And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the garden off his own house, - and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

And his servants conspired against him, and put him to death, in his own house.

And they threw down before him, the altars of the Baalim, and, the sun-pillars which were on high above them, he hewed down, - and, the Sacred Stems and the carved images and the molten images, brake he in pieces and ground to dust, and tossed over the face of the graves, of them who had been sacrificing unto them.

But, unto the king of Judah, who hath sent you to enquire of Yahweh, thus, shall ye say unto him, - Thus, saith Yahweh God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard:

After all this - when Josiah had prepared the house, Neco king of Egypt came up,-to fight against Carchemish, by Euphrates, and Josiah went forth against him.

But he sent unto him messengers, saying - What have I to do with thee, O king of Judah? not against thee, have I come this day, but against the house wherewith I have war, and, God, hath given word to speed me, - cease thou from provoking God who is with me, lest he destroy thee.

Howbeit Josiah turned not his face from him, for, to fight against him, he had disguised himself, and he hearkened not unto the words of Neco, from the mouth of God, - so he came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

So his servants took him away out of the war-chariot, and conveyed him in a second chariot which he had, and carried him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in the sepulchres of his fathers, - and, all Judah and Jerusalem, were mourning over Josiah.

And the people of the land took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, - and made him king instead of his father, in Jerusalem.

And the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem, - and condemned the land, in a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.

And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim, - but Neco took, Joahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.

Against him, came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, - and bound him in fetters of bronze, to carry him to Babylon.

But, the rest of the story of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he made, and that which was found upon him, there they are, written in the book of the Kings of Israel and Judah, - and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

and, when the year came round, King Nebuchadnezzar sent, and carried him to Babylon, with the precious utensils of the house of Yahweh, - and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.

Moreover also - against King Nebuchadnezzar, he rebelled, who had made him swear by God,-and he stiffened his neck, and emboldened his heart, from turning unto Yahweh, God of Israel.

Thus, saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth, hath Yahweh God of the heavens, given unto me, and, he himself, hath laid charge upon me, to build to him a house, in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people with whom is Yahweh his God? Then let him go up.

Thus, saith Cyrus, king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth, hath Yahweh God of the heavens, given to me, - and, he himself, hath laid charge upon me, to build for him a house, in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, - and build the house of Yahweh God of Israel, (he, is God!) which is in Jerusalem;

And, whosoever is left, of all the places where he doth sojourn, let the men of his place uphold him, with silver and with gold, and with goods and with beasts, - along with a voluntary offering for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem.

then drew they near unto Zerubbabel, and unto the ancestral chiefs, and said unto them, Let us build with you, for, like you, we seek your God, and, unto him, have, we, been sacrificing since the days of Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.

This, is a copy of the letter which they sent unto him - unto Artaxerxes the king, - Thy servants, the men Beyond the River and so forth:

a message, sent they unto him, - and, thus, was it written therein, Unto Darius the king, all prosperity!

and said to him - These utensils, take, go carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, - and let, the house of God, be built in its place.

Now, therefore, if, unto the king, it seem good, let search be made in the treasure-house of the king which is there, in Babylon, whether it be so, that, from Cyrus the king, issued an edict, to build this house of God, in Jerusalem, - and, the pleasure of the king concerning this, let him send unto us.

And, from me, is issued an edict, that, any man who shall alter this message, let timber be torn out of his house, and being lifted up let him be fastened thereunto, - and his house, a dunghill, be made for this;

this Ezra, came up out of Babylon, he, being a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh God of Israel had given, - and the king gave him, according to the hand of Yahweh his God upon him, all his request.

For, on the first of the first month, was a beginning made of coming up from Babylon, - and, on the first of the fifth month, entered he into Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

From me, is issued an edict, that, every one in my kingdom, of the people of Israel, and of their priests and the Levites, who is minded of his own freewill to go to Jerusalem, with thee, let him go.

But, whosoever shall not do the law of thy God and the law of the king, speedily, let, penalty, be exacted from him, - whether to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, - and, with him - by genealogical registry of males, a hundred and fifty:

Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, son of Zerahiah, - and, with him, two hundred males;

Of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jehaziel, - and, with him, three hundred males;

And, of the sons of Adin, Ebed, son of Jonathan, - and, with him, fifty males;

And, of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, - and, with him, seventy males;

And, of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, son of Michael, - and, with him, eighty males;

Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, son of Jehiel, and, with him, two hundred and eighteen males;

And, of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, son of Josiphiah, - and, with him, a hundred and sixty males;

And, of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, son of Bebai, and, with him, twenty-eight males;

And, of the sons of Azgad, Johanan, son of Hakkatan, - and, with him, a hundred and ten males;

And, of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, - and, with him, seventy males.

and Hashabiah, and, with him, Jeshaiah, of the sons of Merari, - his brethren and their sons, twenty;

Then proclaimed I there a fast, by the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, - to seek of him a smooth way, for us and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king, a band of soldiers and horsemen, to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God, is upon all who seek him, for good, But, his power and his anger, are against all who forsake him.

