Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.

and he walketh in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for a daughter of Ahab hath been to him for a wife, and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah,

And they inhabiting Jerusalem will make Ahaziah his young son king in his stead: for a troop coming with the Arabians to the camp killed all the first. And Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah will reign.

And be caused all the people to stand, even every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right corner of the house as far as the left corner of the house, by the altar and the house, - near the king round about.

And Jehoiada maketh a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, to be for a people to Jehovah;

For, as for Athaliah the Lawless, her sons, brake up the House of God, - moreover, all the hallowed things of the house of Yahweh, offered they unto the Baalim.

And their sons he slew not, for as written in the law in the book of Moses where Jehovah commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the sons, and the sons shall not die for the fathers, for each shall die in his sin.

He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.

But those of the troop that Amaziah had sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah from Samaria as far as Beth-horon, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.

And it cometh to pass, in his speaking unto him, that he saith to him, 'For a counsellor to the king have we appointed thee? cease for thee; why do they smite thee?' And the prophet ceaseth, and saith, 'I have known that God hath counselled to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel.'

Come, we look one another in the face.' And Joash king of Israel sendeth unto Amaziah king of Judah, saying, 'The thorn that is in Lebanon hath sent unto the cedar that is in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife; and pass by doth a beast of the field that is in Lebanon, and treadeth down the thorn.

and, Amaziah king of Judah, son of Joash son of Jehoahaz, was taken by Joash king of Israel, in Beth-shemesh, - and he brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, from the gate of Ephraim as far as the corner-gate, four hundred cubits;

The Ammonites gave Uzziah tribute money, and his fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for God made him very powerful.

And he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells, for, much cattle, had he, both in the lowland, and in the plain, - husbandmen and vinedressers, in the mountains and in the fruitful field, for, a lover of the soil, was he.

and they took their stand against Uzziah the king, and said unto him-It is not, for thee, O Uzziah, to burn incense unto Yahweh, but, for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are hallowed, to burn incense. Go forth out of the sanctuary, for thou hast acted unfaithfully, and, not to thee, for an honour, shall it be from Yahweh Elohim.

He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, a horrible sin practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.

and the wrath of Jehovah is on Judah and Jerusalem, and He giveth them for a trembling, for an astonishment, and for a hissing, as ye are seeing with your eyes.

And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD.

The priests slaughtered the goats and put their blood on the altar for a sin offering, to make atonement for all Israel, for the king said that the burnt offering and sin offering were for all Israel.

And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD.

So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to hold the passover to Jehovah the God of Israel, at Jerusalem; because they had not held it for a long time as it was written.

Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were sinners against the Lord, the God of their fathers, so that he made them a cause of fear, as you see.

The couriers traveled from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the inhabitants laughed at them and mocked them.

For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one

Wherefore now let not Hezekiah deceive you, either persuade you of this fashion, nor yet believe him. For as no god among so many nations and kingdoms, was able to rid his people out of mine hand and the hands of my fathers: even so much less shall your God keep you out of mine hand!"

After this he made an outer wall for the town of David, on the west side of Gihon in the valley, as far as the way into the town by the fish doorway; and he put a very high wall round the Ophel; and he put captains of the army in all the walled towns of Judah.

And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around,

And his princes gave for a freewill-offering unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, the rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred'small cattle , and three hundred oxen.

And the Passover lamb was cooked over the fire, as it says in the law; and the holy offerings were cooked in pots and basins and vessels, and taken quickly to all the people.

and Jeremiah lamenteth for Josiah, and all the singers and the songstresses speak in their lamentations of Josiah unto this day, and set them for a statute on Israel, and lo, they are written beside the lamentations.

to fulfil the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths: for as long as it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.

And I gave orders for a search to be made, and it is certain that in the past this town has made trouble for kings, and that outbursts against authority have taken place there.

And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a roll, and therein was thus written for a record:

In the first year of king Cyrus, king Cyrus made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: Let the house be built for a place where they offer sacrifices, and let its foundations be solidly laid; its height sixty cubits, its breadth sixty cubits,

Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail,

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

For as you are sent by the king, and by his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand;

I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

For I would not, for shame, make request to the king for a band of armed men and horsemen to give us help against those who might make attacks on us on the way: for we had said to the king, The hand of our God is on his servants for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who are turned away from him.

The children of the captivity, that were come out of exile, offered burnt-offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burnt-offering unto Jehovah.

And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

Which you gave to your servants the prophets, saying, The land into which you are going, to take it for a heritage, is an unclean land, because of the evil lives of the peoples of the land and their disgusting ways, which have made the land unclean from end to end.

Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.

Nevertheless, the people, are many, and, the season, is that of the heavy rains, and we are not able to stand outside, - and, the business, is not one for a single day, nor yet for two, for we have abundantly transgressed, in this thing.

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

And I went out by night, through the doorway of the valley, and past the dragon's water-spring as far as the place where waste material was put, viewing the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and the doorways which had been burned with fire.

In reply to them, I said, "The God of Heaven will prosper us. That's why we're preparing to build. But as far as you're concerned, there exists no ancestral heritage, no legal right, nor any historic claim in Jerusalem.

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set up its doors; and they consecrated the wall [westward] to the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.

Next to them repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths; and next to him repaired Hananiah of the perfumers, and they left Jerusalem in its state as far as the broad wall.

The valley-gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up its doors, its locks and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the dung-gate.

Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, official of the district of Mizpah repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it [with a roof], and set up its doors with its bolts and its bars, and [he rebuilt] the wall of the Pool of Shelah (Siloam) by the King’s Garden as far as the stairs that descend [the eastern slope] from [the section of Jerusalem known as] the City of David.

