and said to the Levites who gave instruction to all Israel as to the things which were hallowed unto Yahweh, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon son of David king of Israel did build, it is not yours as a burden on the shoulder, - Now, serve ye Yahweh your God, and his people Israel;

So his servants took him away out of the war-chariot, and conveyed him in a second chariot which he had, and carried him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in the sepulchres of his fathers, - and, all Judah and Jerusalem, were mourning over Josiah.

But, the rest of the story of Josiah, and his lovingkindness, - according to that which is written in the law of Yahweh:

But, the rest of the story of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he made, and that which was found upon him, there they are, written in the book of the Kings of Israel and Judah, - and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

Also, all the rulers of the priests and of the people, abounded in committing treachery, according to all the abominable ways of the nations, - and polluted the house of Yahweh, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.

Thus, saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth, hath Yahweh God of the heavens, given unto me, and, he himself, hath laid charge upon me, to build to him a house, in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people with whom is Yahweh his God? Then let him go up.

Thus, saith Cyrus, king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth, hath Yahweh God of the heavens, given to me, - and, he himself, hath laid charge upon me, to build for him a house, in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, - and build the house of Yahweh God of Israel, (he, is God!) which is in Jerusalem;

And, whosoever is left, of all the places where he doth sojourn, let the men of his place uphold him, with silver and with gold, and with goods and with beasts, - along with a voluntary offering for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem.

Then arose the ancestral chiefs of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, - even every one whose spirit God had aroused, to go up to build the house of Yahweh, which was in Jerusalem;

And, King Cyrus, brought forth the utensils of the house of Yahweh, - which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth from Jerusalem, and put in the house of his gods: -

And, a portion of the ancestral chiefs, when they came to the house of Yahweh which was in Jerusalem, offered voluntarily for the house of God, to set it up on its basis.

This, is a copy of the letter which they sent unto him - unto Artaxerxes the king, - Thy servants, the men Beyond the River and so forth:

The letter which ye sent unto us, was distinctly read before me;

Then ceased the work of the house of God, which was in Jerusalem, - yea it did cease, until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Then arose - Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God, which was in Jerusalem, - and, with them, were the prophets of God, strengthening them.

A copy of the letter which Tattenai pasha Beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and his associates, the Apharsachites, who were Beyond the Rivet, sent unto Darius the king:

And, thus, returned they, answer, to us saying, - We, are servants of the God of the heavens and the earth, and are building the house which was built these many years ago, which, a great king of Israel, built and completed.

Moreover also, the utensils of the house of God, of gold and silver, which, Nebuchadnezzar, had brought forth out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, and had brought into the temple of Babylon, Cyrus the king, brought them forth, out of the temple of Babylon, - and they were delivered to one Sheshbazzar by name, whom he made, pasha;

Then, this Sheshbazzar, came, he laid the foundations of the house of God, which was in Jerusalem, - and, since then, even until now, it hath been in building, and is not finished.

Now, therefore, if, unto the king, it seem good, let search be made in the treasure-house of the king which is there, in Babylon, whether it be so, that, from Cyrus the king, issued an edict, to build this house of God, in Jerusalem, - and, the pleasure of the king concerning this, let him send unto us.

And there was found in Achmetha, in the fortress which is in the province of Media, a roll, - and, thus, was it written therein, as a record: -

Moreover also, the utensils of the house of God, of gold and silver, which, Nebuchadnezzar, took forth out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, let them again be taken to the temple which is in Jerusalem every one to its place, and lay them up in the house of God.

And, from me, is issued an edict, as to that which ye shall do, with these elders of Judah, for the building of this house of God, - That, of the resources of the king, even the tribute Beyond the River, forthwith, the expenses be given unto these men, for they must not be hindered.

and, the God who hath caused his Name to dwell there, destroy any king or people, who shall put forth their hand to alter to destroy this house of God, which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued an edict, forthwith, let it be done.

And this house was finished, by the third day of the month Adar, - the which was the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

And they set up the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, over the service of God, which was in Jerusalem, - as it is written, in the Book of Moses.

this Ezra, came up out of Babylon, he, being a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh God of Israel had given, - and the king gave him, according to the hand of Yahweh his God upon him, all his request.

Now, this, is a copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave, to Ezra the priest the scribe, - the scribe of the words of the commandments of Yahweh, and of his statutes, for Israel: -

Forasmuch as, from before the king and his seven counselors, thou art sent, to enquire concerning Judah and as to Jerusalem, - by the law of thy God which is in thy hand;

and to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, who, in Jerusalem, hath his habitation;

and all the silver and the gold, which thou shalt find, in all the province of Babylon, - with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem,

therefore, with all diligence, shalt thou buy - with this silver - bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal-offerings, and their drink-offerings, - and shalt offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem;

And, the utensils which are freely given to thee for the service of the house of thy God, put thou back, before the God of Jerusalem.

And, the rest of the need of the house of thy God, which it shall fall to thee to give, thou shalt give, out of the treasure-house of the king.

