Intrigues of Enemies Foiled

6 Now when it was reported to Sanbal′lat and Tobi′ah and to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), ² Sanbal′lat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. ³ And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” ⁴ And they sent to me four times in this way and I answered them in the same manner. ⁵ In the same way Sanbal′lat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. ⁶ In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem^[a] also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall; and you wish to become their king, according to this report. ⁷ And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these words. So now come, and let us take counsel together.” ⁸ Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” ⁹ For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen thou my hands.

¹⁰ Now when I went into the house of Shemai′ah the son of Delai′ah, son of Mehet′abel, who was shut up, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple; for they are coming to kill you, at night they are coming to kill you.” ¹¹ But I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?^[b] I will not go in.” ¹² And I understood, and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobi′ah and Sanbal′lat had hired him. ¹³ For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me an evil name, in order to taunt me. ¹⁴ Remember Tobi′ah and Sanbal′lat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess No-adi′ah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

The Wall Completed

¹⁵ So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶ And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations round about us were afraid^[c] and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. ¹⁷ Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobi′ah, and Tobi′ah’s letters came to them. ¹⁸ For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecani′ah the son of Arah: and his son Jeho-ha′nan had taken the daughter of Meshul′lam the son of Berechi′ah as his wife. ¹⁹ Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence, and reported my words to him. And Tobi′ah sent letters to make me afraid.

7 Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, ² I gave my brother Hana′ni and Hanani′ah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. ³ And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they are still standing guard^[d] let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each to his station and each opposite his own house.” ⁴ The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few and no houses had been built.

Lists of the Returned Exiles

⁵ Then God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:

⁶ These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnez′zar the king of Babylon had carried into exile; they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. ⁷ They came with Zerub′babel, Jeshua, Nehemi′ah, Azari′ah, Ra-ami′ah, Naham′ani, Mor′decai, Bilshan, Mis′pereth, Big′vai, Nehum, Ba′anah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel: ⁸ the sons of Parosh, two thousand a hundred and seventy-two. ⁹ The sons of Shephati′ah, three hundred and seventy-two. ¹⁰ The sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two. ¹¹ The sons of Pa′hath-mo′ab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Jo′ab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen. ¹² The sons of Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty-four. ¹³ The sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five. ¹⁴ The sons of Zac′cai, seven hundred and sixty. ¹⁵ The sons of Bin′nui, six hundred and forty-eight. ¹⁶ The sons of Be′bai, six hundred and twenty-eight. ¹⁷ The sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two. ¹⁸ The sons of Adoni′kam, six hundred and sixty-seven. ¹⁹ The sons of Big′vai, two thousand and sixty-seven. ²⁰ The sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five. ²¹ The sons of Ater, namely of Hezeki′ah, ninety-eight. ²² The sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight. ²³ The sons of Be′zai, three hundred and twenty-four. ²⁴ The sons of Hariph, a hundred and twelve. ²⁵ The sons of Gibeon, ninety-five. ²⁶ The men of Bethlehem and Neto′phah, a hundred and eighty-eight. ²⁷ The men of An′athoth, a hundred and twenty-eight. ²⁸ The men of Beth-az′maveth, forty-two. ²⁹ The men of Kir′iath-je′arim, Chephi′rah, and Be-er′oth, seven hundred and forty-three. ³⁰ The men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one. ³¹ The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two. ³² The men of Bethel and Ai, a hundred and twenty-three. ³³ The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two. ³⁴ The sons of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty-four. ³⁵ The sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty. ³⁶ The sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five. ³⁷ The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one. ³⁸ The sons of Sena′ah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.

³⁹ The priests: the sons of Jedai′ah, namely the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three. ⁴⁰ The sons of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two. ⁴¹ The sons of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred and forty-seven. ⁴² The sons of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.

⁴³ The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kad′mi-el of the sons of Ho′devah, seventy-four. ⁴⁴ The singers: the sons of Asaph, a hundred and forty-eight. ⁴⁵ The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hati′ta, the sons of Sho′bai, a hundred and thirty-eight.

⁴⁶ The temple servants:^[e] the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasu′pha, the sons of Tabba′oth, ⁴⁷ the sons of Keros, the sons of Si′a, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁸ the sons of Leba′na, the sons of Hag′aba, the sons of Shalmai, ⁴⁹ the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, ⁵⁰ the sons of Re-ai′ah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Neko′da, ⁵¹ the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Pase′ah, ⁵² the sons of Besai, the sons of Me-u′nim, the sons of Nephush′esim, ⁵³ the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Haku′pha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵⁴ the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehi′da, the sons of Harsha, ⁵⁵ the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sis′era, the sons of Temah, ⁵⁶ the sons of Nezi′ah, the sons of Hati′pha.

⁵⁷ The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of So′tai, the sons of So′phereth, the sons of Peri′da, ⁵⁸ the sons of Ja′ala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁹ the sons of Shephati′ah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Po′chereth-hazzeba′im, the sons of Amon.

⁶⁰ All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were three hundred and ninety-two.

⁶¹ The following were those who came up from Tel-me′lah, Tel-har′sha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers’ houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: ⁶² the sons of Delai′ah, the sons of Tobi′ah, the sons of Neko′da, six hundred and forty-two. ⁶³ Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobai′ah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzil′lai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzil′lai the Gileadite and was called by their name). ⁶⁴ These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean; ⁶⁵ the governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise.

⁶⁶ The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁷ besides their menservants and maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five singers, male and female. ⁶⁸ Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,^{[f] 69} their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and their asses six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

⁷⁰ Now some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests’ garments. ⁷¹ And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver. ⁷² And what the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priests’ garments.

⁷³ So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.

