¹Solomon's Song of Songs.

²“May he kiss me with kisses of his mouth,

For your love is better than wine.

³At the fragrance of your good oils,

Your name is as oil poured out,

Which is why the virgins love you.

⁴Draw me after you; we will run away.

The king has brought me to his rooms.”

“We will rejoice and be glad with you;

We will remember your love more than wine.

Those who are upright love you.”

⁵“I am swarthy and comely,

You daughters of Jerusalem,

Like the tents of Kedar,

Like Solomon's curtains.

⁶Do not look at me, because I am swarthy

– Because the sun has given me a tan.

The sons of my mother have become angry with me.

They appointed me as a guardian of their vineyards;

I have not guarded my own vineyard.

⁷Tell me, you whom my being loves,

Where are you tending your flock?

Where do you make them lie down at noon?

For why should I be languishing

Alongside the flocks of your fellow shepherds?”

⁸“If you do not know,

O most beautiful among women,

Then go out along the tracks of the flock

And tend your goat-kids

By the tabernacles of the shepherds.”

⁹“I have compared you to my mare

Among Pharaoh's chariots, my beloved.

¹⁰How beautiful would be your cheeks

With rows of beads,

And your neck with strings of pearls!

¹¹We will make you rows of golden beads

With studs of silver.”

¹²“While the king is on his couch,

My spikenard emits its fragrance.

¹³My lover is a bundle of myrrh to me.

He shall pass the night between my breasts.

¹⁴My lover is a bunch of henna flowers to me,

In the vineyards of En-Gedi.”

¹⁵“Behold how beautiful you are, my beloved;

Behold how beautiful you are

With your eyes of a dove.”

¹⁶“Behold how handsome you are my lover

– Indeed delightful –

Moreover our couch is fresh.”

¹⁷“The joists of our house are cedars,

And our wainscoting is of cypress.”

¹“I am a lily of Sharon

And a lily of the valley.”

²“Like a lily among the brambles,

So is my beloved among the daughters.”

³“Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

So is my lover among the sons.

In his shadow I delight and sit,

And his fruit is sweet to my taste.

⁴He brought me to the house of wine,

And the ensign over me was love.

⁵Sustain me with raisin cake,

Refresh me with apples,

For I am lovesick.

⁶His left hand will be under my head,

And his right hand will embrace me.

⁷I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the wild gazelles and deer hinds,

Do not by any means awaken or arouse love,

Until it is willing.

⁸The voice of my lover

– Behold, he is coming –

Leaping over the mountains

And bounding over the hills.

⁹My lover is like a gazelle or a deer fawn.

See how he is standing behind our wall,

Gazing from the windows,

Glancing from the grille.

¹⁰My lover answered and said to me,

‘Get yourself up, my beloved, my beauty,

And get going.

¹¹For behold, the winter has passed,

The rain has passed on

And gone its way.

¹²The blossoms have appeared in the land,

The time of pruning has arrived,

And the sound of the turtle-dove

Is heard in our land.

¹³The fig tree has ripened its unripe figs,

And the vines with vine blossom have produced a fragrance.

Arise, come my beloved, my beauty,

And get moving.

¹⁴O dove of mine in the clefts of the rock,

In the shelter of the precipice,

Show me what you look like,

And let me hear your voice,

For your voice is mellow

And your appearance is becoming.’

¹⁵‘Catch the foxes for us,

The little foxes which spoil the vineyards,

For our vineyards are in blossom.’

¹⁶My lover is mine,

And I am his

– The shepherd among the lilies.

¹⁷Before the day grows cool,

And the shadows flee,

Return, my beloved;

Be like a gazelle or a deer fawn

On the mountains of Bether.

¹On my couch at night I sought him

Whom my whole being loves;

I sought him,

But I did not find him.

²Let me get up, then,

And I will go around the city;

In the squares and the streets,

I will seek him

Whom my whole being loves.

I sought him,

But I did not find him.

³The watchmen who patrol the city found me.

I asked, ‘Have you seen the one

Whom my whole being loves?’

⁴I had hardly passed on from them

When I found him

Whom my whole being loves.

I held on to him

And would not let him go

Until I had brought him to my mother's house,

And to the room of her who conceived me.

⁵I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

By the wild gazelles and deer hinds,

Do not by any means awaken or arouse love,

Until it is willing.”

⁶“Who is this coming up from the desert,

Like pillars of smoke,

Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,

With all the aromatic powder of the merchant?”

⁷“Behold Solomon's bed.

There are sixty warriors around it

From the warriors of Israel.

⁸They are all wielding a sword

And are trained in warfare.

Each has his sword on his thigh

Because of fear at night.”

⁹“King Solomon has made himself a litter

From the wood of Lebanon.

¹⁰He made its posts of silver

And its backing of gold

And its seat of purple material.

Its inside is a mosaic of love themes

From the daughters of Jerusalem.”

¹¹“Come out, O daughters of Zion,

And look at King Solomon,

With the crown with which his mother crowned him

On his wedding day,

And on the day of joy in his heart.”

¹“How beautiful you are, my beloved,

How beautiful you are!

Your eyes are those of doves through your veil.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

Which shine from Mount Gilead.

²Your teeth are like a flock

Which has been shorn,

Which has come up from the washing place,

Which are all paired

And among which none is bereft of young.

³Your lips are like a scarlet thread,

And your speech is delightful.

Your cheek is like the segment of a pomegranate

Through your veil.

⁴Your neck is like the Tower of David,

Built as an armoury.

A thousand bucklers hang from it

– All the shields of warriors.

⁵Your two breasts are like two deer fawn twins

Of the gazelle hind,

Grazing among the lilies.”

⁶“Before the day grows cool,

And the shadows flee,

I will betake myself

To the mountain of myrrh

And to the hill of frankincense.”

⁷“You are beautiful all over, my beloved,

And there is no blemish on you.

⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

With me from Lebanon.

Look from the peak of Amana,

From the peak of Senir and Hermon,

From the dens of lions

And from the mountains of leopards.

⁹You have given me heart, my sister, my bride,

You have given me heart

With one of your eyes,

With one necklace of your necklace stack.

¹⁰How beautiful your love is, my sister, my bride!

How your love is better than wine,

And the fragrance of your oils than all the perfumes!

¹¹Your lips distil honey from the honeycomb, my bride.

Honey and milk are under your tongue,

And the fragrance of your clothes

Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

¹²My sister – my bride – is a locked garden,

A blocked spring, a sealed water-source.

¹³Your shoots are a park of pomegranates,

With exquisite fruit,

Henna flowers with spikenard plants,

¹⁴Spikenard and saffron,

Sweet cane and cinnamon,

With all kinds of frankincense trees,

Myrrh and aloes,

With all the prime sorts of perfumes,

¹⁵A source for gardens,

A well of living water,

And distillations from Lebanon.

¹⁶Awake, O North,

And come, O South,

Blow on my garden and let its perfumes distil.”

“Let my lover come to his garden,

And eat its exquisite fruit.”

¹“I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride;

I have gathered my myrrh with my perfume,

I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey,

I have drunk my wine with my milk.”

“Eat, friends,

Drink, and imbibe strong drink,

You lovers.”

²“I was asleep,

But my heart was awake;

The voice of my lover was knocking,

‘Open to me, my sister,

My beloved, my dove, my undefiled,

For my head is full of dew,

As are my locks of hair

With dewdrops of the night.

³I have taken my tunic off;

How can I put it on again?

I have washed my feet;

How can I soil them again?’

⁴My lover stretched out his hand by the lock hole,

And I was moved inwardly because of him.

⁵I arose to open to my lover,

And my hands exuded drops of myrrh,

And my fingers liquid myrrh

On the handles of the lock.

⁶I opened to my lover,

But my lover withdrew and vanished.

My heart went out to him when he spoke.

I sought him,

But I did not find him;

I called to him,

But he did not answer me.

⁷The watchmen who patrol in the city found me.

They struck me, they wounded me;

The guardians of the walls lifted my veil off me.

⁸I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

If you find my lover,

That you tell him

That I am lovesick.”

⁹“In what way is your lover different

From any other lover,

O beautiful one among women?

In what way is your lover different

From any other lover,

That you should adjure us like this?”

¹⁰“My lover is bright and red,

Conspicuous among ten thousand.

¹¹His head is pure gold;

His locks of hair are swaying palm fronds,

And they are black like a raven.

¹²His eyes are like a dove's

By the torrents of water

– Eyes washed in milk,

Set like a gemstone in a bezel.

¹³His cheeks are like a raised garden of balsam plants

– Raised beds of aromatic herbs;

His lips are like lilies,

Exuding liquid myrrh.

¹⁴His forearms are cylinders of gold

Set with Tarshish gemstones;

His midriff is polished ivory,

Covered with sapphires.

¹⁵His legs are pillars of marble,

Founded on socles of pure gold.

His appearance is as Lebanon;

He is a young man like the cedars.

¹⁶His mouth is most sweet.

And all of him is most desirable.

This is my lover

And this is my beloved,

O daughters of Jerusalem.”

¹“Where has your lover gone,

O most beautiful among women?

Which way has your lover turned?

Then let us look for him with you.”

²“My lover went down to his garden,

To the raised beds of balsam

To graze in the gardens

And to gather lilies.

³I belong to my lover,

And my lover belongs to me,

The one grazing among the lilies.”

⁴“You are beautiful, my beloved, like Tirzah,

As delightful as Jerusalem,

As awe-inspiring as a display of banners.

⁵Turn your eyes away from me,

For they have excited me.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

Which shine from Gilead.

⁶Your teeth are like a flock of ewes

Which have come up from the washing-place,

Which are all paired,

And among which none is bereft of young.

⁷Your cheek is like the segment of a pomegranate

Through your veil.

⁸There are sixty queens and eighty mistresses,

And virgins without number.

⁹But there is just one of my dove,

My undefiled.

She is the only one of her mother's;

She is the favourite of her who bore her.

The daughters saw her and blessed her,

And the queens and mistresses praised her

And said,

¹⁰‘Who is this peeping out like the dawn,

As beautiful as the moon,

As clear as the sun,

As awesome as a display of banners?’ ”

¹¹“I went down to the nut garden

To see the plant life of the valley,

To see if the vine was blossoming

– If the pomegranates were blooming.

¹²I don't know how I landed myself

In the chariots of my noble people.”

¹“Come back, come back, O Shulamite, come back.

Come back, and let us look at you.”

“What do you see in the Shulamite?”

“You are like the dance of Mahanaim.

²How beautiful your feet are in your shoes,

O daughter of a noble.

Your figure at your thighs is like necklaces

– Craftsmanship in the hands of an artisan.

³Your navel is like a round bowl;

Let it not lack spiced wine.

Your stomach is a pile of wheat

Enclosed by lilies.

⁴Your two breasts are like two deer fawn

– Twins of the gazelle hind.

⁵Your neck is like a tower of ivory.

Your eyes are pools in Heshbon

At the Gate of Bath-Rabbim.

Your nose is like the Tower of Lebanon,

Which looks out towards Damascus.

⁶Your head rests on you like Carmel,

And the locks of your head are like purple material;

The king is captivated by the shocks of hair.

⁷How beautiful you are and how delightful you are,

O love among the pleasures!

