The prefects did not know where I had gone and what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the prefects, and the rest of the workers.

I told them of the good hand of my God that was upon me and surely the words of the king that were spoken to me. And they said, "Let us arise and build!" And they strengthened their hands for [this] good work.

Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and said, "Their wall of stone that they are building would break down if a fox went on it!"

So we rebuilt the wall, and all of the wall was joined up to half [its height]. For the people had a heart to do [it].

It happened when our enemies heard that their plan was known to us, that God had frustrated [it], and we all returned to the wall--each to his work.

Each of the builders had his sword tied to his side while building. And the man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.

Now there was a great cry of distress of the people and of their wives [against] their Jewish brothers.

I was very angry when I heard their shouts and these words.

Moreover, from the appointed day I was made their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes--twelve years. My brothers and I did not eat the food [allowance] of the governor.

Now what was prepared each day for me was one ox, six choice sheep, and birds. And every ten days all [kinds of] wine were made. But for this I did not demand the food [allowance] of the governor because the slavery was too heavy on this people.

Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and to the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that no gap was left in it--though up to that time I had not erected doors in the gates--

In it was written, "It has been reported among the nations, and Gashmu also is saying it, that you and the Jews are considering rebellion. Therefore, truly you are building the wall and you are becoming their king, according to these words.

Now I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined [at home], and he said, "Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple; for they are coming to kill you--during the night they are coming to kill you."

For this reason he was hired: to frighten [me] so that I would act and sin, so that they would have a bad report so they could taunt me.

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.

For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jehohanan took as a wife the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah.

I gave command over Jerusalem to my brother Hanani and Hananiah the commander of the citadel. For he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.

The city [was] widespread and large, but the people in it were few and no houses were rebuilt.

And from the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai (who had taken as a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).

These sought their record among those enrolled in the genealogy, but it was not found there, so they were excluded as unclean from the priesthood.

All of the assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,

And what the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly tunics.

Then Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden podium that had been made for the occasion. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right. On his left [was] Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, because he was above all of the people. When he opened it all the people stood up.

And all of the assembly of those who returned from captivity made booths and lived in the booths because the {Israelites} had not done it from the days of Jeshua son of Nun until that day. And there was very great joy.

And he read from the scroll of the law of God day by day from the first day up to the last day. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly according to the rule.

But you in your many mercies did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud [that was] over them in the day did not cease to leave them on the way, and the column of fire by night [that] gave light to them on the way that they went.

[are] helping their brothers, their nobles, and entering into a solemn oath to walk in the law of God which was given by the hand of Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all of the commandments of Yahweh our Lord and his judgments and regulations.

Now the commanders of the people lived in Jerusalem, but the remainder of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, the [other] nine's place [was in] the [other] cities.

and their brothers; mighty warriors of strength, one hundred and twenty-eight. The chief officer over them [was] Zabdiel son of Hagedolim.

Mattaniah son of Micah, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, [who was] the leader to begin the thanksgiving prayer, and Bakbukiah the second of his brothers; Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.

The chief officer of the Levites in Jerusalem [was] Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, from the descendants of Asaph, the singers over the work of the house of God.

For [there was] a command of the king concerning them and a regulation concerning the singers, required {day by day}.

And Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, from the descendants of Zerah the son of Judah, [was] at the hand of the king in all matters concerning the people.

They offered on that day great sacrifices and rejoiced because God brought great joy to them. And the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

On that day men were appointed for the storehouse rooms, the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes, in order to gather in them from the fields of the cities the requirements of the law for the priests and Levites; for the joy of Judah [was] upon the priests and Levites standing there.

For in the days of David and Asaph from ancient times there was the head of the singers and a song of praise and thanksgiving to God.

So all of Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily food portions of the singers and gatekeepers. And they set apart [that which was for] the Levites, and the Levites set apart [that which was for] the descendants of Aaron.

On that day the book of Moses was read in the hearing of the people and it was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God

Before this, Eliashib the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God--the one related to Tobiah--

During all of this, I was not in Jerusalem because in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. At the end of [some] days I asked permission from the king [to leave].

It was very displeasing for me, and I threw all of the objects from the house of Tobiah outside of the chamber.

I appointed as treasurer over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, Pedaiah from the Levites, and as their hand Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful. [The responsibility given] to them was to distribute to their brothers.

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin.

One from the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, [who was] the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonote [was there]. I chased him away from me.

In those days as King Ahasuerus was sitting on the throne of his kingdom, which [was] in the citadel of Susa,

Drinks were served in goblets of gold and {goblets of different kinds}, and [there was] {plentiful royal wine according to the bounty of the king}.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven of the eunuchs attending King Ahasuerus,

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}.

But Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king that [was] {conveyed by} the eunuchs. And the king became very angry, and his anger burned in him.

And the king said to the wise men, {the ones who know the times}--for it [was] the procedure of the king before all those who knew law and rights;

And let the young woman {who is pleasing} in the king's eyes become queen in place of Vashti. The thing was good in the king's eyes, and he acted accordingly.

There was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name [was] Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

who was deported from Jerusalem with the exiles who were deported with Jeconiah the king of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported.

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.

And it happened, at the proclaiming of the edict of the king and his law, when many young women were being gathered to the citadel of Susa {under Hegai's care}, Esther was taken to the {king's palace} {under the care of} Hegai who was in charge of the women.

And every day Modecai would walk up and down in front of the courtyard of the {harem} to learn {how Esther was doing}.

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.

Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his {palace}, in the tenth month that is Tebeth in the seventh year of his reign.

When [the] virgins were gathered a second time, Mordecai [was] sitting at the gate of the king.

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.

In those days Mordecai [was] sitting at the gate of the king. Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs from the keepers of the threshold, became angry and they conspired {to assassinate} King Ahasuerus.

And the matter was investigated and found [to be so]; and the two of them were hanged on [the] gallows, and it was written in the scroll of the events of the days before the presence of the king.

They spoke to him day after day, but he did not listen to them, and they informed Haman to see if {Mordecai's resolve would prevail}; for he had told them that he [was] a Jew.

And Haman saw that Mordecai was not kneeling and bowing down to him, and he was filled [with] anger.

And the king's secretaries were called in the first month on the thirteenth day, and [a decree] was issued, according to all that Haman commanded, to the satraps of the king and to the governors who [were] over all the provinces, and to [the] officials of all the people, to each province according to [its own] script and to all people according to their own language; [it was] written in the name of King Ahasuerus and [was] sealed with the king's ring.

A copy of the edict [was] presented [as] law in every province making [it] known to all the people to be ready for that day.

The couriers went out quickly by order of the king, and the law was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; and the city of Susa was bewildered.

In every province [each] place where the king's edict and his law came, there [was] great mourning for the Jews with fasting, crying, wailing, [and] sackcloth; and ashes were spread out as a bed for them.

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.

So Hathach went out to Mordecai, to the public square of the city, which [was] in front of the gate of the king,

And it happened, on the third day, and Esther put on royal clothes, and she stood in the inner courtyard of the {king's palace}, opposite the {king's palace}; the king [was] sitting on his royal throne in the {throne room} opposite the doorway of the palace.

When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard she found favor in his eyes, and the king held out the gold scepter that [was] in his hand to Esther, and Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.

And Haman went out on that day rejoicing and {feeling good}. But when Haman saw Mordecai at the gate of the king, and he did not rise or tremble before him, Haman was filled {with rage toward} Mordecai.

And it was found written how Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs from the keepers of the threshold who had conspired {to assassinate} King Ahasuerus.

And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy [is] this evil Haman!" And Haman was terrified before the king and queen.

The king rose in his anger {from the banquet} [and went] to the palace garden, and Haman stood to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for {he realized that the king was determined to make an end to his life}.

And the king returned from the palace garden to the {banquet hall}, [where] Haman [was] lying prostrate on the couch that Esther [was] on, and the king said, "Will he also molest the queen with me in the house?" As the words went from the king's mouth they covered Haman's face.

And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the anger of the king was abated.

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.

And the secretaries of the king were summoned at that time, in the third month, which [is] in the month of Sivan on the twenty-third [day], and [an edict] was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the governors and satraps and officials of the provinces from India to Cush--one hundred and twenty-seven provinces--each province according to its own script and to every people in their own {language}, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

A copy of the {edict} [was] to be given [as] law in each province to inform all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves from their enemies.

The mounted couriers on the royal horses went out without delay, urged by the king's word. The law was given in the citadel of Susa.

Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in {royal clothing} of blue cloth and white linen, and a great crown of gold and a robe of fine white linen and purple, and the city of Susa was shouting and rejoicing.

For the Jews, there was light and gladness, joy and honor.

In every province and city, wherever the king's edict and his law came, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a banquet and a {holiday}, and many of the people from the country [were] posing as Jews because the fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

In the twelfth month, that [is] the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, on which the edict of the king arrived and his law was enacted, on the day in which the enemies of the Jews had hoped to gain power over them but was overturned, [and] the Jews gained power against their enemies,

For Mordecai [was] high-ranking in the {king's palace} and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as {Mordecai grew more and more powerful}.

On that day the number of those being killed in the citadel of Susa {was reported to} the king.

And the king said to do so. And a decree was issued in Susa and Haman's ten sons were hanged.

[This was] on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. [They] rested on the fourteenth [day] and made it a day of feasting and joy.

the Jews established and adopted [it] for themselves and for their offspring, and for all who joined them. They did not neglect {to observe} these two days every year as it was written and appointed to them.

And the command of Esther established these practices of Purim, and [it was] written on the scroll.

For Mordecai the Jew [was] second-in-command to King Ahasuerus. [He was] great for the Jews and popular with many of his brothers, for he sought good for his people, {interceding for the welfare of all his descendants}.

[There] was a man in the land of Uz whose name [was] Job. That man was blameless and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil.

Then his livestock came to be seven thousand sheep and goats and three thousand camels and five hundred pairs of oxen and five hundred female donkeys, and he had very many slaves, and that man was greater than all the people of the east.

And then [there] was one day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their firstborn brother's house.

While this one was still speaking, {another} came and said, "The fire of God fell from the heavens, and it blazed up against the sheep and goats and against the servants, and it consumed them. But I escaped, [even] I alone, to tell you."