Thematic Bible: Persia
Thematic Bible
Mordecai » Jewish captive » Persia
There was a Jew in Shushan named Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. He had been taken away from Jerusalem among those who had been made prisoner with Jeconiah, king of Judah, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken him away.
Persia » Prophecies concerning
PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Verse Concepts
Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. read more.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, For this is what Jehovah says to me: Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention. The watchman called out from the tower: Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: 'Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.' You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
I stood up to confirm and strengthen Darius the Mede in his first year. Now I will tell you the truth. Look, there will be three more kings in Persia. Then the fourth will be richer than the others. When he is strong because of his riches he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. A mighty king will stand up and rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. read more.
After he appears his kingdom will be broken. It will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion as he ruled. His kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.
After he appears his kingdom will be broken. It will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion as he ruled. His kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.
You, O king, saw a large statue. This statue was in fact very large. It was very bright as it stood before you. Its appearance was awesome. The statue had a head of pure gold, chest and arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass. It had legs of iron and its feet were partly of iron, and partly of clay. read more.
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This was the dream! We will interpret it for the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold. After you another inferior kingdom will arise and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. It is iron that crushes all these. It will break in pieces and crush. The feet and toes you saw, part of potters' clay, and part of iron will be a divided kingdom. It will have the strength of iron. However, you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. The iron mixed with clay will mingle with the seed of men. But they will not adhere to one another. For iron does not stick to clay. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This was the dream! We will interpret it for the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold. After you another inferior kingdom will arise and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. It is iron that crushes all these. It will break in pieces and crush. The feet and toes you saw, part of potters' clay, and part of iron will be a divided kingdom. It will have the strength of iron. However, you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. The iron mixed with clay will mingle with the seed of men. But they will not adhere to one another. For iron does not stick to clay. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.
I will also bring out Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
Verse Concepts
I will stir up the Medes against them. They will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.
Verse Concepts
Early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, Jehovah spoke his word to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: 'I am going to break the bows of Elam's archers, the most important weapon of their strength. I will bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven against Elam and scatter its people in every direction. There will not be a nation where Elam's refugees will not go. read more.
I will defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who want to kill them. I will bring disaster with my burning anger,' declares Jehovah. 'I will send armies after them until I put an end to them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,'declares Jehovah. Afterward, I will return the captives of Elam,' declares Jehovah.
I will defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who want to kill them. I will bring disaster with my burning anger,' declares Jehovah. 'I will send armies after them until I put an end to them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy its king and officials,'declares Jehovah. Afterward, I will return the captives of Elam,' declares Jehovah.
Jehovah has stirred up the kings of Media, because he intends to destroy Babylon. That is how he will take revenge for the destruction of his Temple. The attacking officers command: Sharpen your arrows! Get your shields ready! Give the signal to attack Babylon's walls. Strengthen the guard! Post the sentries! Place troops in ambush! Jehovah has done what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. That country has many rivers and rich treasures. Yet its time is up, and its thread of life is cut. read more.
Jehovah has sworn by his own life: I will bring many men to attack Babylon like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory. Jehovah made the earth by his power. By his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens. He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. All mankind is stupid and devoid of knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. His molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these. He is the maker of all and of the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name. He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials. In your presence I will pay back Babylon and all the people who live in Babylon for all the evil things that they did in Zion, proclaims Jehovah. I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth, declares Jehovah. I will use my power against you and roll you off the cliffs, and make you a scorched mountain. People will not find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone. They will not find any stones in you to use for a foundation. You will become permanent ruins, declares Jehovah. Raise your battle flag throughout the world. Blow the ram's horn among the nations. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies, and all the countries that they rule. The earth trembles and writhes in pain. Jehovah carries out his plans against Babylon to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there. The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their fortified cities. Their strength has failed. They have become women. Their buildings are set on fire. The bars across their gates are broken. Runners run to meet runners. Messengers follow messengers. They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured. The river crossings have been taken. The enemy has burned its marshes, and its soldiers are terrified. I am the All-Powerful Jehovah, the God of Israel, and I make this promise: Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time. The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest. The people of Babylon harmed some of us and killed others. Now Jehovah will make them pay. Therefore Jehovah says: I am going to plead your case and exact full vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. They will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lions' cubs. When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet and make them drunk, that they may become jubilant. Then they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up, declares Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. How Sheshak has been captured, and the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon. She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a land in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes. I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed. Nations will no longer stream to Babylon. Its walls will fall. Get out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the burning anger of Jehovah. Do not lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land. One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year. Rumors of violence are in the land. Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land. That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its soldiers will lie dead. Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon. Destroyers from the north will attack it, declares Jehovah. Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites and because they have killed many people throughout the earth, Babylon must fall. You people escaped from the sword. Now leave! Do not just stand there. Remember Jehovah in a distant land and think about Jerusalem. We have been put to shame. We have been disgraced. Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone into the holy places of Jehovah's temple. That is why the days are coming, declares Jehovah, when I will punish their idols, and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land. The people of Babylon might go up to heaven. They might fortify their strongholds. But destroyers will still come from me against them, declares Jehovah. Cries of agony are heard from Babylon. Sounds of terrible destruction are heard from the land of the Babylonians. Jehovah will destroy Babylon. He will silence the loud noise coming from it. Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water. The noise will be heard everywhere. A destroyer will attack Babylon, its soldiers will be captured, and their bows and arrows will be broken. I Jehovah am a God who punishes evil. I will certainly punish them. I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up, proclaims the king, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, and its high gates will be set on fire. People exhaust themselves for nothing. The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire. This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's rule. Seraiah was the quartermaster. Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. Then says: 'Jehovah, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here. It will become a permanent ruin.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Say: 'Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.' The words of Jeremiah end here.