⁸This stature of yours is like a date palm,

And your breasts are like bunches of grapes.

⁹I said, ‘I will go up to the date palm;

I will take hold of its palm-branches.’

And now may your breasts become like bunches of grapes of the vine,

And the smell of your nose like apples.

¹⁰And your mouth is like good wine

Going straight to my beloved,

Flowing past the lips of the sleepy.”

¹¹“I am my lover's,

And his desire is for me.

¹²Come, my lover, let us go out into the countryside;

Let us lodge in the villages.

¹³Let us get up early to go to the vineyards;

Let us see whether the vine is blossoming,

Whether the vine blossom has opened,

Whether the pomegranates have flourished.

There I will give you my love.

¹⁴The mandrakes give a fragrance,

And at our gates are all kinds of exquisite fruit,

Both new and old, my lover,

Which I have stowed away for you.

¹If only you were as my brother,

Who sucked my mother's breasts.

I would find you outdoors;

I would kiss you,

And I would not be despised.

²I would lead you

And bring you to my mother's house.

She would teach me.

I would give you some spiced wine to drink

Made from my pomegranate must.

³Let his left hand be under my head,

And his right hand embrace me.

⁴I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

Why awaken or why arouse love

Before it is willing?”

⁵“Who is this coming up from the desert,

Leaning on her lover?”

“I aroused you under the apple tree.

Your mother bore you there.

She who gave birth to you

Bore you there.

⁶Place me like a seal on your heart,

Like a seal on your arm,

For love is as strong as death

And jealousy is as harsh as the grave;

Its flames are fiery flames

– An intense blaze.

⁷Even much water cannot quench love,

Nor can rivers wash it away.

If a man were to give all the wealth of his household for love,

It would be utterly contemptible of him.”

⁸“We have a little sister,

Who does not yet have breasts.

What should we do with our sister

On the day when she is proposed to?”

⁹“If she is a wall,

We will build silver castellations on her.

And if she is a door,

We will enclose her with panels of cedar.”

¹⁰“I am a wall,

And my breasts are like towers.

Then I was the one

Who found peace in his sight.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-Hamon.

He let the vineyard out to tenants.

Each one was to bring one thousand pieces of silver

For his fruit.

¹²My own vineyard is in front of me.

You can have your thousand, Solomon,

And you who keep its fruit, your two hundred.”

¹³“You garden-dweller,

My companions can hear your voice.

Let me hear it too.”

¹⁴“Hasten, my lover,

And be like a gazelle or a fawn of the deer

On the mountains of balsam.”

¹And it came to pass in the days when the judges were judging that there was a famine in the land, and a man went from Bethlehem-Judah to live in the plains of Moab – he and his wife and his two sons. ²Now the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-Judah. And they came to the plains of Moab and stayed there. ³Then Elimelech the husband of Naomi died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴And they took Moabitess wives. The name of one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth, and they dwelt there for about ten years. ⁵Then both Mahlon and Chilion died too, and the woman was left bereaved of her two children and her husband. ⁶So she got up, she and her daughters-in-law, and she returned from the plains of Moab, for she had heard in the plain of Moab that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread. ⁷And she departed from the place where she had been, together with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go and return, each to your mother's house. May the Lord act kindly with you, as you have done with the dead and with me. ⁹May the Lord grant that you find rest, each in your husband's house.” And she kissed them, and they raised their voice and wept. ¹⁰But they said to her, “It is with you that we will return – to your people.” ¹¹But Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I have any more sons in my womb, to be your husbands? ¹²Go back, my daughters, go, for I am too old for a husband to have me, for I have said, ‘Is there hope for me, even if a husband had me tonight, and even if I gave birth to sons, ¹³would you wait for them until they grew up? Would you refrain from belonging to another husband for them?’ No, my daughters. For it is much more bitter for me than you, because the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” ¹⁴And they raised their voice and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. ¹⁵Then she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people, and to her gods. Go back after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶But Ruth said, “Do not press me into leaving you – into giving up following you – for wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people are my people, and your God is my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the Lord so do to me and more still otherwise, for only death will separate you from me.” ¹⁸And she saw that she had resolved to go with her, and she stopped speaking to her. ¹⁹And the two of them journeyed until they had come to Bethlehem, and it came to pass when they came to Bethlehem that the whole city went into commotion over them, and they said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt with me very bitterly. ²¹I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has brought harm on me.” ²²Then Naomi returned, Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law being with her, having returned from the plains of Moab, and they arrived in Bethlehem at the start of the barley harvest.

¹Now Naomi had a kinsman through her husband, a man mighty in wealth, of Elimelech's family, and his name was Boaz. ²And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me go into the field and glean ears of corn after him in whoever's eyes I find grace.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³So she departed and came there and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And her venture happened to be in a part of the field belonging to Boaz, of the family of Elimelech. ⁴And what should happen but Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “The Lord bless you.” ⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” ⁶And the servant in charge of the reapers replied and said, “She is a Moabitess, who came back with Naomi from the plain of Moab. ⁷And she said, ‘Let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers’, and she came and has continued doing it from the morning until now. That leaves little rest for her at home.” ⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Did you not hear, my daughter? Do not go to glean in any other field, and do not move across from here, and in this way you will stay attached to my maidservants. ⁹Your eyes will be on the field that they are reaping, and you will follow the maidservants. Have I not ordered my menservants not to touch you? If you are thirsty, go to the pots and drink from what the servants draw.” ¹⁰Then she fell face down and bowed to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found grace in your eyes, in that you have been concerned about me, when I am a foreigner?” ¹¹Then Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been told me in full – everything you have done with your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, and how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and went to a people which you did not know in times past. ¹²May the Lord reward your work, and may your recompense from the Lord God of Israel be in full, under whose wings you have come to trust.” ¹³And she said, “Let me find grace in your eyes, my lord, for you have shown compassion on me, and because you have spoken kindly to your maidservant, while I am not like any of your maidservants.” ¹⁴Then Boaz said to her at the time of the meal, “Come here, and you can eat some bread and dip your piece in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he handed her roasted corn, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over. ¹⁵Then she got up to go gleaning, and Boaz instructed his servants and said, “Let her glean between the sheaves too, and do not treat her ignominiously. ¹⁶And deliberately spill some from the sheaves for her too, and leave it so she can glean it, and do not rebuke her.” ¹⁷So she gleaned in the field until the evening, and she threshed what she had gleaned, and it amounted to about an ephah of barley. ¹⁸And she took it and came to the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and she emptied it out, and she gave her what she had left over after taking what was enough for her. ¹⁹And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? May he who is showing concern for you be blessed.” And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and she said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” ²⁰Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and the dead.” And Naomi said to her, “The man is a near relative of ours. He is one of our kinsman redeemers.” ²¹And Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You must stay attached to my servants until they have finished the whole of my harvest.’ ” ²²Then Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is a good thing, my daughter, that you go out with his maidservants, so that no-one will molest you in another field.” ²³So she stayed attached to Boaz's maidservants to glean until the end of the barley harvest, and the end of the wheat harvest, and she stayed with her mother-in law.

¹Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, will I not seek rest for you, so that it will go well for you? ²Well now, is not Boaz, with whose maidservants you were, our relation? Look, he will be winnowing the barley in the threshing floor tonight. ³Now wash and anoint yourself and put your dress on and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴And it will come to pass when he lies down that you must note the place where he lies, then go in and uncover his feet-end and lie down, and he will tell you what you must do.” ⁵And she said to her, “I will do everything you say.” ⁶And she went down to the threshing floor, and she acted according to everything her mother-in-law had instructed her. ⁷So Boaz ate and drank, and his heart was merry, and he went to lie down at the end of the heap. Then she came secretly and uncovered his feet-end and lay down. ⁸And it came to pass at midnight that the man had a shock and turned round, and what he saw was that a woman was lying at his feet-end. ⁹And he said, “Who are you?” And she said, “I am Ruth your maidservant, so spread your wings over your maidservant, for you are a kinsman redeemer.” ¹⁰Then he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have shown even more kindness of late than in the beginning, in not going after the young lads, whether poor or rich. ¹¹So now, my daughter, do not be afraid. Everything you say, I will do for you, because every gate of my people knows that you are a virtuous woman. ¹²And now although it is true that indeed I am a kinsman redeemer, yet there is a kinsman redeemer nearer than me. ¹³Lodge tonight, and it will follow in the morning, if he will redeem you, all right, let him redeem. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until the morning.” ¹⁴So she lay down at his feet-end until the morning, then she got up before anyone would recognize his neighbour, and he said, “Let it not be known that a woman came into the threshing floor.” ¹⁵And he said, “Take the gown which is on you and hold it out.” So she held it out, and he measured out six measures of barley, and he put it in it, then he went to the city. ¹⁶And she went to her mother-in-law, and she said, “Who are you, my daughter?” So she told her everything the man had done for her. ¹⁷And she said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ” ¹⁸Then she said, “Stay, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest unless he concludes the matter today.”

¹Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat there, and what should happen but the kinsman redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken passed by. And Boaz said, “Turn aside and sit down here, my good sir.” And he turned aside and sat down. ²And he took ten men from the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” And they sat down. ³And he said to the kinsman redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the plain of Moab, is selling the parcel of land which belonged to our brother, Elimelech. ⁴And I hereby declare, I notify you as follows: you can buy it in the presence of the inhabitants and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not redeem it, tell me, so that I know, for there is no-one except you first in line to redeem it, and I am after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵Then Boaz said, “On the day you purchase the field from Naomi, and from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, you also buy to raise up the name of the deceased in his inheritance.” ⁶At this the kinsman redeemer said, “I cannot take this redemption on myself lest I spoil my own inheritance. You redeem my inheritance, for I cannot redeem it.” ⁷Now this was the custom in early times in Israel concerning redemption and concerning exchange, so as to establish every transaction: a man would take off his shoe and give it to his contracting counterpart, and this was a testimony in Israel. ⁸And the kinsman redeemer said to Boaz, “You buy it.” And he took off his shoe. ⁹And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have purchased everything that was Elimelech's and everything that was Chilion's, and Mahlon's, from Naomi. ¹⁰And I have also purchased Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased is not cut off from being with his brothers, or from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.” ¹¹And all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord grant the woman who has come to your household to be like Rachel and Leah, the two who built up the house of Israel. And you act virtuously in Ephrathah, and proclaim fame in Bethlehem. ¹²And may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, from the seed which the Lord will give you, the house being built from this young woman.” ¹³Then Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ¹⁴And the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not deprived you of a kinsman redeemer today, so that his fame may be proclaimed in Israel. ¹⁵And he will be a restorer of your well-being, and one who sustains you in your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better for you than seven sons, has borne him.” ¹⁶And Naomi took the child and placed him in her bosom, and she became a nurse to him. ¹⁷And the neighbouring women proclaimed his fame and said, “A son has been born to Naomi.” And they called him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. ¹⁸This is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron, ¹⁹and Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab, ²⁰and Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon, ²¹and Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed, ²²and Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

Reference(s) in Chapter 4: v.17 ↔ Acts 13:22.

¹How the city which was so populous

Remains alone and has become like a widow!

She who was great among the nations

– A princess among the states –

Has become tribute-paying.

²She weeps and weeps at night,

And her tears are on her cheeks.

