These were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they were not able to prove their ancestral houses or their descent, whether they were from Israel:

And from the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai (who had taken as a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).

These sought their record among those enrolled in the genealogy, but it was not found there, so they were excluded as unclean from the priesthood.

Now some from the heads of the {families} gave to the work. The governor gave to the storehouse one thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly tunics.

He read from it facing the public square before the Water Gate from dawn until noon that day, opposite the men, women, and those with understanding. The ears of all the people [were attentive] to the book of the law.

And Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites were teaching the people from the law while the people were in their places.

So they read the book from the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that they could understand the reading.

And all of the assembly of those who returned from captivity made booths and lived in the booths because the {Israelites} had not done it from the days of Jeshua son of Nun until that day. And there was very great joy.

And he read from the scroll of the law of God day by day from the first day up to the last day. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly according to the rule.

Those of the seed of Israel separated themselves from all of the foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.

They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God for a fourth part of the day, and for a fourth they were confessing and worshiping Yahweh their God.

Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "Stand up, bless Yahweh your God from everlasting until everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name that is being exalted above all blessing and praise!

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

Then you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right judgments and true teachings, good regulations and commandments.

You gave them bread from heaven for their starvation, and you caused water to go out from a rock for their thirst. You told them to go in order to take into possession the land that you have sworn by your hand to give to them.

Even when they made for themselves a molten idol of a calf and said, 'This is your God who brought you out from Egypt,' and committed great blasphemies.

And you gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.

Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemy, and they brought trouble to them. Then in the time of their trouble they cried out to you, and you heard from the heavens, and according to your great compassions, you gave them saviors, and you saved them from the hand of their enemies.

But when they had rest they returned to doing evil before you, and you abandoned them in the hand of their enemies, and they ruled over them. Then they returned and cried out to you, and from the heavens you heard and many times rescued them according to your compassions.

"And now our God, the great, mighty, and awesome God who keeps [his] covenant and loyal love, do not belittle in your presence all of the hardship that is found in us, our kings, our officials, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all of our people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.

And in their kingdom and in the greatness you gave to them, and in the wide and fertile land that you gave before them, they did not serve you and did not turn from their evil deeds.

And the Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui from the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;

"The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to [observe] the law of God--their wives, their sons, their daughters, and all who know and understand--

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 [some] from the descendants of Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. From the descendants of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, from the descendants of Perez;

From the priests: Jedaiah son of Jehoiarib, Jakin,

Now from the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni;

The chief officer of the Levites in Jerusalem [was] Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, from the descendants of Asaph, the singers over the work of the house of God.

And Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, from the descendants of Zerah the son of Judah, [was] at the hand of the king in all matters concerning the people.

As for the villages in their territories, [some] from the descendants of Judah lived in Kiriath-Arba and {its settlements}, Dibon and {its settlements}, Jekabzeel and {its settlements},

Zanoah, Adullam and {their settlements}, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and {its settlements}. So they camped from Beersheba up to [the] Valley [of] Hinnom.

The descendants of Benjamin from Geba, Micmash, Aija, Bethel and {their settlements},

And from the Levites the working groups of Judah [were assigned] to Benjamin.

At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites from all of their places in order to bring them to Jerusalem to do the dedication with joy, thanksgivings, song and cymbals, stringed instruments and lyres.

The {singers} were gathered from the circuit all around Jerusalem and from the villages of Netophathite,

from Beth Gilgal, from the field of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers built for themselves villages all around Jerusalem.

Then the second choir went the opposite [way]. I [followed] after them with half of the people on the wall, from over the Tower of the Ovens up to the Wide Wall

They offered on that day great sacrifices and rejoiced because God brought great joy to them. And the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

On that day men were appointed for the storehouse rooms, the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes, in order to gather in them from the fields of the cities the requirements of the law for the priests and Levites; for the joy of Judah [was] upon the priests and Levites standing there.

For in the days of David and Asaph from ancient times there was the head of the singers and a song of praise and thanksgiving to God.

So it happened when they heard the law that they separated all of the foreign people from Israel.

During all of this, I was not in Jerusalem because in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. At the end of [some] days I asked permission from the king [to leave].

It was very displeasing for me, and I threw all of the objects from the house of Tobiah outside of the chamber.

I appointed as treasurer over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, Pedaiah from the Levites, and as their hand Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful. [The responsibility given] to them was to distribute to their brothers.

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.

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.

So I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established responsibilities for the priests and Levites, each in his own work,

And it happened in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Cush--[over] one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.

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.

who was deported from Jerusalem with the exiles who were deported with Jeconiah the king of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported.

{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}.

in this way, the girl goes to the king and all that she asks is given to her {to take} with her from the {harem} to the {king's palace}.

