They sent him a letter saying, To Darius the king, all peace:

And he said to him, Go, take these vessels, and put them in the Temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be put up again in its place.

This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a scribe, expert in the law of Moses which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given: and the king, moved by the Lord his God, gave him whatever he made request for.

And you, Ezra, by the wisdom of your God which is in you, are to put rulers and judges to have authority over all the people across the river who have knowledge of the laws of your God; and you are to give teaching to him who has no knowledge of them.

And if anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, take care that punishment is given to him, by death or by driving him from his country or by taking away his goods or by putting him in prison.

Of the sons of Shecaniah; of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were listed a hundred and fifty males.

Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males.

And of the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males.

And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah; the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males.

And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael; and with him eighty males.

Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males.

And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him a hundred and sixty males.

And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males.

And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males.

And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty;

Then I gave orders for a time of going without food, there by the river Ahava, so that we might make ourselves low before our God in prayer, requesting from him a straight way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance.

For I would not, for shame, make request to the king for a band of armed men and horsemen to give us help against those who might make attacks on us on the way: for we had said to the king, The hand of our God is on his servants for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who are turned away from him.

And on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the vessels were measured out by weight in the house of our God into the hands of Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the priest; and with him was Eleazar, the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad, the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, the son of Binnui, the Levites;

Now while Ezra was making his prayer and his statement of wrongdoing, weeping and falling down before the house of God, a very great number of men and women and children out of Israel came together round him: for the people were weeping bitterly.

And said, O Lord, the God of heaven, the great God, greatly to be feared, keeping faith and mercy with those who have love for him and are true to his laws:

O Lord, let your ear take note of the prayer of your servant, and of the prayers of your servants, who take delight in worshipping your name: give help, O Lord, to your servant this day, and let him have mercy in the eyes of this man. (Now I was the king's wine-servant.)

And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never before been sad when the king was present.

And the king said to me (the queen being seated by his side), How long will your journey take, and when will you come back? So the king was pleased to send me, and I gave him a fixed time.

By their side Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, was making good the walls. Then Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel; and by him, Zadok, the son of Baana.

Near them was working Uzziel, the son of Harhaiah, the gold-worker. And by him was Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, building up Jerusalem as far as the wide wall.

By his side was Jedaiah, the son of Harumaph, opposite his house. And by him was Hattush, the son of Hashabneiah.

After him were working their brothers, Bavvai, the son of Henadad, ruler of half the division of Keilah.

After him Baruch, the son of Zabbai, was hard at work on another part, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib, the chief priest.

After him Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, was working on another part, from the door of the house of Eliashib as far as the end of his house.

After him were working the priests, the men of the lowland.

After him Binnui, the son of Henadad, was working on another part, from the house of Azariah as far as the turning of the wall and the angle.

Palal, the son of Uzai, made good the wall opposite the angle and the tower which comes out from the higher part of the king's house, by the open space of the watch. After him was Pedaiah, the son of Parosh.

After him the Tekoites were making good another part, opposite the great tower which comes out, and up to the wall of the Ophel.

After them Zadok, the son of Immer, was working opposite his house. And after him Shemaiah, the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east door.

After him Hananiah, the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, were making good another part. After him Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, made good the wall opposite his room.

After him Malchijah, one of the gold-workers to the Nethinim and the traders, made good the wall opposite the doorway of Hammiphkad and as far as the way up to the angle.

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Such is their building that if a fox goes up it, their stone wall will be broken down.

And shaking out the folds of my robe, I said, So may God send out from his house and his work every man who does not keep this agreement; even so let him be sent out and made as nothing. And all the meeting of the people said, So be it, and gave praise to the Lord. And the people did as they had said.

Then I sent to him, saying, No such things as you say are being done, they are only a fiction you have made up yourself.

Then it became clear to me that God had not sent him: he had given this word of a prophet against me himself: and Tobiah and Sanballat had given him money to do so.

