the Jews assembled themselves together in their cities, throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to thrust forth a hand against them who were seeking their hurt, and, no man, stood before them, for the dread of them had fallen upon all the peoples.

And, all the rulers of the provinces, and the satraps and the pashas, and the doers of business that pertained to the king, were extolling the Jews, - for the dread of Mordecai, had fallen upon them;

And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

because the dread that I {feel} has come upon me, and what I feared befalls me.

dread met me, and trembling, and it made many of my bones shake.

Do you intend to criticize mere words, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.
My skin forms scabs and then oozes.

Wise in heart and strong in power -- Who hath hardened toward Him and is at peace?

He alone spread out the heavens and he trod upon the heights of the sea.

then I still dread all of my suffering; I know you still won't acquit me.

May he remove his rod from me, and let his dread not terrify me;

‘You renew Your witnesses against me
And increase Your indignation and anger toward me;
Hardship after hardship is with me [attacking me time after time].

If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you?

Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.

Are the consolations of God too small for thee, Even the word that is gentle toward thee?

His wrath has torn, and he has been hostile toward me; he gnashed at me with his teeth. My foe sharpens his eyes against me.

A rope lies hidden in the dirt; a trap lies waiting for him where he is walking."

Those who live in my house and my maidservants, too! treat me like a stranger; they think I'm a foreigner.

Returning [the] products of [his] toil, he will not swallow; according to the profit of his trade, {he will not enjoy},

Their houses, are at peace, without dread, neither is, the rod of GOD, upon them;

The dirt on his grave is sweet to him.
Everyone follows behind him,
and those who go before him are without number.

Therefore snares surround you,
and sudden dread terrifies you,

“Will you keep to the ancient path
That wicked men walked [in the time of Noah],

"Then you'll take delight in the Almighty; and will turn your face toward God.

“Therefore I would be terrified at His presence;
When I consider [all of this], I tremble in dread of Him.

Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

"He himself [is] swift on [the] water's surface; their portion is cursed in the land. {No one turns toward the path of their vineyards}.

He preys on the barren and childless woman, and does not treat the widow well.

"Domination and dread [are] with him who makes peace in his high heavens.

but it will clap its hands over him, hissing at him as it lunges toward him."

Its stones [are the] place of sapphire, and [the] earthen dirt {has} gold.

The sons of pride trod it not, and the lion passed not by upon it.

He has cast me into the dirt, and I have become like dust and ashes.

You changed toward me, and now you're cruel to me; with your mighty hand you are persecuting me;

For a dread unto me is calamity from God, And because of His excellency I am not able.

let him not direct a rebuke toward me. I won't be responding to him with your arguments.

Behold, I am toward God even as thou art: I also am formed out of the clay.

Look, dread of me should not terrify you, and my hand will not be heavy upon you.

He keepeth back his soul from corruption, And his life from passing away by a dart.

‘For he adds rebellion [in his unsubmissive, defiant attitude toward God] to his [unacknowledged] sin;
He claps his hands among us [in open mockery and contempt of God],
And he multiplies his words [of accusation] against God.’”

And if they do not hearken, By the dart they pass away, And expire without knowledge.

when the dust hardens like cast metal
and the clods of dirt stick together?

And she forgetteth that a foot may press it, And a beast of the field tread it down.

Dealing hardly with her young, as none-of hers, In vain, her labour, without dread.

He laugheth at dread, and is not dismayed, neither turneth he back, from the face of the sword;

Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?

Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

“Will he make many supplications to you [begging to be spared]?
Or will he speak soft words to you [to coax you to treat him kindly]?

Out of his mouth, torches dart forth, sparks of fire, escape;

The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon.

But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

Treat them as guilty, O God; let them fall because of their plans. Because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.

Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

His mischief will return on his own head,
And his violence will come down on the top of his head [like loose dirt].

Why does the wicked treat God with contempt? He says in his heart, "You will not call [me] to account."

For lo, the wicked tread a bow, They have prepared their arrow on the string, To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

There they tremble with great fear,
For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

from the wicked who treat me violently,
my deadly enemies who surround me.

I was blameless toward Him
and kept myself from sinning.

Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

Therefore shall you make them turn their back, when you shall make ready your arrows upon your strings toward their face.

Their mouths are opened wide toward me, like roaring and attacking lions.

Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.

Cause me to tread in Thy truth, and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation, Near Thee I have waited all the day.

He causeth the humble to tread in judgment, And teacheth the humble His way.

Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn toward me, and be gracious unto me; for I am solitary and afflicted.

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the refuge and fortress of my life—
Whom shall I dread?

{A Psalm of David.} Unto thee, Jehovah, do I call; my rock, be not silent unto me, lest, if thou keep silence toward me, I become like them that go down into the pit.

Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

I have hated the observers of lying vanities, And I toward Jehovah have been confident.

Because of all my enemies I have become a reproach and disgrace,
Especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me on the street run from me.

Let all the earth, stand in awe of Yahweh, Of him, be in dread, all ye inhabitants of the world;

Lo! the eye of Yahweh, is toward them who revere him, unto such as are waiting for his lovingkindness:

The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous, And his ears are open unto their cry.

Transgression speaks [like an oracle] to the wicked (godless) [deep] within his heart;
There is no fear (dread) of God before his eyes.

A Psalm of David.
Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

For I said, “Don’t let them rejoice over me—
those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble.”

You rebuke by chastening a man with the consequence of iniquities; you destroy what is attractive to him, as one would treat a moth. Indeed, every person is a puff of wind. Interlude

For the music director; By David, a psalm. I relied completely on the Lord, and he turned toward me and heard my cry for help.

Thou, O Jehovah my God, hast multiplied thy marvellous works, and thy thoughts toward us: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee; would I declare and speak them, they are more than can be numbered.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Blessed is he who acts wisely toward the poor; Jehovah will deliver him in time of trouble.

To the Overseer. -- An Instruction. By sons of Korah. As a hart doth pant for streams of water, So my soul panteth toward Thee, O God.

For our fathers did not possess the land [of Canaan] by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them,
But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence,
Because You favored and delighted in them.

Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

You made us an object of ridicule among the nations; foreigners treat us with contempt.

For we lie in the dirt, with our bellies pressed to the ground.

For the Lord Most High is to be feared [and worshiped with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];
He is a great King over all the earth.

Do good in your favor toward Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

There they were, in great terror and dread, where there had been no terror or dread;
For God scattered the bones of him who besieged you;
You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.

Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and a horrible dread hath overwhelmed me.

{To the chanter, upon the domme stock dove, which flyeth far off: Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath} Be merciful unto me, O God, for men will tread me down: they are daily fighting and troubling me.

The day I am afraid I am confident toward Thee.

Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

To the Overseer, for Jeduthun. -- A Psalm of David. Only -- toward God is my soul silent, From Him is my salvation.

Hear, O God, my voice when I complain, From dread peril by the foe, wilt thou guard my life.

who sharpen their tongue like a sword, they tread their arrows, even a bitter word,

Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.

May God be gracious to us and bless us. May he cause his face to shine toward us, Selah