"Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 'Yahweh the God of heaven has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has appointed me to build a house for him at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah. Whoever [is] among you from all his people, may Yahweh his God go up with him.'"

"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Yahweh, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he himself has appointed me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whoever among you [who is] from all of his people, may his God be with him and may he go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may he build the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is the God who [is] in Jerusalem.

And they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the {families}, and they said to them, "Let us build with you. Like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing [to him] from the days of Esarhaddon the king of Assyria who brought us up here.

this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes [from] your servants, the men of [the province] Beyond the River. And now,

They sent to him the report {in which was written as follows}: "To Darius the king, all peace.

He said to him, 'Take these vessels. Go put them in the temple in Jerusalem and let the house of God be built on its site.'

Furthermore, I issue forth a decree that if any person violates this decree, let a beam be pulled out from his house and let him be impaled on it. And let his house be made a pile of rubble on [account of] this.

this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Yahweh the God of Israel gave. The king granted him all his requests, for the hand of Yahweh was upon him.

For on the first day of the first month he began the journey from Babylonia; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God [was] on him.

All who do not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him with diligence, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods and for imprisonment."

From the descendants of Shecaniah, from the descendants of Parosh: Zechariah and with him one hundred and fifty registered males.

From the descendants of Pahath-Moab: Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah and with him two hundred males.

From the descendants of [Zattu]: Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.

From the descendants of Adin: Ebed son of Jehonathan, and with him fifty males.

From the descendants of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.

From the descendants of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him eighty males.

From the descendants of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.

From the descendants of [Bani]: Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males.

From the descendants of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males.

From the descendants of Azgad: Jehohanan son of Haqqatan, and with him one hundred and ten males.

From the descendants of Bigvai: Uthai son of Zabud, and with him seventy males.

Also Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah, the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty [in total].

I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava to humble ourselves before our God in order to seek from him a safe journey for us, our children, and our possessions.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horses to protect us from enemies on the way because we said to the king, "the hand of our God is favorable to all who seek him, but his strength and anger are against all who forsake them."

On the fourth day, the silver, gold, and vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of priest Meremoth, the son of Uriah, and with him Eleazar son of Phinehas. With them were the Levites, Jehozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children from Israel gathered to him. And the people wept bitterly.

I said, "O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and awesome one who keeps the covenant and loyal love for the ones who love him and for those who keep his commands.

O Lord, please let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight to revere in your name. Please, let your servant be successful this day and give him compassion before this man." I was cupbearer for the king.

It happened in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. And I had never been sad before the king.

With the queen sitting beside him, the king said to me, "How long will your journey be and when will you return?" So it pleased the king and he sent me, and I set for him an appointed time.

And {next to him} the men of Jericho built, and {next to him} Zaccur son of Imri built.

{Next to him} Uzziel son of Harhaiah (goldsmiths) repaired. {Next to him} Hananiah son of the perfume-makers repaired. They restored Jerusalem up to the Broad Wall.

{Next to them} Jedaiah son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. {Next to him} Hattush son of Hashabneiah repaired.

{Next to him} Shallum son of Hallohesh, commander of half of the district of Jerusalem, repaired with his daughters.

After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, commander of half of the district of Beth Zur, repaired up to [a point] opposite the burial sites of David, and up to the artificial pool and to the house of the mighty warriors.

After him the Levites repaired; Rehum son of Bani, and next to him Hashabiah, commander of half of the district of Keilah, repaired his district.

After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai son of Henadad, commander of half of the district of Keilah,

{next to him} Ezer son of Jeshua, commander of Mizpah, repaired a second section of a wall opposite of the ascent of the armory at the angle.

After him Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired a second section of a wall from the angle up to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

After him Meremoth son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired a second section of a wall from the doorway of the house of Eliashib up to the end of the house of Eliashib.

After him the priests, men from the vicinity, repaired.

After him Binnui son of Henadad repaired a second section of a wall from the house of Azariah up to the angle up to the corner.

Palal son of Uzai [repaired] opposite the Angle at the tower that juts out from the upper house of the king, at the courtyard of the guard. After him Pedaiah son of Parosh

After him the Tekoites repaired a second section of a wall opposite the projecting tower that goes out as far as the wall of Ophel.

After them Zadok son of Immer repaired opposite his house. After him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate, repaired.

After him Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam son of Berekiah repaired [the wall] opposite his room.

After him Malkijah, {one of the goldsmiths}, repaired up to the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Enrollment Gate and up to the upper room of the corner.

Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said, "Their wall of stone that they are building would break down if a fox went on it!"

So I sent to him saying, "None of these words you have spoken has happened. You are indeed saying [things] created in your own mind"--

Then I look and realized God had not sent him; rather, he had spoken the prophecy against me [because] Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jehohanan took as a wife the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah.

They also were speaking of his good deeds in my presence, and they were sending my words out to him. Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

Then Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden podium that had been made for the occasion. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right. On his left [was] Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.

You found his heart faithful before you and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite and the Girgashite--to give [it] to his seed. And you have kept your word because you are righteous.

