Are You not our God? Did You not drive out the people of this land before Israel, and give it to the seed of Your friend Abraham forever?

And now, behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them,

And when Judah came to the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked at the multitude. And behold! They were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

And Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their plunder, they found among them in abundance both riches and precious jewels in great number with the dead bodies, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. And they were three days in gathering of the plunder, it was so much.

And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and did not depart from it, doing the right in the sight of Jehovah.

And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel; he did wickedly to do so.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like the house of Ahab for he had the daughter of Ahab for a wife. And he did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah.

And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah like the house of Ahab. For they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his ruin.

And Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, and she arose and spoke to destroy all the royal seed of the house of Judah.

But Jehoshabeath the daughter of the king took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons who were killed. And she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. And Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah) hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him.

And the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded. And every man took his men who were to come in on the sabbath, with the ones who were to go out on the sabbath. For Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions.

And Joash did the right in the eyes of Jehovah all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

And he gathered together the priests and the Levites and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather silver from all Israel to repair the house of your God from year to year. And see that you hasten the matter. And the Levites did not hasten it.

And it happened at the time the chest was brought into the king's office by the Levites, and when they saw that the silver was abundant, the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and carried it to its place again. So they did day by day, and gathered a great amount of silver.

And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Jehovah. And they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of Jehovah, and also artisans in iron and bronze, to mend the house of Jehovah.

And Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. And when he died, he said, Jehovah will seek you out.

And when they had departed from him (for they left him in great diseases), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died. And they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

And he did the right in the eyes of Jehovah, but not with a perfect heart.

But he did not kill their sons, but as it is written in the Law in the book of Moses, where Jehovah commanded, saying, The father shall not die for the sons, nor shall the sons die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

And he did the right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father Amaziah did.

And he did the right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father Uzziah did. Only, he did not enter into the temple of Jehovah. And the people still did evilly.

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. But he did not do the right in the sight of Jehovah, like David his father.

And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came to him and troubled him, but did not strengthen him.

And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem. But they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel. And his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

And he did the right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that David his father had done.

For our fathers have sinned and did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah our God, and have forsaken Him, and have turned away their faces from the house of Jehovah, and have turned their backs.

And Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and did the good and the right and the true before Jehovah his God.

And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

But Hezekiah did not give again according to the good done to him, for his heart was lifted up. And there was wrath on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

And Hezekiah was humbled for the pride of his heart, he and the people of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of Jehovah did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah.

But he did the evil in the sight of Jehovah, like the abominations of the heathen whom Jehovah had cast out before the sons of Israel.

And he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He also practiced secret arts, and used fortune-telling, and used witchcraft, and dealt with mediums, and with soothsayers. He did much evil in the sight of Jehovah in order to provoke Him to anger.

And he did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, as his father Manasseh did; and to all the graven images that his father Manasseh had made, Amon sacrificed, and served them.

And he did not bow before Jehovah, like the humbling of his father Manasseh. For Amon himself multiplied guilt.

And he did the right in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the ways of David his father, and did not turn aside to the right nor to the left.

And so he did in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon, even to Naphtali, with their tools round about.

And the men did the work faithfully. And the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, and of the Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music;

And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the territories that belonged to the sons of Israel. And he made all that were present in Israel to serve, to serve Jehovah their God. All his days they did not depart from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers.

And they removed the burnt offerings so that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer to Jehovah, as it is written in the book of Moses; and so they did to the oxen.

But he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I do not come against you today, but against the house with which I have war. For God commanded me to make haste. You must cease from opposing God, who is with me, so that He does not destroy you.

But Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him. And he did not listen to the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did the evil in the sight of Jehovah his God.

And 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 place.

Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. And he did the evil in the sight of Jehovah.

And he did the evil in the sight of Jehovah his God. He was not humbled before Jeremiah the prophet, from the mouth of Jehovah.

Then Tatnai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.

And I gathered them to the river which runs to Ahava. And we stayed there in tents three days. And I looked over the people and the priests, and did not find there any of the sons of Levi.

