The Book of Esther - Full Movie

the book of esther now it came to pass in the days of ahazueras this was the jesuiris who reigned over 127 provinces from india to ethiopia in those days when king ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom which was in shushan the citadel that in the third year of his reign he made a feast for all his officials and servants the powers of persia and media the nobles and the princes of the provinces being before him when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days 180 days in all and when these days were completed the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in shushan the citadel from great to small in the court of the garden of the king's palace there were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars and the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabasta turquoise and white and black marble and they serve drinks in golden vessels each vessel being different from the other with royal wine in abundance according to the generosity of the king in accordance with the law the drinking was not compulsory for so the king had ordered all the officers of his household that they should do according to each man's pleasure queen vashtai also made a feast for the women in the royal palace which belonged to king ahasuerus on the seventh day when the heart of the king was merry with wine he commanded me human bistha habona bigther abagtha zether and carcus seven eunuchs who served in the presence of king hazuris to bring queen vashtai before the king wearing her royal crown in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials for she was beautiful to behold but queen vashtai refused to come at the king's command brought by his eunuchs therefore the king was furious and his anger burned within him then the king said to the wise men who understood the times for this was the king's manner toward all who knew law and justice those closest to him being kashina shether admetha tashish mires masina and mimikan the seven princes of persia and media who had access to the king's presence and who ranked highest in the kingdom what shall we do to queen vashtai according to law because she did not obey the command of king ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs and mimikan answered before the king and the princes queen vashtai has not only wronged the king but also all the princes and all the people who are in all the provinces of king ahasuerus for the queen's behavior will become known to all women so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes when they report king a commanded queen vashti to be brought in before him but she did not come this very day the noble ladies of persia and medea will say to all the king's officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath if it pleases the king let a royal decree go out from him and let it be recorded in the laws of the persians and the medes so that it will not be altered that vashti shall come no more before king ahazueras and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she when the king's decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire for it is great all wives will honor their husbands both great and small and the reply pleased the king and the princes and the king did according to the word of memocan then he sent letters to all the king's provinces to each province in its own script and to every people in their own language that each man should be master in his own house and speak in the language of his own people after these things when the wrath of king ahaz subsided he remembered vashtai what she had done and what had been decreed against her then the king's servants who attended him said let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to shusha and the citadel into the women's quarters under the custody of hegai the king's eunuch custodian of the women and let beauty preparations be given them then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of vashtai this thing pleased the king and he did so in shushan the citadel there was a certain jew whose name was mordecai the son of jaya the son of shimiyai the son of kish a benjamite kish had been carried away from jerusalem with the captives who were being captured with jaconiah king of judah whom nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon had carried away and mordecai had brought up hadassah that is esther his uncle's daughter for she had neither father nor mother the young woman was lovely and beautiful when her father and mother died mordecai took her as his own daughter so it was when the king's command and decree were heard and when many young women were gathered at shushan the citadel under the custody of higgai that esther also was taken to the king's palace into the care of higai the custodian of the women [Music] now the young woman pleased him and she obtained his favor so he readily gave beauty preparations to her besides her allowance then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king's palace and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women esther had not revealed her people or family for mordecai had charged her not to reveal it [Music] and every day mordecai paced in front of the court of the women's quarters to learn of esther's welfare and what was happening to her each young woman's turn came to go into king ahazawaris after she had completed 12 months preparation according to the regulation for the women for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned six months with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women thus prepared each young woman went to the king and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women's quarters to the king's palace in the evening she went and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women to the custody of shayashkas the king's eunuch who kept the concubines she would not go to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name now when the turn came for esther the daughter of abigail the uncle of mordecai who had taken her as his daughter to go into the king she requested nothing but what he the king's eunuch the custodian of the women advised and esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her [Music] so esther was taken to king ahazawaris into his royal palace in the tenth month which is the month of tibeth in the seventh year of his reign the king loved esther more than all the other women and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of vashta then the king made a great feast the feast of esther for all his officials and servants and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the