And all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered to Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month. And all the people sat in the plaza of the house of God, trembling because of the matter, and because of the heavy rain.
And of the sons of Israel went up some of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the templeslaves to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.
And it happened in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him. And I took the wine and gave to the king. And I had never been sad to his face.
And from the time that I was chosen to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirtysecond year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, I and my brothers did not eat the bread of the governor.
The runners went out, being burned by the king’s word. And the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink. But the city, Shushan, was perplexed.
And I saw in the vision, and it happened in my seeing that I was at Shushan, the palace, which is in the province of Elam. And in a vision I saw, and I was by the Ulai Canal.