The Hebrew book of Esther famously never mentions God. The Greek Esther fixes that. Roughly a hundred extra verses — prayers by Mordecai and Esther, two dream-visions with their interpretations, and the royal decrees spelled out in full — turn a court thriller into an overtly religious story, with the king's edict recast to save the Jews rather than license their destruction. Preserved in the Septuagint, this longer version was the Esther that many early readers knew best. Whether the additions were translated from lost Hebrew sources or composed in Greek is still debated; what is certain is the pull of a story whose feast of Purim was already ancient when these prayers were added.

This book is also available in the Revised Version (1895) — modern spelling.