generosity of a king when virgins were gathered together a second time mordecai sat within the king's gate now esther had not revealed her family and her people just as mordecai had charged her for esther obeyed the command of mordecai as when she was brought up by him in those days while mordecai sat within the king's gate two of the king's eunuchs big fan and tiresh doorkeepers became furious and sought to lay hands on king ahazueras so the mata became known to mordecai who told queen esther and esther informed the king in mordecai's name and when an inquiry was made into the matter it was confirmed and both were hanged on a gallows and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king after these things king ahazueras promoted heyman the son of hamidatha the aeger guide and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him and all the king's servants who were within the king's gate bowed and paid homage to haman for so the king had commanded concerning him but mordecai would not bow or pay homage then the king's servants who were within the king's gate said to mordecai why do you transgress the king's command now it happened when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them that they told it to haman to see whether mordecai's words would stand for mordechai had told them that he was a jew when haman saw that mordecai did not bow or pay him homage haman was filled with wrath but he disdained to lay hands on mordecai alone for they had told him of the people of mordecai instead haman sought to destroy all the jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of ahaz the people of mordecai in the first month which is the month of nisan in the twelfth year of king erhazueras they cast per that is the lot before haman to determine the day and the month until it fell on the twelfth month which is the month of ada then heyman said the king of hazueirus there is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom their laws are different from all other peoples and they do not keep the king's laws therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain if it pleases the king let a decree be written that they be destroyed and i will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work to bring it into the king's treasuries so the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to haman the son of hemidatha the aeger guide the enemy of the jews and the king said to haman the money and the people are given to you to do with them as seems good to you [Music] then the king's scribes were called on the 13th day of the first month and a decree was written according to all that haman commanded to the king's satraps to the governors who were over each province to the officials of all people to every province according to its script and to every people in their language in the name of king ahaziwaris it was written and sealed with the king's signet ring and the letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces to destroy to kill and to annihilate all the jews both young and old little children and women in one day on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month which is the month of ada and to plunder their possessions a copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province being published for all people that they should be ready for that day the couriers went out hastened by the king's command and the decree was proclaimed in shushan the citadel so the king and haman sat down to drink but the city of shushan was perplexed when mordecai learned all that had happened he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes and went out into the midst of the city he cried out with a loud and bitter cry he went as far as the front of the king's gate for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth and in every province where the king's command and decree arrived there was great mourning among the jews with fasting weeping and wailing and many lay in sackcloth and ashes so esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her and the queen was deeply distressed then she sent garments to clothe mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him but he would not accept them esther called haythack one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her and she gave him a command concerning mordecai to learn what and why this was so haithack went out to mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate and mordecai told him all that had happened to him and the sum of money that haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the jews he also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction which was given at shushan that he might show it to esther and explain it to her and that he might command her to go into the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people so hatha returned and told esther the words of mordecai then esther spoke to hathach and gave him a command for mordecai [Music] all the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king who has not been called he has but one law put all to death except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter that he may live yet i myself have not been called to go into the king these thirty days so they told mordecai esther's words and mordecai told him to answer esther do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other jews for if you remain completely silent at this time relief and deliverance will arise for the jews from another place but you and your father's house will perish who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this then esther told them to reply to mordecai go gather all the jews who are present in shushan and fast for me neither eat nor drink for three days night or day my maids and i will fast likewise and so i will go to the king which is against the law and if i perish i perish mordecai went his way and did according to all that esther commanded him now it happened on the third day that esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace across from the king's house while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house facing the entrance of the house so it was when the king saw queen esther standing in the court that she found favor in his sight and the king held out to esther the golden scepter that was in his hand then esther went near and touched the top of the scepter and the king said to her what do you wish queen esther what is your request it shall be given to you up to half the kingdom if it pleases the king that the king and haman come today to the banquet that i have prepared for him bring him in quickly that he may