Send me trees of cedar, cypress, and algum from Lebanon, for I myself know that your servants [are] knowledgeable in cutting the trees of Lebanon. Now see, my servants [will be] with your servants

to prepare trees in abundance for me, for the house that I am building [will be] great and wonderful.

Now see, I will provide twenty thousand dry measures of crushed wheat, twenty thousand dry measures of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil to the woodcarvers and those who cut timber."

Then Huram said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has made the heavens and the earth, who has given to King David a wise son knowing discretion and understanding, who will build for Yahweh a house and a royal palace for himself.

And we ourselves will cut trees from Lebanon according to all your need, and we will bring them to you on rafts over the sea to Joppa, so that you may bring them up to Jerusalem."

but you yourself will not build the house, but your son who will proceed from your loins; he himself will build the house for my name.'

"But will God indeed dwell with humankind upon the earth? Look, the heavens and {the highest heavens} cannot contain you! Surely then this house that I have built [will not contain you!]

then may you yourself hear from the heavens, from your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner asks of you, so that all peoples of earth will know of your name and fear you, as [do] your people Israel, and that they may know that your name {possesses} this house that I have built.

[then if] my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer of this place.

And now I have chosen and consecrated this house for my name to be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there {for all time}.

Now [as for] you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked and do according to all that I have commanded you and will keep my ordinances and judgments,

then I will establish the throne of your kingdom as I promised to David your father, saying, 'A man shall not be cut off for you [from] ruling over Israel.'

"But if you turn yourselves away and forsake my ordinances and my commandments which I have given before you [all] and will go and serve other gods and bow down to them,

then I will uproot them from upon my land that I have given to them, and this house that I have consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face, and I will make it a proverb and a taunt among all the nations.

And [as for] this house, which was exalted, all who pass by it will be appalled and will say, 'Why has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?'

Then they will say, 'Because they forsook Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and [they] laid hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought upon them all this evil.'"

"Your father made our yoke heavy. Now, therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve you."

And they said to him, "If you will be good to this people and please them, then speak good words to them. Then they will be your servants {forever}."

So now, my father laid upon you a heavy yoke, but I myself will add to the yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I myself [will do so] with scorpions.'"

And he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, "I will make your yoke heavy, and I myself will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I [will do so] with scorpions."

And when Yahweh saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy. I will give to them some way of escape, that my anger not be poured out against Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

And look, God [is] with us at the head, and his priests [have] the trumpets for sounding blasts against you, O sons of Israel. Do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."

And he went out before Asa and said to him, "Hear me, O Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh [is] with you while you are with him. And if you will seek him he will be found by you. But if you forsake him he will forsake you.

but all who will not seek Yahweh the God of Israel should be killed, from young to old, from men to women.

For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout all the earth to strengthen those whose heart is fully devoted to him. You have been foolish in this, for from now on you will have wars."

And Ahab the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, "Will you go up with me to Ramoth-Gilead?" And he answered him, "I [am] as you [are], and my people [are] as your people with you in war."

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men. And he said to them, "Shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall we cease?" And they said, "Go up, since God will give [it] into the hand of the king."

And Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, "Thus says Yahweh: 'With these you will gore Aram to their destruction.'"

And all the prophets prophesied thus, saying, "Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph! Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king."

But Micaiah said, "As Yahweh lives, only what my God has said, that will I speak."

And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he would go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' And one said this, and another said that.

Then a spirit came forth and stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him.' Then Yahweh said to him, 'By what means?'

Then he said, 'I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You will entice him and will also succeed. Go out and do so.'

Then Micaiah said, "Behold, you will see on that day when you go into a private room to hide yourself."

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you, wear your garments." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went to war.

'If disaster, a sword, punishment, disease, or famine come upon us, we shall stand before this house and before you--for your name [is] in this house--and cry out to you out of our trouble, then you will hear and save [us].'

O our God, will you not judge them, for there is no power in us before this great multitude that is coming against us. Now we do not know what we shall do, for our eyes [are] upon you."

Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up the ascent of Ziz. And you will find them at the end of the valley facing the desert of Jeruel.

[There will be] no [need] for you to fight in this [battle]. Take your stand! Stand and see the deliverance of Yahweh among you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out before them and Yahweh [will be] with you.'"

Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because of your joining with Ahaziah, Yahweh will break down your works." And the ships were destroyed and were not able to go to Tarshish.

and you yourself [will be afflicted] with great illness, with sickness in your bowels, until your bowels come out on account of the illness, day by day.'"

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why are you transgressing the commandments of Yahweh so that you will not succeed? For you have forsaken Yahweh, so he will forsake you.'"

But even still, you yourself go, do! Be strong for the battle [else] God will make you stumble before the enemy! For there is power with God to help and to cause stumbling."

And Joash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "The thorn bush that [is] in Lebanon has sent to the cedar which [is] in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as wife.' But a wild animal of the field that [was] in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush.

And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but [it is] for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully. There will be no honor for you from Yahweh God."

He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, "Because the gods of the king of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me." But they were {a disaster} to him and to all Israel.

For when you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your children [will find] compassion before their captors and return to this land, for Yahweh your God [is] gracious and compassionate, and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him."

Is not Hezekiah urging you to give you [up] to die by starvation and thirst, saying, "Yahweh our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria"?

Who among all the gods of those nations whom my ancestors utterly destroyed was able to save his people from my hand, that your God will be able to save you from my hand?

So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you. Do not let him urge you according to this. Do not put trust in him, for no god of any nation and kingdom has been able to save his people from my hand and from the hand of my ancestors. Surely then your God will not save you from my hand!'"

