Greek Additions to Esther 3

1And he implored the Lord, remembering all the works of the Lord,

2And he said, “Lord, Lord, King over all powers, because everything is in your authority, and there is no one who can oppose you when you desire to save Israel.”

3because you made heaven and earth and every wondrous thing under heaven,

4And you are Lord of all, and there is no one who will oppose you, O Lord.

5You know all things; you know, Lord, that it was not in insolence or in pride or in ambition that I did this—refusing to bow down to the proud Haman.

6for I could have kissed the soles of his feet for the salvation of Israel,

7But I did this so that I might not place the glory of man above the glory of God; and I will bow down to no one except you, my lord, and I will not do these things in pride.

8And now, Lord God, King, God of Abraham, spare your people, because they are watching us for destruction and have desired to destroy your inheritance from the beginning.

9Do not overlook your portion, which I redeemed for myself out of the land of Egypt.

10Hear my petition and be merciful to your allotted people, and turn our mourning into gladness, so that, living, we may sing praise to your name, O Lord, and do not destroy the mouth of those who praise you. And all Israel cried out with all their strength, because their death was before their eyes.

11And Esther the queen fled to the Lord, seized by a struggle of death,

12And taking off her garments of glory, she put on garments of distress and mourning; and instead of splendid perfumes, she filled her head with ashes and dung, and she humbled her body greatly, and every place of her joyful adornment she filled with the twisting of her hair.

13And she was pleading with the Lord, the God of Israel, and said, “My Lord, our king, you alone are the only one; help me, who am alone and have no helper except you,”

14for my life is in my hand.

15I had heard from my birth, in the tribe of my ancestral family, that you, Lord, took Israel from among all the nations, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, as an everlasting inheritance, and you did for them what you spoke.

16And now we have sinned before you, and you have handed us over into the hands of our enemies.

17because we glorified their gods. You are righteous, Lord.

18And now they were not satisfied with the bitterness of our slavery, but they have laid their hands upon us,

19to remove the decree from your mouth and to destroy your inheritance, and to shut the mouth of those who praise you, and to extinguish the glory of your house and your altar,

20and to open the mouth of the nations to the praises of worthless things, and for a fleshly king to be marveled at forever.

21Do not hand over your scepter, Lord, to those who do not exist, and do not let them gloat over our downfall; instead, turn their plan against them, and make an example of the one who began this attack against us.

22Remember, Lord; make yourself known in the time of our affliction, and encourage me, O King of the gods and ruler over every authority.

23Put fitting words in my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hatred against the one who is warring against us, to his destruction and that of those who are of one mind with him.

24But rescue us by your hand, and help me, who am alone and have no one except you, Lord. You have knowledge of all things,

25And you know that I hated the glory of the lawless, and I abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of every foreigner.

26You know my distress, that I loathe the sign of my pride, which is upon my head in the days of my appearance; I loathe it like a menstrual cloth, and I do not wear it in the days of my rest.

27And your servant did not eat at Haman’s table, and I did not honor the king’s banquet, nor did I drink the wine of libations;

28And your servant has not rejoiced from the day of my change until now, except in you, Lord, God of Abraham.

29O God, who are mighty over all, hear the voice of those who have lost hope, and rescue us from the hand of those who do evil, and rescue me from my fear.