Additions to Esther 1:4-14

4 Behold, noise and confusion, thunders and earthquake, tumult upon the earth!
5 And behold, two great dragons came forward, both ready to fight, and they roared terribly.
6 And at their roaring every nation prepared for war, to fight against the nation of the righteous.
7 And behold, a day of darkness and gloom, tribulation and distress, affliction and great tumult upon the earth!
8 And the whole righteous nation was troubled; they feared the evils that threatened them, and were ready to perish.
9 Then they cried to God; and from their cry, as though from a tiny spring, there came a great river, with abundant water;
10 light came, and the sun rose, and the lowly were exalted and consumed those held in honor.
11 Mordecai saw in this dream what God had determined to do, and after he awoke he had it on his mind and sought all day to understand it in every detail.
12 Now Mordecai took his rest in the courtyard with Gabatha and Tharra, the two eunuchs of the king who kept watch in the courtyard.
13 He overheard their conversation and inquired into their purposes, and learned that they were preparing to lay hands upon Artaxerxes the king; and he informed the king concerning them.
14 Then the king examined the two eunuchs, and when they confessed they were led to execution.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.