And he wrote letters to treat Yahweh the God of Israel with contempt and spoke against him, saying, "As the gods of the nations of the earth who did not save their people from my hand, so likewise the God of Hezekiah will not save his people from my hand."

And he placed the carved image of the idol that he had made in the house of God, [of] which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever.

And I will {never} remove the foot of Israel from upon the land that I appointed to your ancestors, if only you will take care to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the regulations, and the judgments by the hand of Moses."

because they have abandoned me and burned incense to other gods so as to provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. And my wrath will be poured out on this place and it will not be quenched.'

'Behold, I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see any of the disaster that I am bringing upon this place.'" '"

And he sent messengers to him, saying, "{What is there between us}, O king of Judah? [I am] not against you yourself this day, but against the house making war against me. And God has commanded me to make haste. Stop [opposing] God, who [is] with me that he will not destroy you."

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the {families} of Israel said to them, "[It is] not for you but for us to build a house for our God. For we ourselves alone will build [it] for Yahweh the God of Israel, just as Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us."

Now be it known to the king that if this city is built and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute and toll, and the royal revenue will be reduced.

so that it may be investigated in the book of records of your ancestors. You will find in the book of records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and they have rebelled in its midst from ancient times. Because of that this city was destroyed.

We make known to the king that if this city is built and the walls are finished, you will have nothing in [the province] Beyond the River."

And I issue forth a decree for what you should do for these elders of the Jews to build this house of God. The full expense will be paid to these men from the riches of the king from the taxes of [the province] Beyond the River, without delay.

and all of the silver and gold that you will find in the whole province of Babylonia, with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests giving willingly for the house of their God in Jerusalem.

All that is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with diligence for the house of the God of heaven, otherwise wrath will come on the kingdom of the king and his sons.

"You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who can judge all of the people [in the province] Beyond the River who know the laws of your God. And you will teach those who do not know.

Now make a confession to Yahweh the God of your ancestors and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women."

Please, remember the word that you have commanded to your servant Moses, saying, 'If you act unfaithfully I will scatter you all among the nations.

But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, even though all of your outcasts are at the furthest parts of heaven, I will gather them and bring them to the place which I have chosen to make my name dwell.'

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.

Also, a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's land reserve, that he should give me timber for laying the beams for the gates of the citadel of the house and for the walls of the city, and for the house which I will enter." And the king gave [permission] to me, according to the good hand of God on me.

Then I answered and said to them, "The God of the heavens himself will let us succeed, and we his servants shall arise and build. But for you there is no share, right, or memorial in Jerusalem."

Then he said before his brothers and the army of Samaria, "What are the feeble Jews doing? Will they restore [these things] for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the piles of rubble--even those burned up?"

Then our enemies said, "They will not know nor see until we come upon them and will kill them and stop the work."

When the Jews who lived beside them came, they said to us ten times, "From all of the places where they live, [they will come up] against us."

Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, come together to us there. Our God will fight for us."

At the time I also said to the people, "Let each man and his servant spend the night inside Jerusalem, so that they will be a guard for us in the night and work in the day."

So they said, "We will restore it and will not request [anything more]. So we will do as you say." Then I called the priests and made them take an oath to do this promise.

I also shook out my garment and said, "This is how God will shake out everyone from his house who will not keep this promise. So this is how his possessions will be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" And they praised Yahweh, and the people kept this promise.

You have also set up prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, saying, '[There is] a king in Judah.' And now it will be proclaimed to the king according to these words. Now, come and we will plan together."

for all of them [sought] to frighten us, saying, "their hands will not do the work." And now, [God], strengthen my hands.

But I said, "Should a man like me run away? And would a man like me go into the temple so that he can save his life? I will not go in!"

We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land nor take their daughters for our sons.

And the peoples of the land who bring merchandise and any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not accept it from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. We will forego [the crops of] the seventh year and [cancel] every debt.

And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites during the tithe the Levites receive. The Levites will bring up a tithe of the tithes for the house of our God to the chambers of the storehouse.

For the {Israelites} and the {Levites} will bring to the storerooms the offering of grain, new wine, and olive oil. These are the objects of the sanctuary and the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God."

But I warned them and said to them, "Why are you spending the night opposite the wall? If you do [it again], I will lay hands against you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

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!'

This day the women of nobility from Persia and Media will respond to all the officials of the king and there will be no end to contempt and anger.

{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 let the king's decree that he will make be proclaimed in all his kingdom, because it [is] vast and all the women will honor their husbands, great and small."

If it pleases the king, let a [decree] be issued to destroy them, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to those who do the job, to bring to the treasury of the king."

Then Mordecai told [them] to reply to Esther: "Do not think that your life will be saved [in] the palace of the king more than all the Jews.

For if indeed you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and the family of your father will perish. Who knows? [Perhaps] you have come to a royal position for a time such as this."

"Go, gather all the Jews that are found in Susa and fast for me; do not eat or drink [for] three days, both night and day. I and my young girls will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king, which [is] not according to the law; if I perish, I perish.

And the king said to her, "What [is] it, Queen Esther? What [is] your request? It will be given to you--even half the kingdom."

And the king said to Esther {while they were drinking wine}, "What [is] your petition? It will be given to you. What [is] your request? Even half the kingdom, it will done.

If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it is good to the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them tomorrow, and I will do according to the word of the king.

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.'"

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."

And the king again said to Esther, on the second day {while they were drinking}, "What [is] your petition, Queen Esther? It will be given to you. What [is] your request? It will be given [to you]--even half the kingdom."