After him hath Nehemiah son of Azbuk, head of the half of the district of Beth-Zur, strengthened, unto over-against the graves of David, and unto the pool that is made, and unto the house of the mighty ones.

After him have the Levites strengthened, and Rehum son of Bani: by his hand hath Hashabiah, head of the half of the district of Keilah, strengthened, for his district.

After him have their brethren strengthened, and Bavvai son of Henadad, head of the half of the district of Keilah.

After him hath Baruch son of Zabbai hastened to strengthen a second measure from the angle unto the opening of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

After him hath Meremoth son of Urijah, son of Koz, strengthened, a second measure, from the opening of the house of Eliashib even unto the completion of the house of Eliashib.

And after him have the priests, men of the circuit, strengthened.

After them hath Benjamin strengthened, and Hashub, over-against their house; after him hath Azariah son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, strengthened, near his house.

After him hath Binnui son of Henadad strengthened, a second measure, from the house of Azariah unto the angle, and unto the corner.

Palal son of Uzai, from over-against the angle, and the tower that is going out from the upper house of the king that is at the court of the prison; after him Pedaiah son of Parosh.

After him have the Tekoites strengthened, a second measure, from over-against the great tower that goeth out, and unto the wall of Ophel.

After them hath Zadok son of Immer strengthened, over against his house; and after him hath Shemaiah son of Shechaniah, keeper of the east gate, strengthened.

After him hath Hananiah son of Shelemiah strengthened, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, a second measure; after him hath Meshullam son of Berechiah strengthened, over-against his chamber.

After him hath Malchijah son of the refiner strengthened, unto the house of the Nethinim, and of the merchants, over-against the gate of the Miphkad, and unto the ascent of the corner.

And it cometh to pass, when Sanballat hath heard that we are building the wall, that it is displeasing to him, and he is very angry and mocketh at the Jews,

And Tobiah the Ammonite is by him and saith, 'Also, that which they are building -- if a fox doth go up, then it hath broken down their stone wall.'

And I send unto him, saying, 'It hath not been according to these words that thou art saying, for from thine own heart thou art devising them;'

And I discern, and lo, God hath not sent him, for in the prophecy he hath spoken unto me both Tobiah and Sanballat hired him,

for many in Judah are sworn to him, for he is son-in-law to Shechaniah son of Arah, and Jehohanan his son hath taken the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah;

also, his good deeds they have been saying before me, and my words they have been taking out to him; letters hath Tobiah sent to make me afraid.

And Ezra the scribe standeth on a tower of wood that they made for the purpose, and Mattithiah standeth near him, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right; and on his left Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddana, Zechariah, Meshullam.

And he saith to them, 'Go, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and sent portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for to-day is holy to our Lord, and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.'

Thou art He, O Jehovah God, who didst fix on Abraham, and didst bring him out from Ur of the Chaldeans, and didst make his name Abraham,

and didst find his heart stedfast before Thee, so as to make with him the covenant, to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his seed. 'And Thou dost establish Thy words, for Thou art righteous,

And for all this we are making a stedfast covenant, and are writing, and over him who is sealed are our heads, our Levites, our priests.'

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

and he maketh for him a great chamber, and there they were formerly putting the present, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithe of the corn, the new wine, and the oil -- the commanded thing of the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers -- and the heave-offering of the priests.

and I come in to Jerusalem, and understand concerning the evil that Eliashib hath done for Tobiah, to make to him a chamber in the courts of the house of God,

By these did not Solomon king of Israel sin? and among the many nations there was no king like him, and beloved by his God he was, and God maketh him king over all Israel -- even him did the strange women cause to sin.

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.

in the third year of his reign, he hath made a banquet to all his heads and his servants; of the force of Persia and Media, the chiefs and heads of the provinces are before him,

and the queen Vashti refuseth to come in at the word of the king that is by the hand of the eunuchs, and the king is very wroth, and his fury hath burned in him.

and he who is near unto him is Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memucan, seven heads of Persia and Media seeing the face of the king, who are sitting first in the kingdom --

for go forth doth the word of the queen unto all the women, to render their husbands contemptible in their eyes, in their saying, The king Ahasuerus said to bring in Vashti the queen before him, and she did not come;

If to the king it be good, there goeth forth a royal word from before him, and it is written with the laws of Persia and Media, and doth not pass away, that Vashti doth not come in before the king Ahasuerus, and her royalty doth the king give to her companion who is better than she;

and he is supporting Hadassah -- she is Esther -- daughter of his uncle, for she hath neither father nor mother, and the young woman is of fair form, and of good appearance, and at the death of her father and her mother hath Mordecai taken her to him for a daughter.

and the young woman is good in his eyes, and she receiveth kindness before him, and he hasteneth her purifications and her portions -- to give to her, and the seven young women who are provided -- to give to her, from the house of the king, and he changeth her and her young women to a good place in the house of the women.