In those days Mordecai [was] sitting at the gate of the king. Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs from the keepers of the threshold, became angry and they conspired {to assassinate} King Ahasuerus.

And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all of the provinces of your kingdom; their laws [are] different from every [other] people, and they do not {observe} the laws of the king; it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them.

So the king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

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.

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."

And it was found written how Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs from the keepers of the threshold who had conspired {to assassinate} King Ahasuerus.

Then the king said to Haman, "Quickly, take the clothing and the horse, just as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the gate of the king; you must not leave out anything from what you have said."

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."

The king rose in his anger {from the banquet} [and went] to the palace garden, and Haman stood to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for {he realized that the king was determined to make an end to his life}.

And the king returned from the palace garden to the {banquet hall}, [where] Haman [was] lying prostrate on the couch that Esther [was] on, and the king said, "Will he also molest the queen with me in the house?" As the words went from the king's mouth they covered Haman's face.

And the king removed his signet ring that he had taken away from Haman, and he gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

And the secretaries of the king were summoned at that time, in the third month, which [is] in the month of Sivan on the twenty-third [day], and [an edict] was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the governors and satraps and officials of the provinces from India to Cush--one hundred and twenty-seven provinces--each province according to its own script and to every people in their own {language}, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

A copy of the {edict} [was] to be given [as] law in each province to inform all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves from their enemies.

Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in {royal clothing} of blue cloth and white linen, and a great crown of gold and a robe of fine white linen and purple, and the city of Susa was shouting and rejoicing.

In every province and city, wherever the king's edict and his law came, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a banquet and a {holiday}, and many of the people from the country [were] posing as Jews because the fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

The rest of the Jews who [were] in the king's provinces gathered and {defended their lives} and {found repose} from their enemies. And they killed seventy-five thousand of those that hated them, but they did not {touch} the plunder.

as the day that the Jews {found relief} from their enemies, and the month which changed for them from sorrow to joy, and from a mourning ceremony to a {festive day}; to make them days of feasting and joy, and giving gifts to each other and to the poor.

[There] was a man in the land of Uz whose name [was] Job. That man was blameless and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil.

So Yahweh said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it."

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."

So Yahweh said to Satan, "Look, {all that belongs to him} is in your {power}. Only do not stretch out your hand {against} him." So Satan went out from Yahweh's {presence}.

While this one was still speaking, {another} came and said, "The fire of God fell from the heavens, and it blazed up against the sheep and goats and against the servants, and it consumed them. But I escaped, [even] I alone, to tell you."

And behold, a great wind came from across the desert, and it struck the four corners of the house {so that} it fell upon the young people, and they died. But I escaped, [even] I alone, to tell you."

Then he said, "Naked I came out from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. Yahweh gives, and Yahweh takes. Let Yahweh's name be blessed."

So Yahweh {asked} Satan, "From where have you come?" And Satan answered Yahweh and said, "From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it."

So Yahweh {asked} 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. And still he persists in his blamelessness {even though} you incited me against him to destroy him for nothing."

So Satan went out from {Yahweh's presence}, and he inflicted Job with loathsome skin sores from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head.

So he said to her, "You speak like one of the foolish women speaks. Indeed, should we receive the good from God, but not receive the evil?" In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

Thus Job's three friends heard of this calamity that had come upon him. So each set out from his [own] place: Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. And they met together to come to console him and to comfort him.

Thus they lifted up their eyes from afar, but they did not recognize him, so they raised their voice, and they wept, and each man tore his outer garment and threw dust on their heads {toward the sky}.

Let that day become darkness; may God not seek it from above, nor may daylight shine on it.

because it did not shut the doors of my [mother's] womb, nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.

"Why did I not die at birth? [Why] did I [not] come forth from [the] womb and expire?

There [the] wicked cease from troubling, and there [the] {weary} are at rest;

[The] small and [the] great [are] there, and [the] slave [is] free from his masters.

"[If] someone would test a word with you, would you be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?

"And a word came stealing to me, and my ear received [the] whisper from it.

Amid troubling thoughts from night visions, at [the] falling of deep sleep on men,

His children are far from deliverance, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer--

whose harvest [the] hungry eats, and he takes it {from behind} [the] thorns; and [the] thirsty pants after their wealth.

Indeed, mischief does not come from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

And he saves from the sword of their mouth, {even} [the] poor from the hand of the strong.

{From} six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven evil shall not touch you.

In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from [the] {power of} [the] sword.

From [the] scourge of [the] tongue you shall be hidden, and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

{Indeed}, my help is not in me, and [any] success is driven from me.

"Loyal love [should come] for the afflicted [from] his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of Shaddai.