Jehovah has sworn by his own life: I will bring many men to attack Babylon like a swarm of locusts, and they will shout with victory. Jehovah made the earth by his power. By his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens. He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. All mankind is stupid and devoid of knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. His molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these. He is the maker of all and of the tribe of his inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is his name. He says: You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials. In your presence I will pay back Babylon and all the people who live in Babylon for all the evil things that they did in Zion, proclaims Jehovah. I am against you, Babylon, you destructive mountain. You have destroyed the whole earth, declares Jehovah. I will use my power against you and roll you off the cliffs, and make you a scorched mountain. People will not find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone. They will not find any stones in you to use for a foundation. You will become permanent ruins, declares Jehovah. Raise your battle flag throughout the world. Blow the ram's horn among the nations. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Tell the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz to attack it. Appoint a commander to lead the attack. Bring up horses like a swarm of locusts. Prepare nations to attack Babylon. Prepare the king of the Medes, their governors, all their deputies, and all the countries that they rule. The earth trembles and writhes in pain. Jehovah carries out his plans against Babylon to make Babylon a wasteland so that no one will live there. The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting. They stay in their fortified cities. Their strength has failed. They have become women. Their buildings are set on fire. The bars across their gates are broken. Runners run to meet runners. Messengers follow messengers. They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured. The river crossings have been taken. The enemy has burned its marshes, and its soldiers are terrified. I am the All-Powerful Jehovah, the God of Israel, and I make this promise: Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time. The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest. The people of Babylon harmed some of us and killed others. Now Jehovah will make them pay. Therefore Jehovah says: I am going to plead your case and exact full vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants. They will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lions' cubs. When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet and make them drunk, that they may become jubilant. Then they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up, declares Jehovah. I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams together with male goats. How Sheshak has been captured, and the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon. She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a land in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes. I will punish Bel in Babylon. I will make Bel spit out everything that it has swallowed. Nations will no longer stream to Babylon. Its walls will fall. Get out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the burning anger of Jehovah. Do not lose courage or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land. One rumor comes one year; another rumor comes the next year. Rumors of violence are in the land. Rumors that one ruler will fight against another are in the land. That is why the days are coming when I will punish Babylon's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its soldiers will lie dead. Then heaven and earth and everything in them will rejoice over Babylon. Destroyers from the north will attack it, declares Jehovah. Because the people of Babylon have killed many Israelites and because they have killed many people throughout the earth, Babylon must fall. You people escaped from the sword. Now leave! Do not just stand there. Remember Jehovah in a distant land and think about Jerusalem. We have been put to shame. We have been disgraced. Shame covers our faces, because foreigners have gone into the holy places of Jehovah's temple. That is why the days are coming, declares Jehovah, when I will punish their idols, and those who are wounded will moan everywhere in the land. The people of Babylon might go up to heaven. They might fortify their strongholds. But destroyers will still come from me against them, declares Jehovah. Cries of agony are heard from Babylon. Sounds of terrible destruction are heard from the land of the Babylonians. Jehovah will destroy Babylon. He will silence the loud noise coming from it. Waves of enemies will come roaring in like raging water. The noise will be heard everywhere. A destroyer will attack Babylon, its soldiers will be captured, and their bows and arrows will be broken. I Jehovah am a God who punishes evil. I will certainly punish them. I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up, proclaims the king, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts. This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled, and its high gates will be set on fire. People exhaust themselves for nothing. The nations wear themselves out only to have a fire. This is the message that the prophet Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah's rule. Seraiah was the quartermaster. Jeremiah wrote on a scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon. He wrote all these things that have been written about Babylon. Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you come to Babylon, see that you read all this. Then says: 'Jehovah, you have threatened to destroy this place so that no person or animal will live here. It will become a permanent ruin.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. Say: 'Babylon will sink like this scroll. It will never rise again because of the disasters that I will bring on it.' The words of Jeremiah end here.
