⁵ And when these days were completed, the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in ^[a]Shushan the ^[b]citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace.

⁷ Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. ⁸ When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across ^(A)the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?”

As the word left the king’s mouth, they ^(B)covered Haman’s face.

²¹ So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^(A)the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing to the Lord, accompanied by loud instruments. ²² And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites ^(B)who taught the good knowledge of the Lord; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and ^(C)making confession to the Lord God of their fathers.

²³ Then the whole assembly agreed to keep the feast ^(D)another seven days, and they kept it another seven days with gladness. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah ^(E)gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep, and the leaders gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep; and a great number of priests ^(F)sanctified^[a] themselves. ²⁵ The whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, also the priests and Levites, all the assembly that came from Israel, the sojourners ^(G)who came from the land of Israel, and those who dwelt in Judah.

^8 (A)At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly ^(B)from the entrance of Hamath to ^(C)the^[a] Brook of Egypt. ⁹ And on the eighth day they held a ^(D)sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.