1And King Ahasuerus imposed a tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. 2Now all the acts of his authority and his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia. 3For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and accepted by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the welfare of his people and speaking peace to all his seed.