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.

One hundred and fifty men, prefects and Jews, and those who came to us from the nations around us, [were] at my table.

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come and let us meet together in [one of] the villages in the plain of Ono." But they planned to do evil to me.

In it was written, "It has been reported among the nations, and Gashmu also is saying it, that you and the Jews are considering rebellion. Therefore, truly you are building the wall and you are becoming their king, according to these words.

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.

Now I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined [at home], and he said, "Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple; for they are coming to kill you--during the night they are coming to kill you."

When our enemies heard of this, all of the nations surrounding us were afraid and {lost their confidence}. They knew that this work had been done with [the help of] our God.

For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jehohanan took as a wife the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah.

I said to them, "Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot. While they are standing guard let them shut and fasten the doors. And appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his post and another opposite his house."

the descendants of Gazzam, the descendants of Uzza, the descendants of Paseah,

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.

All of the people gathered as one to the public square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that Yahweh had commanded Israel.

Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all of the people, "This day is holy to Yahweh your God. Do not mourn nor weep." For all of the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

Then he said to them, "Go, eat festive food and drink sweet drinks, and send a share to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our lord. Do not be grieved because the joy of Yahweh is your refuge."

So the Levites silenced all of the people, saying, "Silence, for this day is holy. Do not be grieved."

and that they should proclaim and give voice in all of their cities in Jerusalem, saying, "Go out to the hill and bring olive tree branches, olive oil wood branches, myrtle shrub branches, palm tree branches, and other leafy tree branches to make booths, as it is written."

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 alone are Yahweh. You alone have made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens, and all of their army, the earth and all that is in it, the waters and all that is in them. You give life to all of them, and the army of the heavens worship you.

You gave signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all of his servants, and all of the people of his land because you knew that they acted arrogantly against them. You made a name for yourself, as it is this day.

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 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.

You are righteous in everything that has come on us, for you dealt faithfully, and we have acted wickedly.

Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have given over us because of our sins, and [they are] ruling over our dead bodies and our livestock at their pleasure. We are in great trouble.

"We put on ourselves the commandment upon us to yearly give a third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:

And we have cast lots for the contributions of the wood offering of the priests, the Levites, and the people to bring [it] to the house of our God, by our fathers' houses, at designated times, year by year, to burn on the altar of Yahweh our God--as it is written in the law.

And the firstborn of our sons and beasts--as it is written in the law--and the firstborn of our cattle and sheep, to bring to the house of our God [and] to the priests serving in the house of our God.

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;

and his brothers, heads of the {families}, two hundred and forty-two. And Amashai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer,

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.

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},

of Jehoiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;

In the days of Eliashib, Jehoiada, Jehohanan, and Jaddua the Levites were recorded as heads of the {families}. So [these were] the priests [during] the reign of Darius the Persian.

Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jizrahiah the chief officer.

So I quarreled with the prefects, and I said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them and set them at their station.

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.

So I quarreled with the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the day of the Sabbath?

Did not your ancestors do this also, and our God brought on us all of this disaster and on this city [too]? Now you are adding fierce wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath!"

In those days as King Ahasuerus was sitting on the throne of his kingdom, which [was] in the citadel of Susa,

as he displayed the wealth of the glory of his kingdom and the glorious splendor of his greatness [for] many days, one hundred and eighty days.

There were no restrictions on the drinking, for the king had instructed every official of his palace to do as each one pleased.

And the king said to the wise men, {the ones who know the times}--for it [was] the procedure of the king before all those who knew law and rights;

"According to [the] law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti, because she has not done the command of King Ahasuerus {conveyed by} the eunuchs?

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!'

{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."

Let the king appoint chief officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every attractive young virgin to the {harem} in the citadel of Susa {under the care of} Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let him give [them] their beauty treatment.

And let the young woman {who is pleasing} in the king's eyes become queen in place of Vashti. The thing was good in the king's eyes, and he acted accordingly.