And, on the fourth day, was weighed - the silver and the gold and the utensils, in the house of our God, unto the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest, and, with him, was Eleazar son of Phinehas, - and, with them, were Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui, Levites:

Now, when Ezra had prayed and when he had made confession, weeping and casting himself down, before the house of God, there gathered unto him out of Israel, an exceeding large convocation - men and women and children, for the people wept with a very bitter weeping.

and said, I beseech thee, O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and fearful GOD, - keeping the covenant and lovingkindness for them who love him and keep his commandments:

I beseech thee O My Lord, let - I pray thee - thine ear be attentive unto the prayer of thy servant, and unto the prayer of thy servants who delight to revere thy Name, and oh prosper, I pray thee, thy servant to-day, and grant him compassion before this man. Now, I, was cup-bearer unto the king.

And it came to pass, in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that, wine, was before him, - so I took up the wine, and gave unto the king, and I had never been sad before him.

And the king said unto me, the queen, also sitting beside him, For how long would be thy journey? and when wouldst thou return? So it seemed good before the king to send me, and I set him a time.

after him, repaired, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of the half-circuit of Beth-zur, - as far as over against the sepulchres of David, even unto the pool which had been made, and unto the house of heroes;

after him, repaired, the Levites, Rehum son of Bani, - at his hand, repaired, Hashabiah, ruler of the half-circuit of Keilah, for his circuit;

after him, repaired, their brethren, Bavvai son of Henadad, - ruler of the other half-circuit of Keilah;

after him, zealously repaired Baruch son of Zabbai, a second length, - from the corner, unto the opening of the house of Eliashib, the high priest;

after him, repaired, Meremoth son of Uriah son of Hakkoz, a second length, - from the opening of the house of Eliashib, even unto the end of the house of Eliashib;

and, after him, repaired, the priests, the men of the Circuit;

after him, repaired, Benjamin and Hasshub, over against their own house, - after him, repaired, Azariah son of Maaseiah son of Ananiah, beside his own house;

after him, repaired, Binnui son of Henadad, a second length, - from the house of Azariah, unto the corner, even unto the pinnacle:

Palal, son of Uzai, from over against the corner, and the tower that projecteth from the upper house of the king, which belongeth to the court of custody, - after him, Pedaiah son of Parosh.

after him, repaired, the Tekoites, a second length, - from over against the great tower that projecteth, even unto the wall of Ophel:

after him, repaired, Zadok son of Immer, over against his own house, - and, after him, repaired, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, keeper of the east-gate;

after him, repaired, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun sixth son of Zalaph, a second length, - after him, repaired, Meshullam son of Berechiah, over against his chamber;

after him, repaired, Malchijah son of Zorphi, as far as the house of the Nethinim, and the traders, - over against the muster-gate, even unto the ascent of the pinnacle;

But it came to pass, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, it angered him, and he was greatly displeased, - and mocked the Jews;

Now, Tobiah the Ammonite, was beside him, - so he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox should go up, he would break down their stone wall!

Also, my lap, shook I out, and said - Thus and thus, may God shake out every man who shall not confirm this promise, out of his house and out of his labour, yea, thus and thus, let him be shaken out and empty, - And all the convocation said, Amen! and praised Yahweh, and the people did according to this promise.

Then sent I unto him, saying, Nothing hath been done, according to these words, which thou art saying, - but, out of thine own heart, art thou feigning them.

Then perceived I, that lo! it was, not God, who had sent him, - though, a prophecy, he had spoken concerning me, but, Tobiah and Sanballat, had hired him:

for, many in Judah, had taken an oath to him, because he was in marriage affinity with Shecaniah son of Arah, - and, Jehohanan his son, had taken the daughter of Meshullam, son of Berechiah.

Moreover, his good deeds, were they telling before me, and, my affairs, were they carrying out to him, - letters, did Tobiah send to put me in fear.

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a lofty platform of wood, which they had made for the purpose, and there stood, beside him, Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah, on his right hand, - and, on his left, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam.

