You will report to Amariah the chief priest in all matters pertaining to the Lord's law, and to Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the family of Judah, in all matters pertaining to the king. The Levites will serve as officials before you. Confidently carry out your duties! May the Lord be with those who do well!"

If disaster comes on us in the form of military attack, judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple before you, for you are present in this temple. We will cry out to you for help in our distress, so that you will hear and deliver us.'

Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don't know what we should do; we look to you for help."

Tomorrow march down against them as they come up the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine in front of the Desert of Jeruel.

You will not fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand, and watch the Lord deliver you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don't be afraid and don't panic! Tomorrow march out toward them; the Lord is with you!'"

Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: "Listen to me, you people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win."

Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, "Because you made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will shatter what you have made." The ships were wrecked and unable to go to sea.

And you will get a serious, chronic intestinal disease which will cause your intestines to come out."

and the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the temple of God. Jehoiada said to them, "The king's son will rule, just as the Lord promised David's descendants.

This is what you must do. One third of you priests and Levites who are on duty during the Sabbath will guard the doors.

Another third of you will be stationed at the royal palace and still another third at the Foundation Gate. All the others will stand in the courtyards of the Lord's temple.

God's Spirit energized Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, "This is what God says: 'Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous! Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!'"

Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will defeat you before the enemy. God is capable of helping or defeating."

While he was speaking, Amaziah said to him, "Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop prophesying or else you will be killed!" So the prophet stopped, but added, "I know that the Lord has decided to destroy you, because you have done this thing and refused to listen to my advice."

King Joash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, "A thorn bush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, 'Give your daughter to my son as a wife.' Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn bush.

They confronted King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not proper for you, Uzziah, to offer incense to the Lord. That is the responsibility of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have disobeyed and the Lord God will not honor you!"

He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus whom he thought had defeated him. He reasoned, "Since the gods of the kings of Damascus helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me." But they caused him and all Israel to stumble.

For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and sons will be shown mercy by their captors and return to this land. The Lord your God is merciful and compassionate; he will not reject you if you return to him."

Hezekiah says, "The Lord our God will rescue us from the power of the king of Assyria." But he is misleading you and you will die of hunger and thirst!

He built altars in the Lord's temple, about which the Lord had said, "Jerusalem will be my permanent home."

He put an idolatrous image he had made in God's temple, about which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, "This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.

I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law, the rules and regulations given to Moses."

This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!'"

Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place and its residents.'"'" Then they reported back to the king.

Necho sent messengers to him, saying, "Why are you opposing me, O king of Judah? I am not attacking you today, but the kingdom with which I am at war. God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God, who is with me, or else he will destroy you."

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, "You have no right to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us."

Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury will suffer loss.

We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control of this portion of Trans-Euphrates."

You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues with the rest of the silver and the gold, in keeping with the will of your God.

Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison."

Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents and from these foreign wives."

All the assembly replied in a loud voice: "We will do just as you have said!

Please recall the word you commanded your servant Moses: 'If you act unfaithfully, I will scatter you among the nations.

But if you repent and obey my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.'

I said to the king, "If the king is so inclined, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates that will enable me to travel safely until I reach Judah,

and a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king's nature preserve, so that he will give me timber for beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the temple and for the city wall and for the house to which I go." So the king granted me these requests, for the good hand of my God was on me.

Then I said to them, "You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let's rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue."

I responded to them by saying, "The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding. But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem."

and in the presence of his colleagues and the army of Samaria he said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they be left to themselves? Will they again offer sacrifice? Will they finish this in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones to life again from piles of dust?"

Our adversaries also boasted, "Before they are aware or anticipate anything, we will come in among them and kill them, and we will bring this work to a halt!"

Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!"

They replied, "We will return these things, and we will no longer demand anything from them. We will do just as you say." Then I called the priests and made the wealthy and the officials swear to do what had been promised.

All of them were wanting to scare us, supposing, "Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won't get done." So now, strengthen my hands!

Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. He said, "Let's set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let's close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you."