She has no-one comforting her among all her lovers.

All her friends have betrayed her;

They have become her enemies.

³Judah has gone into exile

In affliction and in severe enslavement.

She dwells among the Gentiles;

She has not found rest.

All those who pursue her have caught up with her,

Putting her in straits.

⁴The roads of Zion mourn

For want of any coming to the festival.

All her gates are desolate,

Her priests sigh,

Her virgins grieve

– And it is bitter to her.

⁵Her adversaries have become the head,

Her enemies prosper,

For the Lord has afflicted her

Because of the large number of her transgressions.

Her young children have gone into captivity

In front of the adversary.

⁶And all her splendour has departed from the daughter of Zion,

And her princes, who were like deer,

Did not find pasture,

And they went powerlessly in front of the pursuer.

⁷Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and her wanderings

All her valuable objects

Which she had in the old days,

When her people fell into the hand of the adversary,

And there was no-one to help her.

The adversaries saw her

And mocked her demise.

⁸Jerusalem has committed a sin,

Which is why she has become displaced.

All those who honoured her disparage her,

For they have seen her nakedness,

As she herself sighs and turns back.

⁹Her uncleanness is in her skirts;

She is not mindful of her final state,

And she has plummeted astonishingly.

There is no-one comforting her.

O Lord, look at my affliction,

For the enemy has become powerful.

¹⁰The adversary has spread his hand over all her valuable objects,

For she has seen how the Gentiles have entered her sanctuary,

Whereas you commanded

That they should not come into your convocation.

¹¹All her people sigh and seek bread.

They have given their desirable objects in exchange for food

To refresh themselves.

O Lord, look and see,

For I have become contemptible.

¹²Is it not of concern to you,

All you who pass by the way?

Look and see if there is any grief like my grief

Which has been dealt out to me,

Because the Lord has afflicted me

On the day of his furious anger.

¹³He has sent fire into my bones from above,

And it has subdued them.

He has spread a net for my feet,

He has turned me back;

He has made me desolate,

And ailing all day long.

¹⁴The yoke of my transgressions has been fastened by his hand.

They are intertwined,

They have come on my neck;

He has made my strength falter.

The Lord^* has delivered me into the hands

Of those from whom I cannot get up.

¹⁵The Lord^* has removed all my valiant men within my confines.

He has called an assembly against me

To crush my youths.

The Lord^* has trodden the wine press,

Which is the virgin daughter of Judah.

¹⁶Over these things I weep.

My eye, my eye is running with water,

For the comforter is far from me,

Who would refresh my being.

My sons have become devastated,

For the enemy has prevailed.

¹⁷Zion has spread out her hands;

She has no comforter.

The Lord has commanded concerning Jacob,

“Let his adversaries be round about him”,

And Jerusalem has become an unclean woman among them.

¹⁸The Lord is righteous,

For I have rebelled against his word.

Hear now, all you nations,

And look at my grief –

My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.

¹⁹I called on my lovers,

But they have been treacherous to me.

My priests and my elders in the city expired

When they sought food for themselves

To revive themselves.

²⁰O Lord, see how I am in straits.

My innards are turbulent;

My heart is overturned inside me,

For I have rebelled badly.

Outside the sword has bereaved me;

Inside it is deathly.

²¹They have heard that I am sighing

– That I have no comforter.

All my enemies have heard of my misfortune;

They rejoice because you have done this,

But you will bring about the day which you have proclaimed,

And they will become like me.

²²Let all their wickedness come before you,

And treat them severely as you have treated me severely

For all my transgressions.

For my sighs are many,

And my heart is ailing.

¹How the Lord^* has covered the daughter of Zion in darkness in his anger.

He has cast the splendour of Israel

Down from heaven to the earth.

And he did not remember his footstool

On the day of his anger.

²The Lord^* has swallowed up all the settlements of Jacob

And has not had compassion.

In his ire he has demolished the fortifications of the daughter of Judah.

He has cast them to the ground;

He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.

³In his furious anger

He has cut every horn of Israel off;

He has drawn his right hand back from the presence of the enemy,

And he has burned in Jacob as if with blazing fire,

Which has consumed the land all around.

⁴He drew his bow like an enemy;

His right hand stood like an adversary,

And he killed all who were pleasing to the eye

In the tent of the daughter of Zion.

He poured out his fury like fire.

⁵The Lord^* was like an enemy,

He swallowed up Israel,

He swallowed up all her palaces,

He brought her fortifications to ruin,

And he increased mourning and lamentation

In the daughter of Judah.

⁶And he did violence to his booth like a garden;

He ravaged his assembly.

The Lord has caused the assembly and the Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion,

And he has rejected king and priest

In his angry indignation.

⁷The Lord^* has repudiated his altar;

He has abhorred his sanctuary.

He has delivered the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy.

They have uttered a sound in the house of the Lord

As on a day of the assembly.

⁸The Lord decided to bring the wall of the daughter of Zion to ruin.

He has stretched out a line;

He did not withdraw his hand from swallowing it up,

And he has brought mourning on fortification and wall

– They languish together.

⁹Her gates have sunk into the ground;

He has wrecked and shattered her bolts.

Her king and her princes are among the Gentiles.

There is no book of the law;

Her prophets do not find any vision from the Lord either.

¹⁰The elders of the daughter of Zion are sitting on the ground;

They are silent.

They have put dust on their heads,

They have girded themselves with sackcloth;

The virgins of Jerusalem have lowered their heads to the ground.

¹¹My eyes are exhausted with tears;

My innards are turbulent.

My liver is poured out on the ground

Over the devastation of the daughter of my people,

At the fainting of the child and baby

In the streets of the city.

¹²To their mothers they say,

“Where is the corn and the wine?”

As they faint like a wounded soldier in the streets of the city,

As their life is poured out

In their mothers' bosom.

¹³What can I testify to you?

To what can I liken you, O daughter of Jerusalem?

To what can I compare you,

So as to comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion?

For your devastation is as great as the sea.

Who can heal you?

¹⁴Your prophets had visions for you

Which were false and deluded,

And they did not reveal your iniquity,

Which would have restored you from your captivity,

But they have had visions for you

Of false prophecies and seductions.

¹⁵All who pass by the way

Clap their hands at you.

They whistle and shake their head

At the daughter of Jerusalem,

And say, “Is this the city of which they say,

‘It is the perfection of beauty

– The joy of all the earth’?”

¹⁶All your enemies gape at you;

They whistle and gnash their teeth.

They say, “We have swallowed her up.

Indeed this is the very day which we have hoped for.

We have arrived at it; we have seen it.”

¹⁷The Lord has done what he devised;

He has carried out his word

Which he appointed in days of old.

He has demolished

And did not show pity.

And he has given the enemy reason to rejoice over you;

He has raised the horn of your adversaries.

¹⁸Their heart cried out to the Lord^*.

O wall of the daughter of Zion,

Let tears run down like a torrent day and night,

Do not give yourself respite;

Do not let the pupil of your eye rest.

¹⁹Arise, shout out in the night at the start of the watches,

Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord^*;

Lift up your hands to him for the life of your small children

Who are fainting with hunger

At the head of all the streets.

²⁰Look, O Lord, and see to whom you have done this.

Will women eat their own fruit

– Infants who are nursed?

Will priest and prophet be killed

In the sanctuary of the Lord^*?

²¹The youth and the old man lie on the ground on the streets.

My virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword.

You have killed them on the day of your anger;

You have slaughtered them

And not shown pity.

²²You have publicized my fears round about,

As on the day of an assembly.

But on the day of the Lord's anger

There was no-one who had escaped or survived.

Those whom I nursed and brought up,

My enemy has finished off.

¹I am the man who has seen affliction

By the rod of his wrath.

²He has driven me and removed me

Into darkness, and not light.

³Surely he has turned against me;

His hand is adverse to me all day long.

⁴He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away;

He has shattered my bones.

⁵He has built the case against me

And surrounded me with noxiousness and weariness.

⁶He has made me sit in darkness,

Like the age-abidingly dead.

⁷He has fenced me in

And I cannot go out.

He has made my fetter heavy.

⁸Although I cry out and shout,

He shuts out my prayer.

⁹He has blocked my ways with hewn stones;

He has overturned my paths.

¹⁰He is a bear in ambush to me

– A lion in a covert place.

¹¹He has deflected me from my ways

And torn me to pieces;

He has made me desolate.

¹²He has drawn his bow

And set me as a target for the arrow.

¹³He has shot the contents of his quiver into my kidneys.

¹⁴I have become a laughing stock to all my people,

In their song all day long.

¹⁵He has filled me with bitter herbs;

He has given me wormwood to drink.

¹⁶And he has crushed my teeth with gravel;

He has covered me with ash.

¹⁷And you have been averse to my well-being;

I have forgotten what goodness is.

¹⁸And I said, “My endurance and my hope in the Lord

Have faded away.”

¹⁹Remember my affliction and wandering,

The wormwood and the venom.

²⁰Oh do remember,

And may your soul sink down onto me.

²¹I will lay this to heart;

This is why I will be in expectation:

²²The Lord's kind deeds are such

That we are not finished

– That his mercies have not come to an end.

²³The mornings bring these anew;

Great is your faithfulness.

²⁴“My portion is the Lord,”

My inner being has said,

“Which is why I will await him.”

²⁵The Lord is good to those who put their hope in him

– To the person who seeks him.

²⁶It is good to be in expectation and quiet for the Lord's salvation.

²⁷It is good for a man

That he bears his yoke in his youth.

²⁸He sits alone and is silent,

For he laid it on him.

²⁹He puts his mouth in the dust

And says,

“Perhaps there is hope.”

³⁰He gives his cheek to him who strikes him;

He is steeped in reproach.

³¹For the Lord^* will not repudiate us age-abidingly.

³²Although he causes grief,

Yet he shows mercy

According to the abundance of his kindness.

³³For he does not afflict wholeheartedly

Nor so grieve the sons of men.

³⁴Neither on crushing all the prisoners of the earth under one's feet,

³⁵Nor on perverting the course of justice of a man

Against the intention of the Most High,

³⁶Nor on doing violence to a man's contention

Does the Lord^* look favourably.

³⁷Who is it who spoke, and it came to pass,

If the Lord^* did not command it?

³⁸Do not bad things and good

Issue from the mouth of the Most High?

³⁹How a man who is alive complains!

– A man confronted by his sin.

⁴⁰Let us search our ways and investigate

And return to the Lord.

⁴¹Let us lift up our hearts on our hands

To God in the heavens.

⁴²We have transgressed and rebelled,

And you have not forgiven us.

⁴³You have covered us with anger and pursued us;

You have killed us and not shown pity.

⁴⁴You have covered yourself with a cloud,

So that a prayer cannot pass through.

⁴⁵You have made us an offscouring

And a reject in the company of the nations.

⁴⁶All our enemies gape at us.

⁴⁷Fear and ruin are our lot

With desolation and devastation.

⁴⁸Streams of water run down my eye

At the devastation of the daughter of my people.

⁴⁹My eye is flowing and will not become quiet,

With no respite,

⁵⁰Until the Lord peers down

And looks from heaven.

⁵¹My eye is wearing on my spiritual condition

Because of all the daughters of the city.

