Latin translation and from the subsequent division of the Bible into chapters by Stephen Langton, who numbered the additions consecutively as though they formed a direct continuation of the Hebrew text. So that the additions may be read in their proper context, the whole of the Greek version is here translated, though certain familiar names are given according to their Hebrew rather than their Greek form, for example, Mordecai and Vashti instead of Mardocheus and Astin. The order followed is that of the Greek text, but the chapter and verse numbers conform to those of the King James, or Authorized, Version. The additions, conveniently indicated by the letters A–F, are located as follows: A before 1.1; B after 3.13; C and D after 4.17; E after 8.12; F after 10.3. In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great, on the first day of Nisan, Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream. He was a Jew living in the city of Susa, a great man serving in the court of the king. He was one of the captives whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken captive from Jerusalem with King Jeconiah of Judea. And this was his dream: Noises and confusion, thunder and earthquake, tumult on the earth! Then two great dragons came forward, both ready to fight, and they roared terribly. At their roaring every nation prepared for war, to fight against a nation of righteous people. It was a day of darkness and gloom, of tribulation and distress, affliction and great tumult on the earth! And the whole righteous nation was troubled; they feared the evils that threatened them and were ready to perish. Then they cried out to God, and at their outcry, as though from a tiny spring, there came a great river with abundant water; light came, and the sun rose, and the lowly were exalted and devoured those held in honor. Mordecai saw in this dream what God had determined to do, and after he awoke he had it on his mind, seeking all day to understand it in every detail. Now Mordecai took his rest in the courtyard with Gabatha and Tharra, the two eunuchs of the king who kept watch in the courtyard. He overheard their conversation and inquired into their purposes and learned that they were preparing to lay hands on King Artaxerxes, and he informed the king concerning them. Then the king examined the two eunuchs, and after they had confessed it, they were led away. The king wrote these things down as a commemoration, and Mordecai wrote an account of them. And the king ordered Mordecai to serve in the court and rewarded him for these things. But Haman son of Hammedatha, a Bougean, who was in great honor with the king, determined to injure Mordecai and his people because of the two eunuchs of the king. It was after this that the following things happened in the days of Artaxerxes, the same Artaxerxes who ruled over one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia.

In the days of Ahasu-e′rus, the Ahasu-e′rus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces,