Because

From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the earth and subjected to the sword and to captivity, to pillage and humiliation, as we are this day.

After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),

O LORD, God of Israel, You are righteous! For we remain this day as a remnant. Here we are before You in our guilt, though because of it no one can stand before You.”

Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. And while he stayed there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

So within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.

And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.

We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people. But I did not do this, because of my fear of God.

Each day one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine was provided. But I did not demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.

Later, I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his house. He said: “Let us meet at the house of God inside the temple. Let us shut the temple doors because they are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you!”

I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.

Then all the people began to eat and drink, to send out portions, and to rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that had been made known to them.

You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, of the Jebusites and Girgashites—to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise, because You are righteous.

You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.

Its abundant harvest goes to the kings You have set over us because of our sins. And they rule over our bodies and our livestock as they please. We are in great distress.

On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

And on that same day men were appointed over the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tithes. The portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites were gathered into these storerooms from the fields of the villages, because Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who were serving.

…because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).

While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to Artaxerxes king of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I obtained leave from the king

I also learned that because the portions for the Levites had not been given to them, all the Levites and singers responsible for performing the service had gone back to their own fields.

I appointed as treasurers over the storerooms Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.

Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.

And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter.

Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.

All the royal servants at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded that this be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering that gate.

…he sent back to her this reply: “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews.

For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.”

That same day King Xerxes awarded Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai entered the king’s presence because Esther had revealed his relation to her.

So King Xerxes said to Esther the Queen and Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked the Jews.

In every province and every city, wherever the king’s edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many of the people of the land themselves became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.

And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.

Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced,

Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced,

Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.

…darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow,

They are confounded because they had hoped; their arrival brings disappointment.

You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety.

…then you should fear the sword yourselves, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”

“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.

Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.

…because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.

Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.

…if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,

…if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,

…because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—

So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

…and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he.

…because they turned aside from Him and had no regard for any of His ways.

There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men.

Teach us what we should say to Him; we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.

Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me.

Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion.

My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.

I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.

He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me, because I wait for You.

Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path, because of my oppressors.

The LORD helps and delivers them; He rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in Him.

There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin.

There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin.

My wounds are foul and festering because of my sinful folly.

I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.

I say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?”

For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?

For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.

…at the voice of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy, bent on revenge.

I will praise You forever, because You have done it. I will wait on Your name—for it is good—in the presence of Your saints.

God will hear and humiliate them—the One enthroned for the ages—Selah because they do not change and they have no fear of God.

I will keep watch for You, O my strength, because You, O God, are my fortress.

Because Your loving devotion is better than life, my lips will glorify You.

Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts.

…because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.

Draw near to my soul and redeem me; ransom me because of my foes.

May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.

…because they did not believe God or rely on His salvation.

He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged by His heritage.

In the day of my distress I call on You, because You answer me.

Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—my refuge, the Most High—

“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.

“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.

Zion hears and rejoices, and the towns of Judah exult because of Your judgments, O LORD.

…because of Your indignation and wrath, for You have picked me up and cast me aside.

At the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them.

…because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.

…and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.

Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

I delight in Your commandments because I love them.

Rage has taken hold of me because of the wicked who reject Your law.

My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.

My zeal has consumed me because my foes forget Your words.

Salvation is far from the wicked because they do not seek Your statutes.

I look on the faithless with loathing because they do not keep Your word.