⁵²My enemies have relentlessly hunted me,

Gratuitously, like a bird.

⁵³They have knocked my life down into the pit,

And they have thrown stones at me.

⁵⁴Waters overwhelmed me above my head.

I said, “I have been cut off.”

⁵⁵I called on your name, O Lord,

From the lowest pit.

⁵⁶You have heard my voice.

Do not turn a deaf ear to relieving me at my cry.

⁵⁷You drew near on the day

When I called on you,

And you said,

“Do not fear.”

⁵⁸You, O Lord^*, have defended the indictments against my person,

You have redeemed my life.

⁵⁹O Lord, you have seen my oppression;

Do defend my case.

⁶⁰You have seen all their vengeance

– All their thoughts concerning me.

⁶¹You have heard their reproach,

O Lord – all their thoughts against me.

⁶²The lips of those who rise up against me

And their meditation

Are against me all day long.

⁶³Observe their sitting down and their rising up;

I am their derisive song.

⁶⁴Bring retribution on them, O Lord,

According to the work of their hands.

⁶⁵Give them a veiled heart

– Your curse on them.

⁶⁶Pursue them in anger,

And destroy them,

Under the heavens of the Lord.

¹How gold has become dull,

And the good fine gold has changed!

The holy gemstones are poured out

At the head of all the streets.

²As for the precious sons of Zion,

Who were weighed against fine gold,

How they are considered as earthen jars

– The work of the hands of the potter!

³Even the jackals present a breast;

They suckle their cubs.

The daughter of my people is prey to the cruel one,

Like the ostriches in the desert.

⁴The baby's tongue cleaves to the roof of his mouth with thirst.

Children ask for bread,

But there is no-one to break any for them.

⁵Those who used to eat delicacies

Have become desolate in the streets.

Those brought up in scarlet

Embrace the rubbish dumps.

⁶And the punishment for the iniquity of the daughter of my people

Is greater than the punishment for the sin of Sodom,

Which was overthrown in a moment,

And no hands in it endured.

⁷Her Nazarites were purer than snow,

They were brighter than milk,

They were redder in body than red corals;

Their features were as of a sapphire.

⁸Their appearance has become darker than blackness,

They are not recognized in the streets;

Their skin cleaves to their bones

– It has become dry like wood.

⁹Those who fell by the sword were better off

Than those who died of hunger,

For they bled to death when pierced,

Rather than dying for lack of the produce of the field.

¹⁰The hands of compassionate women

Have cooked their own children.

They were food to them

In the devastation of the daughter of my people.

¹¹The Lord has discharged his wrath;

He has poured out his furious anger,

And he has kindled a fire in Zion,

And it has consumed its foundations.

¹²The kings of the earth

And all the inhabitants of the world

Did not believe that an adversary and an enemy

Would enter the gates of Jerusalem.

¹³Because of the sins of her prophets,

And the iniquities of her priests

Who shed the blood of the righteous

In her precincts,

¹⁴They stagger along in blindness in the streets;

They are stained with blood.

In their powerlessness

They strike their clothes.

¹⁵“Go away, you unclean person”,

They call out to them,

“Go away, go away. Do not touch.”

For they fled and wandered.

Among the Gentiles they said,

“They will not dwell there any more.

¹⁶The presence of the Lord has divided them;

He no longer watches over them.

They did not show the priests respect,

Nor did they show the elders compassion.”

¹⁷Our eyes still fail us

At the worthlessness of the help we had,

When in our expectation we awaited a people,

But they could not save us.

¹⁸They hounded us at our steps,

So that we could not walk on our streets.

Our end came near;

Our days were fulfilled,

For our end had come.

¹⁹Our pursuers were swifter than eagles of the sky;

They ardently pursued us on the mountains

– In the desert they ambushed us.

²⁰The breath of our nostrils

– The Lord's anointed –

Was caught in their snares,

Of whom we said,

“We will live in his shadow among the Gentiles.”

²¹Exult and be joyful, O daughter of Edom,

You who live in the land of Uz.

The cup will pass over you too,

And you will become drunk

And make yourself naked.

²²Your iniquity has come to its culmination,

O daughter of Zion;

He will not send you into exile any more.

He will punish your iniquity,

O daughter of Edom;

He will expose your sins.

¹Remember, O Lord,

What has come upon us.

Look and see our reproach.

²Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers

– Our houses to foreigners.

³We have become orphans;

We have no father.

Our mothers are like widows.

⁴We have drunk our water against payment;

Our wood comes at a price.

⁵We are pursued at our necks,

We are weary;

We are not given rest.

⁶We offered the hand to Egypt;

We gave Assyria bread with which to be satiated.

⁷Our fathers have sinned;

They are not here.

We are suffering for their iniquities.

⁸Servants have ruled over us;

No-one breaks away from their grip.

⁹We fetch our bread at the risk of our lives

Because of the sword in the desert.

¹⁰Our skin is as black as an oven

Because of the scorching famine.

¹¹They raped the women in Zion

And the virgins of the cities of Judah.

¹²Princes were hanged at their behest;

The standing of the elderly was not respected.

¹³They took young men to do grinding,

And youths staggered with wood.

¹⁴Old men cease to be at the gate,

And young men playing music.

¹⁵The joy of our heart has ceased;

Our dancing has turned into mourning.

¹⁶The crown on our head has fallen off.

Oh woe to us,

For we have sinned!

¹⁷For this reason our heart has become sick;

On these grounds our eyes have become dark.

¹⁸On Mount Zion,

Which is desolate,

Foxes roam.

¹⁹You, O Lord, remain age-abidingly;

Your throne is from generation to generation.

²⁰Why should you forget us forever

– Abandon us for the length of days?

²¹Restore us, O Lord, to yourself,

And we will return.

Renew our days

As of old.

²²For you have utterly rejected us,

You have been angry with us

In great measure.

¹The words of the convener, the son of David, the king in Jerusalem.

²“Vanity of vanities,”

Says the convener,

“Vanity of vanities;

All is vanity.

³What is the benefit to a man

Of all his toil which he toils at

Under the sun?

⁴A generation goes and a generation comes,

But the world stands age-abidingly.

⁵And the sun rises, and the sun sets,

Then it draws towards its place

Where it rises again.

⁶It goes to the south, and it turns to the north;

Turning and turning, the wind goes,

And by its round trips

The wind returns.

⁷All the streams go to the sea,

But the sea is not full.

To the place where the streams flow,

There they return to flow again.

⁸Everything is wearisome;

No-one can utter it.

The eye is not satisfied with seeing,

And the ear is not filled with hearing.

⁹What has been is what will be,

And what has been done is what will be done,

And there is nothing new under the sun.

¹⁰Is there anything of which it can be said,

‘Look, this is new’?

It was already in existence in ancient times

– Something which existed before us.

¹¹There is no remembrance of the former things,

Nor will there be any remembrance of the latter things which will be,

With those who will be in existence

In the latter time.

¹²I, the convener, became king over Israel in Jerusalem, ¹³and I decided to seek and investigate by means of wisdom everything that has been done under heaven. It is a troublesome matter that God has given the sons of Adam to be afflicted by. ¹⁴I have seen all the works which are done under the sun, and look, everything is vanity and idle pursuit.

¹⁵That which is crooked

Cannot be made straight,

And that which is lacking

Cannot be counted.

¹⁶I spoke to myself deep down and said, ‘Here I am; I have become great, and I have increased in wisdom more than everyone who was before me in Jerusalem, and my heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.’ ¹⁷And I devoted my heart to knowing wisdom, and to knowledge of folly and foolishness, and I came to know that this too is idle pursuit.

¹⁸For in much wisdom there is much annoyance,

And he who increases knowledge

Increases sorrow.

¹I said in my heart, ‘Go now; I will test you with joy. And discern what is good.’ But behold, this is also vanity. ²To laughter I said, ‘It is foolish’, and to joy, ‘What is it doing?’ ³I purposed in my heart to invigorate my body with wine, yet familiarizing my heart with wisdom, and to lay hold of foolishness until I had seen what was good for the sons of Adam, for them to do under heaven for the number of the days of their life. ⁴I was great in my works – I built myself houses; I planted myself vineyards. ⁵I made gardens for myself, and parks, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶I made pools of water for myself, with which to irrigate the orchard where the trees were growing. ⁷I acquired menservants and maidservants, and I had servants born in the household; I also had much livestock – oxen and sheep – more than anything there had been in Jerusalem before me. ⁸I also collected for myself silver and gold and what is particular to kings and states. I acquired for myself men singers and women singers and the delights of the sons of Adam, and mistresses one after another. ⁹And I became great and surpassed everyone who was before me in Jerusalem, and my wisdom stood me in good stead.

¹⁰And I did not deny my eyes anything they asked for;

I did not refuse my heart any pleasure,

For my heart obtained joy from all my toil,

And this was my portion of all my toil.

¹¹And I turned to all my works

Which my hands had made,

And to the toil which I had toiled at by working,

And behold, it was all vanity and idle pursuit,

And there was no benefit under the sun.

¹²And I turned to look into wisdom,

And folly and foolishness,

For what will the man who comes after the king do?

Something that they have already done.

¹³And I saw that wisdom has more benefit than foolishness,

As light has more benefit than darkness.

¹⁴The wise man has his eyes in his head,

But the fool walks in darkness.

And I myself know that one event

Takes place with all of them.

¹⁵And I said in my heart,

‘As is the event with the fool,

So it will happen to me too.

So why then should I become wiser still?’

And I concluded

That this too was vanity.

¹⁶For there is no age-abiding remembrance of the wise

Any more than of the fool,

In that the days are already coming

When everything will be forgotten.

And how will the wise man die?

With the fool.

¹⁷And I hated life. For the matter which was done under the sun was baneful to me, because everything is vanity and idle pursuit. ¹⁸And I hated all my toil which I had toiled at under the sun, which I will leave to the man who comes after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool when he rules over all my toil which I have toiled at, and which I was wise in under the sun? This too is vanity. ²⁰Then I had reason to let my heart despair of all the toil which I had toiled at under the sun. ²¹For there is one man whose toil is in wisdom and knowledge and skill, but to another who has not toiled in this way he will legate a share. This too is vanity and a great evil. ²²For what accrues to a man in all his toil and in his pursuit of his heart's desire at which he toils under the sun? ²³For all his days are sorrows, and his affairs are an irritation. Moreover his heart does not rest at night. This too is vanity. ²⁴There is nothing good in the fact that a man eats and drinks and provides himself with good things in his toil. I have seen this too – that it is from the hand of God. ²⁵For who eats and who experiences pleasure more than me? ²⁶For he gives a man who is good in his sight wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he gives a task of gathering and collecting things, to give to a good man before God. This too is vanity and idle pursuit.

¹There is a time for everything,

And a season for every concern under heaven.

²A time to bear children,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to uproot that which has been planted;

³A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to demolish,

And a time to build;

⁴A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

⁵A time to throw stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to be far from embracing;

⁶A time to demand,

And a time to forego;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

⁷A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to be silent,

And a time to speak;

⁸A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time for war,

And a time for peace.