Blessed be Yahweh, God of our fathers, - who hath put the like of this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of Yahweh, which is in Jerusalem;

and weighed unto them, the silver and the gold, and the utensils, - the heave-offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counselors and his rulers and all Israel who were present, had offered:

And, at the evening gift, I arose from mine affliction, which had been accompanied by the rending of my garment and my robe, - and I bowed upon my knees, and spread forth my hands unto Yahweh my God;

which thou didst command by the hand of thy servants the prophets, saying, As for the land which, ye, are entering to possess, an impure land, it is, with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, - with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to the other, with their uncleanness.

Let, I pray thee, thine ears be attentive and thine eyes open - to hearken unto the prayer of thy servant - -which, I, am praying before thee now, day and night, for the sons of Israel, thy servants, - -and making confession concerning the sins of the sons of Israel, which we have committed against thee, both I and the house of my father, have sinned.

We have dealt, very corruptly, against thee, - and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes nor the regulations, which thou didst command Moses thy servant.

Remember, I pray thee, the word, which thou didst command Moses thy servant, saying, - If, ye, are unfaithful, I, will scatter you among the peoples:

also a letter unto Asaph, keeper of the park that belongeth unto the king, that he may give me timber to build up the gates of the fortress which pertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house whereinto I shall enter. And the king gave me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Then rose I by night, I, and a few men with me, I having told no man, what, my God, had been putting in my heart, to do for Jerusalem, - and, beast, was there none with me, save the beast on which, I myself, was riding.

Then told I them, of the hand of my God, that, it, had been good upon me, as also of the words of the king, which he had spoken unto me, - so they said, We will arise and build! and they strengthened their hands right well.

But, when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed at us, and poured contempt upon us, - and said, What is this thing which ye would do? against the king, would ye rebel?

after him, repaired, Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of the half-circuit of Beth-zur, - as far as over against the sepulchres of David, even unto the pool which had been made, and unto the house of heroes;

Palal, son of Uzai, from over against the corner, and the tower that projecteth from the upper house of the king, which belongeth to the court of custody, - after him, Pedaiah son of Parosh.

Now, Tobiah the Ammonite, was beside him, - so he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox should go up, he would break down their stone wall!

Then said I, Not good, is the thing which ye are doing, - ought ye not, in the fear of God, to walk, because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

Restore, I pray you, unto them this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, - also the hundredth of silver and corn, new wine and oil, for which ye have been lending to them.

And, Jews and deputies, a hundred and fifty men, and they who were coming in unto us from among the nations which were round about us, depended upon my table.

Now, that which was prepared for a single day, was - one ox, six choice sheep, also, fowls, were prepared for me, and, apportioned unto ten days, of every sort of wine, in abundance, - yet, in spite of this, the bread of the pasha, demanded I not, because heavy was the bondage upon this people.

wherein was written - Among the nations, it is reported, and, Gashmu, saith it, that, thou and the Jews, are plotting to rebel, for which cause, thou art building the wall, - and, thou, art to become their king, according to these words.

Then sent I unto him, saying, Nothing hath been done, according to these words, which thou art saying, - but, out of thine own heart, art thou feigning them.

Moreover, in those days, were the nobles of Judah busy with their letters which were going unto Tobiah, - and those of Tobiah were coming unto them;

and, that which the rest of the people gave, was, of gold, twenty thousand darics, and, of silver, two thousand manehs, - and, tunics for priests, sixty-seven.

Then all the people gathered themselves together as one man, into the broad way that was before the water-gate, - and they spake unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded Israel.

and read therein, before the broad place which was before the water-gate, from the time it was light, until the noon of the day, in presence of the men and the women, and such as had understanding, - and, the ears of all the people, were unto the book of the law.

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a lofty platform of wood, which they had made for the purpose, and there stood, beside him, Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah, on his right hand, - and, on his left, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam.

And all the people went their way, to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing, - because they had understood the words which were made known unto them.

Then said the Levites - Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, Pethahiah, Stand up, bless Yahweh your God, from age to age, - Yea let them bless thy glorious Name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

And, bread out of the heavens, didst thou give them, for their hunger, and, waters out of the cliff, didst thou bring them, for their thirst, - and badest them go in to take possession of the land, which thou hadst lifted thy hand to give them.

but refused to hearken, neither kept in mind thy wonders which thou hadst done with them, but they hardened their neck, and appointed a head that they might return to their servitude, in their perverseness. But, thou, art a God of forgivenesses, gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness, and didst not forsake them.

Their children also, didst thou multiply, like the stars of the heavens, - and didst bring them into the land which thou hadst promised their fathers they should enter to possess;

and didst testify against them, to bring them back unto thy law, yet, they, dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, and, against thy regulations, they sinned, the which - if any son of earth shall do - then shall he live by them, - and yielded a rebellious shoulder, and, their neck, they stiffened, and hearkened not.