Ezra Summons the People to Obey the Law

And when the seventh month had come, the children of Israel were in their towns.^[g]

Mordecai’s Dream

11 ^[a]2 In the second year of the reign of Ahasu-e′rus^[b] the Great, on the first day of Nisan, Mor′decai the son of Ja′ir, son of Shim′e-i, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream. ³ He was a Jew, dwelling in the city of Susa, a great man, serving in the court of the king. ⁴ He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon had brought from Jerusalem with Jeconi′ah king of Judea. And this was his dream:

⁵ Behold, noise^[c] and confusion, thunders and earthquake, tumult upon the earth! ⁶ And behold, two great dragons came forward, both ready to fight, and they roared terribly. ⁷ And at their roaring every nation prepared for war, to fight against the nation of the righteous. ⁸ And behold, a day of darkness and gloom, tribulation and distress, affliction and great tumult upon the earth! ⁹ And the whole righteous nation was troubled; they feared the evils that threatened them, and were ready to perish. ¹⁰ Then they cried to God; and from their cry, as though from a tiny spring, there came a great river, with abundant water; ¹¹ light came, and the sun rose, and the lowly were exalted and consumed those held in honor.

¹² Mor′decai saw in this dream what God had determined to do, and after he awoke he had it on his mind and sought all day to understand it in every detail.

A Plot against the King

12 ¹ Now Mor′decai took his rest in the courtyard with Gab′atha and Tharra, the two eunuchs of the king who kept watch in the courtyard. ² He overheard their conversation and inquired into their purposes, and learned that they were preparing to lay hands upon Ahasu-e′rus^[d] the king; and he informed the king concerning them. ³ Then the king examined the two eunuchs, and when they confessed they were led to execution. ⁴ The king made a permanent record of these things, and Mor′decai wrote an account of them. ⁵ And the king ordered Mor′decai to serve in the court and rewarded him for these things. ⁶ But Haman, the son of Hammeda′tha, a Bougae′an, was in great honor with the king, and he sought to injure Mor′decai and his people because of the two eunuchs of the king.

King Ahasu-erus Deposes Queen Vashti

1 In the days of Ahasu-e′rus, the Ahasu-e′rus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, ² in those days when King Ahasu-e′rus sat on his royal throne in Susa the capital, ³ in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his princes and servants, the army chiefs^[e] of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces being before him, ⁴ while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his majesty for many days, a hundred and eighty days. ⁵ And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the capital, both great and small, a banquet lasting for seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. ⁶ There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings caught up with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings^[f] and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and precious stones. ⁷ Drinks were served in golden goblets, goblets of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. ⁸ And drinking was according to the law, no one was compelled; for the king had given orders to all the officials of his palace to do as every man desired. ⁹ Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the palace which belonged to King Ahasu-e′rus.

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehu′man, Biztha, Harbo′na, Bigtha and Abag′tha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served King Ahasu-e′rus as chamberlains, ¹¹ to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to behold. ¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command conveyed by the eunuchs. At this the king was enraged, and his anger burned within him.

¹³ Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times—for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, ¹⁴ the men next to him being Carshe′na, Shethar, Adma′tha, Tarshish, Meres, Marse′na, and Memu′can, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom—: ¹⁵ “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasu-e′rus conveyed by the eunuchs?” ¹⁶ Then Memu′can said in presence of the king and the princes, “Not only to the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also to all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasu-e′rus. ¹⁷ For this deed of the queen will be made known to all women, causing them to look with contempt upon their husbands, since they will say, ‘King Ahasu-e′rus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ ¹⁸ This very day the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will be telling it to all the king’s princes, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. ¹⁹ If it please the king, let a royal order go forth from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be altered, that Vashti is to come no more before King Ahasu-e′rus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. ²⁰ So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, vast as it is, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low.” ²¹ This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memu′can proposed; ²² he sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be lord in his own house and speak according to the language of his people.

Esther Becomes Queen

2 After these things, when the anger of King Ahasu-e′rus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. ² Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. ³ And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the capital, under custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch who is in charge of the women; let their ointments be given them. ⁴ And let the maiden who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.

⁵ Now there was a Jew in Susa the capital whose name was Mor′decai, the son of Ja′ir, son of Shim′e-i, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, ⁶ who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconi′ah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon had carried away. ⁷ He had brought up Hadas′sah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother; the maiden was beautiful and lovely, and when her father and her mother died, Mor′decai adopted her as his own daughter. ⁸ So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many maidens were gathered in Susa the capital in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai who had charge of the women. ⁹ And the maiden pleased him and won his favor; and he quickly provided her with her ointments and her portion of food, and with seven chosen maids from the king’s palace, and advanced her and her maids to the best place in the harem. ¹⁰ Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mor′decai had charged her not to make it known. ¹¹ And every day Mor′decai walked in front of the court of the harem, to learn how Esther was and how she fared.

¹² Now when the turn came for each maiden to go in to King Ahasu-e′rus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women— ¹³ when the maiden went in to the king in this way she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. ¹⁴ In the evening she went, and in the morning she came back to the second harem in custody of Sha-ash′gaz the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines; she did not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

¹⁵ When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Ab′ihail the uncle of Mor′decai, who had adopted her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her. ¹⁶ And when Esther was taken to King Ahasu-e′rus into his royal palace in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, ¹⁷ the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ Then the king gave a great banquet to all his princes and servants; it was Esther’s banquet. He also granted a remission of taxes^[g] to the provinces, and gave gifts with royal liberality.

Mordecai Discovers a Plot

¹⁹ When the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mor′decai was sitting at the king’s gate. ²⁰ Now Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mor′decai had charged her; for Esther obeyed Mor′decai just as when she was brought up by him. ²¹ And in those days, as Mor′decai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasu-e′rus. ²² And this came to the knowledge of Mor′decai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mor′decai. ²³ When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.