Elam is there with all its soldiers. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. They went down below the earth as godless people. They once terrified people in the land of the living. Now they suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. A bed has been made for Elam among the dead. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. The soldiers were godless people. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living. They suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. They lie among the dead.
Persia » Cyrus
They gave money to the stoneworkers and woodworkers. Meat and drink and oil were given to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, for the transport of cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had given them authority to do.
Verse Concepts
I say of Cyrus: 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please. He will say of Jerusalem, 'Let it be rebuilt,' and of the Temple, 'Let its foundations be laid.'
Verse Concepts
I summon a bird of prey from the east. I summon a man to fulfill my purpose from a far off land. What I have said I will bring about. What I have determined (purposed) I will do.
Verse Concepts
This is WHAT JEHOVAH SAYS ABOUT CYRUS, his anointed one: I have held him by his right hand so he could conquer the nations ahead of him; that he could strip kings of their power, and open doors ahead of him so that the gates would not be shut. I will go ahead of you, Cyrus. I will smooth out the rough places. I will break down the copper doors and cut through the iron bars. I will give you treasures from dark places and hidden stockpiles. You will know that I, Jehovah the God of Israel, have called you by name. read more.
For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one, I have called you by name. I have given you a title of honor, although you do not know me.
For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one, I have called you by name. I have given you a title of honor, although you do not know me.
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. He sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing. He said: Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Jehovah, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there 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 an order: In connection with the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be constructed as the place where they make offerings. Let them brake ground for the foundation. Let it be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide,
Verse Concepts
I have stirred Cyrus to action to fulfill my purpose and put things right. I will straighten out every road that he travels. He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem, and set my captive people free. No one has hired him or bribed him to do this. Jehovah of Hosts has spoken.
Verse Concepts
Gather together, all of you, and listen. What idol has revealed such things? Jehovah loves Cyrus. He will carry out Jehovah's plan against Babylon. He will use his strength against the Babylonians. I alone have spoken. I have called him. I will bring him here and he will succeed.
But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of families in Israel said to them: You have no part with us in the building of a house for our God. We will do the work for Jehovah, the God of Israel, as Cyrus, king of Persia, has given us orders.
Verse Concepts
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God. The gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem, were put into the house of his god in Babylon. Cyrus the king took these from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave them to Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler.'
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If it seems good to the king, let search be made in the king's storehouse at Babylon. See if it is true that an order was given by Cyrus the king for the building of this house of God at Jerusalem. Let the king send us word of his pleasure in connection with this business.
Verse Concepts
Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed. He goes by a path his feet have not traveled before.
Persia » Government of, restricted by constitutional limitations
Send a letter about the Jews, writing whatever seems good to you, in the king's name, and stamp it with the king's ring: for a writing signed in the king's name and stamped with the king's ring may not be changed.
Verse Concepts
Now, O king, establish the decree by signing the document. That it will not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be altered. King Darius signed the document for the decree. Daniel knew that the decree was signed. He went into his house. His windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem. He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, like he did before. read more.
These men assembled together. They found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. They approached the king about his decree: Did you sign a decree stating that every man that shall make petition to any god or man within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions? The king answered: The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be altered.
These men assembled together. They found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. They approached the king about his decree: Did you sign a decree stating that every man that shall make petition to any god or man within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions? The king answered: The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be altered.
Persia » Artaxerxes ii
From the time when I was made ruler of the people in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year till the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, for twelve years, my servants and I have never taken the food that was the right of the ruler.
Verse Concepts
Persia » Vashti was divorced for refusing to appear before the king's advisorss
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was glad with wine, he gave orders to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presences of King Ahasuerus. That Vashti the queen was to come before him, with her royal crown, and let the people and the captains see her beauty: for she was very beautiful. But when the servants gave her the king's order, Vashti the queen said she would not come. The king was very angry. His heart was burning with wrath. read more.