Thou, art Yahweh, God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, - and madest his name Abraham;

and didst find his heart faithful before thee, and didst solemnize with him a covenant, to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, - to give it unto his seed, - and didst confirm thy words, for, righteous, thou art.

and, after him, Gabbai, Sallai, - nine hundred and twenty-eight.

so he prepared him a large chamber, where aforetime they used to lay the meal-offering, the frankincense, and the utensils, and the tithe of the corn, the new wine and the oil, in charge of the Levites, and the singers, and the doorkeepers, - and the heave-offerings for the priests.

and came to Jerusalem, - and had intelligence of the wickedness which Eliashib had committed for Tobiah, in preparing for him a chamber, in the courts of the house of God;

Was it not, over these things, that Solomon king of Israel sinned - though, among many nations, there was no king such as he, and he was, beloved by his God, and so God gave him to be king over all Israel, - even him, did foreign women, cause to sin.

And, one of the sons of Joiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, - therefore I chased him from me.

in the third year of his reign, he made a banquet unto all his rulers, and his servants, - the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and the rulers being before him;

But Queen Vashti refused to come in at the command of the king, which was given through the eunuchs, - and the king was exceeding wroth, and, his anger, burned within him.

and, near unto him, were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memucan, - the seven rulers of Persia and Media, who used to behold the face of the king, who sat first, in the kingdom -

For the report of the queen, will go forth, unto all women, so putting contempt upon their lords, in their eyes, - when it is reported to them, King Ahasuerus, commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.

If, unto the king, it seem good, let there go forth a royal declaration from before him, and let it be written among the laws of Persia and Media, so that it shall not pass away, - That Vashti, is not to come in, before King Ahasuerus, and, her royal estate, let the king give unto her neighbour, who is better than she.

Then said the young men of the king, who waited upon him, - Let them seek out for the king young virgins, of pleasing appearance;

and the maiden was pleasing in his eyes, and she received lovingkindness before him, and he hastened to give her, the things needed for her purification, and things apportioned her, and to give her, seven select maidens, out of the house of the king, - and he removed her and her maidens to the best place in the house of the women.

And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favour and lovingkindness before him, above all the virgins, - so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen, instead of Vashti.

Esther had not told of her kindred, nor her people, as, Mordecai, had laid charge upon her, - and, the command of Mordecai, Esther performed, like as when she was being brought up with him.

After these things, did King Ahasuerus promote to power Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and exalted him, - and placed his seat above all the rulers who were with him.

And, all the kings servants who were in the kings gate, used to bend and bow themselves down unto Haman, for, so, had the king given command concerning him, - but, Mordecai, bent not nor bowed himself down.

Wherefore art, thou, transgressing the command of the king? And it came to pass, when they had spoken unto him day by day, and he had not hearkened unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether the account of Mordecai would stand, for he had told them, that, he, was a Jew.

And, when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bend nor bow down unto him, then was Haman filled with wrath;

but, it was contemptible in his eyes, to thrust forth a hand on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai, - and Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout all the kingdom of Ahasuerus, the people of Mordecai.

So the maidens of Esther and her eunuchs went in and told her, and the queen writhed in great anguish, - and sent garments to clothe Mordecai, and to remove his sackcloth from off him, but he accepted them not.

Then called Esther for Hathach, one of the eunuchs of the king whom he had stationed before her, and charged him, concerning Mordecai, - to get to know what this was, and why this was.

And Mordecai told him all that had befallen him, - and an exact statement of the silver, that Haman had promised to weigh out unto the treasuries of the king, for the Jews, to destroy them.

Also, a copy of the writing of the edict which had been given in Shusan to destroy them, gave he unto him, to shew unto Esther, and to tell her, - and to lay charge upon her, to go in unto the king - to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him, for her people.

Then spake Esther unto Hathach, - and gave him charge, unto Mordecai: -

All the servants of the king, and the people of the provinces of the king, do know, that, whatsoever man or woman shall go in unto the king - into the inter court - who hath not been called, one, is his law, to put him to death, saving any to whom the king may hold out the golden sceptre, who then shall live, - but, I, have not been called to go in unto the king, these thirty days.

So Mordecai departed, - and did according to all that Esther had charged upon him.

Then said Esther, If, unto the king, it seem good, let the king with Haman come in this day, unto the banquet which I have prepared for him.

Then went Haman forth on that day, joyful and of a merry heart, - but, when Haman saw Mordecai in the gate of the king, that he rose not up nor moved because of him, then was Haman filled with wrath against Mordecai.