But I replied, "Should a man like me run away? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life? I will not go!"

and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message in all their cities and in Jerusalem: "Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees, myrtle trees, date palms, and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters, as it is written."

And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances -- those by which an individual, if he obeys them, will live. They boldly turned from you; they rebelled and did not obey.

"We will not give our daughters in marriage to the neighboring peoples, and we will not take their daughters in marriage for our sons.

We will not buy on the Sabbath or on a holy day from the neighboring peoples who bring their wares and all kinds of grain to sell on the Sabbath day. We will let the fields lie fallow every seventh year, and we will cancel every loan.

We will also bring the first of our coarse meal, of our contributions, of the fruit of every tree, of new wine, and of olive oil to the priests at the storerooms of the temple of our God, along with a tenth of the produce of our land to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who collect the tithes in all the cities where we work.

A priest of Aaron's line will be with the Levites when the Levites collect the tithes, and the Levites will bring up a tenth of the tithes to the temple of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury.

The Israelites and the Levites will bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms where the utensils of the sanctuary are kept, and where the priests who minister stay, along with the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the temple of our God."

But I warned them and said, "Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!" From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath.

So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying, "You will not marry off your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!

For the matter concerning the queen will spread to all the women, leading them to treat their husbands with contempt, saying, 'When King Ahasuerus gave orders to bring Queen Vashti into his presence, she would not come.'

And this very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard the matter concerning the queen will respond in the same way to all the royal officials, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger!

And let the king's decision which he will enact be disseminated throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is. Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the most prominent to the lowly."

If the king is so inclined, let an edict be issued to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to be conveyed to the king's treasuries for the officials who carry out this business."

"All the servants of the king and the people of the king's provinces know that there is only one law applicable to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court -- that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared. Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!"

"Don't imagine that because you are part of the king's household you will be the one Jew who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear from another source, while you and your father's household perish. It may very well be that you have achieved royal status for such a time as this!"

"Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don't eat and don't drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. If I perish, I perish!"

The king said to her, "What is on your mind, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even as much as half the kingdom will be given to you!"

If I have found favor in the king's sight and if the king is inclined to grant my request and perform my petition, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them. At that time I will do as the king wishes.

Haman then related to his wife Zeresh and to all his friends everything that had happened to him. These wise men, along with his wife Zeresh, said to him, "If indeed this Mordecai before whom you have begun to fall is Jewish, you will not prevail against him. No, you will surely fall before him!"

When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet of wine, Haman was throwing himself down on the couch where Esther was lying. The king exclaimed, "Will he also attempt to rape the queen while I am still in the building!" As these words left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.

For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?"

But extend your hand and strike everything he has, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!"

He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!"

But Satan answered the Lord, "Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life!

But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!"

"If someone should attempt a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can refrain from speaking?

"Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

He will deliver you from six calamities; yes, in seven no evil will touch you.

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

You will be protected from malicious gossip, and will not be afraid of the destruction when it comes.

You will laugh at destruction and famine and need not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

For you will have a pact with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

And you will know that your home will be secure, and when you inspect your domains, you will not be missing anything.

You will also know that your children will be numerous, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

You will come to your grave in a full age, As stacks of grain are harvested in their season.

But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea, that is why my words have been wild.

"Does the wild donkey bray when it is near grass? Or does the ox low near its fodder?

"Teach me and I, for my part, will be silent; explain to me how I have been mistaken.

"Now then, be good enough to look at me; and I will not lie to your face!

If I lie down, I say, 'When will I arise?', and the night stretches on and I toss and turn restlessly until the day dawns.

Remember that my life is but a breath, that my eyes will never again see happiness.

The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more; your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

"Therefore, I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

If I say, "My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,"

Will you never look away from me, will you not let me alone long enough to swallow my spittle?

And why do you not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, and you will seek me diligently, but I will be gone."

"How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind?

But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty,

if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you, and will restore your righteous abode.

Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish.

Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding?

If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!'

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with gladness.

Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more."

If it is a matter of strength, most certainly he is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, he will say, 'Who will summon me?'