Also the hand of God was upon Judah to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD.

Has not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, You shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?

But Hezekiah returned not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, and bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

And they broke down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the idol poles, and the carved images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and made dust of them, and scattered it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.

And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.

Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even 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 unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.

Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon its inhabitants. So they brought the king word again.

And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, who were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall no longer be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel,

So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.

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 they set the altar upon its bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned an answer by letter concerning this matter.

And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.

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.

That you may buy promptly with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.

Also we inform you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them.

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.

And has extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel leading men to go up with me.

And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;

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.

Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.

And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having torn my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,

And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that you our God has punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and has given us such deliverance as this;

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and because of the heavy rain.

Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you: both I and my father's house have sinned.

And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which pertains to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the temple that I shall enter into. And the king so granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any animal with me, except the animal that I rode upon.

Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

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

And it came to pass, that when the Jews who dwelt near them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places where you shall return unto us they will be upon you.

They who built on the wall, and they that bore burdens, so burdened themselves, everyone with one of his hands worked in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.

And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

There were also those that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tax, and that upon our lands and vineyards.

But the former governors that had been before me laid burdens upon the people, and had taken of them food and wine, besides forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bore rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.

Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days abundant stores of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the food allowance 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.

Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no break left in it; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)

Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in the same way the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;

My God, think you upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.

And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

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.

So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the water gate, and in the square at the gate of Ephraim.

Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and in sackcloth, and earth upon their heads.

Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God.

And showed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for you knew that they dealt arrogantly against them. So did you get you a name, as it is this day.

You came down also upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:

Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before you, that has come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, 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 unto this day.

Yet you are just in all that is brought upon us; for you have done right, but we have done wickedly:

And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law:

Then I brought up the leaders of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, of which one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the refuse gate:

And the other company of them that gave thanks went the opposite of them, and I followed them, with half of the people upon the wall, going past the tower of the ovens even unto the broad wall;

Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.

Where there were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white and black marble.

To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look upon.

Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's eunuch, the keeper of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her.

And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

And the letters were sent by couriers 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.

Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, opposite the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, opposite the entrance of the house.

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.

Let the royal robes be brought which the king has worn, and the horse that the king rides upon, and the royal crown which is set upon his head:

Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed on which Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.

Then king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.

Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.

So the couriers that rode upon royal horses went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's command. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.

And in every province, and in every city, wherever the king's command and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their harm: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.

And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and officials of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.

Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.

But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked plot, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

The Jews ordained, and took upon themselves, and upon their descendants, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to what was written, and according to their appointed time every year;

And king Ahasuerus imposed tribute upon the land, and upon the coastlands of the sea.

And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone am escaped to tell you.

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone am escaped to tell you.

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

Then Job arose, and tore his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped,

Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.

And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they tore every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.

As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not rejoice among the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

For the thing which I greatly feared has come upon me, and that which I was afraid of has come unto me.

But now it is come upon you, and you faint; it touches you, and you are troubled.

Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

Who gives rain upon the earth, and sends waters upon the fields:

Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.

Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of a hireling?

The eye of him that has seen me shall see me no more: your eyes are upon me, and I am not.

What is man, that you should magnify him? and that you should set your heart upon him?

(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)

He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

Who alone spreads out the heavens, and treads upon the waves of the sea.

Neither is there any mediator between us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.