Thematic Bible: Persia


Thematic Bible



In Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away.


HALF-MINAS, Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

The burden against the desert of the sea: As tempests in the south pass, it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. A harsh vision is revealed to me; the deceiver deceives, and the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media! I have caused all her sighing to cease. Therefore my loins are filled with pain; pangs have taken hold on me like the pangs of a woman who travails; I was bowed down from hearing; I was troubled from seeing. read more.
My heart wanders, terror overwhelms me; He has turned the twilight of my pleasure into trembling. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink; arise, rulers. Anoint the shield. For so Jehovah has said to me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he sees. And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, a chariot of an ass, and a chariot of a camel. And let him listen, very attentively. And he cried, A lion! My lord, without ceasing, I stand on the watchtower by day, and I am stationed at my post all the nights. And, behold, here comes a chariot of a man, a pair of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon has fallen, has fallen! And all the graven images of her gods He has smashed to the ground. O my threshing, and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard of Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you.

And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I was standing for a supporter and for a fortress for him. And now I will declare to you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia. And the fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. And a mighty king shall stand up, one who shall rule with great power and do according to his will. read more.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken and shall be divided toward the four winds of the heavens. And it shall not be given to his sons, nor according to his power with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be pulled up, even for others besides these.

You, O king, were seeing. And, behold! A great image! That great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you. And its form was dreadful. This image's head was of fine gold; his breast and his arms were of silver; his belly and his thighs were of bronze; his legs were of iron; his feet were part of iron and part of clay. read more.
You watched until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image upon its feet which were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken to pieces together. And they became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This is the dream. And we will tell its meaning before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of Heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wherever the sons of men, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens live, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom lower than you, and another third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron. Since iron crushes and smashes all things; and as the iron that shatters all these, it will crush and shatter. And as to that which you saw: the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and part of iron; the kingdom shall be divided. But there shall be in it the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. And as you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men. But they shall not cling to one another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings, the God of Heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other peoples, but it shall crush and destroy all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it crushes the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall occur after this. And the dream is certain, and its meaning is sure.

Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them, all of them with shield and helmet;

Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not value silver; and they shall not delight in gold.

The Word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, So says Jehovah of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And I will bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven on Elam, and will scatter them toward all these winds. And there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come. read more.
For I will cause Elam to be afraid before their enemies and before those who seek their life. And I will bring evil on them, even My fierce anger, says Jehovah. And I will send the sword after them until I have destroyed them; and I will set My throne in Elam, and will destroy the king and the rulers from there, says Jehovah. But it shall be in the latter days, I will bring again the exile of Elam, says Jehovah.