do as esther has said so the king and haman went to the banquet that esther had prepared at the banquet of wine the king said to esther what is your petition it shall be granted you what is your request up to half the kingdom it shall be done my petition and request is this 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 then let the king and haman come to the banquet which i will prepare for them and tomorrow i will do as the king has said so haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart but when haman saw mordecai in the king's gate and that he did not stand or tremble before him he was filled with indignation against mordecai nevertheless haman restrained himself and went home and he sent and called for his friends and his wife zeresh then haman told him of his great riches the multitude of his children everything in which the king had promoted him and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king besides queen esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared and tomorrow i am again invited by her along with the king yet all this avails me nothing so long as i see mordechai the jew sitting at the king's gate and his wife zeresh and all his friends said to him let the gallows be made 50 cubits high and in the morning suggest to the king that mordechai be hanged on it then go merrily with the king to the banquet and the thing pleased haman so he had the gallows made that night the king could not sleep so one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles and they were read before the king and it was found written that mordecai had told of bighana and tiresh two of the king's eunuchs the doorkeepers who would sought to lay hands on king hazueras then the king said what honor or dignity has been bestowed upon mordechai for this nothing has been done for him who is in the court now haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to suggest that the king hang mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him the king's servant said to him haman is there standing in the court let him come in [Music] so haman came in and the king asked him what shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor now haman thought in his heart whom would the king delight to honor more than me for the man whom the king delights to honor let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn and a horse on which the king is written which has a royal crest placed on its head then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor then parade him on horseback through the city square and proclaim before him thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor hurry take the robe and the horse as you have suggested and do so for mordechai the jew who sits within the king's gate leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken [Applause] so heyman took the robe and the horse arrayed mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square and proclaimed before him thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor afterward mordecai went back to the king's gate but heyman hurried to his house mourning and with his head covered when haman told his wife ziresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him his wise men and his wife zeresh said to him if mordechai before whom you have begun to fall is of jewish descent he will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him while they were still talking with him the king's eunuchs came and hastened to bring haman to the banquet which esther had prepared [Music] the king and haman went to dine with queen esther and on the second day at the banquet of wine the king again said to esther what is your petition queen esther it shall be granted you and what is your request up to half the kingdom it shall be done if i have found favor in your sight o king and if it pleases the king let my life be given me at my petition and my people at my request for we have been sold my people and i to be destroyed to be killed and to be annihilated had we been sold as male and female slaves i would have held my tongue although the enemy could never compensate for the king's loss who is he and where is he who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing the adversary and enemy is this wicked haman so haman was terrified before the king and queen then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden but heyman stood before queen esther pleading for his life for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king when the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine haman had fallen across the couch where esther was then the king said will he also assault the queen while i am in the house as the word left the king's mouth they covered haman's face now harbona one of the eunuchs said to the king look the gallows 50 cubits high which haman made for mordechai who spoke good on the king's behalf is standing at the house of haman hanging on [Music] so they hanged heyman on the gallows that he had prepared for mordecai then the king's wrath subsided [Music] on that day king ahaziris gave queen esther the house of haman the enemy of the jews and mordecai came before the king for esther had told how he was related to her so the king took off his signet ring which he had taken from haman and gave it to mordecai and esther appointed mordecai over the house of haman now esther spoke again to the king fell down at his feet and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of haman the aeger guide and the scheme which he had devised against the jews and the king held out the golden scepter toward esther so esther arose and stood before the king if it pleases the king and if i have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and i am pleasing in his eyes let it be written to revoke the letters devised by haman the son of hamadez the ego guide which he wrote to annihilate the jews who are in all the king's provinces for how can i endure to see the evil that will come to my people or how can i endure the destruction of my countrymen then king ahaziweres said to queen esther and mordecai the jew indeed i have given esther the house of haman they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the jews you yourselves write a decree concerning the jews as you please in the king's name and seal it with the king's signet ring for whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring no one can revoke so the king's scribes were called at that time in the third month which is the month of saivan on the 23rd day and it was written according to all that mordecai commanded to the jews the satraps the governors and the princes of