Now, therefore, O our God - the GOD great, mighty, and fearful - keeping the covenant and the lovingkindness, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, which hath come upon us - on our kings, on our rulers, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, - from the days of the kings of Assyria, until this day.

But, they, in their kingdom, and in thine abundant goodness which thou gavest them, and in the broad and fat land which thou didst set before them, did not serve thee, neither turned they from their wicked doings.

Lo! we, to-day, are bondmen - even upon the land which thou gavest our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, lo! we, are bondmen;

were holding fast unto their distinguished brethren, and were entering into a curse and into an oath, to walk in the law of God, which was given through Moses the servant of God, - and to observe and do, all the commandments of Yahweh our Lord, and his regulations, and his statutes;

and came to Jerusalem, - and had intelligence of the wickedness which Eliashib had committed for Tobiah, in preparing for him a chamber, in the courts of the house of God;

Remember me, O my God, concerning this, - and do not wipe out my lovingkindnesses, which I have done for the house of my God, and for those keeping charge thereof.

In those days, saw I in Judah - some treading winepresses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves and lading asses, moreover also wine, grapes, and figs, and every kind of burden, which they were bringing into Jerusalem on the sabbath day, - so I protested against it, as a day for them to sell provisions.

so I contended with the nobles of Judah, - and said unto them, What is this wicked thing which, ye, are doing, and profaning the sabbath day?

in those days, - when King Ahasuerus was sitting on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shusan the palace;

Also Vashti the queen, made a banquet for the women, - in the royal house which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

But Queen Vashti refused to come in at the command of the king, which was given through the eunuchs, - and the king was exceeding wroth, and, his anger, burned within him.

When the edict of the king which he shall make, is published throughout all his kingdom, for, great, it is, then, all wives, will give honour unto their lords, both great and small.

So Hathach went forth unto Mordecai, - in the broadway of the city, which was before the gate of the king.

Also, a copy of the writing of the edict which had been given in Shusan to destroy them, gave he unto him, to shew unto Esther, and to tell her, - and to lay charge upon her, to go in unto the king - to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him, for her people.

And it came to pass, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his eyes, - and the king held out to Esther, the golden sceptre which was in his hand, so Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

Then said Esther, If, unto the king, it seem good, let the king with Haman come in this day, unto the banquet which I have prepared for him.

And the king said, Hasten ye Haman, to perform the word of Esther. So the king with Haman came in, unto the banquet which Esther had prepared,

If I have found favour in the eyes of the king, and if, unto the king, it seem good, to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king with Haman come in unto the banquet which I will prepare for them, and, to-morrow, I will do according to the word of the king.

And Haman said, Moreover Esther the queen did bring in no one with the king into the banquet which she had prepared, saving myself, - yea moreover, even for to-morrow, I, am invited unto her, with the king.

Then said the king, Who is in the court? Now, Haman, had come into the outer court of the kings house, to speak unto the king, to hang Mordecai, upon the gallows which he had prepared for him.

let them bring in royal apparel wherewith the king hath clothed himself, - and the horse whereon the king hath ridden, and the royal crown which hath been set upon his own head;

Then said the king unto Haman, Haste, take the apparel and the horse, just as thou hast said, and do even so unto Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting in the kings gate, - do not let fail a thing, of all which thou hast spoken!

While yet they were speaking with him, the eunuchs of the king, had come, - and they hastened to bring Haman, unto the banquet which Esther had prepared.

So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, - and, the wrath of the king, was appeased.

And the king took off his signet-ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai, - and Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Yet again, spake Esther before the king, and fell down at his feet, - and wept and made supplication unto him, to cause the mischief of Haman the Agagite to pass away, even the plot which he had plotted against the Jews.

and said - If, unto the king, it seem good, and if I have found favour before him, and the thing be approved before the king, and, I myself, be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written, to reverse the letters plotted by Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy thee Jews, who are in all the provinces of the king.

Ye, therefore, write concerning the Jews as may seem good in your own eyes, in the name of the king, and seal it with the kings signet-ring, - for a writing which hath been written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's signet-ring, none can reverse.

Then were called the kings scribes at that time - in the third month, the same, is the month Siwan, on the twenty-third thereof, and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and unto the satraps and pashas and rulers of the provinces, which are from India even unto Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, every province according to the writing thereof, and every people according to their tongue, - and unto the Jews, according to their writing, and according to their tongue;

according to the days wherein the Jews found rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned for them, from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to a happy day, - that they should make them days of banqueting and rejoicing, and of sending portions, every one to his neighbour, and gifts, unto the needy.

And the Jews took upon them that which they had begun to do, - and that which Mordecai had written unto them;

but, by Esther's going in before the king, he commanded by letter, that his wicked plot which he had plotted against the Jews, should return, upon his own head, - and that he and his sons should be hanged upon the gallows.

Now when the three friends of Job heard of all this misfortune which had befallen him, - they came, every man from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, - for they had by appointment met together to come to shew sympathy with him, and to comfort him.

For, a dread, I dreaded, and it hath come upon me, and, that from which I shrank, hath overtaken me.