Sharpen the arrows; gather the shields; Jehovah has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of His temple. Set up the banner on the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up the watchmen; prepare the ambushes. For Jehovah has both planned and done that which He spoke against the people of Babylon. O you who live on many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, and the measure of your unjust gain. read more.
Jehovah of Hosts has sworn by Himself, saying, Surely I will fill you with men as with locusts; and they shall lift up a shout against you. He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His understanding. When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and He causes the mists to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings with rain and brings forth the wind out of His treasures. Every man is brutish in knowledge; every refiner is put to shame by idols. For his molded image is a lie, and no breath is in them. They are vanity, the work of errors; in the time of their judgment they shall perish. The Portion of Jacob is not like them; for He is the Former of all things, and Israel is the rod of His inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is His name. You are My war-club and weapons of war; for with you I will shatter nations; and with you I will destroy kingdoms. And with you I will shatter the horse and his rider; and with you I will shatter the chariot and his rider. Also with you I will shatter man and woman; and with you I will shatter old and young; and with you I will shatter the young man and the girl. I will also shatter the shepherd and his flock with you. And with you I will shatter the farmer and his team; and with you I will shatter heads and rulers. And I will give to Babylon, and to all the people of Chaldea, all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, says Jehovah. Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, says Jehovah, who destroys all the earth. And I will stretch out My hand on you and roll you down from the rocks, and will make you a burned mountain. And they shall not take a stone from you for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but you shall be a waste forever, says Jehovah. Set up a banner in the land; blow a trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations against her. Call the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz together against her; set a commander against her. Cause the horses to come up as the rough locusts. Consecrate nations against her, with the kings of the Medes, her governors and all her rulers, and all the land of his kingdom. And the land shall tremble and writhe. For every purpose of Jehovah shall be done against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desert without inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have stopped fighting; they have remained in strongholds; their might has failed. They became like women; they have burned her houses; her bars are broken. A runner shall run to meet a runner, and a herald to a herald, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is captured from end to end; and that the fords are stopped. And they have burned the reeds with fire, and the men of war are frightened. For so says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor; it is time to thresh her. Yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come. Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel. He has swallowed me up like a jackal; he has filled his belly with good things; he has thrown me out; the violence done to me and to my flesh shall be on Babylon; the dweller in Zion shall say. And, My blood shall be on the people of Chaldea, Jerusalem shall say. So Jehovah says this: Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a home for jackals, a horror and a hissing, without an inhabitant. They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions' cubs. In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunk so that they may rejoice and sleep a never-ending sleep, and never awaken, says Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. How Sheshach is captured! And how the praise of the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of its waves. Her cities are a desert, a dry land and a wilderness, a land in which no man dwells, nor does any son of man pass by it. And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up. And the nations shall not flow together any more to him; yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall. My people, go out of her midst; and let each man deliver his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah. And let not your heart faint, nor fear the rumor that shall be heard in the land. The report shall come in a year. And after that a report shall come in another year; and violence shall be in the land, ruler against ruler. So, behold, the days come that I will punish the idols of Babylon. And all her land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in her midst. And the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall shout for Babylon; for the plunderers shall come to her from the north, says Jehovah. As Babylon is to fall for the dead of Israel, so at Babylon the dead of all the earth shall fall. You who have escaped the sword, go away; do not stand still. Remember Jehovah afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. We have turned pale because we have heard reproach; shame has covered our faces, for foreigners have come into the holy places of Jehovah's house. So, behold, the days are coming, says Jehovah, that I will punish her idols, and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet plunderers shall come to her from Me, says Jehovah. A sound of a cry comes from Babylon, and great ruin from the land of the Chaldeans, because Jehovah is stripping Babylon, and the great voice will perish out of her. And her waves will roar like great waters; the noise of their voice is given, because the ravager has come on her, even on Babylon, and her mighty men are captured. Every one of their bows is broken, for Jehovah, the God of vengeance, shall surely repay. And I will make her rulers drunk, also her wise ones, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men. And they shall sleep a never-ending sleep and not awaken, says the King whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. So says Jehovah of Hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be completely broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the people shall be in the fire, and they shall be weary. The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was a quiet prince. So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, and shall see and shall read all these words, then you shall say, O Jehovah, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be a ruin forever. And it shall be, when you have made an end of reading this book, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of Euphrates. And you shall say, In this way shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring on her. And they shall be weary. So far are the words of Jeremiah.

There is Elam and her multitude all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living. Yet they have borne their shame with those who go down to the Pit. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are all around him; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; though their terror was given in the land of the living, yet they have borne their shame with those who go down to the Pit. He is put among the slain.


They gave silver also to the masons and to the carpenters. And they gave meat and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and to the people of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

who says of Cyrus, He is My shepherd, and shall do all My pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple, Your foundation shall be laid.

calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country. Yes, I have spoken, I will also cause it to come; I have formed; yes, I will do it.

So says Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have made strong in order to humble nations before him. And I will loosen the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before you, and make hills level. I will break in pieces the bronze gates, and cut the iron bars in two. And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I am Jehovah, who calls you by your name, the God of Israel. read more.
For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel My elect, I have even entitled you. I have named you, though you have not known me.

And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, so that the Word of Jehovah in the mouth of Jeremiah might be done, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, So says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by Jehovah God. And He has commanded me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up.

In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem. Let the house be built, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations of it be strongly laid. The height of it shall be sixty cubits, and the breadth of it shall be sixty cubits,

I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; he shall build My city, and he shall let My captives go, not for price nor reward, says Jehovah of Hosts.

Let all of you gather and hear; who among them has declared these things? Jehovah has loved him; He will do His pleasure on Babylon, and His arm shall be on the Chaldeans. I, I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I brought him and he makes his way succeed.

But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said to them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house to our God. But we ourselves together will build to Jehovah, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, King Cyrus gave an order to build this house of God. And also the vessels of gold and silver from the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.

And therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house there at Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was given from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem. And let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

Who raised up the righteous one from the east, called him to His foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. He pursued them; he passed on in peace. He does not go by the way of his feet.


And you write for the Jews as it pleases you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring. For the writing which is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring, no man may turn back.

Now, O king, establish the ban and sign the writing, so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be changed. Therefore King Darius signed the writing and the ban. And when he had learned that the document was signed, Daniel went to his house. And his windows were open in his roof room toward Jerusalem; and he kneeled on his knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before. read more.
Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and confessing before his God. Then they came near and spoke before the king concerning the king's ban, Have you not signed a ban that every man who shall ask a petition of any god or man within thirty days, except of you, O king, shall be thrown into the lion's den? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.


And from the time that I was chosen to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, I and my brothers have not eaten the bread of the governor.


On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown, in order to show the people and the princes her beauty, for she was beautiful to look on. But the Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command by his eunuchs. And the king was very angry, and his anger burned within him. read more.
And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king's manner toward all who knew law and judgment; and the next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who saw the king's face, who sat first in the kingdom), What shall we do with Queen Vashti according to law, because she has not done the command of the King Ahasuerus by the eunuchs? And Memucan answered before the king and princes, Vashti the queen has not only done wrong to the king, but also to all the princes, and to all the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the matter of the queen shall go out to all women, so that their husbands shall be despised in their eyes, and it shall be reported that King Ahasuerus commanded to bring Vashti the queen in before him, but she did not come. And this day the princesses of Persia and Media shall say the same to all the king's princes who have heard of the deed of the queen. And there will be contempt and strife. If it please the king, let there be a royal command from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may not be changed, that Vashti come no more before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal state to another who is better than she is. And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire (for it is great), all the wives shall give their husbands honor, both the great and small. And the saying pleased the king and the princes. And the king did according to the word of Memucan. For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing of it, and to every people in their language, so that every man should bear rule in his own house, and published according to the language of every people.

And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king, and he did so.


And next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem repaired.

And next to him Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters repaired.

After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, repaired across from the tombs of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty men. After him the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani, repaired. Next to him Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, repaired in his part. After him their brothers, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, repaired.


In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,

And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being a son of sixty-two years.


And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of their companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. And the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue. Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this way. Then Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the judges, and the emissaries, the consuls, the officials, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, read more.
and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnappar brought over and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest of the province Beyond the River, and now, this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him, to Artaxerxes the king. Your servants the men of the province Beyond the River, and so now, let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have come to Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and the evil city, and have set up its walls, and have joined the foundations. And let it be known to the king that if this city is built and the walls set up, then they will not pay toll, taxes, or custom, and you shall endanger the revenue of the kings. And because we have eaten the salt of the palace, and it was not right for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and notified the king, so that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers, and you shall find in the book of the records, and shall know that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have rebelled in it in the past, for which cause that city was destroyed. We notify the king that if this city is built and the walls of it set up, then you shall have no portion Beyond the River. The message the king sent to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and to the rest Beyond the River, Peace! And now, the letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me. And I commanded, and search has been made, and it is found that this city has lifted up itself against kings in the past, and rebellion and revolt have been made in it. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all Beyond the River. And toll, taxes, and custom was paid to them. Now make a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not built until the decree shall be given from me. And take heed that you do not fail to do this. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? And when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they hurried to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them stop by force and power. Then the work of the house of God at Jerusalem ceased. So it ceased to the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.


Persia and Lud and Lydia were in your army, your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you; they set your splendor.


And the ones who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia,


It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, that they might be over the whole kingdom. And over them were three presidents (Daniel was one of them), so that these satraps might give account to them, and the king should have no loss. Then this Daniel was made overseer of the presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king was planning to set him over all the kingdom. read more.
Then the presidents and rulers sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom. But they could find no occasion or fault, because he was faithful. Neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the Law of his God. Then these presidents and rulers assembled to the king, and said this to him: King Darius, live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects, and the satraps, and the officials and governors, have planned together to establish a royal law, and to make a strong ban that whoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except from you, O king, he shall be thrown into the den of lions.




And now, Ezra, after the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, set officers and judges who may judge all the people who are Beyond the River, all who know the Laws of your God; and teach them who do not know.


and the next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who saw the king's face, who sat first in the kingdom),


in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to all his princes and his servants. The power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, were before him.


And the king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall your journey be? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time.