the provinces from india to ethiopia 127 provinces in all to every province in its own script to every people in their own language and to the jews in their own script and language and he wrote in the name of king ahasuerus sealed it with the king's signet ring and sent letters by couriers on horseback riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds by these letters the king permitted the jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives to destroy kill and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them both little children and women and to plunder their possessions on one day in all the provinces of king hazueras on the 13th day of the 12th month which is the month of ada a copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people so that the jews will be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies couriers who rode on royal horses went out hastened and pressed on by the king's command and the decree was issued in shushan the citadel so mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple and the city of shushan rejoiced and was glad the jews had light and gladness joy and honor and in every province and city wherever the king's command and decree came the jews had joy and gladness a feast and a holiday then many of the people of the land became jews because fear of the jews fell upon them [Music] now in the 12th month that is the month of ada on the 13th day the time came for the king's command and his decree to be executed on the day that the enemies of the jews had hoped to overpower them the opposite occurred in that the jews themselves overpowered those who hated them the jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of king erhazaras to lay hands on those who sought their harm and no one could withstand them because fear of them fell upon all people and all the officials of the provinces the satraps the governors and all those doing the king's work helped the jews because the fear of mordecai fell upon them for mordecai was great in the king's palace and his fame spread throughout all the provinces for this man mordecai became increasingly prominent thus the jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword with slaughter and destruction and did what they pleased with those who hated them and in shushan the citadel the jews killed and destroyed five hundred men also in pashandetha dolphin as patha bharatha adelia aridatha palmaster arizay aridai and the jezebel the ten sons of haman the son of hamidatha the enemy of the jews they killed but they did not lay a hand on the plunder on that day the number of those who were killed in shushan the citadel was brought to the king and the king said to queen esther the jews have killed and destroyed 500 men in shushan the citadel and the ten sons of haman what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces [Music] now what is your petition it shall be granted you [Music] or what is your further request it shall be done if it pleases the king let it be granted to the jews who are in shoshone to do again tomorrow according to today's decree and let haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows so the king commanded this to be done the decree was issued in shushan and they hanged haman's ten sons and the jews who were in shushan gathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of ada and killed 300 men at shushan but they did not lay a hand on the plunder the remainder of the jews in the king's provinces gathered together and protected their lives had rest from their enemies and killed seventy five thousand of their enemies but they did not lay a hand on the plunder this was on the thirteenth day of the month of ada and on the 14th of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness but the jews who were in shushan assembled together on the 13th day as well as on the 14th and on the 15th of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness therefore the jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of ada with gladness and feasting as a holiday and for sending presents to one another and mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the jews near and far who were in all the provinces of king ahazueras to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the 14th and 15th days of the month of ada as the days on which the jews had rest from their enemies as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them and from mourning to a holiday that they should make them days of feasting and joy of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor so the jews accepted the custom which they had begun as mordecai had written to them because haman the son of hamadatha the eggergate the enemy of all the jews had plotted against the jews to annihilate them and had cast purr that is the lot to consume and destroy them but when esther came before the king he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which haman had devised against the jews should return on his own head and that he and his son should be hanged on the gallows so they called these days purim after the name per [Music] therefore because of all the words of this letter what they had seen concerning this matter and what had happened to them the jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation every family every province and every city that these days of purim should not fail to be observed among the jews and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants [Music] then queen esther the daughter of abigail with mordechai the jew wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about purim and mordecai sent letters to all the jews to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of ahazueras with words of peace and truth to confirm these days of purim at their appointed time as mordecai the jew and queen esther had prescribed for them and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting so the decree of esther confirmed these matters of purim and it was written in the book [Music] and king arjesueras imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea now all the acts of his power and his might and the account of the greatness of mordecai to which the king advanced him are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of media and persia for mordechai the jew was second to king o'haras and was great among the jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen

Channel: Rodney Horrell

Views: 571,568

Rating: 4.8447742 out of 5

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Id: CRNxmA0hG1U

Length: 42min 12sec (2532 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 10 2020