And in the drawing nigh of the turn of Esther -- daughter of Abihail, uncle of Mordecai, whom he had taken to him for a daughter -- to come in unto the king, she hath not sought a thing except that which Hegai eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, saith, and Esther is receiving grace in the eyes of all seeing her.

and the king loveth Esther above all the women, and she receiveth grace and kindness before him above all the virgins, and he setteth a royal crown on her head, and causeth her to reign instead of Vashti,

Esther is not declaring her kindred and her people, as Mordecai hath laid a charge upon her, and the saying of Mordecai Esther is doing as when she was truly with him.

After these things hath the king Ahasuerus exalted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and lifteth him up, and setteth his throne above all the heads who are with him,

and all servants of the king, who are in the gate of the king, are bowing and doing obeisance to Haman, for so hath the king commanded for him; and Mordecai doth not bow nor do obeisance.

And it cometh to pass, in their speaking unto him, day by day, and he hath not hearkened unto them, that they declare it to Haman, to see whether the words of Mordecai do stand, for he hath declared to them that he is a Jew.

And Haman seeth that Mordecai is not bowing and doing obeisance to him, and Haman is full of fury,

and it is contemptible in his eyes to put forth a hand on Mordecai by himself, for they have declared to him the people of Mordecai, and Haman seeketh to destroy all the Jews who are in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus -- the people of Mordecai.

And young women of Esther come in and her eunuchs, and declare it to her, and the queen is exceedingly pained, and sendeth garments to clothe Mordecai, and to turn aside his sackcloth from off him, and he hath not received them.

And Esther calleth to Hatach, of the eunuchs of the king, whom he hath stationed before her, and giveth him a charge for Mordecai, to know what this is, and wherefore this is.

and Mordecai declareth to him all that hath met him, and the explanation of the money that Haman said to weigh to the treasuries of the king for the Jews, to destroy them,

and the copy of the writing of the law that had been given in Shushan to destroy them he hath given to him, to shew Esther, and to declare it to her, and to lay a charge on her to go in unto the king, to make supplication to him, and to seek from before him, for her people.

and Esther speaketh to Hatach, and chargeth him for Mordecai:

All servants of the king, and people of the provinces of the king, do know that any man and woman, who cometh in unto the king, unto the inner court, who is not called -- one law of his is to put them to death, apart from him to whom the king holdeth out the golden sceptre, then he hath lived; and I -- I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.'

And Mordecai passeth on, and doth according to all that Esther hath charged upon him.

And Esther saith, 'If unto the king it be good, the king doth come in, and Haman, to-day, unto the banquet that I have made for him;'

And Haman goeth forth on that day rejoicing and glad in heart, and at Haman's seeing Mordecai in the gate of the king, and he hath not risen nor moved for him, then is Haman full of fury against Mordecai.

and Haman recounteth to them the glory of his wealth, and the abundance of his sons, and all that with which the king made him great, and with which he lifted him up above the heads and servants of the king.

And Zeresh his wife saith to him, and all his friends, 'Let them prepare a tree, in height fifty cubits, and in the morning speak to the king, and they hang Mordecai on it, and go thou in with the king unto the banquet rejoicing;' and the thing is good before Haman, and he prepareth the tree.

And the king saith, 'What honour and greatness hath been done to Mordecai for this?' And the servants of the king, his ministers, say, 'Nothing hath been done with him.'

And the king saith, 'Who is in the court?' -- and Haman hath come in to the outer court of the house of the king, to say to the king to hang Mordecai on the tree that he had prepared for him --

and the servants of the king say unto him, 'Lo, Haman is standing in the court;' and the king saith, 'Let him come in.'

And Haman cometh in, and the king saith to him, 'What -- to do with the man in whose honour the king hath delighted?' And Haman saith in his heart, 'To whom doth the king delight to do honour more than myself?'

and to give the clothing and the horse into the hand of a man of the heads of the king, the chiefs, and they have clothed the man in whose honour the king hath delighted, and caused him to ride on the horse in a broad place of the city, and called before him: Thus it is done to the man in whose honour the king hath delighted.'

