Thematic Bible: Medo-persian kingdom


Thematic Bible



And when those days were completed, the king gave for all the people that were present at the citadel of Susa, both great and small, a banquet in the courtyard of the king's palace garden that lasted seven days.

he gave a banquet in the third year of his reign for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and officials of the provinces were in his presence

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}.


And it happened in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Cush--[over] one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.

After these things [during] the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,

So the elders of the Jews were building and prospering, through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished building by the command of the God of Israel and by the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.


who says of Cyrus, 'My shepherd,' and he shall carry out all my wishes; and saying of Jerusalem, 'It shall be rebuilt,' and [the] temple, 'It shall be founded.'"

Thus says Yahweh to his anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subjugate nations before him, and I uncover [the] loins of kings to open doors before him, and [the] gates shall not be shut: "I myself will go before you, and I will level [the] {mountains}. I will break [the] doors of bronze and cut through[the] bars of iron. And I will give you [the] treasures of darkness and treasures of secret places so that you may know that I [am] Yahweh, the one who calls [you] by your name, the God of Israel, read more.
for the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one. And I call you by your name; I give you a name of honor, though you do not know me.


Persia, Cush, and Put [are] with them, all of them, with small shield and helmet.

Persia and Lud and Put were {among your soldiers}; small shield and helmet hung {among you} [and] gave [to you] your adornment.


There were no restrictions on the drinking, for the king had instructed every official of his palace to do as each one pleased.

When the turn came for each girl to go to King Ahasuerus, after the end of twelve months of being under the regulations of the women--for the days of their beauty treatments had to be filled, six months with the oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and women's cosmetics-- 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}.


The head of this statue [was] of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,

And after you another kingdom inferior to yours will arise, and another third [kingdom] of bronze that will rule over the whole earth.


"Go, gather all the Jews that are found in Susa and fast for me; do not eat or drink [for] three days, both night and day. I and my young girls will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king, which [is] not according to the law; if I perish, I perish.

"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that [if] any man or woman who goes to the king to the inner courtyard, who is not called, he has one law, to be killed, except if the king extends to him the gold scepter so that he may live. I have not been called to come to the king {for thirty days}."


And Darius the Mede received the kingdom {when he was about sixty-two years old}.

But {when} his heart became arrogant and his spirit became hard [so as] to act proudly, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom and the glory {was taken away from him}.


Now [after] Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

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;


Then they approached {and spoke with the king} concerning the edict of the king, "{Did you not sign an edict} that any person who would seek [anything] from any God or human within thirty days except from you, O king, would be thrown into {the lion pit}?" The king answered and said, "The matter [as you have just stated] is certain according to [the] law of [the] Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked."

Then these men came as group to the king and {said}, "Recall, O king, that [with respect to] [the] law of [the] Medes and Persians that {any} decree or edict that the king establishes cannot be changed."


Then it came toward the ram {that had the two horns} that I saw standing {before} the stream, and it ran at it with the rage of its power.

And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule [with] great dominion, and he will do {as he pleases}.


"The ram that you saw {who had two horns} [represents] the kings of Media and Persia.

And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and look! A ram standing {before} the stream, and {it had} two horns, and the horns [were] long, but the one [was] longer than the second, and the longer [one] came up {after the other one}.



as he displayed the wealth of the glory of his kingdom and the glorious splendor of his greatness [for] many days, one hundred and eighty days.


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.

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

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


And it happened in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Cush--[over] one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.

{It pleased Darius}, and he set up one hundred and twenty satraps over the kingdom, that they were {throughout the whole kingdom},


And Habrona, one of the eunuchs in the presence of the king, said, "Look, the same gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai who spoke good [for the sake] of the king stands at Haman's house, fifty cubits high." And the king said, "Hang him on it."

And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all of the provinces of your kingdom; their laws [are] different from every [other] people, and they do not {observe} the laws of the king; it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them.


Then King Darius issued forth a decree, and they searched the house of the treasury of scrolls being stored in Babylonia.

And Darius the Mede received the kingdom {when he was about sixty-two years old}.


The oracle of [the] wilderness of [the] sea: As storm winds passing over in the Negev, {it comes} from [the] desert, from a frightful land. A hard revelation is told to me; the treacherous deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; lay siege, Media! I put an end to all of her sighing.


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].


The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.



And now I will reveal [the] truth to you. Look! Still three kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will get abundance [and] great wealth, [even] more than all [of them], and {when he becomes strong} through his wealth, [then] he will stir up {everyone} against [the] kingdom of Javan.


And now I will reveal [the] truth to you. Look! Still three kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will get abundance [and] great wealth, [even] more than all [of them], and {when he becomes strong} through his wealth, [then] he will stir up {everyone} against [the] kingdom of Javan.


I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward, and {none of the beasts stood before it}, and there was no rescuing from {its power}, and it did {what it wanted} and it became strong.


And look, another beast, a second one, looking like a bear. And it was raised up on one side and three tusks [were] in its mouth between its teeth, and so {it was told}, "Arise, eat much flesh!"


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 it happened in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Cush--[over] one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.


"Artaxerxes, the king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of the heavens. Peace. And now


With joy they celebrated the festival of unleavened bread [for] seven days, because Yahweh had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them in order to help them with the work of their hands on the house of the God of Israel.


And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.


In the reign of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.


In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to accomplish the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, Yahweh stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia and he sent a message to all of his kingdom and also [put the message] in writing:


But it was in Ecbatana in the province of Media, in the citadel, that a certain scroll had written on it, "A record.