| 1:1 | This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush |
| 1:2 | At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa,
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| 1:3 | and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.
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| 1:4 | For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.
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| 1:5 | When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king's palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest, who were in the citadel of Susa.
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| 1:6 | The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones.
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| 1:7 | Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king's liberality.
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| 1:8 | By the king's command each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.
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| 1:9 | Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
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| 1:10 | On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him-- Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas--
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| 1:11 | to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.
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| 1:12 | But when the attendants delivered the king's command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
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| 1:13 | Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times
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| 1:14 | and were closest to the king-- Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.
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| 1:15 | "According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?" he asked. "She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her."
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| 1:16 | Then Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, "Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes.
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| 1:17 | For the queen's conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, "King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come."
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| 1:18 | This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen's conduct will respond to all the king's nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.
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| 1:19 | "Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.
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| 1:20 | Then when the king's edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest."
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| 1:21 | The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memucan proposed.
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| 1:22 | He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people's tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household.
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| 2:1 | Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her.
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| 2:2 | Then the king's personal attendants proposed, "Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king.
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| 2:3 | Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them.
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| 2:4 | Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
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| 2:5 | Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish,
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| 2:6 | who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah.
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| 2:7 | Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
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| 2:8 | When the king's order and edict had been proclaimed, many girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem.
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| 2:9 | The girl pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.
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| 2:10 | Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.
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| 2:11 | Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.
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| 2:12 | Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.
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| 2:13 | And this is how she would go to the king |
| 2:14 | In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
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| 2:15 | When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.
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| 2:16 | She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
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| 2:17 | Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
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| 2:18 | And the king gave a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
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| 2:19 | When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.
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| 2:20 | But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai's instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.
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| 2:21 | During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
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| 2:22 | But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.
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| 2:23 | And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a gallows. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
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| 5:1 | Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
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| 5:2 | With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles" feet.
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| 5:3 | Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
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| 5:4 | Didn"t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn"t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
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| 5:5 | When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
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| 5:6 | Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
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| 5:7 | About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
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| 5:8 | Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price."
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| 5:9 | Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."
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| 5:10 | At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
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| 5:11 | Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
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| 5:12 | The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade.
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| 5:13 | No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.
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| 5:14 | Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
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| 5:15 | As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
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| 5:16 | Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.
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| 5:17 | Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
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| 5:18 | They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
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| 5:19 | But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.
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| 5:20 | "Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life."
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| 5:21 | At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin-- the full assembly of the elders of Israel-- and sent to the jail for the apostles.
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| 5:22 | But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported,
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| 5:23 | "We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside."
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| 5:24 | On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this.
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| 5:25 | Then someone came and said, "Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people."
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| 5:26 | At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.
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| 5:27 | Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.
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| 5:28 | "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."
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| 5:29 | Peter and the other apostles replied |
| 5:30 | The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead-- whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.
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| 5:31 | God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
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| 5:32 | We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
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| 5:33 | When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
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| 5:34 | But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.
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| 5:35 | Then he addressed them |
| 5:36 | Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
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| 5:37 | After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
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| 5:38 | Therefore, in the present case I advise you |
| 5:39 | But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
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| 5:40 | His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
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| 5:41 | The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
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| 5:42 | Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
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