Now when it was each young woman’s turn to go before King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with [sweet] spices and perfumes and the beauty preparations for women—

Now as for Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her in as his [own] daughter, when her turn came to go in to the king, she requested nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch [and attendant] who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the sight of all who saw her.

And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.

Esther had not revealed her family or her people [that is, her Jewish background], just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her just as when she was under his care.

Now when the plot was investigated and found to be true, both men were hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the king’s presence.

Now it happened when they had spoken to him day after day and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason [for his behavior] would stand [as valid]; for he had told them that he was a Jew.

When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, he was furious.

Now when Mordecai learned of everything that had been done, he tore his clothes [in mourning], and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the center of the city and cried out loudly and bitterly.

When Esther’s maids and her eunuchs came and told her [what had happened], the queen was seized by great fear. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai so that he would remove his sackcloth, but he did not accept them.

When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she found favor in his sight; and the king extended to her the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.

Haman went away that day joyful and in good spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate refusing to stand up or show fear before him, he was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom, it shall be done.”

When the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even attempt to assault the queen with me in the palace?” As the king spoke those words, the servants covered Haman’s face [in preparation for execution].

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.

But when it came before the king, he commanded in writing that Haman’s wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews was to return on his own head, and that he and his sons should [endure what he planned for the Jews and] be hanged on the gallows.

When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering 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.” Job did this at all [such] times.

Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them.

Now there was a day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

Again there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

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

When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him [because of his disfigurement], they raised their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe [in grief] and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky [in sorrow].

“Why did I not die at birth,
Come forth from the womb and expire?

Who rejoice exceedingly,
And rejoice when they find the grave?

“Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,

“The hungry devour his harvest
And take it even [when it grows] among the thorns;
The trap opens for [his] wealth.

“You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

“Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or does the ox low over his fodder?

When it is warm, they are silent and cease to flow;
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

“When I lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise [and the night be gone]?’
But the night continues,
And I am continually tossing until the dawning of day.

“When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ease my complaint,’

“While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other plant [when without water].

“It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know it,
When He overturns them in His anger;

“When [His] scourge kills suddenly,
He mocks at the despair of the innocent.

“Should your boasts and babble silence men?
And shall you scoff and no one put you to shame?

“For He recognizes and knows false and worthless men,
And He sees wickedness, will He not consider it?

“But a hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wise
[Only] when the colt of a wild donkey is born as a man.

“I am a joke to my friends;
I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him—
A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.

“Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)?
Shall we go down together in the dust?”

“Even young children despise me;
When I get up, they speak against me.

“When he fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will rain it upon him while he is eating.

“Even when I remember, I am troubled and afraid;
Horror and trembling take hold of my flesh.

“For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead,
When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?

“When he is carried to his grave,
A guard will keep watch over his tomb.

“When you are cast down and humbled, you will speak with confidence,
And the humble person He will lift up and save.

“But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it].
When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].

“Therefore I would be terrified at His presence;
When I consider [all of this], I tremble in dread of Him.

“Yet God draws away the mighty by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

“For what is the hope of the godless, even though he has gained [in this world],
When God takes his life?

“Will God hear his cry
When trouble and distress come upon him?

“When He gave weight and pressure to the wind
And allotted the waters by measure,

When He made a limit for the rain
And a way for the thunderbolt,

“Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
As in the days when God watched over me,

When His lamp shone upon my head
And by His light I walked through darkness;

As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship and counsel of God were over my tent,

When the Almighty was still with me
And my boys were around me,

When my steps [through rich pastures] were washed with butter and cream [from my livestock],
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil [from my olive groves].

“When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat [as a city father] in the square,

“For when an ear heard [my name mentioned], it called me happy and fortunate;
And when an eye saw [me], it testified for me [approvingly],

“I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not diminish the light of my face.

“When I expected good, then came evil [to me];
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

“If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants
When they filed a complaint against me,

What then could I do when God arises [to judge me]?
When He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

If I have lifted my hand against the orphan,
Because I saw [that the judges would be] my help at the [council] gate,

If I beheld the sun [as an object of worship] when it shone
Or the moon going in its splendor,

“Have I rejoiced at the destruction of the enemy [who hated me],
Or exulted [in malicious triumph] when evil overtook him?

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he burned with anger.

“In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice],
When deep sleep falls on men
While slumbering upon the bed,

“Man is also disciplined with pain on his bed,
And with unceasing complaint in his bones,

“When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make supplication to Him],
Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—

“Shall God’s retribution [for your sins] be on your terms, because you refuse to accept it?
For you must do the choosing, and not I;
Therefore say what you [truthfully] know.

“Even though you say that you do not see Him [when missing His righteous judgment on earth],
Yet your case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!

“But the godless in heart store up anger [at the divine discipline];
They do not cry [to Him] for help when He binds them [with cords of affliction].

“Do not long for the night,
When people vanish from their places.

“After it, His voice roars;
He thunders with the voice of His majesty,
And He does not restrain His lightning [against His adversaries] when His voice is heard.

You whose garments are hot,
When He quiets the earth [in sultry summer] with the [oppressive] south wind?

“Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded],
When the wind has passed and cleared them.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.

When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?

“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When it burst forth and went out of the womb;

When I made the clouds its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,

When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?

When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?

“Who provides prey for the raven
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?

“Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock give birth [to their young]?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?

“Can you count the months that they carry offspring,
Or do you know the time when they give birth?

“They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They cast out their labor pains.

“Yet when she lifts herself on high,
[So swift is she that] she laughs at the horse and his rider.

“Can anyone capture him when he is on watch,
Or pierce his nose with barbs [to trap him]?

“The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immobile [when he moves].

“When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.

The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have freed me when I was hemmed in and relieved me when I was in distress;
Be gracious to me and hear [and respond to] my prayer.

But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself [and dealt wonderfully with] the godly man [the one of honorable character and moral courage—the one who does right].
The Lord hears and responds when I call to Him.

You have put joy in my heart,
More than [others know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.

When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have established,

When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and perish before You.

He lurks in a hiding place like a lion in his lair;
He lies in wait to catch the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.

And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores His captive people,
Then Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.