In those days Hezekiah fell ill unto death, and he prayed to Yahweh. And he answered him and gave him a sign.

Notwithstanding, Hezekiah meekened himself for the arising of his heart, both he and the inhabiters of Jerusalem. Wherefore the wrath of the LORD fell not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

And this same Hezekiah blocked off the flow of the waters of the upper Gihon, and directed them down the west [side] of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.

They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair.

Then the king stood at his post and made a covenant in the Lord’s presence to follow the Lord and to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul in order to carry out the words of the covenant written in this book.

Josiah also removed all the detestable things from the territories that belonged to the people of Israel, and made everyone who lived in Israel to serve the LORD their God. For the rest of his life, they didn't abandon their quest to follow the LORD God of their ancestors.

After this, because the priests, who were descendants of Aaron, were busy offering the burnt offerings and fat portions until evening, the descendants of Levi prepared the Passover for themselves and their fellow-descendants of Aaron, the priests.

The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king's prophet. The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them.

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

to fulfill the Word of Jehovah in the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of the desolation it kept the sabbath, to the full measure of seventy years.

Furthermore, everyone who wishes to repatriate from any territory where he now resides is to receive assistance from his fellow residents in the form of silver, gold, equipment, and pack animals, in addition to voluntary offerings for the Temple of the God of Jerusalem.

Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

Also, I issue a decree as to what you are to do for these Jewish elders for the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the River, and that without delay.

And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:

And kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them full of joy, by turning the heart of the king of Assyria to them to give them help in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.

And, the rest of the need of the house of thy God, which it shall fall to thee to give, thou shalt give, out of the treasure-house of the king.

Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for the house of the God of heaven, so that wrath will not fall on the realm of the king and his sons.

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

which thou hast commanded by thy servants the Prophets, and said, 'The land unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the filthiness of the people of the lands, in their abominations wherewith they have made it full of uncleanness on every side.

should we again break thy commandments and join ourselves by affinity of marriage with the peoples of these abominations, - wouldst thou not be angry with us, unto a full end, that there should be neither remainder nor deliverance?

And the king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing that you are not ill? this is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was full of fear;

And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.

Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant of the Ammonites, and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, "What is this that ye do? Will ye fall away again from the king?"

Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated it.

The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate.

After him their fellow Levites made repairs under Binnui son of Henadad, ruler over half the district of Keilah.

After him the priests, the men of the valley, carried out repairs.

When Sanballat heard that we were reconstructing the wall, he flew into a rage, became indignant, and mocked the Jews.

"Listen, our God, because we are being mocked. Let their insults fall back on them, and let them be dragged away as captives into exile.

But when it came to the ears of Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and the broken places were being made good, they were full of wrath;

Now the people along with their spouses complained loudly against their fellow Jews,

And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, and our children are just like their children, still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people."

So after thinking it over carefully, I accused the officials and nobles openly, "Every one of you is charging your fellow countrymen interest!" So I opened a public investigation against them.

I accused them, "To the best of our ability, we've been buying back our fellow Jews who had been sold to foreigners. Even now you're selling your fellow countrymen, only for them to be sold back to us!" They kept quiet and never spoke a word.

I'm also lending money and grain, as are my fellow-Jews and my servants, but let's not charge interest.

Each day, one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me. An abundance of all kinds of wine was provided every 10 days. But I didn’t demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.

that Sanballat sendeth, also Geshem, unto me, saying, 'Come and we meet together in the villages, in the valley of Ono;' and they are thinking to do to me evil.

And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

and it cometh to pass, when all our enemies have heard, and all the nations who are round about us see, that they fall greatly in their own eyes, and know that by our God hath this work been done.

Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up.

And would not do them, and gave no thought to the wonders you had done among them; but made their necks stiff, and turning away from you, made a captain over themselves to take them back to their prison in Egypt: but you are a God of forgiveness, full of grace and pity, slow to wrath and great in mercy, and you did not give them up.

And forty years thou didst nourish them in the desert; they wanted not; their garments fell not away, and their feet swelled not

And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

Nevertheless in thy manifold mercies thou didst not make a full end of them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the law of God given through God’s servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of Yahweh our Lord.

As for the peoples of the land who bring merchandise or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day; and we will give up raising crops during the seventh year [leaving the land uncultivated], and forgive every debt.

And the lots we have caused to fall for the offering of wood, among the priests, the Levites, and the people, to bring in to the house of our God, by the house of our fathers, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of Jehovah our God, as it is written in the law,

And the heads of the people dwell in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people have caused to fall lots to bring in one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the cities,

Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom.

Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.

And I know that the portions of the Levites have not been given, and they flee each to his field -- the Levites and the singers, doing the work.

When shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem just before the Sabbath, I gave orders that the gates be closed and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my men at the gates, so that no goods could enter during the Sabbath day.

And I strive with them, and declare them vile, and smite certain of them, and pluck off their hair, and cause them to swear by God, 'Ye do not give your daughters to their sons, nor do ye take of their daughters to your sons, and to yourselves.

And one of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest, is son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, and I cause him to flee from off me.

Then the king flew into a rage. The king spoke to the wise men who understood the times, for it was the king's custom to consult all those who understood law and justice.

And Esther was more pleasing to the king than all the women, and to his eyes she was fairer and more full of grace than all the other virgins: so he put his crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.

In the first month -- it is the month of Nisan -- in the twelfth year of the king Ahasuerus, hath one caused to fall Pur (that is the lot) before Haman, from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth, it is the month of Adar.

Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.

Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.

Then Mordecai again sat at the king's gate, while Haman hurried away to his home, mournful and with a veil over his head.

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

And Esther said, Our hater and attacker is this evil Haman. Then Haman was full of fear before the king and the queen.

And the king turned back from the garden of the palace to the house of the drinking of wine; and Haman fell upon the bed which Esther was upon And the king will say, Also is he to force the queen with me in the house? The word went forth from the king's mouth, and they covered Haman's face.

And Esther spake 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 that he had devised against the Jews.

And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment 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 the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.

And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.

because Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of all the Jews, had devised concerning the Jews to destroy them, and had caused to fall Pur -- that is the lot -- to crush them and to 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.

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

And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.

Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full power and authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.

And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

And it fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house,

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

While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped, alone, to tell thee.

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 only am escaped alone to tell thee.

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

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

and sat with Job on the ground for a full week without saying a word, since they could see the great extent of his anguish.

but let it be stained with darkness, and the shadow of death. Let the dim cloud fall upon it, and let it be lapped in with sorrow.

or with high officials {who have gold}, who fill up their houses [with] silver.

Who are glad with great joy, and full of delight when they come to their last resting-place;

For my sighing comes in place of my food, and my groanings flow forth like water.

because the dread that I {feel} has come upon me, and what I feared befalls me.

"The lioness may roar, and the lion cub may growl; but even the ivory teeth of the full grown lion are broken.

Full grown lions die when they cannot find prey; that's when the lion cubs are scattered.

Fear came on me and shaking, and my bones were full of trouble;

For vexation will slay the fool, and jealousy will kill [the] simple.

I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.

Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.

My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed; like a streambed of wadis they flow away,

But they that fear the hoarfrost, the snow shall fall upon them.

In the time they will flow of they became extinct: in its heat they were extinguished from their place.

Anger on the fatherless ye cause to fall, And are strange to your friend.