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

So I came to Jerusalem. And I came to learn of the wrong that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by making him a room in the courtyard of the house of God.

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin.

One from the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, [who was] the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonote [was there]. I chased him away from me.

But Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king that [was] {conveyed by} the eunuchs. And the king became very angry, and his anger burned in him.

and those next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memucan, the seven officials of Persia and Media who {had access to the king} and sat first in the kingdom--

For this deed of the queen {will be known} to all the women, causing them {to look with contempt on their husbands}, as they will say, 'King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him but she did not come!'

{If it pleases} the king, let {a royal edict} go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of Persia and Media so that it will not be altered, that Vashti cannot come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to her neighbor who [is] better than she.

And the king's servants attending him said, "Let them seek attractive young virgins for the king.

Let the king appoint chief officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every attractive young virgin to the {harem} in the citadel of Susa {under the care of} Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let him give [them] their beauty treatment.

{The young woman pleased him} and she won favor in his presence, and he quickly provided for her beauty treatment and her portion of food, with seven chosen maids to give to her from the {king's palace}, and he advanced her and her maids to the best part of the {harem}.

Esther had not made known her family and her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther {did what Mordecai told her}, just as when she was brought up by him.

After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and he exalted him and set {his position} above all the officials who [were] with him.

And all of the king's servants who [were] at the gate of the king [were] kneeling and bowing down to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him, but Mordecai did not kneel and bow down.

They spoke to him day after day, but he did not listen to them, and they informed Haman to see if {Mordecai's resolve would prevail}; for he had told them that he [was] a Jew.

And Haman saw that Mordecai was not kneeling and bowing down to him, and he was filled [with] anger.

But {he considered it beneath him} to lay hands on Mordecai only, for they told him of Mordecai's people, and Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who [were] in the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Then Esther called Hathach from the king's eunuchs {who regularly attended to her}, and she ordered him [to go] to Mordecai to learn what was happening and why.

and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact amount of money that Haman has promised to pay to the treasury of the king for the destruction of the Jews.

And he gave him a copy of the edict of the law that had been issued in Susa for their destruction to show Esther, and to inform her, and to charge her to go to the king and make supplication to him and entreat before him for her people.

And Esther spoke to Hathach and {she gave him a message for Mordecai}:

"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that [if] any man or woman who goes to the king to the inner courtyard, who is not called, he has one law, to be killed, except if the king extends to him the gold scepter so that he may live. I have not been called to come to the king {for thirty days}."

And Mordecai went away and he did everything that Esther commanded him.

And Esther said, "If it is good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."

And Haman went out on that day rejoicing and {feeling good}. But when Haman saw Mordecai at the gate of the king, and he did not rise or tremble before him, Haman was filled {with rage toward} Mordecai.

And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his wealth and the number of his sons and all [the ways] that the king had honored him and promoted him above the officials and king's servants.

And Zeresh his wife and all of his friends said to him, "Let them make a gallows fifty cubits high, and in the morning tell the king, "Let them hang Mordecai on it; then go with the king to the banquet happily." The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

During that night the king's sleep escaped [him], and he gave orders to bring the {scroll of records and chronicles}, and they were read before the king.

And the king asked, "What has been done to bestow honor to Mordecai for this?" And the king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him."

And the king asked, "Who [is] in the courtyard?" Haman had just come to the courtyard of the king's outer palace to tell the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

And the king's servants said to him, "Look! Haman [is] standing in the courtyard." And the king said, "Let him come."

And Haman came, and the king said to him, "What [is] to be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?" And Haman thought to himself, "Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?"

And let the clothing and the horse be given {to the man} by the officials of the king's nobles; let them cloth the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him ride on his horse through the public square of the city, and let them proclaim before him, 'Thus, it will be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor.'"

So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai and let him ride through the public square of the city; and he proclaimed before him, "Thus, it is done to the man whom the king wishes to honor."

And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends all that had happened to him. And his advisers and Zeresh his wife said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, [is] {from the descendants of the Jews}, you will not prevail against him, but will certainly fall before him."

As they [were] still speaking with him the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

And Habrona, one of the eunuchs in the presence of the king, said, "Look, the same gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai who spoke good [for the sake] of the king stands at Haman's house, fifty cubits high." And the king said, "Hang him on it."

and she said, "If it is good to the king, and if I have found favor before him, and if the king is pleased with this matter, and {I have his approval}, let [an edict] be written to revoke the letters of the plans of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that [are] in all the provinces of the king.

And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Look, I have given Haman's house to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he {plotted against} the Jews.

But when it came {to the attention of} the king, he {gave orders in writing} [that] his evil plot that he had devised against the Jews should return on his head, and they hung him and his sons on the gallows.

All the work of his authority and his {powerful deeds}, and the full accounting of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written on the scroll of the {chronicles} of the kings of Media and Persia?

And seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

So Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you {considered} my servant Job? Indeed, there is no one like him on the earth--a blameless man and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil."

Have you not put a fence around him and his household and around {all that belongs to him} {on every side}? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock has increased in the land.