⁹What is the benefit to the maker of what he toils at? ¹⁰I have seen the task which God has given to the sons of Adam to be exercised by. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its season; he has also put the world into their heart, because of man's failure to find the work which God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹²I know that there is no good in them, except to rejoice and to do good in one's life, ¹³and also for every man to eat and drink and to see the good in all his toil – it is the gift of God. ¹⁴I know that everything that God does will be age-abiding. There is nothing to add to it, and there is nothing to take away from it, and God made it so that men should fear in his presence.

¹⁵That which has been is still here,

And that which is to be has already been.

And God demands an account

Of what has been pursued.

¹⁶And I saw more under the sun,

In the place of justice,

There there was wickedness,

And in the place of righteousness,

There there was wickedness.

¹⁷I said in my heart,

‘God will judge the righteous and the wicked.

For there is a time for every concern,

And then for every work.’

¹⁸I said in my heart, ‘It is because of the behaviour of the sons of Adam, that God will examine them and see whether they are beasts towards each other.’ ¹⁹For the sons of Adam are subject to an event, and cattle are subject to an event, and they share one event. As is the death of one, so is the death of the other, and all have one breath, and there is no superiority of man over the cattle, for everything is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place, all came from the dust and all return to the dust. ²¹Who knows the spirit of the sons of Adam, which goes up, and the spirit of cattle which goes down to the earth? ²²And I saw that there is nothing better than that man should rejoice in his works, for that is his apportionment. For who can bring him to look at what will take place after him?

¹So I returned, and I saw all the oppressions which are perpetrated under the sun.

And what I saw was the tear of the oppressed,

Who have no comforter,

While from the hand of those who oppress them comes force.

And they have no comforter.

²Then I praised the dead,

Who have already died,

More than the living,

Who are still alive.

³Yet better than both is he

Who has not yet come into being,

Who has not seen the wicked work

Which has been done under the sun.

⁴And I saw all the toil and all the skill applied to the work, for it is a man's rivalry with his neighbour. This too is vanity and idle pursuit.

⁵The fool folds his arms

And eats his own flesh.

⁶A handful in quiet is better

Than two fistfuls in toil and idle pursuit.

⁷Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

⁸There is a certain man,

And there is no-one in his company,

Neither does he have son or brother,

And there is no end to all his toil,

Nor is his eye satisfied with riches.

And he says, ‘For whom do I toil,

And deprive myself of goodness?’

This too is vanity,

And it is a bad state of affairs.

⁹Two are better than one,

In that they have good wages for their toil.

¹⁰For if they fall,

One will get his colleague up.

But alas for one on his own who falls

When there is no other to get him up.

¹¹Also if two lie down together

Then they have warmth.

But how will one on his own

Become warm?

¹²If anyone would overpower the one,

Two will stand against him.

And a triple thread

Is not quickly broken.

¹³It is better to be a poor but wise child

Than an old and foolish king

Who no longer knows how to receive admonition.

¹⁴For he comes out of prison to reign,

But also in his kingdom

A poor man is born.

¹⁵I have seen all who are alive,

Walking under the sun,

With the heir apparent

Who will succeed him.

¹⁶There is no end to all the people

– To all who were before them –

Neither will the latter ones rejoice in him,

For this too is vanity and idle pursuit.

¹⁷Mind your feet when you go into the house of God, and be near so as to hear, rather than to let fools give a sacrifice, for they do not know anything other than doing wrong.

¹Do not be rash with your mouth,

And do not let your heart be hasty in uttering a word in God's presence,

For God is in heaven,

But you are on the earth,

So let your words be few.

²For a dream comes with much to occupy one,

But the voice of the fool

Comes with many words.

³When you make a vow to God,

Do not be late in fulfilling it,

For there is no pleasure in fools.

What you have vowed, fulfil!

⁴It is better for you not to make a vow

Than to vow but not fulfil.

⁵Do not let your mouth cause you to commit carnal sin, and do not say in the presence of an angel that it was a sin through ignorance. Why should God become angry at your utterance and destroy the work of your hands? ⁶For in many dreams there are many vain things, as in many words. But fear God. ⁷If you see oppression of the impoverished, and wresting of justice and righteousness in a state, do not be surprised at the matter, for there is high rank watching over high rank, and higher ranks above them. ⁸And the benefit of the earth is for all. The king is served by the field.

⁹He who loves money

Will never be satisfied with money,

Nor will he who loves wealth be satisfied with profit.

This too is vanity.

¹⁰With an increase in good things

Comes an increase in those that eat them,

So what is the advantage to their owner

Except a sight for his eyes?

¹¹The workman's sleep is sweet

Whether he eats little or much,

But the abundance of the rich man

Does not permit him to sleep.

¹²There is a grievous injustice

That I have seen under the sun:

Riches kept by their owner

To his detriment.

¹³Then those riches are lost

In a calamitous affair,

And he begets a son

But has nothing in his hand.

¹⁴As when he came out of his mother's womb

– Naked – so he will return,

Going as he came,

And he will not take any of his toil with him

Which he might take in his hand.

¹⁵And this too is a grievous injustice:

In exactly the same way that he comes, so he goes.

So what benefit does he have

By toiling for the wind?

¹⁶Moreover all his days he eats in darkness

And is much grieved

And is sick and angry.

¹⁷Behold what I have seen. It is right that it is pleasant to eat and drink and to see goodness in all one's toil which one toils at under the sun for the number of days of one's life which God gives him, for that is his apportionment. ¹⁸Also as regards every man to whom God has given riches and property and has allowed him to eat from them, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his toil – this is a gift of God. ¹⁹For one will not remember the days of his life much, for it is God who causes a response in the joy of his heart.

¹There is an injustice which I have seen under the sun, and it is severe among mankind, ²about a man to whom God has given riches and property and honour, and whose heart does not lack anything he could wish for, but God does not allow him to eat from it, but a foreigner eats it. This is vanity and a grievous injustice. ³If a man begets a hundred children and lives for many years, and many are the days of his years, but his heart is not satisfied with the goodness, and also if he does not have a burial, I say that a miscarriage would have been better than that. ⁴For he arrives in vanity and departs in darkness, and in darkness his name is covered. ⁵And he did not see the sun or know about it. This one has more rest than the former. ⁶And even if he were to live a thousand years twice over but did not see goodness, is it not still the case that all go to the same place?

⁷All man's toil is for his mouth,

But his heart is nevertheless not fulfilled.

⁸For what does a wise man have

More than a fool?

And what advantage does a poor man have,

Knowing how to walk before the living?

⁹A sight seen by the eyes is better

Than a wandering mind.

This too is vanity and idle pursuit.

¹⁰What has taken place

Has already been called by its name.

And it is known that it is Adam,

And that he cannot contend

With him who is more powerful than he.

¹¹For there are many things that increase vanity,

But what is the advantage to man?

¹²For who knows what is good for man in life in the number of the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will take place after him under the sun?

¹A reputation is better than fine oil,

And the day of death than the day of one's birth.

²It is better to go to the house of mourning

Than to go to a house of banqueting,

For that is the end of every man.

And may he who is alive lay it to his heart.

³Grief is better than laughter,

For in a sad expression the heart is benefited.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

Whereas the heart of fools

Is in the house of rejoicing.

⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of a wise man

Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

⁶For as is the sound of the thorns under the pot,

So is the laughter of the fool.

And this too is vanity.

⁷For unjust gain shames the wise,

And a bribe makes the heart stray.

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning,

And longsuffering is better than arrogance.

⁹Do not be quick in your spirit to become angry,

For anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰Do not say, ‘What has taken place?

Because the first days were better than these’,

For you would not be asking wisely about this.

¹¹Wisdom with an inheritance is good,

And is advantageous to those who see the sun.

¹²For one may be under the protection of wisdom,

Or under the protection of money,

But the advantage of knowledge

Is that wisdom gives life to its owners.

¹³Look at the work of God,

For who can straighten

That which he has made bent?

¹⁴On a day of prosperity, enjoy the success,

But on a day of adversity, observe:

God has made both one thing and another

In order that man should not find out

About anything coming after him.

¹⁵I have seen everything in my vain days.

There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness,

And there is a wicked man

Who lives a long time in his wickedness.

¹⁶Do not be over-righteous,

And do not make yourself too wise.

Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁷Do not do much wrong,

And do not be foolish.

Why should you die

When it is not your time?

¹⁸It is good if you hold on to this,

And do not let your hands drop this either,

For he who fears God

Will leave with everyone else.

¹⁹Wisdom will strengthen the wise man

More than ten rulers

Who are in the city.

²⁰For there is not a just man on the earth

Who does good and does not sin.

²¹Moreover do not concern yourself

With all the words spoken,

So that you do not hear

Your servant cursing you.

²²For also your heart knows

That you have also cursed others

Many times.

²³I have tested all this with wisdom.

I said, ‘I will be wise’,

But it was far from me.

²⁴Who can find what is distant

And very deep?

²⁵Then I applied my heart

To know and to investigate and to seek wisdom,

And an explanation of things,

And to know the wickedness of foolhardiness,

And foolishness and folly.

²⁶And I found more bitter than death

The woman who is out to catch,

And whose heart is set on enticements,

Whose hands are bonds.

It is good in God's sight that one should escape from her,

But the sinner will be caught by her.

²⁷‘See what I have found’,

Says the convener,

‘Putting one thing and another together

To find the result.’

²⁸So my mind is still seeking

And I have not found it.

I have found one man in a thousand,

But I have not found such a woman among all these.

²⁹Just look at this that I have found,

That God made man upright,

Yet they seek all sorts of schemes.

Reference(s) in Chapter 7: v.20 ↔ Romans 3:10.

¹Who is like the wise man?

And who knows the interpretation of a matter?

A man's wisdom enlightens his face,

And the harshness of his face is changed.”

²I say, “Keep the king's commandment, and do so on account of God's oath. ³Do not hasten away from his presence, but walk. Do not defend an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.

⁴Where the word of the king is,

There is authority.

And who will say to him,

‘What are you doing?’

⁵He who keeps the commandment

Will not experience any harmful thing,

And a wise heart will know

Both time and custom,

⁶Because for every matter there is a time and a custom,

For the wickedness of man

Is heavily against him.

⁷For he does not know what will come to pass,

For who can tell him when it will come to pass?

⁸There is no man with power over the wind

To restrain the wind,

And no-one has power over the day of death.

And there is no leave of absence in war,

Nor will wickedness save those who practise it.

⁹I have seen all this, and I have applied my heart to every kind of occupation which is practised under the sun. It is a time when one man rules over another man to his detriment. ¹⁰And so I looked at the wicked who were buried, who had come to, and who had departed from, the holy place, and who were forgotten in the city where they had done this. This too is vanity. ¹¹Where sentence is not executed, the work of the wicked is prompt, which is why the heart of the sons of men is full of boldness in them to do evil. ¹²Even if a sinner does wrong a hundred times, and lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who fear in his presence. ¹³But it will not go well with the wicked man, and he will not live long, being as a shadow, because he does not fear in God's presence. ¹⁴There is a vanity which is committed on the earth, whereby there are righteous men upon whom the consequences of the work of the wicked comes, and there are wicked men upon whom the consequences of the work of the righteous comes. I say that this also is vanity. ¹⁵And I praised joy, because man has nothing good under the sun other than to eat and drink and be merry, and that will accompany him in his toil for the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. ¹⁶When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to look into the matter which is being done on the earth – for it neither by day nor by night sees sleep in its eyes – ¹⁷I saw the whole of God's work. For man cannot discover the work which is done under the sun, because man toils to seek it out, but he does not discover it, and even if a wise man says he knows it, he cannot discover it.

¹For I applied my heart to all this, to examine all this – the fact that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. Mankind does not know whether either love or hatred will come – everything lies in front of them. ²Everything happens similarly to everyone. There is one result for the righteous and for the wicked, for the good and for the clean and for the unclean, and for him who sacrifices and for him who does not sacrifice.

As for the good,

So for the sinner,

As for him who swears an oath,

So for him who fears an oath.

³This is an evil thing among everything that has been done under the sun, for there is one result for all, and also the heart of the sons of Adam is full of evil. And folly is in their heart during their life, and afterwards they proceed to the dead. ⁴For whoever is joined to all the living has confidence. For

A living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁵Yet the living know that they will die,

But the dead don't know anything,

Nor do they have a reward any more,

For memory of them is forgotten.

⁶Also their love and their hatred

And their jealousy have already passed away.

And they age-abidingly no longer have a portion

In anything that has been done under the sun.

⁷Go and eat your bread with joy,

And drink your wine with a merry heart,

For God has already accepted your works.

⁸Let your clothes be white at all times,

And let not oil be lacking on your head.

⁹Spend life with the woman you love all the days of your vain life which he has given you under the sun – all the days of your vanity – for that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. ¹⁰Do with your strength whatever your hand finds to do, for there is no occupation or explanation or knowledge or wisdom in the underworld to which you are going. ¹¹I again saw under the sun that

The race is not for the swift,

And war is not for the valiant,

Nor is bread for the wise,

Nor is wealth for the prudent,

Nor is grace for those who have knowledge,

For an occasion and an incident befall them all.

¹²For man does not know his time either;

He is like a fish caught in a nasty net,

Or like birds caught in a snare.

The sons of Adam are ensnared like them,

In an evil hour,

When it suddenly falls on them.

¹³I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it seems to me to be great: ¹⁴there was a small town, with few people in it, and a great king came against it and surrounded it, and he built great siegeworks against it. ¹⁵But in it was found a poor man, but wise, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no man remembered that poor man.” ¹⁶And I said,

“Wisdom is better than valour,

But the wisdom of the poor man is despised,

And his words are not heard.

¹⁷The words of the wise are heard in quiet

More than the shout of a ruler among fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than equipment for battle,

But one sinner can ruin much good.

¹As deadly flies make the pharmacist's oil stink and go putrid,

So does a little foolishness with him who is esteemed with wisdom and with honour.

²The heart of a wise man

Is on his right,

But the heart of a fool

Is on his left.

³And also when a fool is walking along a road,

His heart fails him,

And he says to everyone

That he is a fool.

⁴If the spirit of the ruler rises against you,

Do not leave your place,

For calmness bears with great sins.

⁵There is an evil thing which I have seen under the sun:

A sin through ignorance

Which proceeds from the ruler.

⁶Foolishness is instituted in many high places,

But the rich will sit in a low place.

⁷I have seen servants on horses,

And princes walking like servants on the ground.

⁸He who digs a pit will fall into it,

And as for him who demolishes a wall,

A serpent will bite him.

⁹He who quarries stones

Will be hurt by them,

And he who chops wood

Will be endangered by it.

¹⁰If the iron implement is blunt,

And he does not sharpen its edge,

Then he must use more force.

But wisdom has the benefit of bringing success.

¹¹If a serpent bites,

It is because it has not been charmed,

So the talkative man has nothing illustrious.

¹²The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious,

But the lips of a fool will swallow him up.

¹³The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,

And the end of his speech is calamitous folly.

¹⁴And the fool is very talkative.

But man does not know what will come to pass,

And who can tell him

What will come to pass after him?

¹⁵The fool's toil will weary him

Because he does not know how to go to the city.

¹⁶Woe to you, O land,

Where your king is a boy,

And your princes dine in the morning.

¹⁷Blessed are you, O land,

Where your king is a nobleman,

And your princes eat in season,

In valour and not in drinking.

¹⁸Through slackness the rafter-work decays,

And through idleness in maintenance the house leaks.

¹⁹A meal is made for entertainment,

And wine makes life merry,

But money answers everything.

²⁰And do not curse the king in your mind,

And do not curse the rich in your bedrooms,

For a bird of the sky will carry your voice,

And the winged one will divulge the matter.

¹Cast seed for your bread alongside water,

For then after many days

You will find it.

²Give a part to seven,

And also to eight,

For you do not know

What will become a calamity on the earth.

³If the thick clouds are full of rain,

They will empty it on the land,

And whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,

In the place where the tree falls,

There it remains.

⁴He who takes note of the wind will not sow,

And he who observes the clouds will not reap.

⁵Just as you do not know the route of the wind,

Nor the way of the bones in the womb of her that is pregnant,

So you do not know the work of God,

Who makes everything.

⁶Sow your seed in the morning,

And do not rest your hand in the evening,

Because you do not know what will give success

– This or that –

Or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Light is sweet,

And it is also good for the eyes to see the sunlight.

⁸For if a man lives for many years,

May he rejoice in them all,

But may he remember the days of darkness,

For they will be many.

Everything that comes is vanity.

⁹Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,

And let your heart make you cheerful in your youthful days,

And walk in the ways of your heart

And in the sight of your eyes,

But know that concerning all these things

God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Put away anger from your heart,

And remove evil from your flesh,

For childhood and tender age are vanity.

¹And remember your creator in the days of your youth,

While the bad days have not yet come,

Nor have the years arrived of which you will say,

‘I have no pleasure in them’,

²While the sun has not gone dark,

Nor the light, nor the moon and the stars,

Nor have the thick clouds returned after the rain,

³On the day when the guardians of the house shake,

And the strong men have become bowed,

And the grinders have become unserviceable,

Because they are few,

And the lookers out of the windows have become dark,

⁴And the doors have closed in the street,

When the sound of the mill is low,

And one rises at the sound of a bird,

And all the daughters of song are faint,

⁵When also they are afraid of heights,

With trepidation on the road,

And the almond tree sheds its blossom,

And the grasshopper is a burden,

And the caperberry fails,

For man goes to his age-abiding house,

And mourners circulate in the street.

⁶For a while the silver cord is not constrained,

And the golden bowl is not crushed,

And the pitcher is not fractured at the fountain,

And the wheel is not broken at the cistern,

⁷Then dust returns onto the earth,

As it was,

And the spirit returns to God

Who gave it.”

⁸“Vanity of vanities,”

Says the convener,

“Everything is vanity.”

⁹And the more that the convener was wise, the more he taught the people knowledge, and he weighed it up, and he sought it out, and he composed many proverbs. ¹⁰The convener set out to find pleasing words, and honest writing – words of truth. ¹¹The words of the wise are like goads and like nails driven in. They are masters of gatherings, given by one shepherd. ¹²And, my son, be warned of anything more than these. There is no end of making many books, and much study is weariness to the flesh. ¹³We will hear the whole conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

For this is the whole duty of man.

¹⁴For God will bring every deed into judgment,

With every hidden thing,

Whether good or bad.

¹And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus – that is Ahasuerus who was reigning from India to Ethiopia, over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces – ²in those days, when King Ahasuerus was sitting on the throne of his kingdom, which was in the citadel of Shushan, ³in the third year of his reign, that he held a banquet for all his officials and his servants – from the forces in Persia and Media, the nobles and the officials of the provinces – in his presence, ⁴when he exhibited the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the extravagance of his majestic magnificence, for many days – for one hundred and eighty days. ⁵And at the conclusion of those days, the king held a feast for all the people present in the citadel of Shushan, for both great and small, for seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace, ⁶where there was linen and fine cotton and blue material, fastened with byssus cords, and purple material on silver rings, and columns of white marble, and beds of gold and silver on a pavement of porphyry and marble, with pearl and black marble, ⁷and where they served drink in vessels of gold, the vessels differing from one another, with royal wine in abundance according to the means of the king. ⁸And drinking was according to the law: no-one compelled anyone, for so the king had decreed to every dignitary of his house, so that everyone should do as he pleased. ⁹Vashti the queen also held a banquet for the women in King Ahasuerus's royal house. ¹⁰On the seventh day, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he told Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas – seven eunuchs serving in the presence of King Ahasuerus – ¹¹to bring Vashti the queen before the king, with the royal diadem, to show the various peoples and the officers her beauty, for she was fair in appearance. ¹²But Vashti the queen refused to come at the king's bidding, which was conveyed by his eunuchs, and the king became very angry and his fury burned in him. ¹³And the king said to the wise men, who knew the times, for so was the word of the king before all those that knew the law and judicial system, ¹⁴with those near him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, seven officials of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and who were pre-eminent in the kingdom, ¹⁵“According to law, what should be done with Vashti the queen, for not doing the bidding of King Ahasuerus conveyed by his eunuchs?” ¹⁶And Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Vashti the queen has not done wrong to the king alone, but to all the officials and all the various peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷For the matter of the queen will go out to all the women, inducing them to despise their husbands in their eyes, when it is said, ‘King Ahasuerus gave orders to bring Vashti the queen before him, but she did not come.’ ¹⁸And on this day, the official consorts of Persia and Media who hear the matter of the queen will say likewise to all the king's officials, and there will be plenty of contempt and anger. ¹⁹If the king approves, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which shall not lapse, that Vashti should not come before King Ahasuerus, and that the king shall give her royal estate to another better than she. ²⁰And the king's decree which he will make will be heard in all the kingdom, for it is great, that all wives should give honour to their husbands, to both great and small.” ²¹And the wording pleased the king and the officials, and the king acted according to the word of Memucan. ²²And he sent letters to all the king's provinces, to each individual province according to its script, and to each individual people according to their language, that every man should rule in his house, so declaring it in each language of his people.