For this reason they had given him money, in order that I might be overcome by fear and do what he said and do wrong, and so they would have reason to say evil about me and put shame on me.

For in Judah there were a number of people who had made an agreement by oath with him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah, the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah.

And they said much before me of the good he had done, and gave him accounts of my words. And Tobiah sent letters with the purpose of causing me fear.

These are the people of the divisions of the kingdom, among those who had been made prisoners by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and taken away by him, who went back to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his town;

Then he said to them, Go away now, and take the fat for your food and the sweet for your drink, and send some to him for whom nothing is made ready: for this day is holy to our Lord: and let there be no grief in your hearts; for the joy of the Lord is your strong place.

You are the Lord, the God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;

You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours:

And gave witness against them so that you might make them come back again to your law: but their hearts were lifted up, and they gave no attention to your orders and went against your decisions (which, if a man keeps them, will be life to him), and turning their backs on you, made their necks stiff and did not give ear.

And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight.

Had made ready for him a great room, where at one time they kept the meal offerings, the perfume, and the vessels and the tenths of the grain and wine and oil which were given by order to the Levites and the music-makers and the door-keepers, and the lifted offerings for the priests.

And I came to Jerusalem; and it was clear to me what evil Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in making ready for him a room in the buildings of the house of God.

Was it not in these things that Solomon, king of Israel, did wrong? among a number of nations there was no king like him, and he was dear to his God, and God made him king over all Israel: but even he was made to do evil by strange women.

And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib, the chief priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: so I sent him away from me.

In the third year of his rule he gave a feast to all his captains and his servants; and the captains of the army of Persia and Media, the great men and the rulers of the divisions of his kingdom, were present before him;

That Vashti the queen was to come before him, crowned with her crown, and let the people and the captains see her: for she was very beautiful.

And second only to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media, who were friends of the king, and had the first places in the kingdom:)

For news of what the queen has done will come to the ears of all women, and they will no longer give respect to their husbands when it is said to them, King Ahasuerus gave orders for Vashti the queen to come before him and she came not.

If it is pleasing to the king, let an order go out from him, and let it be recorded among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may never be changed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her place to another who is better than she.

Then the servants who were waiting on the king said to him, Let search be made for some fair young virgins for the king:

Who had been taken away from Jerusalem among those who had been made prisoner with Jeconiah, king of Judah, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken him away.

In the evening she went, and on the day after she came back to the second house of the women, into the keeping of Shaashgaz, one of the king's unsexed servants who had the care of the king's wives: only if the king had delight in her and sent for her by name did she go in to him again.

Esther had still said nothing of her family or her people, as Mordecai had given her orders; for Esther did what Mordecai said, as when she was living with him.

After these things, by the order of the king, Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, was lifted up and given a position of honour and a higher place than all the other captains who were with him.

And all the king's servants who were in the king's house went down to the earth before Haman and gave him honour: for so the king had given orders. But Mordecai did not go down before him or give him honour.

Now when they had said this to him day after day and he gave no attention, they let Haman have news of it, to see if Mordecai's behaviour would be overlooked: for he had said to them that he was a Jew.

And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not go down before him and give him honour, Haman was full of wrath.

But it was not enough for him to make an attack on Mordecai only; for they had made clear to him who Mordecai's people were; so Haman made it his purpose to put an end to all the Jews, even Mordecai's people, through all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Then Esther sent for Hathach, one of the king's unsexed servants whom he had given her for waiting on her, and she gave him orders to go to Mordecai and see what this was and why it was.

And Mordecai gave him an account of what had taken place, and of the amount of money which Haman had said he would put into the king's store for the destruction of the Jews.

And he gave him the copy of the order which had been given out in Shushan for their destruction, ordering him to let Esther see it, and to make it clear to her; and to say to her that she was to go in to the king, requesting his mercy, and making prayer for her people.

