On

The king inquired, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act?” “Nothing has been done for him,” replied the king’s attendants.

“Who is in the court?” the king asked. Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

…have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.

…have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.

Let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them array the man the king wants to honor and parade him on the horse through the city square, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!’”

…and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”

Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman’s house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” “Hang him on it!” declared the king.

So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.

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.

At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush—writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.

A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.

The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.

They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king,

Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.

This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.

The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy.

The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy.

…to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar

…as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.

But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”

Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

…when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

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.

In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.

He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.

“If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales.

Is there iniquity on my tongue? Can my mouth not discern malice?

“Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

When I lie down I think: ‘When will I get up?’ But the night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.

“How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.

…if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.

For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.

He leans on his web, but it gives way; he holds fast, but it does not endure.

He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.

Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.

I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.

Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf or speak deceitfully for Him?

You forever overpower him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.

Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself?

Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.

His archers surround me. He pierces my kidneys without mercy and spills my gall on the ground.

Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high.

You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?

Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step.

Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.

He tears me down on every side until I am gone; He uproots my hope like a tree.

Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.

…by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever.

Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth,

When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.

The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.

Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.

Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?

Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?

…while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it.

Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?

Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.

Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.

They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.

The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree.

They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.

He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.

Can His troops be numbered? On whom does His light not rise?

He has inscribed a horizon on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness.

…when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God rested on my tent,

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban.

My roots will spread out to the waters, and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.

After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew.

…so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand.

For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high?

…this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high.

…but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler—

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.

Behold, I will open my mouth; my address is on the tip of my tongue.

In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,

A man is also chastened on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,

Yet if there is a messenger on his side, one mediator in a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,

For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step.

Should God repay you on your own terms when you have disavowed Him? You must choose, not I; so tell me what you know.

And Elihu went on to say:

“Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf.