The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made offsets (niches) in the walls all around on the outside of the house so that the supporting beams would not be inserted into the walls of the house.

and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions which they have committed against You, and make them objects of compassion before their captors, that they will be merciful to them

But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

Now when Ahab heard these words [of Elijah], he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly (mourning).

Then you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out [the oil you have] into all these containers, and you shall set aside each one when it is full.”

Elisha answered, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Elisha answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and bow? Serve them bread and water, so that they may eat and drink, and go back to their master [King Ben-hadad].”

Ahab had seventy sons [and grandsons] in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying,

So in those days the Lord began to cut off portions of Israel; Hazael [of Aram] defeated them throughout the territory of Israel:

The captains of hundreds acted in accordance with everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and each of them took his men who were to come in (on duty) on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out (off duty) on the Sabbath, and they came to Jehoiada the priest.

Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money for the dedicated things which is brought into the house of the Lord, in current money, both the money of each man’s assessment [for all those bound by vows], and all the money which any man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house (temple) of the Lord,

Then they gave the money, which was weighed out into the hands of those who were doing the work, who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house (temple) of the Lord,

In those days the Lord began sending Rezin the king of Aram (Syria) and [Israel’s king] Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.

Did the gods of the nations whom my forefathers destroyed rescue them—Gozan and Haran [of Mesopotamia] and Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?

and have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not [real] gods but [only] the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they [could destroy them and] have destroyed them.

In those days [when Sennacherib first invaded Judah] Hezekiah became deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not recover.’”

Then the people of the land [of Judah] killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

He got rid of the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense [to pagan gods] in the high places in Judah’s cities and all around Jerusalem—also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations [of the zodiac], and to all the [starry] host of heaven.

These were the potters and those who lived [among plantations and hedges] at Netaim and Gederah; they lived there with the king for his work.

They found rich, good pasture, and the [cleared] land was wide, quiet, and peaceful; for those who had lived there previously came from Ham [and had left it a better place for those who came after them].

These are the men who crossed over the Jordan in the first month when it had overflowed all its banks and they put to flight all those in the valleys, east and west.

Those of the tribe of Judah who carried shield and spear were 6,800, armed for war;

of the tribe of Simeon, brave warriors, 7,100;

of the tribe of Levi, 4,600.

Also those who were [living] near them [from] as far as [the tribes of] Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen, abundant supplies of flour, cakes of figs and raisins, wine, [olive] oil, oxen, and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

With them were Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those who were to sound aloud, and instruments for [accompanying] the songs of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were to be at the gate.

These were the Levites by their fathers’ households, the heads of the fathers’ households of those registered, according to the number of names of the individuals who were the servants of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.

But David did not count those twenty years of age and under, for the Lord had said he would multiply Israel as the stars of heaven.

Ezri the son of Chelub was in charge of those who did the work of the field, tilling the soil.

David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders (officials) of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, and the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the overseers of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, with the palace officers and the mighty men, and all the brave warriors.

Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

the son of a Danite woman and a Tyrian father. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood; in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics, and in fine linen. He is able to make any kind of engraving and to carry out any design given him. He will work with your skilled men and those of my lord, David your father.

and all of the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres were standing at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets

but were descendants of those who were left in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed—Solomon brought them up as forced laborers to this day.

The servants of Huram and those of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought almug trees and precious stones.

Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers.

He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was at rest, and there was no one at war with him in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.

In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, for great suffering came on all the inhabitants of the lands.

He brought the things that his father [Abijah] had dedicated and those things that he had dedicated into the house of God—silver and gold and utensils.

For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this; therefore, from now on you will have wars.”

These are the ones who were in the service of the king, besides those he had placed in fortified cities throughout Judah.

Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the ungodly and love those who hate the Lord and in doing so bring wrath from the Lord on yourself?

For the sons of Ammon and Moab [suspecting betrayal] rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

But let no one enter the house (temple) of the Lord except the priests and the Levites who minister; they may enter, for they are holy. And let all the people carefully observe the law of the Lord.

So the Levites and all Judah acted in accordance with everything that Jehoiada the priest had commanded; and every man took his men who were to resume duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss [any of] the divisions [from their duties].

The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and they would hire masons and carpenters (craftsmen) and also those who worked in iron and bronze to repair and restore the house of the Lord.

Then some of the heads of the Ephraimites (Israel)—Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—took a stand against those who were returning from the battle,

So the runners went throughout Israel and Judah with the letters from the hand of the king and his officials, in accordance with the command of the king, saying, “O sons (descendants) of Israel, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob), so that He will return to those of you who escaped and are left from the hand (power) of the kings of Assyria.

Hezekiah also appointed the king’s [personal] portion of his goods: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the New Moons and for the appointed feasts, as it is written in the Law of the Lord.

without regard to their genealogical registration, to the males from thirty years old and upward—everyone who entered the house of the Lord for his daily obligations—for their service in accordance with their duties by their divisions;

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the army that is with him; for the One with us is greater than the one with him.

Do you not know what I and my fathers (ancestors) have done to all the peoples of the [other] lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands able to rescue their lands from my hand at all?

Who [was there] among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed who was able to rescue his people from my hand, that your God should be able to rescue you from my hand?

In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and He answered him and gave him a [miraculous] sign.

But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah king in his place.

They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were high above them; he also smashed the Asherim and the carved images and the cast images to pieces, and ground them to dust and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.

“Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah in regard to the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord which has been poured out on us because our fathers have not kept and obeyed the word of the Lord, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book.”

He deported to Babylon those who had escaped from the sword; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the kingdom of Persia was established there,

Then the heads of the fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, all those whose spirits God had stirred up, arose to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.

All those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle, and with valuable things, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering.

Now these are the people of the province [of Judah] who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city.

These searched [for their names] among those registered in the genealogies, but they were not found; so they were excluded from the priesthood as [ceremonially] unclean.

Then we asked those elders, ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’

As for the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver [those] in full before the God of Jerusalem.

“You, Ezra, are to appoint magistrates and judges in accordance with the wisdom and instruction of your God which is in your hand, so that they may judge all the people who are in the province west of the [Euphrates] River; appoint those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who does not know them.

These are the heads of their fathers’ households and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:

For I was ashamed to request troops and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy along the way, because we had told the king, “The hand of our God is favorable toward all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon (turn away from) Him.”

We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth [day] of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and those who lay in ambushes along the way.

Also the [former] exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: 12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and 12 male goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.

Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me as I sat appalled until the evening offering.

Therefore let us now make a covenant with our God to send away all the [foreign] wives and their children, in accordance with the advice of my lord and of those who tremble [in reverent obedience] at the commandment of our God; and let it be done in accordance with the Law.

And I said, “Please, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens loaded themselves so that everyone worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.

Moreover, there were at my table a hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

Moreover, in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.

Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be registered by genealogy. Then I found the register of the genealogy of those who came [from Babylon] first, and I found the following record:

These are the sons (descendants, people) of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported [to Babylon]; they returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his city,

These men searched for their ancestral registration among those recorded in the genealogies, but it was not located; so they were excluded from the priesthood as [ceremonially] unclean.

Then he read from it, in front of the open square which was in front of the Water Gate, from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and women, those who could understand; and all the people listened carefully to the Book of the Law.

The second choir went to the left; I followed with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of the Furnaces, to the Broad Wall,

Then the two choirs stood in the house of God. So did I, and half of the officials with me;

In those days I saw some in Judah who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves or sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I protested and warned them on the day they sold the produce.

In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa [the capital of the Persian Empire],

and who were close to him [as advisors]: Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven officials of Persia and Media who had access to the king and were ranked highest in the kingdom.

In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the door, became angry and conspired to attack King Ahasuerus.

If it pleases the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry out the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.”

Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar) on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the [very] day when the enemies of the Jews had hoped to gain power over them [and slaughter them], it happened the other way around so that the Jews themselves gained power over those who hated them.

So the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.

On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa was reported to the king.

“Let those curse it who curse the day,
Who are skilled in rousing up Leviathan.

“Remember now, who, being innocent, ever perished?
Or where [and in what circumstances] were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?

“As I have seen, those who plow wickedness
And those who sow trouble and harm harvest it.

‘How much more [will He blame and charge] those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay,
Whose foundations are in the dust,
Who are crushed like a moth.

So that He sets on high those who are lowly,
And He lifts to safety those who mourn.

“Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the tents of the wicked will be no longer.”

“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,
But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“The tents of the destroyers prosper;
And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure,
Whom God brings into their power.