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 the sons of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by names, were separated. And they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

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 I arose in the night, I and some few men with me. And I did not tell to a man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem. And there was no animal with me, except the animal that I rode upon.

And the rulers did not know where I had gone, nor what I was doing. Nor had I told the Jews as yet, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

And next to them the Tekoites repaired. But their nobles did not put their necks to the work of their Lord.

And I said to them, According to our ability we have redeemed our brothers, the Jews who were sold to the nations. And will you even sell your brothers? Or shall they be sold to us? And they were silent and did not find an answer.

Please even today give back to them their lands, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the wine, and the oil, that you take from them.

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.

and gave out signs and wonders upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants and upon all the people of his land. For You knew that they were acting proudly against them. So You got Yourself a name, as today.

But they and our fathers acted proudly and hardened their necks, and did not listen to Your commandments.

And they refused to obey, neither were they mindful of Your wonders which You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and did not forsake them.

yet You in Your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to show them light and the way in which they should go.

You also gave Your good Spirit to teach them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.

And forty years You sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing; their clothes did not become old, and their feet did not swell.

But after they had rest, they did evil again before You, and You left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the rule over them. But they returned and cried to You, and You heard from Heaven. And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies,

and testified against them that You might bring them again to Your Law. But they acted proudly and did not listen to Your commandments, but sinned against Your judgments (which if a man do, he shall live in them), and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

But for Your great mercies, You did not completely destroy them nor forsake them. For You are a gracious and merciful God.

For they have not served You in their kingdom, and in Your great goodness which You gave them, and in the large and rich land which You gave before them, and they did not turn from their wicked works.

Behold, we are servants today. And the land that You gave to our fathers to eat its fruit, and its good, behold, we are servants in it.

And their brothers who did the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two. And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah,

because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them so that he should curse them. But our God turned the curse into a blessing.

And I came to Jerusalem, and understood the evil which Eliashib did for Tobiah in preparing him a room in the courts of the house of God.

And I saw that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; for the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each one to his field.

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 testified against them, and said to them, Why do you stay around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But women from other lands caused even him to sin.

For the matter of the queen shall go out to all women, so that their husbands shall be despised in their eyes, and it shall be reported that King Ahasuerus commanded to bring Vashti the queen in before him, but she did not come.

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 the saying pleased the king and the princes. And the king did according to the word of Memucan.

And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king, and he did so.

And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter. For she had neither father nor mother, and the young woman was fair and beautiful, whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.

And Mordecai walked every day in front of the court of the women's house in order to know how Esther did and what was to become of her.

She went in the evening, and on the next day she returned to the second house of the women, into the hand of Shaashgaz, the king's officer who kept the concubines. She did not come in to the king any more, unless the king delighted in her, and she was called by name.

Esther had not yet revealed her kindred nor her people, as Mordecai had commanded her. For Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai as she did when she was brought up with him.

And all the king's servants in the king's gate bowed and worshiped Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow nor worship.

And it happened when they spoke daily to him, and when he did not listen to them, they told Haman, to see if Mordecai's matters would stand. For he had told them that he was a Jew.

And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow nor worship him, then Haman was full of wrath.

And Esther's servant women and her eunuchs came and told her. And the queen was exceedingly grieved, and she sent clothing to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him. But he did not receive it.

And Mordecai passed over and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

And Esther answered, If it is good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet which I have prepared for him.

And Haman went forth that day joyful and with a glad heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he did not stand up nor move for him, he was full of fury against Mordecai.

And the Jews struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would to those who hated them.

they killed the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the spoil.

For the Jews in Shushan gathered themselves on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and killed three hundred men at Shushan. But they did not lay their hands on the spoil.

But the rest of the Jews in the king's provinces gathered themselves and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their foes. But they did not lay their hands on the spoil.

And when they had gone around the day of feasting, Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. So Job did always.

And, behold, a great wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead. And I only have escaped alone to tell you.

In all this Job did not sin, nor charge God foolishly.

But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish ones speak. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips.