I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was restricted to his house. He said:

Let us meet at the house of God
inside the temple.
Let us shut the temple doors
because they are coming to kill you.
They are coming to kill you tonight!

I realized that God had not sent him, because of the prophecy he spoke against me. Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.

Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.”

Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration, because they had understood the words that were explained to them.

You did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of Your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go.

You are righteous concerning all that has come on us,
because You have acted faithfully,
while we have acted wickedly.

Its abundant harvest goes to the kings
You have set over us,
because of our sins.
They rule over our bodies
and our livestock as they please.
We are in great distress.

On that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy. The women and children also celebrated, and Jerusalem’s rejoicing was heard far away.

On that same day men were placed in charge of the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tenths. The legally required portions for the priests and Levites were gathered from the village fields, because Judah was grateful to the priests and Levites who were serving.

because they did not meet the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam against them to curse them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing.

While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence

I also found out that because the portions for the Levites had not been given, each of the Levites and the singers performing the service had gone back to his own field.

I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for the distribution to their colleagues.

to bring Queen Vashti before him with her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the people and the officials, because she was very beautiful.

Mordecai was the legal guardian of his cousin Hadassah (that is, Esther), because she didn’t have a father or mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was extremely good-looking. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.

Esther did not reveal her ethnic background or her birthplace, because Mordecai had ordered her not to.

The entire royal staff at the King’s Gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace.

Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai is Jewish, and you have begun to fall before him, you won’t overcome him, because your downfall is certain.”

Angered by this, the king arose from where they were drinking wine and went to the palace garden. Haman remained to beg Queen Esther for his life because he realized the king was planning something terrible for him.

That same day King Ahasuerus awarded Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Mordecai entered the king’s presence because Esther had revealed her relationship to Mordecai.

King Ahasuerus said to Esther the Queen and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked the Jews.

In every province and every city, wherever the king’s command and his law reached, joy and rejoicing took place among the Jews. There was a celebration and a holiday. And many of the ethnic groups of the land professed themselves to be Jews because fear of the Jews had overcome them.

All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the royal civil administrators aided the Jews because they were afraid of Mordecai.

because during those days the Jews got rid of their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday. They were to be days of feasting, rejoicing, and of sending gifts to one another and the poor.

For this reason these days are called Purim, from the word Pur.

Because of all the instructions in this letter as well as what they had witnessed and what had happened to them,

Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.

and become darkened because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.

They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are frustrated.

You will be confident, because there is hope.
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.

then be afraid of the sword,
because wrath brings punishment by the sword,
so that you may know there is a judgment.

This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer,
because I am upset!

Because his appetite is never satisfied,
he does not let anything he desires escape.

Does He correct you and take you to court
because of your piety?

Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.

Yet no one would stretch out his hand
against a ruined man
when he cries out to him for help
because of his distress.

For disaster from God terrifies me,
and because of His majesty I could not do these things.

if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great
or because my own hand has acquired so much,

because I greatly feared the crowds,
and the contempt of the clans terrified me,
so I grew silent and would not go outside?

So these three men quit answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified himself rather than God.

He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he.

because they turned aside from following Him
and did not understand any of His ways

If only Job were tested to the limit,
because his answers are like those of wicked men.

People cry out because of severe oppression;
they shout for help because of the arm of the mighty.

There they cry out, but He does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.

But now, because God’s anger does not punish
and He does not pay attention to transgression,

Teach us what we should say to Him;
we cannot prepare our case because of our darkness.

Can you depend on it because its strength is great?
Would you leave it to do your hard work?

When Leviathan rises, the mighty are terrified;
they withdraw because of his thrashing.

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again because the Lord sustains me.

Lord, lead me in Your righteousness
because of my adversaries;
make Your way straight before me.

Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.
Drive them out because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against You.

Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of Your faithful love.

My eyes are swollen from grief;
they grow old because of all my enemies.

Because of Your adversaries,
You have established a stronghold
from the mouths of children and nursing infants
to silence the enemy and the avenger.

Those who know Your name trust in You
because You have not abandoned
those who seek You, Yahweh.

So he is oppressed and beaten down;
the helpless fall because of his strength.

“Because of the oppression of the afflicted
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”

My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

I will sing to the Lord
because He has treated me generously.

I keep the Lord in mind always.
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

I call on You, God,
because You will answer me;
listen closely to me; hear what I say.

Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;
they shook because He burned with anger.

He brought me out to a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.

Do not be far from me, because distress is near
and there is no one to help.

I will give praise in the great congregation
because of You;
I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear You.

Do not remember the sins of my youth
or my acts of rebellion;
in keeping with Your faithful love, remember me
because of Your goodness, Lord.

Because of Your name, Yahweh,
forgive my sin, for it is great.

Davidic.Vindicate me, Lord,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

Because of my adversaries,
show me Your way, Lord,
and lead me on a level path.

Because they do not consider
what the Lord has done
or the work of His hands,
He will tear them down and not rebuild them.

A psalm; a dedication song for the house. Davidic.I will exalt You, Lord,
because You have lifted me up
and have not allowed my enemies
to triumph over me.

For You are my rock and my fortress;
You lead and guide me
because of Your name.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithful love
because You have seen my affliction.
You have known the troubles of my life

Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am in distress;
my eyes are worn out from angry sorrow—
my whole being as well.

Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;
my strength has failed
because of my sinfulness,
and my bones waste away.

For our hearts rejoice in Him
because we trust in His holy name.

The Lord laughs at him
because He sees that his day is coming.

Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord holds his hand.

The Lord helps and delivers them;
He will deliver them from the wicked and will save them
because they take refuge in Him.

There is no health in my body
because of Your indignation;
there is no strength in my bones
because of my sin.

My wounds are foul and festering
because of my foolishness.

I am faint and severely crushed;
I groan because of the anguish of my heart.

So I confess my guilt;
I am anxious because of my sin.

I am speechless; I do not open my mouth
because of what You have done.

Remove Your torment from me;
I fade away because of the force of Your hand.

Let those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
be horrified because of their shame.

You supported me because of my integrity
and set me in Your presence forever.

I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”

For You are the God of my refuge.
Why have You rejected me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?

because of the voice of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger.

Because of You we are slain all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

Rise up! Help us!
Redeem us because of Your faithful love.

Mount Zion is glad.
The towns of Judah rejoice
because of Your judgments.

Then they will be filled with terror—
terror like no other—
because God will scatter
the bones of those who besiege you.
You will put them to shame,
for God has rejected them.

He will repay my adversaries for their evil.
Because of Your faithfulness, annihilate them.

I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You.
I will praise Your name, Yahweh,
because it is good.