Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them, (whereas it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them,)

Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.

And the rest of the Jews which were in the king's provinces gathered together and stood for their soul, and rested from their enemies, and slew among their enemies five and seventy thousand; and upon the prey they sent not their hand.

This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day of the same month rested they, which day they ordained to be a day of feasting and gladness.

Therefore the Jews of the villages that dwell in the country towns make the fourteenth of the month Adar a day of joy and feasting, and a good day, and on which they send portions one to another.

As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

And the Jews have received that which they had begun to do, and that which Mordecai hath written unto them,

But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,

how that these days are not to be forgotten, but to be kept of the children's children among all kindreds in all lands and cities. They are the days of Purim, which are not to be overslipped among the Jews, and the memorial of them ought not to perish from their seed.

So Esther’s command confirmed these customs of Purim, which were then written into the record.

And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

But send forth now thy band and tough upon all which is to him, if he will not bless thee upon thy face.

In the mean season while he was yet speaking, there came another, and said, "The Chaldeans made three armies, and fell upon thy camels, which they have carried away: yea, and slain thy servants with the sword, and I only am gotten away, to tell thee."

and suddenly there came a mighty great wind out of the South, and smote the four corners of the house: which fell upon thy children, so that they are dead, and I alone am gotten away, to tell thee."

And the adversary will answer Jehovah and say, Skin for skin, and all which is to a man he will give for his soul.

And Jehovah will say to the adversary, Behold him in thy hand, but watch his soul

And Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes (rubbish heaps).

And Job's three friends had word of all this evil which had come on him. And they came every one from his place, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. So they came together to a meeting-place, in order that they might go and make clear to Job their grief for him, and give him comfort.

Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

With kings and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;

Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

There, are those let out free which have been in prison, so that they hear no more the voice of the oppressor.

Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;

Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

That should be joy to the man whose way is hid, which God keepeth back from him.

For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?

Which his harvest the hungry one will devour, and not from thorns shall they take it, and destruction gaped after their substance.

Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:

Which giveth rain upon the earth, and poureth water upon all things;

To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.

Which destroyeth the devices of the subtle, so that they are not able to perform the things that they take in hand;

which compasseth the wise in their own craftiness, and overthroweth the counsel of the wicked.

Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

"Who will grant my wish? I wish God would grant what I'm hoping for:

“I wish that it would please God to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

Then should I yet have comfort; and in the pain which spareth not I would rejoice that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a stream, as the channel of streams which pass away,

Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:

“The paths of their course wind along,
They go up into nothing and perish.
[Your counsel is as helpful to me as a dry streambed in the heat of summer.]

How steadfast are the words of truth! And which of you can rebuke or reprove them?

Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?

Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out:

Which his hope shall be cut off, and the spider's house his trust

Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

One thing, there is, for which cause, I have said it, The blameless and the lawless, he bringeth to an end.

They have passed away with boats of paper-reed, like a vulture which rusheth upon food.

If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;

If I have sinned, then couldst thou watch me, and, from mine iniquity, thou wouldst not acquit me:

"'Why, then, have you brought me forth out of the womb? I wish I had given up the spirit, and no eye had seen me.

I wish I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

Before I go to the place from which I will not come back, to the land where all is dark and black,

A land of obscurity, like thick darkness, of death-shade and disorder, and which shineth like thick darkness.

And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

Surely He knows which people are worthless.
If He sees iniquity, will He not take note of it?

If thou put far away the iniquity which is in thy hand, and let not wrong dwell in thy tents;

Or to the things which go flat on the earth, and they will give you wisdom; and the fishes of the sea will give you news of it.

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

Which in his hand the soul of all living, and the spirit of all the flesh of man.

“But I wish to speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.

I wish you'd all just shut up. Then at least you would appear to be wise.

Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash;
your defenses are made of clay.

Do you wish to torment a windblown leaf and chase after dry chaff?

“You also put my feet in the stocks [as punishment]
And [critically] observe all my paths;
You set a circle and limit around the soles of my feet [which I must not overstep],

Though a man comes to nothing like a bit of dead wood, or like a robe which has become food for the worm.

If his days are determined, if the number of his months is with thee, and thou hast appointed his bounds which he must not pass,

“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.

For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?

The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.

“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,
And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”

Reasoning with unprofitable talk, and with speeches which do no good?

What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?

“Are the consolations of God [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you,
[Or] were we too gentle toward you [in our first speech] to be effective?

What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;

Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:

And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.

May words which are like the wind be stopped? or what is troubling you to make answer to them?

And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.

I wish that someone might arbitrate
between a man and God
just as a man pleads for his friend.

“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.

My days are past, my thoughts are vanished away, which have vexed my heart,

Why are we counted as animals, which have become unclean in your sight?

“The vigorous stride will be shortened,
And his own counsel and the scheme [in which he trusted] will bring his downfall.

“He is torn from his tent which he trusted [for safety],
And he is marched and brought to the king of terrors (death).

There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.

know this then: that it is God which hath handled me so violently, and hath compassed me about with his net.

His men of war came together, which made their way over me, and besieged my dwelling round about.