The king spoke to the wise men that were experts with knowledge of the times. It was the king's practice. The closest to the king were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media. They were friends of the king, and had the first places in the kingdom. By law, what is to be done to Vashti the queen? She has not done what King Ahasuerus ordered her to do. Before the king and the captains, Memucan gave his answer: Vashti the queen has done wrong, not only to the king, but also to all the captains and to all the peoples in all the divisions of the kingdom of King Ahasuerus. For news of what the queen has done will come to the attention of all women. They will no longer give respect to their husbands when it is said to them, 'King Ahasuerus gave orders for Vashti the queen to come before him and she did not come.' The wives of the captains of Persia and Media, hearing what the queen has done, will say the same to all the king's captains. So there will be much shame and anger. If it is pleasing to the king, let an order go out from him. Let it be recorded among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may never be changed. That Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. Let the king give her place to another who is better than she. When the king's order is made public through all his great kingdom all the wives will give honor to their husbands, great as well as small. This suggestion seemed good to the king and the captains. The king did as Memucan said. He sent letters to all the divisions of the kingdom where their language is used. The letter said that every man was to be the ruler in his house, and that this order was to be given out in the language of his people.
The king spoke to the wise men that were experts with knowledge of the times. It was the king's practice. The closest to the king were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media. They were friends of the king, and had the first places in the kingdom. By law, what is to be done to Vashti the queen? She has not done what King Ahasuerus ordered her to do. Before the king and the captains, Memucan gave his answer: Vashti the queen has done wrong, not only to the king, but also to all the captains and to all the peoples in all the divisions of the kingdom of King Ahasuerus. For news of what the queen has done will come to the attention of all women. They will no longer give respect to their husbands when it is said to them, 'King Ahasuerus gave orders for Vashti the queen to come before him and she did not come.' The wives of the captains of Persia and Media, hearing what the queen has done, will say the same to all the king's captains. So there will be much shame and anger. If it is pleasing to the king, let an order go out from him. Let it be recorded among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may never be changed. That Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. Let the king give her place to another who is better than she. When the king's order is made public through all his great kingdom all the wives will give honor to their husbands, great as well as small. This suggestion seemed good to the king and the captains. The king did as Memucan said. He sent letters to all the divisions of the kingdom where their language is used. The letter said that every man was to be the ruler in his house, and that this order was to be given out in the language of his people.
And let the girl who is pleasing to the king be queen in place of Vashti. The king was pleased with this suggestion; and he did so.
Verse Concepts
Persia » Municipal governments in, provided with dual governors
Working near them was Rephaiah, the son of Hur, the ruler of half Jerusalem.
Verse Concepts
Near them was Shallum, the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half Jerusalem, with his daughters.
Verse Concepts
By his side was working Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the division of Beth-zur, as far as the place opposite the last resting-places of David's family and as far as the pool that had been made and the house of the men of war. Then came the Levites and Rehum the son of Bani. By his side was working Hashabiah, ruler of half the division of Keilah, for his division. After him were working their brothers, Bavvai, the son of Henadad, ruler of half the division of Keilah.
Persia » Darius
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus (Xerxes), of the lineage of the Medes. He was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans.
Verse Concepts
Darius the Mede received the kingdom. He was sixty-two years old.
Persia » Artaxerxes i
In the time of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his friends, sent a letter to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, writing it in the Aramaic language. Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, sent a letter against Jerusalem, to Artaxerxes the king as follows: The letter was sent by Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe and their friends; the Dinaites and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites (people of Susa), the Dehaites, the Elamites, read more.
The rest of the nations the great and noble Osnappar took over and put in Samaria and the rest of the country over the river: This is a copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: 'Your servants living across the river send these words: We give news to the king that the Jews who came from you have come to us at Jerusalem. They are again building that uncontrolled and evil town. The walls are complete and they are repairing the bases. The king may be certain that when the town and its wall are completely rebuilt they will pay no tax or payment in goods or forced payments, and in the end it will be a cause of loss to the kings. Because we are responsible to the king, and it is not right for us to see the king's honor damaged, we have sent to give the king word of these things. That way a search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will see in the book of the records that this town has been uncontrolled. It has been a cause of trouble to kings and countries. There were outbursts against authority in the past. That is the reason the town was laid waste. We give you word, that if this town and its walls is completely rebuilt, your power in the country across the river will end. The king sent an answer to Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, and their friends living in Samaria, and to the rest of those across the river, saying, Peace to you: The meaning of the letter you sent to us has been made clear to me, I gave orders for a search to be made, and it is certain that in the past this town has made trouble for kings, and that outbursts against authority have taken place there. Further, there have been great kings in Jerusalem. They ruled over all the country across the river. Taxes and tribute was paid to them. Give an order now that these men are to do no more work and that the building of the town is to be stopped till I give an order. Be sure to do this with all care. Do not let trouble increase to damage the king. Then, after reading the king's letter, Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their friends went quickly to Jerusalem, to the Jews to compel them by force to stop. So the work of the house of God at Jerusalem was stopped, till the second year of the rule of Darius, king of Persia.