After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler over half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs up to a point opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the House of the Warriors.

Next to him Zabbai's son Baruch worked valiantly on another section from the angle of the wall as far as the door to the house belonging to Eliashib the high priest.

After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib as far as the end of the house of Eliashib.

After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah to the angle, as far as the corner.

(Now the Nethinim were living in the Ophel, as far as the place facing the water doorway to the east, and the tower which comes out.)

After him the Tekoites repaired a second piece, over against the great tower which lies out, as far as the wall of Ophel.

The priests carried on repairs from above the Horse Gate as far as their own houses.

Then next to them, Immer's son Zadok did repairs as far as his own house. Next to him, Shecaniah's son Shemaiah, custodian of the East Gate, carried on repairs.

After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner.

Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:

I considered these things carefully and then registered a complaint with the wealthy and the officials. I said to them, "Each one of you is seizing the collateral from your own countrymen!" Because of them I called for a great public assembly.

And I said to them, We have given whatever we were able to give, to make our brothers the Jews free, who were servants and prisoners of the nations: and would you now give up your brothers for a price, and are they to become our property? Then they said nothing, answering not a word.

Now, that which was prepared for a single day, was - one ox, six choice sheep, also, fowls, were prepared for me, and, apportioned unto ten days, of every sort of wine, in abundance, - yet, in spite of this, the bread of the pasha, demanded I not, because heavy was the bondage upon this people.

it is written in it, 'Among the nations it hath been heard, and Gashmu is saying: Thou and the Jews are thinking to rebel, therefore thou art building the wall, and thou hast been to them for a king -- according to these words!

Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, who took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite for a wife, and was called after their name.

While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and for another fourth [of it] they confessed [their sins] and worshiped the Lord their God.

You led them during the day by a pillar of cloud, and by a pillar of fire at night to provide light for them on the path they took.

and in Thine abundant mercies Thou hast not made them a consumption, nor hast forsaken them; for a God, gracious and merciful, art Thou.

Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its towns. So they encamped from Beersheba as far as the valley of Hinnom.

And by the doorway of the fountain and straight in front of them, they went up by the steps of the town of David, at the slope up of the wall, over the house of David, as far as the water-doorway to the east.

And the other band of those who gave praise went to the left, and I went after them with half the people, on the wall, over the tower of the ovens, as far as the wide wall;

And over the doorway of Ephraim and by the old door and the fish door and the tower of Hananel and the tower of Hammeah, as far as the sheep door: and at the doorway of the watchmen they came to a stop.

While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence

Now it came about in the days of Ahasuerus, (that Ahasuerus who was ruler of a hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom, from India as far as Ethiopia:)

He displayed the glorious wealth of his kingdom and the magnificent splendor of his greatness for a total of 180 days.

and he is supporting Hadassah -- she is Esther -- daughter of his uncle, for she hath neither father nor mother, and the young woman is of fair form, and of good appearance, and at the death of her father and her mother hath Mordecai taken her to him for a daughter.

Now every girl, when her turn came, had to go in to King Ahasuerus, after undergoing, for a space of twelve months, what was ordered by the law for the women (for this was the time necessary for making them clean, that is, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with sweet perfumes and such things as are needed for making women clean):

And in the drawing nigh of the turn of Esther -- daughter of Abihail, uncle of Mordecai, whom he had taken to him for a daughter -- to come in unto the king, she hath not sought a thing except that which Hegai eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, saith, and Esther is receiving grace in the eyes of all seeing her.

Then the king gave a great feast for all his captains and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he gave orders through all the divisions of his kingdom for a day of rest from work, and gave wealth from his store.

When the young women were assembled together for a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate.

In those days, while Mordecai was seated at the king's doorway, two of the king's servants, Bigthan and Teresh, keepers of the door, being angry, were looking for a chance to make an attack on King Ahasuerus.

In the first month, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, from day to day and from month to month they went on looking for a sign given by Pur (that is chance) before Haman, till the sign came out for the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar.

And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day.

He only went as far as the King’s Gate, since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate.

And in all lands and places, as far as the king's word and commandment extended, there was great lamentation among the Jews and many fasted, wept, mourned and lay in sackcloth and in ashes.

but if thou keep entirely silent at this time, respite and deliverance remaineth to the Jews from another place, and thou and the house of thy fathers are destroyed; and who knoweth whether for a time like this thou hast come to the kingdom?'

While at the banquet of wine, the king said to Esther, "What is your request? It shall be given to you. What is your petition? Ask for as much as half the kingdom, and it shall be done!"

That day Haman left full of joy and in good spirits. But when Haman saw Mordecai at the King’s Gate, and Mordecai didn’t rise or tremble in fear at his presence, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

So Haman said to the king, "For a man whom the king wishes to honor,

For we are given up, I and my people, to destruction and death and to be cut off. If we had been taken as men-servants and women-servants for a price, I would have said nothing, for our trouble is little in comparison with the king's loss.

Write ye then for the Jews as seems good to you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring. For a writing that is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, cannot be reversed.

Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,

The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

and in every province and province, and in every city and city, the place where the word of the king, even his law, is coming, gladness and joy are to the Jews, a banquet, and a good day; and many of the peoples of the land are becoming Jews, for a fear of the Jews hath fallen upon them.

Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar) on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the [very] day when the enemies of the Jews had hoped to gain power over them [and slaughter them], it happened the other way around so that the Jews themselves gained power over those who hated them.

And all heads of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the governors, and those doing the work that the king hath, are lifting up the Jews, for a fear of Mordecai hath fallen upon them;

And the Adversary answereth Jehovah and saith, 'A skin for a skin, and all that a man hath he doth give for his life.