¹After these things, when King Ahasuerus's anger had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. ²Then the king's servants who ministered to him said, “Let virgin girls of fair appearance be sought for the king. ³And let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every virgin girl of fair appearance, to the citadel of Shushan, to the women's quarters, under the care of Hegai the king's eunuch who is keeper of the women. And let them be given their toiletries for purification. ⁴And let the girl who pleases the king reign instead of Vashti.” And the matter pleased the king, and he did so. ⁵There was a certain Jew in the citadel of Shushan, and his name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite, ⁶who had been deported from Jerusalem with the deportees who were deported with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported. ⁷And he brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had no father or mother. And the girl was beautiful in figure and fair in appearance, and when her father and mother died, Mordecai took charge of her as a daughter. ⁸And it came to pass, when the matter of the king and his decree were heard, and when many girls were gathered in the citadel of Shushan, in the care of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king's house under the care of Hegai, the keeper of the women. ⁹And the girl pleased the king, and she won his favour, and he hastened to give her toiletries for her purification, and her personal goods, and to give her seven distinguished servant-girls from the king's house. And he transferred her and her servant-girls to the best place in the women's quarters. ¹⁰Esther did not declare her nationality or her race, for Mordecai had charged her not to declare them. ¹¹And every day Mordecai walked around in front of the court of the women's quarters, in order to know how Esther was and what was happening to her. ¹²And when the turn came for each girl to go to King Ahasuerus at the end of her twelve months, as was the custom of women, for so were the days of their purification fulfilled – six months with oil of myrrh and six months with fragrances and toiletries for purification of women – ¹³the girl would then go to the king. Everything she said would be given to her to go with her from the women's quarters to the king's house. ¹⁴In the evening she would go, and in the morning she would return to the second women's quarters, in the care of Shaashgaz the king's eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go again to the king unless the king was pleased with her, and she was called by name. ¹⁵And when the turn came for Esther, the daughter of Abihail, Mordecai's uncle, whom he had taken as a daughter, to go to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai the king's eunuch, the keeper of the women, had said. And Esther obtained favour in the eyes of all who beheld her. ¹⁶And Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his royal house, in the tenth month – that is the month of Tevet – in the seventh year of his reign. ¹⁷And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained more grace and favour in his presence than all the other virgins, and he placed the crown of the kingdom on her head, and he made her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸And the king held a great banquet for all his officials and servants, the banquet of Esther, and he made a holiday for the provinces, and he gave a gift according to the means of the king. ¹⁹And while the virgins were being collected the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. ²⁰Esther did not declare her race or her nationality, as Mordecai had charged her, and Esther carried out Mordecai's instruction, as when she was being brought up by him. ²¹In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the threshold, became angry, and they tried to lay their hands on King Ahasuerus. ²²And the matter became known to Mordecai, and he told Esther the queen, and Esther told the king in Mordecai's name. ²³And the matter was investigated, and it was exposed, and the two of them were hanged on gallows, and it was written in the chronicles in the king's presence.

¹After these things, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and he elevated him, and he made his seat above all the officials who were with him. ²And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate would bow and prostrate themselves to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him, but Mordecai did not bow or prostrate himself. ³And the king's servants who were at the king's gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” ⁴And it happened that when they instructed him each day, he didn't take notice of them, and they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's behaviour would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵And when Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing and prostrating himself to him, Haman was filled with fury. ⁶But he considered it contemptible to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him Mordecai's nationality, and Haman looked for a way to destroy all the Jews who were in the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus – Mordecai's people. ⁷In the first month, that is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur – that is a lot – in the presence of Haman day by day and month by month, up to the twelfth month – that is the month of Adar. ⁸And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is one people, scattered and separated among the various peoples in every province of your kingdom, and their laws are different from the laws of every other people, and they do not comply with the king's laws, and it is not fitting for the king to suffer them. ⁹If the king sees fit, let it be written to destroy them, and I will weigh ten thousand talents of silver to be paid to those who do the job, to be brought to the king's treasuries.” ¹⁰And the king removed his ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, and it is for you to do to the people what is right in your sight.” ¹²And the king's scribes were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day of it, and it was written according to everything that Haman commanded the king's satraps and the governors who were in charge of every province, and the officials of every people – every province according to their script, and every people according to their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and it was sealed with the king's ring. ¹³And the letters were sent by runners to all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill and to cause to perish all the Jews, from the child to the old man, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month – that is the month of Adar – and to plunder their spoil. ¹⁴A transcript of the writing was to be issued as a decree in every single province, published to all the various peoples, for them to be ready on this day. ¹⁵The runners went out with haste at the king's word, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Shushan, and the king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Shushan was in confusion.

¹Now Mordecai knew everything that had been done, and Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and he went out to the middle of the city, and he cried out with a great and bitter cry. ²And he went in front of the king's gate, for it was not permitted to go in to the king's gate in sackcloth clothing. ³And in every single province, wherever the word of the king and his decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, and there was fasting and weeping and bewailing. Sackcloth was worn and ashes were strewn by many. ⁴And when Esther's servant-girls and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was very grieved, and she sent clothing to clothe Mordecai and to have him remove his sackcloth, but he did not accept it. ⁵And Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to be in her presence, and she commanded him concerning Mordecai, to find out what this was and why this was. ⁶And Hathach went out to Mordecai, to the street of the city which was in front of the king's gate. ⁷And Mordecai told him everything that had befallen him, and the specification of the sum of money which Haman had said that he would weigh to go into the king's treasuries in an act against the Jews, to destroy them. ⁸And he gave him a transcript of the text of the decree which was issued in Shushan, to destroy them, to show Esther and to tell her, and to command her to go to the king and to supplicate him and to plead before him concerning her people. ⁹And Hathach went back and told Esther Mordecai's words. ¹⁰And Esther spoke to Hathach, and she commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, ¹¹“All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that for every man or woman who goes to the king, to the inner court, who has not been called, that there is one law about this, to kill the person unless the king extends the golden sceptre to him, so that he should live. I have not been called to go to the king for thirty days now.” ¹²And they told Mordecai Esther's words. ¹³And Mordecai said to report back to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that you will escape in the king's house any more than all Jews will. ¹⁴For if you are completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will be set up for the Jews from another place, but you and the house of your father will perish. And who knows whether it was for a time like this that you came into the kingdom?” ¹⁵And Esther said to report to Mordecai as follows: ¹⁶“Go and assemble all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me, and do not eat or drink for three days, night and day. I too and my servant-girls will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king in the way not according to the law, and if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷And Mordecai moved on and acted according to everything that Esther had commanded him.

¹And it came to pass on the third day that Esther put on her royal dress and stood in the inner court of the king's house, opposite the king's house, while the king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal house opposite the door of the house. ²And it came to pass when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court that she obtained favour in his sight, and the king extended to Esther the golden sceptre which was in his hand. And Esther approached, and she touched the tip of the sceptre. ³And the king said to her, “What is the matter, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Ask for up to half of the kingdom, and it shall be given to you.” ⁴And Esther said, “If it has the king's approval, let the king and Haman come to the banquet today which I have prepared for him.” ⁵And the king said, “Tell Haman to make haste to do what Esther said.” And the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared. ⁶And the king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, “What is your petition? Ask, and it will be given to you. And what is your request? Ask for up to half of the kingdom, and it will be done.” ⁷And Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is: ⁸if I have found favour with the king, and if the king approves, to accede to my petition and to carry out my request, let the king and Haman come to my banquet which I will hold for them, and tomorrow I will do according to the king's word.” ⁹And Haman went out on that day rejoicing, and glad in his heart, but when Haman saw Mordecai at the king's gate, and that he did not rise or move on account of him, Haman was filled with fury about Mordecai. ¹⁰But Haman restrained himself and went to his house, and he sent for and invited his friends and Zeresh his wife. ¹¹And Haman told them about the glory of his riches and the multitude of his sons, and everything with which the king had made him great, and that he had elevated him above officials and the king's servants. ¹²And Haman said, “Also, Esther the queen did not invite anyone with the king to the banquet which she held but me, and also tomorrow I have been invited to her with the king. ¹³Yet all this does not satisfy me, all the time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” ¹⁴And Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Let them make gallows, fifty cubits high, and in the morning, tell the king and let them hang Mordecai on it, and go with the king to the banquet a happy man.” And the matter had Haman's approval, and he made the gallows.

¹On that night, the king's sleep deserted him, and he commanded to bring the book of the records – the chronicles – and they were read before the king. ²And it was found written that Mordecai told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, of those guarding the threshold, who tried to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. ³And the king said, “What has been done by way of honour and greatness for Mordecai concerning this?” And the king's servants who ministered to him, said, “Nothing has been done for him.” ⁴And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had come to the outer court of the king's house, to say to the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared for him. ⁵And the king's servants said to him, “Look, Haman is standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” ⁶So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done for the man whom the king is pleased to honour?” And Haman said in his heart, “On whom is the king pleased to bestow honour more than on me?” ⁷And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king is pleased to honour, ⁸let royal clothing be brought which the king wears, and a horse upon which the king rides, and the royal crown which is put on his head. ⁹And put the clothing and the horse in the care of a man, one of the king's most noble officials, and let them clothe the man whom the king is pleased to honour, and have them let him ride on the horse in the main street of the city, and they will call out before him, ‘This is how it is done for the man whom the king is pleased to honour.’ ” ¹⁰Then the king said to Haman, “Hasten and get the clothing and the horse, according to what you said, and let it be done to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Let no aspect of anything you have said fail.” ¹¹So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai, and let him ride through the main street of the city, and he called out before him, “This is how it is done for the man whom the king is pleased to honour.” ¹²And Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman hastened to his house mourning and with his face covered. ¹³And Haman told Zeresh his wife, and all his friends, everything that had befallen him. And his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish seed, you will not prevail against him, but you will certainly fall before him.” ¹⁴Then while they were still speaking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther was holding.

¹And the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. ²And the king said to Esther, on the second day at the wine banquet as well, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? Ask, and it will be given to you, and what is your request? Ask for up to half of the kingdom, and it will be done.” ³And Esther the queen answered and said, “If I have found favour in your sight, O king, and if the king approves, let my life be given to me at my petition, and that of my people at my request. ⁴For we have been sold – I and my people – to be destroyed, to be killed and to be eliminated. But if we had been sold as slaves and servant-girls, I would have remained silent, for the distress would not be suitable grounds for disturbing the king.” ⁵And King Ahasuerus spoke and said to Esther the queen, “Who is this, and where is he, whose heart has emboldened him to act this way?” ⁶And Esther said, “An adversarial and hostile man – this wicked Haman.” And Haman was terrified in the presence of the king and the queen. ⁷And the king rose in his fury from the wine banquet, and he went to the palace garden, while Haman stood to plead for his life with Esther the queen, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. ⁸And the king returned from the palace garden to the house of the wine banquet, and Haman fell onto the couch on which Esther was, and the king said, “Are you also going to assault the queen at home with me?” And the word went out from the king's mouth, and they covered Haman's face. ⁹And Harbonah, one of the eunuchs in the presence of the king, said, “Look at the gallows as well, which Haman made for Mordecai who had given good information concerning the king, standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” ¹⁰And they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king's fury abated.