There was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name [was] Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

He was raising Hadassah, that [is] Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she did not have a father or a mother; the young woman [had] a beautiful figure and [was] very attractive. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had taken her as his daughter.

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}.

When the turn came near for Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken [her] as a daughter, to go to the king, she did not ask anything except what Hegai the eunuch of the king who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther carried favor in the eyes of everyone that saw her.

Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his {palace}, in the tenth month that is Tebeth in the seventh year of his reign.

Esther had not made known her family and her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther {did what Mordecai told her}, just as when she was brought up by him.

In the first month, that [is], the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasurus, he cast pur--that [is], the lot--before the presence of Haman {for the day and for the month}, until the twelfth month, that [is], the month of Adar.

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.

And the king said to Haman, "The money [is] given to you and to the people to do with it {as you see fit}.

Letters [were] sent by couriers to all the provinces of the king to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, {both young and old}, women and children, on one day, the thirteenth day of the month, that [is] Adar, and to plunder their goods.

A copy of the edict [was] presented [as] law in every province making [it] known to all the people to be ready for that day.

In every province [each] place where the king's edict and his law came, there [was] great mourning for the Jews with fasting, crying, wailing, [and] sackcloth; and ashes were spread out as a bed for them.

"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that [if] any man or woman who goes to the king to the inner courtyard, who is not called, he has one law, to be killed, except if the king extends to him the gold scepter so that he may live. I have not been called to come to the king {for thirty days}."

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 Esther said, "If it is good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."

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.

And Esther answered and said, "[This is] my petition and my request.

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 the king asked, "Who [is] in the courtyard?" Haman had just come to the courtyard of the king's outer palace to tell the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

And the king's servants said to him, "Look! Haman [is] standing in the courtyard." And the king said, "Let him come."

And Haman came, and the king said to him, "What [is] to be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?" And Haman thought to himself, "Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?"

let them bring {royal clothing} with which the king has clothed himself, and a horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal head-dress has been given.

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."

So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai and let him ride through the public square of the city; and he proclaimed before him, "Thus, it is done to 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."

As they [were] still speaking with him the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

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."

Then Queen Esther answered, and she said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it is good to the king, let my life be given to me at my petition and my people at my request;

I and my people have been sold to be destroyed and killed, to be annihilated. If we had been sold as male and female slaves I would have kept quiet, because this is not a need sufficient to trouble the king."

And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, "Who [is] he, and where [is] he, who {gave himself the right to do this}?"

And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy [is] this evil Haman!" And Haman was terrified before the king and queen.

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 she said, "If it is good to the king, and if I have found favor before him, and if the king is pleased with this matter, and {I have his approval}, let [an edict] be written to revoke the letters of the plans of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that [are] in all the provinces of the king.

Write {as you see fit} concerning the Jews in the name of the king, and seal [it] with the king's signet ring; for a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's signet ring cannot be revoked."

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.

in one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

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.

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.

In the twelfth month, that [is] the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, on which the edict of the king arrived and his law was enacted, on the day in which the enemies of the Jews had hoped to gain power over them but was overturned, [and] the Jews gained power against their enemies,

the Jews gathered in their cities in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus {to strike against} those who sought their destruction, and no one could withstand them, as the fear of them fell on all the people.

For Mordecai [was] high-ranking in the {king's palace} and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as {Mordecai grew more and more powerful}.

The Jews struck down all their enemies with {the sword}, killing and destroying [them]; and they did as they pleased with those that hated them.

And the king said to Queen Esther, "In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? What [is] your petition? It will be granted to you. And what further [is] your request? It will be done."

Esther replied, "If it is good to the king, let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who [are] in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let them hang Haman's ten sons on the gallows."

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.

For Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and he had cast pur, that [is] the lot, to rout them out and destroy them.

the Jews established and adopted [it] for themselves and for their offspring, and for all who joined them. They did not neglect {to observe} these two days every year as it was written and appointed to them.

to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had imposed, and just as they had imposed on themselves and their offspring regulations of the fast and their lament.