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

And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine [and went] into the palace garden. And Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen, for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.

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 Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple. And the city of Shushan shouted and was glad.

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

And the other Jews who were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them. But they did not lay their hand

as the days in which the Jews had rest from their enemies. And the month which was turned to them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending

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 remembrance of them perish from

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, and one who feared God, and turned away from evil.

And LORD said to Satan, From where do thou come? Then Satan answered LORD, and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.

And LORD said to Satan, Have thou considered my servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil.

And LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in thy power, only upon himself do not put forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of LORD.

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

And LORD said to Satan, From where did thou come? And Satan answered LORD, and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.

And LORD said to Satan, Have thou considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although thou m

So Satan went forth from the presence of LORD, and smote Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to his crown.

Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that came upon him, they came each one from his own place--Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite--and they made an appointment together to come t

Let that day be darkness. Let not God from above seek for it, nor let the light shine upon it.

Because it did not shut up the doors of my [mother's] womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes.

Why did I not die from the womb? Why did I not give up the spirit when my mother bore me?

There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest.

The small and the great are there. And the servant is free from his master.

If a man tries to converse with thee, will thou be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking?

Thy words have upheld him who was falling, and thou have made firm the feeble knees.

In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance of it. A form was before my eyes. [There was] silence, and I heard a voice, [saying],

His sons are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them,

For affliction does not come forth from the dust, nor does trouble spring out of the ground,

But he saves from the sword of their mouth, even the needy from the hand of the mighty.

In famine he will redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword.

Thou shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue. Neither shall thou be afraid of destruction when it comes.

Is it not that I have no help in me, and that wisdom is driven quite from me?

To him who is ready to faint, kindness [should be] from his friend, even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

Did I say, Give to me? Or, Offer a present for me from your substance?

Or, Deliver me from the adversary's hand? Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?

How long will thou not look away from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?

If he is destroyed from his place, then it shall deny him, [saying], I have not seen thee.

Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his terror make me afraid.

If I sin, then thou mark me. And thou will not acquit me from my iniquity.

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

He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

Only do not do two things to me, then I will not hide myself from thy face:

Withdraw thy hand far from me, and do not let thy dread make me afraid.

look away from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.

[As] the waters fail from the sea, and the river wastes away and dries up,

which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it,

For thou have hid their heart from understanding. Therefore thou shall not exalt [them].

His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.

He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.

He has put my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.

He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of brass shall strike him through.

This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by God.

Their houses are safe from fear, nor is the rod of God upon them.

And they say to God, Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of thy ways.

Lo, [is] their prosperity not in their hand. (The counsel of the wicked is far from me.)

For thou have taken pledges from thy brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

Thou have not given water to the weary to drink, and thou have withheld bread from the hungry.

who said to God, Depart from us, and, What can the Almighty do for us?

Yet he filled their houses with good things. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shall be built up, thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.

There the upright might reason with him. So I should be delivered forever from my judge.

I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips, I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

because I was not cut off before the darkness, nor did he cover the thick darkness from my face.

There are [men] who pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor,

From out of the populous city men groan, and the soul of the wounded cries out. Yet God does not regard the folly.

To whom have thou uttered words? And whose spirit came forth from thee?

Far be it from me that I should justify you. Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.

He breaks open a shaft away from where men sojourn, [paths] forgotten by the foot. They hang afar from men; they swing to and fro.

Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding?

Since it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept closed from the birds of the heavens.

And to man he said, Behold, the fear of LORD, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.

The rulers refrained from talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.

They are driven forth from the midst [of men]. They cry out after them as after a thief,

They abhor me. They stand aloof from me, and do not spare to spit in my face.

My skin is black, [and falls] from me. And my bones are burned with heat.

For what is the portion from God above, and the heritage from the Almighty on high?

If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

(no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, and her I have guided from my mother's womb);

then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.

For calamity from God is a terror to me, and I can do nothing because of his majesty.

that he may withdraw man [from his] purpose, and hide pride from man.

He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

then [God] is gracious to him, and says, Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.

He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit, and my life shall behold the light.

to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living.

For thou should not say, There shall be no visitation to a man, [whereas] visitation [is] to him from LORD.

Therefore hearken to me, ye men of understanding. Far be it from me to sin before LORD, and pervert righteousness before the Almighty.

because they turned aside from following him, and would not have regard in any of his ways,

I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my maker.