It is common knowledge among all the king's servants and the people of every part of the kingdom, that if anyone, man or woman, comes to the king in his inner room without being sent for, there is only one law for him, that he is to be put to death; only those to whom the king's rod of gold is stretched out may keep their lives: but I have not been sent for to come before the king these thirty days.

And Esther in answer said, If it seems good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the feast which I have made ready for him.

Then on that day Haman went out full of joy and glad in heart; but when he saw Mordecai in the king's doorway, and he did not get to his feet or give any sign of fear before him, Haman was full of wrath against Mordecai.

And he gave them an account of the glories of his wealth, and the number of children he had, and the ways in which he had been honoured by the king, and how he had put him over the captains and servants of the king.

Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, Let a pillar, fifty cubits high, be made ready for hanging him, and in the morning get the king to give orders for the hanging of Mordecai: then you will be able to go to the feast with the king with a glad heart. And Haman was pleased with the suggestion, and he had the pillar made.

And the king said, What honour and reward have been given to Mordecai for this? Then the servants who were waiting on the king said, Nothing has been done for him.

Then the king said, Who is in the outer room? Now Haman had come into the outer room to get the king's authority for the hanging of Mordecai on the pillar which he had made ready for him.

And the king's servants said to him, See, Haman is waiting in the outer room. And the king said, Let him come in.

So Haman came in. And the king said to him, What is to be done to the man whom the king has delight in honouring? Then the thought came into Haman's mind, Whom, more than myself, would the king have pleasure in honouring?

And let the robes and the horse be given to one of the king's most noble captains, so that they may put them on the man whom the king has delight in honouring, and let him go on horseback through the streets of the town, with men crying out before him, So let it be done to the man whom the king has delight in honouring.

Then Haman took the robes and the horse, and dressing Mordecai in the robes, he made him go on horseback through the streets of the town, crying out before him, So let it be done to the man whom the king has delight in honouring.

And Haman gave his wife Zeresh and all his friends an account of what had taken place. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, If Mordecai, who is starting to get the better of you, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not be able to do anything against him, but you will certainly go down before him.

And the king in his wrath got up from the feast and went into the garden: and Haman got to his feet to make a prayer for his life to Esther the queen: for he saw that the king's purpose was evil against him.

Then Harbonah, one of the unsexed servants waiting before the king, said, See, the pillar fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who said a good word for the king, is still in its place in Haman's house. Then the king said, Put him to death by hanging him on it.

So Haman was put to death by hanging him on the pillar he had made for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath became less.

Then Esther again came before the king, falling down at his feet, and made request to him with weeping, that he would put a stop to the evil purposes of Haman the Agagite and the designs which he had made against the Jews.

And she said, If it is the king's pleasure and if I have his approval and this thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing to him, then let letters be sent giving orders against those which Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, sent out for the destruction of the Jews in all divisions of the kingdom:

For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and word of him went out through every part of the kingdom: for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.

And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil?

Have you yourself not put a wall round him and his house and all he has on every side, blessing the work of his hands, and increasing his cattle in the land?

And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? and he still keeps his righteousness, though you have been moving me to send destruction on him without cause.

And his wife said to him, Are you still keeping your righteousness? Say a curse against God, and put an end to yourself.

And Job's three friends had word of all this evil which had come on him. And they came every one from his place, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. So they came together to a meeting-place, in order that they might go and make clear to Job their grief for him, and give him comfort.

And lifting up their eyes when they were still far off, it did not seem that the man they saw was Job because of the change in him. And they gave way to bitter weeping, with signs of grief, and put dust on their heads.

And they took their seats on the earth by his side for seven days and seven nights: but no one said a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

Why does he give light to him who is in trouble, and life to the bitter in soul;

Their produce is taken by him who has no food, and their grain goes to the poor, and he who is in need of water gets it from their spring.

But as for me, I would make my prayer to God, and I would put my cause before him:

My words may seem wrong to you, but the words of him who has no hope are for the wind.