At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus -- for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women --

When it became the turn of Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai (who had raised her as if she were his own daughter) to go to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who was overseer of the women, had recommended. Yet Esther met with the approval of all who saw her.

Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her. Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

The king then had the matter investigated and, finding it to be so, had the two conspirators hanged on a gallows. It was then recorded in the daily chronicles in the king's presence.

As a result, all the king's servants who were at the king's gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow, nor did he pay him homage.

And after they had spoken to him day after day without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai's part would be permitted. Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew.

But the thought of striking out against Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed of the identity of Mordecai's people. So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Now when Mordecai became aware of all that had been done, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the city, crying out in a loud and bitter voice.

So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs who had been placed at her service, and instructed him to find out the cause and reason for Mordecai's behavior.

Then Mordecai related to him everything that had happened to him, even the specific amount of money that Haman had offered to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews to be destroyed.

He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people.

So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.

The king replied, "Find Haman quickly so that we can do as Esther requests." So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, his many sons, and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king's other officials and servants.

Haman's wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Have a gallows seventy-five feet high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented." It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

it was found written that Mordecai had disclosed that Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted to assassinate King Ahasuerus.

Then the king said, "Who is that in the courtyard?" Now Haman had come to the outer courtyard of the palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had constructed for him.

Haman then related to his wife Zeresh and to all his friends everything that had happened to him. These wise men, along with his wife Zeresh, said to him, "If indeed this Mordecai before whom you have begun to fall is Jewish, you will not prevail against him. No, you will surely fall before him!"

While they were still speaking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived. They quickly brought Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

For we have been sold -- both I and my people -- to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation! If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, for such distress would not have been sufficient for troubling the king."

In rage the king arose from the banquet of wine and withdrew to the palace garden. Meanwhile, Haman stood to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king had now determined a catastrophic end for him.

So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king's rage then abated.

On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her.

The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman's estate.

Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet. She wept and begged him for mercy, that he might nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite which he had intended against the Jews.

Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king's edict and his law arrived, the Jews experienced happiness and joy, banquets and holidays. Many of the resident peoples pretended to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had overcome them.

In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies.

All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who performed the king's business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.

So the Jews committed themselves to continue what they had begun to do and to what Mordecai had written to them.

For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised plans against the Jews to destroy them. He had cast pur (that is, the lot) in order to afflict and destroy them.

But when the matter came to the king's attention, the king gave written orders that Haman's evil intentions that he had devised against the Jews should fall on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows.

Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis.

to establish these days of Purim in their proper times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as they had established both for themselves and their descendants, matters pertaining to fasting and lamentation.

His possessions included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. Thus he was the greatest of all the people in the east.

When Job's three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country -- Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to come to show sympathy for him and to console him.

He frustrates the plans of the crafty so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had planned!

They were distressed, because each one had been so confident; they arrived there, but were disappointed.

I should have been as though I had never existed; I should have been carried right from the womb to the grave!

People who had seen him will not see him again, and the place where he was will recognize him no longer.

for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him;

After I had spoken, they did not respond; my words fell on them drop by drop.

Moreover, the strength of their hands -- what use was it to me? Men whose strength had perished;

so that they had to live in the dry stream beds, in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.

if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth, or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,

But no stranger had to spend the night outside, for I opened my doors to the traveler --

"If only I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature -- let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment that my accuser had written.

Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the others were older than he was.

But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry.

It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had a head of white hair.

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen you.

After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.

So they went, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and did just as the Lord had told them; and the Lord had respect for Job.

So the Lord restored what Job had lost after he prayed for his friends, and the Lord doubled all that had belonged to Job.

So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

So the Lord blessed the second part of Job's life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

The nations fell into the pit they had made; their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.

You rescue me from a hostile army; you make me a leader of nations; people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.

If we had rejected our God, and spread out our hands in prayer to another god,

I say, "I wish I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and settle in a safe place!

If I had harbored sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

If I had publicized these thoughts, I would have betrayed your loyal followers.

They forgot what he had done, the amazing things he had shown them.

They did not remember what he had done, how he delivered them from the enemy,

If the Lord had not helped me, I would have laid down in the silence of death.

where your ancestors challenged my authority, and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work.

So I made a vow in my anger, 'They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.'"

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

He handed the territory of nations over to them, and they took possession of what other peoples had produced,

They quickly forgot what he had done; they did not wait for his instructions.

In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving for meat; they challenged God in the desert.

They did not destroy the nations, as the Lord had commanded them to do.

Many times he delivered them, but they had a rebellious attitude, and degraded themselves by their sin.

because they had rebelled against God's commands, and rejected the instructions of the sovereign king.

He loved to curse others, so those curses have come upon him. He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings.

I had faith when I said, "I am severely oppressed."

If I had not found encouragement in your law, I would have died in my sorrow.

For too long I have had to reside with those who hate peace.

Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor! For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.

We have had our fill of the taunts of the self-assured, of the contempt of the proud.

A song of ascents, by David. "If the Lord had not been on our side" -- let Israel say this! --

if the Lord had not been on our side, when men attacked us,

I saw that thorns had grown up all over it, the ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down.

Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: "All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless -- like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth."

For he came out of prison to become king, even though he had been born poor in what would become his kingdom.

Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.

Scarcely had I passed them by when I found my beloved! I held onto him tightly and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother's house, to the bedroom chamber of the one who conceived me.

I opened for my beloved, but my lover had already turned and gone away. I fell into despair when he departed. I looked for him but did not find him; I called him but he did not answer me.

The Lover to His Beloved: I went down to the orchard of walnut trees, to look for the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines had budded or if the pomegranates were in bloom.

The Beloved to Her Lover: Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-Hamon; he leased out the vineyard to those who maintained it. Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.

If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly become like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah.

I will sing to my love -- a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly.

But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.

At that time every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun with thorns and briers.

I then had sexual relations with the prophetess; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,

Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched, and the people became fuel for the fire. People had no compassion on one another.

They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, "Don't respond to him."

Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.

When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.