So

You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit admonished them through Your prophets. Yet they would not listen, so You gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.

So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.

So here we are today as slaves in the land You gave our fathers to enjoy its fruit and goodness—here we are as slaves!

Moreover, we will bring to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God the firstfruits of our dough, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and oil. A tenth of our produce belongs to the Levites, so that they shall receive tithes in all the towns where we labor.

Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish and its fields; and in Azekah and its villages. So they settled from Beersheba all the way to the Valley of Hinnom.

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.

So in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions for the descendants of Aaron.

So I rebuked the officials and asked, “Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts,

In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.

Did not your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”

When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem, just before the Sabbath, I ordered that the gates be shut and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my servants at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.

So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.

So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.

The edict the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom—and so all women, from the least to the greatest, will honor their husbands.”

The king and his princes were pleased with this counsel; so the king did as Memucan advised.

And the young woman pleased him and obtained his favor, so he quickly provided her with beauty treatments and the special diet. He assigned to her seven select maidservants from the palace and transferred her with them to the best place in the harem.

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

And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

Day after day they warned him, but he would not comply. So they reported it to Haman to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.

Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

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

So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the king’s gate,

So Hathach went back and relayed Mordecai’s response to Esther.

So Mordecai went and did all that Esther had instructed him.

“Hurry,” commanded the king, “and bring Haman, so we can do as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

“Hurry,” commanded the king, “and bring Haman, so we can do as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.

So the king’s attendants answered him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” ordered the king.

So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!”

So the king and Haman went to dine with Esther the queen,

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.

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.

So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.

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.

So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them.

These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants.

So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim.

So Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record.

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’

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

He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.

So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”

So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed to me.

As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up.

…so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body.

If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You?

Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.

“Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God?

He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble.

It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.

Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.

Only grant these two things to me, so that I need not hide from You:

So man wastes away like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.

…look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.

…so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.

…as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.

…so that you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth?

He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness.

…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.

Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.

So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”

…it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.

Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’

But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat.

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.

As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned.

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

If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”

He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone.

So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest and multiply my days as the sand.

I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.

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

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

…so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

…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.

So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.

So do not claim, ‘We have found wisdom; let God, not man, refute him.’

…so that he detests his bread, and his soul loathes his favorite food.

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

So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.”

He seals up the hand of every man, so that all men may know His work.

…so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?

Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

No one is so fierce as to rouse Leviathan. Then who is able to stand against Me?

One scale is so near to another that no air can pass between them.

So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”

So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

And so Job died, old and full of years.

Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.