And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead. And they thrust him out quickly from there. Yea, he himself also hastened to go out, because LORD had smitten him.

And Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper. For he was cut off from the house of LORD, and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.

And the sons of Israel carried away captive of their brothers two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and also took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

Then certain of the heads of the sons of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war,

For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the sight of LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of LORD, and turned their backs.

Therefore the wrath of LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to be tossed to and fro, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with LORD, the God of Israel, that his fierce anger may turn away from us.

So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem. For they had not kept it in great numbers in

So the posts went with the letters from the king and his rulers throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye sons of Israel, turn again to LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, th

Now be ye not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he has sanctified forever, and serve LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you.

For if ye turn again to LORD, your brothers and your sons shall find compassion before those who led them captive, and shall come again into this land. For LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face fro

So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun. But they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.

And they stood in their place after their order, according to the law of Moses the man of God; the priests sprinkled the blood [which they received] from the hand of the Levites.

besides those who were reckoned by genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even everyone that entered into the house of LORD, as the duty of every day required, for their service in their offices according to their div

and those who were reckoned by genealogy of the priests by their fathers' houses, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their offices by their divisions,

Thus LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all [others], and guided them on every side.

And many brought gifts to LORD to Jerusalem, and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah. So that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.

neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from off the land which I have appointed for your fathers, if only they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, even all the law and the statutes and the ordinances [give

For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father. And in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the Asherim, and the graven im

And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the sons of Israel, and made all who were found in Israel to serve, even to serve LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following

And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer. And the porters were at every gate. They did not need to depart from their service, fo

And there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet. Neither did any of the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that

But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? [I come] not against thee this day, but against the house with which I have war, and God has commanded me to make haste. Cease thee from [medd

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

And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet [speaking] from the mouth of LORD.

And those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia,

All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up when those of the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

And these were those who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, [and] Immer, but they could not show their fathers' houses, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:

These sought their registration [among] those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found. Therefore were they deemed polluted and put away from the priesthood.

From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt-offerings to LORD. But the foundation of the temple of LORD was not yet laid.

Also they gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters, and food, and drink, and oil, to those of Sidon, and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus

So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from thee have come to us to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and the evil city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.

Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, an

Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the River, be ye far from there:

Also I have made a decree, that whoever shall alter this word, let a beam be pulled out from his house, and let him be lifted up and fastened thereon, and let his house be made a dunghill for this.

And the sons of Israel who came again out of the captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek LORD, the God of Israel, ate,

this Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which LORD, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of 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.

Forasmuch as thou are sent from the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand,

Now these are the heads of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth [day] of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushment by the way.

Now when these things were done, the rulers drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, [doing] according to their abominations, even

And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to LORD my God,

And now for a little moment grace has been shown from LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

which thou have commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from o

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. And [when] he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water, for he mourned because of the trespass of those of the captivit

And that whoever did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.

Now therefore make confession to LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.

but if ye return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name

After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired another portion, from the turning [of the wall] to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another portion, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another portion, from the house of Azariah to the turning [of the wall], and to the corner.

Palal the son of Uzai [repaired] opposite the turning [of the wall], and the tower that stands out from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh [repaired].

and do not cover their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee, for they have provoked [thee] to anger before the builders.

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

And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants labored in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail. And the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

And I said to the ranking men, 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.

So we labored in the work, and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.

Then they said, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them, so will we do, even as thou say. Then I called the priests, and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.

Also I shook out my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, who does not perform this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen, and praised LORD. And th

Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, [that is], twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bre

But the former governors who were before me charged the people, and took bread and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not so, because of the fear of God.

Moreover there were at my table, of the Jews and the rulers, a hundred and fifty men, besides those who came to us from among the nations that were round about us.

For they all would have made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work that it not be done. But now, [O God], strengthen thou my hands.

And these were those who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not show their fathers' house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel:

These sought their registration [among] those who were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found. Therefore they were deemed polluted and put from the priesthood.

And some from among the heads of fathers gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.

And he read in it before the broad place that was before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were [attentive] t

Also day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.

And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. And blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted abo

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

And thou gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and commanded them that they should go in to possess the land which thou had sworn to give them.

yet thou in thy manifold mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud did not depart from over them by day to lead them in the way, neither the pillar of fire by night to show them light, and the way in which

Thou also gave thy good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold thy manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.

Therefore thou delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them. And in the time of their trouble, when they cried to thee, thou heard from heaven, and according to thy manifold mercies thou gave them saviors

But after they had rest, they again did evil before thee. Therefore thou left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them. Yet when they returned, and cried to thee, thou heard from heaven, and many t

For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gave them, and in the large and fat land which thou gave before them, neither did they turn from their wicked works.

And the rest of the people--the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters,

And if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day. And that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.

For there was a commandment from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as every day required.

Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and the fields of it, Azekah and the towns of it. So they encamped from Beersheba to the valley of Hinnom.

The sons of Benjamin also [dwelt] from Geba [onward], at Michmash and Aija, and at Bethel and the towns of it,

And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites,

also from Beth-gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built for them villages round about Jerusalem.

And it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.

Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why do ye lodge around the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth they came no more on the Sabbath.

And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me.

Thus I cleansed them from all foreigners, and appointed charges for the priests and for the Levites, each one in his work,

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces),

And they gave them drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in abundance according to the bounty of the king.

If it please the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus, and let the king gi

who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.

And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from him. And he quickly gave her things for purification, with her portions, and the seven maidens who were suitable to be given her out of the king's house. And he removed her

In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, [to] the twelfth [month], which is the month Adar.

And Haman said to king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws are diverse from [those of] every people, nor do they keep the king's

And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.

And Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came and told it to her. And the queen was exceedingly grieved. And she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off him, but he did not receive it.

For if thou altogether keep quiet at this time, then relief and deliverance will arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father's house will perish. And who knows whether thou have not come to the kingdom for such a