And Haman taketh the clothing, and the horse, and clothed Mordecai, and causeth him to ride in a broad place of the city, and calleth before him, 'Thus it is done to the man in whose honour the king hath delighted.'

and Haman recounteth to Zeresh his wife, and to all his friends, all that hath met him, and his wise men say to him, and Zeresh his wife, 'If Mordecai is of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou art not able for him, but dost certainly fall before him.'

They are yet speaking with him, and eunuchs of the king have come, and haste to bring in Haman unto the banquet that Esther hath made.

And the king Ahasuerus saith, yea, he saith to Esther the queen, 'Who is he -- this one? and where is this one? -- he whose heart hath filled him to do so?'

And the king hath risen, in his fury, from the banquet of wine, unto the garden of the house, and Haman hath remained to seek for his life from Esther the queen, for he hath seen that evil hath been determined against him by the king.

And Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, saith before the king, 'Also lo, the tree that Haman made for Mordecai, who spake good for the king, is standing in the house of Haman, in height fifty cubits;' and the king saith, 'Hang him upon it.'

And Esther addeth, and speaketh before the king, and falleth before his feet, and weepeth, and maketh supplication to him, to cause the evil of Haman the Agagite to pass away, and his device that he had devised against the Jews;

and saith, 'If to the king it be good, and if I have found grace before him, and the thing hath been right before the king, and I be good in his eyes, let it be written to bring back the letters -- a device of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite -- that he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all provinces of the king,

And the king Ahasuerus saith to Esther the queen, and to Mordecai the Jew, 'Lo, the house of Haman I have given to Esther, and him they have hanged on the tree, because that he put forth his hand on the Jews,

and in her coming in before the king, he said with the letter, 'Let his evil device that he devised against the Jews turn back upon his own head,' and they have hanged him and his sons on the tree,

and all the work of his strength, and his might, and the explanation of the greatness of Mordecai with which the king made him great, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of Media and Persia?

And there are borne to him seven sons and three daughters,

And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, 'Hast thou set thy heart against My servant Job because there is none like him in the land, a man perfect and upright, fearing God, and turning aside from evil?'

Hast not Thou made a hedge for him, and for his house, and for all that he hath -- round about?

And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, 'Lo, all that he hath is in thy hand, only unto him put not forth thy hand.' And the Adversary goeth out from the presence of Jehovah.

And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, 'Hast thou set thy heart unto My servant Job because there is none like him in the land, a man perfect and upright, fearing God and turning aside from evil? and still he is keeping hold on his integrity, and thou dost move Me against him to swallow him up for nought!'

And he taketh to him a potsherd to scrape himself with it, and he is sitting in the midst of the ashes.

And his wife saith to him, 'Still thou art keeping hold on thine integrity: bless God and die.'

And three of the friends of Job hear of all this evil that hath come upon him, and they come in each from his place -- Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite -- and they are met together to come in to bemoan him, and to comfort him;

and they lift up their eyes from afar and have not discerned him, and they lift up their voice and weep, and rend each his robe, and sprinkle dust on their heads -- heavenward.

And they sit with him on the earth seven days and seven nights, and there is none speaking unto him a word when they have seen that the pain hath been very great.

Lo, the happiness of mortal man, God doth reprove him: And the chastisement of the Mighty despise not,

He turneth not again to his house, Nor doth his place discern him again.

What is man that Thou dost magnify him? And that Thou settest unto him Thy heart?

And inspectest him in the mornings, In the evenings dost try him?

If thy sons have sinned before Him, And He doth send them away, By the hand of their transgression,

If one doth destroy him from his place, Then it hath feigned concerning him, I have not seen thee!

If he delight to strive with Him -- He doth not answer him one of a thousand.

Wise in heart and strong in power -- Who hath hardened toward Him and is at peace?

Lo, He snatches away, who bringeth it back? Who saith unto Him, 'What dost Thou?'

God doth not turn back His anger, Under Him bowed have proud helpers.

How much less do I -- I answer Him? Choose out my words with Him?

But if a man like myself -- I answer him, We come together into judgment.

I speak, and do not fear Him, But I am not right with myself.

If thou -- thou hast prepared thy heart, And hast spread out unto Him thy hands,

A laughter to his friend I am: 'He calleth to God, and He answereth him,' A laughter is the perfect righteous one.

With Him are wisdom and might, To him are counsel and understanding.

With Him are strength and wisdom, His the deceived and deceiver.

For God do ye speak perverseness? And for Him do ye speak deceit?

Is it good that He doth search you, If, as one mocketh at a man, ye mock at Him?