After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem; and he was against Lachish, and all his forces with him against Hezekiah king of Judah, and against all Judah in Jerusalem, saying,

Sennacherib king of Assyria says this, On what do you trust that you sit under siege in Jerusalem?

And now do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you in this way, nor yet believe him. For no god of any nation was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers. How much less shall your God deliver you out of my hand?

And for this reason Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to Heaven.

And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.

And after this he built a wall outside the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and went around Ophel, and raised it to a very great height. And he put army commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

Go inquire of Jehovah for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found. For great is the wrath of Jehovah that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the Word of Jehovah to do according to all that is written in this Book.

And Hilkiah, and those of the king, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the robes. (And she lived in Jerusalem in the second part.) And they spoke to her about this.

So says Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil on this place and upon its people, all the curses that are written in the Book which they have read before the king of Judah,

because they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense to other gods, so that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. And My wrath shall be poured out on this place and shall not be quenched.

Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before your God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and humbled yourself before Me, and tore your garments and wept before Me, I have even heard also, says Jehovah.

Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, nor shall your eyes see all the evil which I will bring on this place and upon its people. And they brought the king word again.

And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah and to keep His commandments and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.

This Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah.

After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates. And Josiah went out against him.

And Jeremiah mourned for Josiah. And all the singing men and the singing women have spoken of Josiah in their lamentations until this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel. And behold, they are written in the Lamentations.

And this is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, a thousand platters of silver, twenty-nine knives,

These are the ones who came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. This is the number of the men of the people of the sons of Israel:

But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, ancient men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. And many shouted aloud for joy

Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this way.

this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him, to Artaxerxes the king. Your servants the men of the province Beyond the River, and so now,

And let it be known to the king that if this city is built and the walls set up, then they will not pay toll, taxes, or custom, and you shall endanger the revenue of the kings.

so that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers, and you shall find in the book of the records, and shall know that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have rebelled in it in the past, for which cause that city was destroyed.

We notify the king that if this city is built and the walls of it set up, then you shall have no portion Beyond the River.

And I commanded, and search has been made, and it is found that this city has lifted up itself against kings in the past, and rebellion and revolt have been made in it.

Now make a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not built until the decree shall be given from me.

And take heed that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

At the same time Tatnai, governor of the province Beyond the River, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, came to them and said this to them Who has commanded you to build this house and to make this wall?

So then we said to them: What are the names of the men who are building this building?

But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they could not cause them to stop until the matter came to Darius, and answer by letter concerning this had been returned.

They sent a letter to him, in which this was written, To Darius the king, all peace:

Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is being built with great stones, and timber is being laid in the walls, and this work goes on fast and is blessed in their hands.

Then we asked those elders and said this to them, Who commanded you to build this house and to make these walls?

And they returned this answer to us, saying, We are the servants of the God of Heaven and earth. And we build the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and set up.

But after our fathers had provoked the God of Heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away to Babylon.

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, King Cyrus gave an order to build this house of God.

And therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house there at Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was given from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem. And let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

Let the work of this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.

Also I make a decree as to what you shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God, that at once expense be given to these men from the king's goods, from the tax Beyond the River, so that they may not have to stop.

Also I have made a decree that whoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house and be set up, and let him be hanged on it. And let his house be made a dunghill for this.

And may the God who has caused His name to dwell there destroy all kings and people who shall put their hand to alter or to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I, Darius, have made a decree. Let it be done with speed.

And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

And the sons of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.

And they offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs. And for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

this Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a ready scribe in the Law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel had given. And the king granted him all he asked, according to the hand of Jehovah his God on him.

And this is the copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the scribe, a scribe of the words of the commandments of Jehovah, and of His statutes to Israel.

Before all of this, you shall diligently buy with this money, bulls, rams, lambs, with their food offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.

Also, we notify you, that in regard to any of the priests and the Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple slaves, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, taxes, or custom on them.

Blessed be Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who has put this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem,

The sons of those who had been exiled, who had come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve young bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to Jehovah.

For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons. So the holy seed has mixed themselves with the people of those lands. Yes, the hand of the leaders and overseers has been chief in this sin.

And when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down stricken dumb.

Since the days of our fathers we have been in a great sin until this day. And for our iniquities we, our kings, our priests, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to shame of face, as it is this day.

And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments

And after all that has come on us for our evil deeds and for our great sin, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such an escape as this,

O Jehovah, the God of Israel, You are righteous. For we are left a remnant that has escaped, as today. Behold, we are before You in our sins, for we cannot stand before You because of this.

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have sinned against our God and have taken strange women from the people of the land. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

Arise, for this matter belongs to you. We also will be with you. Be of good courage and act.

Then Ezra arose and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel to swear that they should do according to this word. And they swore.

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves to Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month. And all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.

But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand outside. And the work is not of one or two days. For we who have sinned in this thing are many.

And let our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all those who have taken strange women in our cities, come at a set time, and with them the elders of every city and its judges, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter has turned from us.

Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah made a stand against this. And Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.

O Jehovah, I pray You, let now Your ear be open to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name. And I pray You, bless Your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. (For I was the king's cupbearer.)

And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us. And they said, What is this that you do? Will you rebel against the king?

And also I, my brothers and my servants, might take from them silver and grain. Please let us leave this lending at interest.

And they said, We will restore, and will ask nothing from them. So we will do as you say. Then I called the priests and took an oath from them that they should do according to this promise.

Also I shook my lap and said, So let God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, who does not keep this promise, even may he be shaken out this way and emptied. And all the congregation said, amen, and praised Jehovah. And the people did according to this promise.

But the former governors that had been before me were too heavy upon the people, and had taken bread and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not do this, because of the fear of God.

And I also kept on in the work of this wall. Nor did we buy any land. And all my servants gathered there to the work.

And that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep; and birds were prepared; and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine. Yet for all this I did not seek the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.

Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

And they sent to me four times in this way. And I answered them in the same way.

It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says it, that you and the Jews are thinking of rebelling, for this reason you build the wall, so that you may be their king, according to these words.

And, behold, I understood that God had not sent him, but that he said this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

And it happened when all our enemies heard, and all the nations around us saw, they were very much lowered in their own eyes. For they saw that this work was done by our God.

And Nehemiah, the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to Jehovah your God. Do not mourn or weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.

Then he said to them, Go eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our LORD. And do not be sorry, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.

And in the twenty-fourth day of this month, the sons of Israel were gathered with fasting and with sackcloth, and with earth upon them.

Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt, and had worked great blasphemies,

And now, our God, the great, the mighty, and the fearful God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble that has come upon us, on our kings, on our rulers, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all Your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day, seem little before You.

And because of all this we are cutting a sure covenant, and write it, and our princes, Levites, and priests are sealing it.

And before this, Eliashib the priest, who was set over the rooms of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah.

But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem. For in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I came to the king. And after some days I was given permission to leave the king.

Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds which I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices of it.

And I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, What evil thing is this that you do, and defile the Sabbath day?

Did not your fathers do this, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by defiling the Sabbath.

And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy.

Shall we then listen to you, to do all this great evil, to sin against our God in living with foreign women?

And it happened in the days of Ahasuerus (this is the Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces).

And this day the princesses of Persia and Media shall say the same to all the king's princes who have heard of the deed of the queen. And there will be contempt and strife.

And in this way the young woman came to the king. Whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women to the king's house.

For if you are completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise to the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house shall be destroyed. And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for a time like this?

And Esther said to return to Mordecai this answer,

Yet all this avails me nothing as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

And the king said, What honor and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this? And the king's servants who served him said, Nothing has been done for him.

And let this clothing and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes so that they may dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and bring him on horseback through the streets of the city, and proclaim before him, This is what shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.

And Haman took the clothing and the horse and dressed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, This is what shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!

And Esther said, The man who is our adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. And Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.