Esther, 11

1. In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemeus and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said he was a priest and Levite, and Ptolemeus his son, brought this epistle of Phurim, which they said was the same, and that Lysimachus the son of Ptolemeus, that was in Jerusalem, had interpreted it.

1. In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who affirmed he was a priest and a Levite, and his son Ptolemy brought to Egypt the foregoing letter concerning the Purim, maintaining that it was genuine and had been translated by Lysimachus, Ptolemy's son and a resident of Jerusalem.

2. In the second year of the reign of Artexerxes the great, in the first day of the month Nisan, Mardocheus the son of Jairus, the son of Semei, the son of Cisai, of the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream;

2. On the first day of Nissan, in the second year of the reign of Ahasuerus the Great, a dream came to Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin.

3. Who was a Jew, and dwelt in the city of Susa, a great man, being a servitor in the king's court.

3. Mordecai was a Jew residing at Susa who held a prominent position at the king's court.

4. He was also one of the captives, which Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon carried from Jerusalem with Jechonias king of Judea; and this was his dream:

4. He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had deported from Jerusalem with Jeconiah, king of Judah.

5. Behold a noise of a tumult, with thunder, and earthquakes, and uproar in the land:

5. According to his dream, there were cries and tumult, thunder and earthquake and confusion upon the earth,

6. And, behold, two great dragons came forth ready to fight, and their cry was great.

6. as two great dragons came, both ready for combat.

7. And at their cry all nations were prepared to battle, that they might fight against the righteous people.

7. At the sound of their terrible roar every nation prepared to fight against the holy nation.

8. And lo a day of darkness and obscurity, tribulation and anguish, affliction and great uproar, upon earth.

8. On earth it was a day of darkness and gloom, tribulation and distress, affliction and great disturbance.

9. And the whole righteous nation was troubled, fearing their own evils, and were ready to perish.

9. The whole nation of the just was troubled because of the fear of evils awaiting them, and were ready to perish.

10. Then they cried unto God, and upon their cry, as it were from a little fountain, was made a great flood, even much water.

10. But they cried out to God, and a little spring appeared, from which grew a great river with a flood of water.

11. The light and the sun rose up, and the lowly were exalted, and devoured the glorious.

11. Light came as the sun rose, and the humble were raised up and they devoured the mighty.

12. Now when Mardocheus, who had seen this dream, and what God had determined to do, was awake, he bare this dream in mind, and until night by all means was desirous to know it.

12. In this dream Mordecai saw what God intended to do. On awakening he thought deeply about the matter and tried all day to understand its meaning.