And when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, came to go in to the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained grace in the sight of all them that saw her.

(Esther, as Mordecai had charged her, had not yet made known her birth nor her people; for Esther did what Mordecai told her, like as when she was brought up with him.)

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

And it came to pass as they spoke daily to him, and he hearkened not to them, that they informed Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.

But he scorned 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 in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus the people of Mordecai.

Then Esther called for Hatach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to wait upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was.

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

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

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

And the king said, Hasten Haman, that it may be done as Esther has said. And the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

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

And Haman said, Yea, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to-morrow also I am invited to her with the king.

And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, keepers of the threshold, who had sought to lay hand on king Ahasuerus.

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

And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and to all his friends all that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife to him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but wilt certainly fall before him.

While they were yet talking with him, the king's chamberlains came, and hasted to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the adversary could not compensate the king's damage.

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. And the king's wrath was appeased.

On that day did king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews' oppressor to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her.

And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

And Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device which he had devised against the Jews.

The Jews had light, and joy, and gladness, and honour.

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

And in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day thereof, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them (but it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had power over them that hated them),

the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout the provinces of king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt. And no man could withstand them; for the fear of them had fallen upon all the peoples.

And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors and officers of the king, helped the Jews; for the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.

And the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their life, and had rest from their enemies; and they slew of them that hated them seventy-five thousand (but they laid not their hand on the prey),

And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them.

For Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the oppressor of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them and to destroy them;

and when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head; and they hanged him and his sons on the gallows.

Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore, according to all the words of this letter, and for what they had seen concerning this matter and what had happened to them,

to confirm these days of Purim in their fixed times, according as Mordecai the Jew and queen Esther had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, as to the matters of the fastings and their cry.

For now should I have lain down and been quiet; I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

Or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver;

Or as a hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants that have not seen the light.

I was not in safety, neither had I quietness, neither was I at rest, and trouble came.

He is wise in heart and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and had peace?

If I had called, and he had answered me, I would not believe that he hearkened to my voice, --

And wherefore didst thou bring me forth out of the womb? I had expired, and no eye had seen me.

I should be as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it.

For I delivered the afflicted that cried, and the fatherless who had no helper.

If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;

Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold my signature: let the Almighty answer me! And let mine opponent write an accusation!

But Elihu had waited till Job had finished speaking, because they were older than he.

For thou hast asked of what profit it is unto thee: what do I gain more than if I had sinned?

I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee:

And it came to pass after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, Mine anger is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken rightly of me, like my servant Job.

Then Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did according as Jehovah had said unto them; and Jehovah accepted Job.

And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he had prayed for his friends; and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before.

And all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house, and they condoled with him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him; and every one gave him a piece of money, and every one a golden ring.

And Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.

And he had seven sons and three daughters.

{To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of Jehovah, who spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul. And he said,} I will love thee, O Jehovah, my strength.

For had my father and my mother forsaken me, then had Jehovah taken me up.

Unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah in the land of the living ...!

I behaved myself as though he had been a friend, a brother to me; I bowed down in sadness, as one that mourneth for a mother.

If we had forgotten the name of our God, and stretched out our hands to a strange god,

{To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.} Be gracious unto me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according to the abundance of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away, and be at rest;

Had I regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear.

But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped;

And forgot his doings, and his marvellous works which he had shewn them.

In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.

Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens,

And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens.

And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men,

Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, that Israel had walked in my ways!

For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

If Jehovah had not been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen:

Egypt rejoiced at their departure; for the fear of them had fallen upon them.

They forgot God their Saviour, who had done great things in Egypt,

And he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses, his chosen, stood before him in the breach, to turn away his fury, lest he should destroy them.

And he caused them to find compassion of all those that had carried them captives.

Because they had rebelled against the words of God, and had despised the counsel of the Most High; ...

This I have had, because I have observed thy precepts.

They had almost consumed me upon the earth; but as for me, I forsook not thy precepts.

Unless thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in mine affliction.

{A Song of degrees. Of David.} If it had not been Jehovah who was for us oh let Israel say --

If it had not been Jehovah who was for us, when men rose up against us,

Then they had swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;

Then the waters had overwhelmed us, a torrent had gone over our soul;

Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.

while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

and lo, it was all grown over with thistles, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and its stone wall was broken down.

I acquired servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that had been in Jerusalem before me.

And I became great, and increased more than all that had been before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that it had cost me to do them; and behold, all was vanity and pursuit of the wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

And I hated all my labour wherewith I had been toiling under the sun, because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

Then I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour wherewith I had laboured under the sun.

And I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors was power, and they had no comforter.

And I have also seen the wicked buried and going away; and such as had acted rightly went from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city. This also is vanity.

Scarcely had I passed from them, When I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, Until I had brought him into my mother's house, And into the chamber of her that conceived me.

I opened to my beloved; But my beloved had withdrawn himself; he was gone: My soul went forth when he spoke. I sought him, but I found him not; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon: He let out the vineyard unto keepers; Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand silver-pieces.

Unless Jehovah of hosts had left us a very small residue, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

I will sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard: My well-beloved had a vineyard upon a fruitful hill.

Seraphim were standing above him: each had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he flew.

And one of the seraphim flew unto me, and he had in his hand a glowing coal, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar;