because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

Thus the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.

But when it came to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. And because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them,

to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their descendants with instructions for their times of fasting and their lamentations.

The command of Esther established these customs for Purim, and it was written in the book.

His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

“May that day be darkness;
Let not God above care for it,
Nor light shine on it.

“Let darkness and black gloom claim it;
Let a cloud settle on it;
Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

“As for that night, let darkness seize it;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
Let it not come into the number of the months.

“Behold, let that night be barren;
Let no joyful shout enter it.

“Let those curse it who curse the day,
Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

“Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;
Let it wait for light but have none,
And let it not see the breaking dawn;

Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb,
Or hide trouble from my eyes.

“Why did I not die at birth,
Come forth from the womb and expire?

“For now I would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

“There the wicked cease from raging,
And there the weary are at rest.

“The prisoners are at ease together;
They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

Who long for death, but there is none,
And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And my cries pour out like water.

“For what I fear comes upon me,
And what I dread befalls me.

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

“But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
It touches you, and you are dismayed.

“According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it.

“Now a word was brought to me stealthily,
And my ear received a whisper of it.

“It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, then I heard a voice:

‘Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?
They die, yet without wisdom.’

“His harvest the hungry devour
And take it to a place of thorns,
And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

“By day they meet with darkness,
And grope at noon as in the night.

“You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

“You will laugh at violence and famine,
And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.

“For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

“Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”

“For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;
Therefore my words have been rash.

“Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

“But it is still my consolation,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

“What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should endure?

“Is it that my help is not within me,
And that deliverance is driven from me?

“My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,
Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,

“When they become waterless, they are silent,
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

“How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?

“Now please look at me,
And see if I lie to your face.

“Desist now, let there be no injustice;
Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.

“When a cloud vanishes, it is gone,
So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

“What is man that You magnify him,
And that You are concerned about him,

“Have I sinned? What have I done to You,
O watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden to myself?

“Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

“Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your end will increase greatly.

“Please inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

“While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other plant.

“He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;
He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.

“He thrives before the sun,
And his shoots spread out over his garden.

“If he is removed from his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

“Behold, this is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.

“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
And your lips with shouting.

“It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;

Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;

Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the waves of the sea;

“Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

“If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

“It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’

“The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?

Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would abhor me.

‘Is it right for You indeed to oppress,
To reject the labor of Your hands,
And to look favorably on the schemes of the wicked?

‘According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty,
Yet there is no deliverance from Your hand.

‘Did You not pour me out like milk
And curdle me like cheese;

‘Yet these things You have concealed in Your heart;
I know that this is within You:

‘Why then have You brought me out of the womb?
Would that I had died and no eye had seen me!

“They are high as the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?

“If you would direct your heart right
And spread out your hand to Him,

If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

“For you would forget your trouble,
As waters that have passed by, you would remember it.

“He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.

“Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to you.

“Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

“Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.

“Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.

“What you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.

“O that you would be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!

“Will you speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?

“Will it be well when He examines you?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

“Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come on me what may.

“Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!

“For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.

At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.

So man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.

“If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my change comes.

“His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.

“What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that we do not?

That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth?

“What is man, that he should be pure,
Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

“I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;

What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from their fathers,

“Sounds of terror are in his ears;
While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

“He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.