But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war: for God commanded me to make haste: cease from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroys you not.

Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchers of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.

And the king of Egypt dethroned him at Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a tribute of 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. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.

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

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, 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 was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.

And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart against turning unto the LORD God of Israel.

Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that was stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.

And those that had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia:

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has the LORD God of heaven given me; and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has charged me to build him a house at 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 the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.

And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with animals, besides the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of the fathers' houses, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as you do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Your servants the men on this side the river, send greetings.

They sent a letter unto him, in which was written thus; Unto Darius the king, all peace.

And said unto him, Take these articles, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.

Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be impaled thereon; and let his house be made a pile of rubble because of this.

This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

For upon the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

And whosoever will not do the law of your God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto 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 were registered by genealogy of the men a hundred and fifty.

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

Of the sons of Shecaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred men.

Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty men.

And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy men.

And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore men.

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

And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and threescore men.

And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight men.

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

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

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

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 them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.

Now on the fourth day were the silver and the gold and the articles weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept bitterly.

And said, I beseech you, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, that keeps covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

O Lord, I beseech you, let now your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who desire to fear your name: and prosper, I pray you, your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

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

And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall your journey be? and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

And next unto him built the men of Jericho. And next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri.

Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the perfumers, and they restored Jerusalem unto the broad wall.

And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, opposite his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabneiah.

And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.

After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half district of Beth-zur, unto the place opposite the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was man made, and unto the house of the mighty men.

After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half district of Keilah, in his district.

After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half district of Keilah.

And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the turning of the wall.

After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired another section, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

After him repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz another section, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.

After him repaired Benjamin and Hasshub opposite their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house.

After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another section, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner.

Palal the son of Uzai, made repairs opposite the turning of the wall, and the tower which projects out from the king's upper house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs.

After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer opposite his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east gate.

After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another section. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah opposite his chamber.

After him repaired Malchijah the goldsmith's son unto the house of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, opposite the gate Hammiphkad, and to the upper chamber of the corner.

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox goes up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as you say, but you invent them out of your own heart.

And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.

Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.

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

You are the LORD, the God who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

And found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his descendants, and have performed your words; for you are righteous:

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

And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where previously they stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers; and the offerings of the priests.

And I came to Jerusalem, and discovered the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin.

And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the 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 feast unto all his princes and his servants; the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:

But queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his eunuchs: therefore was the king very angry, and his anger burned within him.

And next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and who sat first in the kingdom;)

For this deed of the queen shall become known to all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be said, King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.

If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.

Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be beautiful young virgins sought out for the king:

And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her beautifying ointments, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, who were suitable to be given her, out of the king's house: and he moved her and her maidens unto the best place of the house of the women.

Esther had not yet made known her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai, just as when she was brought up with him.

After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and paid homage to Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor paid him homage.

Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's words would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew.

And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor paid him homage, then was Haman full of wrath.

And he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to him the people of Mordecai: therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.

So Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and told it to her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent garments to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not.

Then called Esther for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, whom he had appointed to attend to her, and gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what it was, and why it was.

And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.

Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.

Again Esther spoke unto Hathach, and gave him command concerning Mordecai;

All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.

So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.

Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor trembled before him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.

And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak you unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go you in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

And the king said, What honor and dignity has been bestowed upon Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.

And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman had come into the outer court of the king's house, to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.