The rest of the nations the great and noble Osnappar took over and put in Samaria and the rest of the country over the river: This is a copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: 'Your servants living across the river send these words: We give news to the king that the Jews who came from you have come to us at Jerusalem. They are again building that uncontrolled and evil town. The walls are complete and they are repairing the bases. The king may be certain that when the town and its wall are completely rebuilt they will pay no tax or payment in goods or forced payments, and in the end it will be a cause of loss to the kings. Because we are responsible to the king, and it is not right for us to see the king's honor damaged, we have sent to give the king word of these things. That way a search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will see in the book of the records that this town has been uncontrolled. It has been a cause of trouble to kings and countries. There were outbursts against authority in the past. That is the reason the town was laid waste. We give you word, that if this town and its walls is completely rebuilt, your power in the country across the river will end. The king sent an answer to Rehum, the chief ruler, and Shimshai the scribe, and their friends living in Samaria, and to the rest of those across the river, saying, Peace to you: The meaning of the letter you sent to us has been made clear to me, I gave orders for a search to be made, and it is certain that in the past this town has made trouble for kings, and that outbursts against authority have taken place there. Further, there have been great kings in Jerusalem. They ruled over all the country across the river. Taxes and tribute was paid to them. Give an order now that these men are to do no more work and that the building of the town is to be stopped till I give an order. Be sure to do this with all care. Do not let trouble increase to damage the king. Then, after reading the king's letter, Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their friends went quickly to Jerusalem, to the Jews to compel them by force to stop. So the work of the house of God at Jerusalem was stopped, till the second year of the rule of Darius, king of Persia.
Persia » Men of, in the tyrian army
Persia and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war. They hung shield and helmet in you. They set forth your splendor.
Verse Concepts
Persia » Israel captive in
The survivors were taken to Babylonia as prisoners. They served as slaves of the king and his sons, until Persia became a powerful nation.
Verse Concepts
Persia » The princes were advisors in matters of administration
It pleased Darius to appoint a hundred and twenty governors over the kingdom. They were to be located throughout the whole kingdom. Three commissioners were placed over them. Daniel was one of the commissioners. These governors were to give account to them so that the king would not suffer loss. Daniel was distinguished above the other commissioners and the governors because an excellent spirit (mind) was in him. Therefore the king thought to set him over the whole realm. read more.
Then the commissioners and the governors sought to find a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom. They could find no charge, nor error, nor fault, for he was faithful. These men said: We shall not find any charge against Daniel, unless we find it against him in the Law of his God. Then these commissioners and governors assembled before the king, and said: King Darius, may you live for a very long time. All the governors of the kingdom, the deputies and the governors, the counselors consulted together to establish a royal statute. They made a strong decree, that whoever prays to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions.
Then the commissioners and the governors sought to find a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom. They could find no charge, nor error, nor fault, for he was faithful. These men said: We shall not find any charge against Daniel, unless we find it against him in the Law of his God. Then these commissioners and governors assembled before the king, and said: King Darius, may you live for a very long time. All the governors of the kingdom, the deputies and the governors, the counselors consulted together to establish a royal statute. They made a strong decree, that whoever prays to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions.
Persia » Captivity foretold
The people of Samaria are guilty as charged because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed in war, their children will be smashed to death, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.
Verse Concepts
Persia » System of justice
And you, Ezra, by the wisdom of your God which is in you, are to put rulers and judges to have authority over all the people across the river who have knowledge of the laws of your God. You are to teach any who have no knowledge of them.
Verse Concepts
Persia » Princes of
The closest to the king were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media. They were friends of the king, and had the first places in the kingdom.
Verse Concepts
Persia » Rulers of » Ahasuerus
In the third year of his rule he gave a feast to all his captains and his servants. The captains of the army of Persia and Media, the great men and the rulers of the divisions of his kingdom, were present before him.
Verse Concepts
Persia » Status of women in; queen sat on the throne with the king
The queen sat by him when the king said: How long will your journey take? When will you come back? So the king was pleased to send me, and I gave him a fixed time.
Verse Concepts