and the food of his table, and the position of his officers, the duty of his servants and their clothing, his cupbearers and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of Yahweh, there was no longer any breath in her.

Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba every desired thing she asked, besides what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her land, she and her servants.

And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

And also Maacah, the mother of Asa, the king removed her from [being] queen, because she had made a repulsive image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her repulsive image, and he crushed and burned [it] at the Wadi Kidron.

Then Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here another prophet of Yahweh that we might inquire of him?"

Now [when] Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son [was] dead, she arose and murdered all the {royal descendants} of the house of Judah.

And she looked and, behold, the king was standing by his column at the entrance, and the commanders and trumpeters beside the king, along with all the people of the land, rejoicing and blowing with trumpets, and the singers with the instruments of song leading the praise. And Athaliah tore her garments and cried, "Conspiracy! Conspiracy!"

Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of the hundreds appointed over the troops, and he said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever goes after her shall be put to death with the sword." For the priest had said, "You must not kill her in the house of Yahweh.

And they laid hands on her, and she went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of the house of the king, and they killed her there.

And they said to them, "You shall not bring the captives here, for [it is] as guilt [against] Yahweh upon us. You yourselves plan to add to our sins and to our guilt, but our guilt is very great, and [there is] great anger against Israel."

Then Hilkiah and those whom the king [had sent] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the garments. (Now she was living in Jerusalem in the second district.) And they spoke to her concerning this.

And they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the {families}, and they said to them, "Let us build with you. Like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing [to him] from the days of Esarhaddon the king of Assyria who brought us up here.

Yahweh, God of Israel, you are righteous, for we have been left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this."

I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad when the city of my ancestors' burial site is ruined and her gates are consumed by fire?"

to bring Queen Vashti before the king {with her royal crown} to show the people and the officials her beauty, {for she was very attractive}.

{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.

After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.

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.

{The young woman pleased him} and she won favor in his presence, and he quickly provided for her beauty treatment and her portion of food, with seven chosen maids to give to her from the {king's palace}, and he advanced her and her maids to the best part of the {harem}.

Esther did not disclose her people and her family because Modecai had charged her that she must not tell.

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}.

In the evening she would go and in the morning she would return to the {second harem} {under the care of} Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would not go back to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was called by name.

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.

And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won his favor and loyalty more than all the virgins, so he put a {royal crown} on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

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.

And Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and they told her, and the queen was deeply distressed; she sent garments to clothe Mordecai so that he might remove his sackcloth--but he did not accept [them].

Then Esther called Hathach from the king's eunuchs {who regularly attended to her}, and she ordered him [to go] to Mordecai to learn what was happening and why.

And he gave him a copy of the edict of the law that had been issued in Susa for their destruction to show Esther, and to inform her, and to charge her to go to the king and make supplication to him and entreat before him for her people.

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 Haman added}, "Esther the Queen did not let [just anyone] come to the banquet that she prepared with the king except me, and I am also invited tomorrow to her [banquet] with the king.

On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he [was] to her.

So he said to her, "You speak like one of the foolish women speaks. Indeed, should we receive the good from God, but not receive the evil?" In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

They are disappointed, because they trusted; they came {here} and they are confounded.

let my wife grind for another, and let other [men] kneel over her,

(for from my childhood he {grew up with} me like a father, and from my mother's womb I guided her),

{O that} {I had} someone hearing me! Here is my signature; let Shaddai answer me! {As for} [the] written communication [that] {my adversary} has written,

and I said, 'You shall come up to here, but you shall not go further, and here it will set [a boundary] {for your proud surging waves}'?

Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go? And will they say to you, 'Here we are'?

The king's daughter is all glorious within; her garment [is] of gold embroidered cloth.

She is brought to the king [in] colorful garments. [The] young women behind her, her attendants, [are] being brought to you.

God [is] in the midst of her; she will not be made to totter. God will help her {at daybreak}.

God [is] in her citadels; he is known as a [high] stronghold.

As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of Yahweh of hosts, in the city of our God. God will establish her forever. Selah

Walk about Zion and circle it; count her towers.

{Consider well} her ramparts. Go through her citadels so that you can tell [the] next generation

Rebuke [the] beasts in [the] reeds, [the] herd of bulls with [the] calves of [the] peoples, trampling the pieces of silver. Scatter [the] nations [who] delight in battles.

Ambassadors will come from Egypt; Cush will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them like a herd in the wilderness.

Even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, near your altars, O Yahweh [of] hosts, my king and my God.

But with respect to Zion it shall be said, "{Each one} was born in her," for the Most High himself will establish her.

Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and show favor to its dust.

He established [the] earth on her foundations, [so that] it will not be moved forever and ever.

Behold, as [the] eyes of servants [look] to the hand of their master, as [the] eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes [look] to Yahweh our God, until he is gracious to us.

Look, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found her in the fields of Jaar.

"This [is] my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

On [the] willows in her midst, we hung up our lyres.

Wisdom calls out in the streets, in the squares she raises her voice.

On a {busy corner} she cries out, at the entrances of the gates in the city, she speaks her sayings:

if you seek her like silver and search her out {like treasure},

[in order] to deliver you from a strange woman, from a foreign woman [who] flatters [with] her sayings,

she who forsakes the partner of her youth and has forgotten the covenant of her God,

for her house sinks to death, and to the dead are her paths.

[Of] all who go to her, none shall return, nor do they reach paths of life.

For her income is better than the income of silver, and her revenue than [that of] gold.

She is more precious than rubies, and all your desires shall not compare with her.

Length of days [is] in her right hand; in her left hand [are] riches and honor.

Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness, and all her paths [are] peace.

She is a tree of life for those who seize her; those who take hold of her are considered happy.

Do not forsake her--then she will guard you; love her and she will keep you.

Cherish her and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.

Seize the instruction! Do not let go! Guard her, for she is your life.

For the lips of the strange woman will drip honey, and smoother than oil is her mouth.

But her end is bitter as the wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet go down [to] death; her steps take hold [of] Sheol.

She does not observe the path of life; her ways wander, [and] she does not know [it].

Keep your paths far from her, and do not go near to the door of her house,

[She is] a deer of love and a doe of grace; may her breasts satisfy you {always}; by her love may you be intoxicated continually.

Do not desire her beauty in your heart; may she not capture you with her eyelashes.

Thus, he who goes to the wife of his neighbor, any who touches her shall not go unpunished.

[In order] to guard yourself from {an adulteress}, from the foreigner who {makes her words smooth}.

passing on the street {at} her corner, and he takes the road [to] her house,

She is loud and stubborn; her feet do not stay at her house.

She took hold of him and kissed him. Her face was impudent, and she said to him,

She persuades him with the greatness of her teachings; with her smooth lips she compels him.

He goes after her suddenly; like an ox to the slaughter he goes, and like a stag to the instruction of a fool,

May your heart not turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her path.

For many slain she has laid low, and countless [are] all of her killings.

The ways of Sheol [are] her house, descending to chambers of death.

For wisdom is better than jewels, and all desires shall not compare with her.

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars.

She has slaughtered her slaughtering, mixed her wine, [and] also set her table.

She has sent her servant girls, she calls upon the wings of the high places of town,

"Whoever [is] simple, let him turn here." As for the one who lacks {sense}, she says to him,

She sits at the door of her house, upon a throne [at the] high places of town,

"Whoever is simple, may he turn here!" As for he who lacks {sense}, she says to him,

But he does not know that the dead [are] there, in the depths of Sheol [are] her guests.

A woman of strength [is] the crown of her master, but like rot in his bones is she who brings shame.

The {wisest of women} builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her hands.

A grief to his father [is] the child of a fool, and bitterness to her who bore him.

Death and life [are] in the {power} of the tongue, and those who love her will eat of her fruit.