¹On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told him what relation he was to her. ²And the king removed his ring which he had taken away from Haman, and he gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over Haman's house. ³And Esther spoke again before the king, and she fell at his feet, and she wept and implored him to revoke the evil of Haman the Agagite, and his plan which he had plotted against the Jews. ⁴And the king extended his golden sceptre to Esther, and Esther arose and stood before the king. ⁵And she said, “If the king approves, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the matter is fitting to the king, and if I am agreeable in his sight, let it be written to rescind the letters of the plot of Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote, to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces. ⁶For how could I endure and see the evil which would come upon my people, and how could I endure and see the elimination of my kin?” ⁷And King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he laid his hands on the Jews. ⁸Write to the Jews as seems right in your sight, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring, for any writing which is written in the name of the king and is sealed with the king's seal cannot be rescinded.” ⁹And the king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month – that is the month of Sivan – on the twenty-third day in it, and it was written according to everything that Mordecai commanded the Jews and the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces which are from India to Ethiopia – one hundred and twenty-seven provinces – to each individual province according to its script, and to each individual people according to their language, and to the Jews according to their script and according to their language. ¹⁰And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and he sealed it with the king's seal, and he sent the letters by the agency of couriers on horses – or rather riders of royal mule stallions, being the offspring of royal mares – ¹¹that the king allowed the Jews who were in each individual city to be gathered and to take a stand for their lives, and to destroy and to kill and to eliminate every army of a people or province hostile to them, children and women, and to plunder their spoil, ¹²on one day, in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, that is the month of Adar. ¹³A transcript of the writing was to be issued as a decree in every individual province, published to all the various peoples, and for the Jews to be prepared for that day, to avenge themselves of their enemies. ¹⁴The couriers riding on royal mule stallions went out hastening and pressing on at the king's word, and the decree was issued at the citadel of Shushan. ¹⁵And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal clothing, in blue material, and white linen, and a large golden crown, and a robe of fine linen, and purple material. And the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. ¹⁶The Jews had prosperity and joy and happiness and honour. ¹⁷And in every individual province, and in every individual city – every place where the word of the king and his decree arrived – the Jews had joy and happiness. They held a feast and a holiday, and many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

¹And in the twelfth month – that is the month of Adar – on the thirteenth day of it, when the king's word and his decree were reaching the point of being carried out, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to have dominion over them, this was inverted, so that it was the Jews who had dominion over those that hated them. ²The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to lay their hands on those who sought to harm them, and no man stood before them, for the fear of them fell upon all the various peoples. ³And all the officials of the provinces, and the satraps and the governors, and those who carried out the king's work, assisted the Jews, for fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. ⁴For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his reputation went to all the provinces, for the man Mordecai became greater and greater. ⁵And the Jews struck all their enemies with the blow of the sword, and slaughter and destruction. And they did what they pleased to those who hated them. ⁶And in the citadel of Shushan the Jews killed and eliminated five hundred men, ⁷and Parshandatha and Dalphon and Aspatha, ⁸and Poratha and Adalia and Aridatha, ⁹and Parmashta and Arisai and Aridai and Vajezatha. ¹⁰They killed the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay their hands on the spoil. ¹¹On that day the report of the number of those killed in the citadel of Shushan came before the king. ¹²And the king said to Esther the queen, “In the citadel of Shushan the Jews have killed and eliminated five hundred men and Haman's ten sons. In the remainder of the provinces of the king, what have they done and what else is your petition, and it will be given to you, and what is your request, and it will be done?” ¹³And Esther said, “If the king approves, let the Jews who are in Shushan do according to today's decree tomorrow as well, and let them hang Haman's ten sons on the gallows.” ¹⁴And the king commanded this to be done, and the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman's ten sons. ¹⁵And the Jews who were in Shushan assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they killed in Shushan three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the spoil. ¹⁶And the remainder of the Jews, who were in the king's provinces, assembled and took a stand for their lives, and for rest from their enemies, and they killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they did not lay their hands on the spoil. ¹⁷This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and there was rest on the fourteenth day of it, and they made it a day of festivity and gladness. ¹⁸And the Jews who were in Shushan assembled on the thirteenth day of it, and on the fourteenth day of it. And there was rest on the fifteenth day of it, and they made it a day of festivity and gladness. ¹⁹Therefore the Jews in the villages, who dwelt in unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a day of gladness and festivity, and a holiday, and of sending each other presents. ²⁰And Mordecai wrote these things, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, near and far, ²¹to establish among them that they should celebrate the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of it, each year, ²²as the days on which the Jews rested from their enemies, and as the month when it was turned for them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning to a holiday, to make them days of festivity and gladness, and sending of presents to one another, and gifts to the poor. ²³And the Jews undertook that which they had begun to do, and that which Mordecai had written to them. ²⁴For Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, plotted against the Jews to eliminate them, and he cast Pur – that is a lot – to defeat them and to eliminate them, ²⁵but when she came before the king, he commanded with a letter that his evil plot which he plotted against the Jews should rebound on him, and they hanged him and his sons on the gallows. ²⁶Therefore they call these days Purim, according to the name Pur, for this reason, because of all the words of this letter, and because of what they saw of this matter, and because of what had come upon them. ²⁷The Jews established and took it upon themselves and upon their seed and upon all those who joined them, that it would not pass into disuse, to celebrate these two days according to their description and according to their time each year. ²⁸And these days are remembered and celebrated in every generation, in every family, in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim will not pass into disuse among the Jews, and their memory will not come to an end among their seed. ²⁹And Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim. ³⁰And he sent letters to all the Jews – to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces – of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, ³¹to establish these days of Purim at their times, as Mordecai the Jew had established them among them, as had Esther the queen, and as they had established matters of fasts and their outcry for their lives and for their seed. ³²And Esther's commandment established these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.

¹And King Ahasuerus levied a tax on the land and the islands. ²And every act of his authority and his power, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai whom the king made great, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? ³For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews, and he was well-received among the multitude of his brothers, seeking good for his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

¹In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ²And the Lord^* delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah and some of the equipment of the house of God into his hand, and he brought it to the land of Shinar, to the house of his gods, and he brought the equipment to the treasury of his gods. ³And the king commanded Ashpenaz the head of his eunuchs to bring some of the sons of Israel and some of the royal seed, and some seed of the high-ranking officials, ⁴children in whom was no blemish, and who were good-looking and insightful in all wisdom, and who were knowledgeable and who understood science, and who had the mettle to stand in the king's palace. And he gave commandment to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. ⁵And the king appointed them daily servings from the king's fare, and some wine as used for his drink, and he gave instructions to educate them for three years, and at the end of that, they would stand before the king. ⁶And among them were, of the sons of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷And the officer in charge of the eunuchs assigned them names. And he assigned to Daniel, Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, Shadrach; and to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego. ⁸Now Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's fare or with the wine as used for his drink, and he requested from the officer in charge of the eunuchs that he should not defile himself. ⁹And God gave Daniel kind and compassionate treatment before the officer in charge of the eunuchs. ¹⁰And the officer in charge of the eunuchs said to Daniel. “I am fearful of my lord the king who appointed your food and your drink, because why should he see your faces more pallid than those of the other children of your age, and why should you all cost me my head with the king?” ¹¹Then Daniel said to the head steward whom the head of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹²“Please do a trial with your servants for ten days, and let them give us some vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³Then our appearance and that of the children who eat the king's fare will be seen in your presence, and then deal with your servants according to what you see.” ¹⁴And he heeded them in this matter, and he gave them a trial for ten days. ¹⁵And at the end of ten days, their appearance was better and more healthy than that of all the children who ate the king's fare. ¹⁶Then the head steward took away their fare and wine for their drink and gave them vegetables. ¹⁷And God gave these four children intellect and insight in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding of every vision and all dreams. ¹⁸And after the days which the king had specified as to when to bring them in, the head of the eunuchs brought them before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹And the king spoke with them. And of all of them, no-one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, and they stood before the king. ²⁰And in every matter of wisdom in discernment which the king asked them, he found them ten times superior to all the magi and enchanters who were in all his kingdom. ²¹And Daniel was there until the first year of Cyrus the king.

¹And in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams, and his spirit was disturbed, and his sleep eluded him. ²And the king summoned the magi and the enchanters and the magicians and the Chaldeans to give the king the interpretation of his dreams, and they came and stood before the king. ³And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the meaning of the dream.” ⁴And the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live age-abidingly. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” ⁵The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The matter escapes me. If you do not make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you will be dismembered and your houses will be made a dunghill. ⁶But if you expound the dream and its interpretation, you will receive gifts and a reward and great honour from me. So expound the dream and its interpretation to me.” ⁷They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will expound the interpretation.” ⁸The king replied and said, “I definitely know that you are buying time, because you see that the matter escapes me, ⁹so if you do not make the dream known to me, then the judgment against you is conclusive, and you have conspired in speaking false and fabricated words to me, biding your time. Otherwise, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can explain its interpretation.” ¹⁰The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There does not exist a man on dry land who can expound the king's matter, and for this reason no great king or ruler has ever asked any magus or enchanter or Chaldean a question like this. ¹¹And the matter which the king is asking is difficult, and there is no-one else who can expound it to the king, except the gods, whose abode is not with flesh.” ¹²On account of this, the king became enraged and very angry, and he gave an order to execute all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³And the decree went out, and the wise men started to be killed. And they searched for Daniel and his colleagues for them to be killed. ¹⁴Then Daniel responded with caution and discernment to Arioch the king's chief executioner, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵He answered and said to Arioch the king's commissioner, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel of the matter. ¹⁶And Daniel went in and requested from the king that he give him time, so that he could expound the interpretation to the king. ¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house and informed Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah his colleagues about the matter, ¹⁸and to ask for mercy from the God of heaven about this secret, so that Daniel and his colleagues should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹Then in a vision of the night the secret was revealed to Daniel, whereupon Daniel blessed the God of heaven. ²⁰Daniel responded and said,

“Blessed be the name of God from age to age,

Because wisdom and might are his.

²¹And he changes seasons and times;

He removes kings, and he establishes kings.

He gives wisdom to the wise

And knowledge to those who have understanding.

²²He reveals deep things and hidden things;

He knows what is in darkness,

But with him dwells light.

²³You, O God of my fathers,

I celebrate and praise,

For you have given me wisdom and power,

And now you have made known to me

What we requested from you,

For you have made the king's subject matter known to us.”

²⁴On account of this, Daniel went into the presence of Arioch, whom the king had appointed for the execution of the wise men of Babylon. He went and said this to him: “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Bring me into the presence of the king, and I will expound the interpretation to the king.” ²⁵At this Arioch brought Daniel hastily into the presence of the king, and he said this to him: “I have found a man among the deportees of Judah who will make the interpretation known to the king.” ²⁶The king responded and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Is it true that you are able to make known to me the dream which I saw, and its interpretation?” ²⁷Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, “Are not the wise men and enchanters and magi and diviners able to expound to the king the secret which the king is asking about? ²⁸But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and who has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. Your dream and the visions in your head on your bed are as follows. ²⁹As for you, O king, there arose in your cogitations on your bed what will take place after this, and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will take place. ³⁰And as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me by there being more wisdom in me than in anyone living, but to the intent that the interpretation should be made known to the king, and that you should know the cogitations of your heart. ³¹You, O king, were having a vision, and you beheld a great image. That image was large, and its splendour was prodigious, standing in front of you, and its appearance was fearful. ³²The image was like this: its head was of good quality gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its midriff and its thighs were of copper, ³³its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴You were having the vision until a stone was cut out, which was not done with hands, and which struck the image on the feet of iron and clay and shattered them. ³⁵Then the iron and the clay, copper, silver and gold were shattered together, and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them, but the stone which struck the image became a great mountain, and it filled the whole earth. ³⁶That was the dream, and we will give its interpretation in the presence of the king. ³⁷You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven gave the kingdom, the power, and the authority and the honour. ³⁸And everywhere where the sons of man, wild animals and the birds of the sky dwell, he has delivered them all into your hand and given you power over them all. The head of gold represents you. ³⁹And after you, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will arise, and a third kingdom – another one – which will be of copper, which will rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰And a fourth kingdom: it will be as strong as iron, for iron shatters and smashes everything, and as iron which crushes all these, so it will shatter and break. ⁴¹And as regards the fact that you saw the feet and the toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom, and there will be some of the firmness of iron in it, inasmuch as you saw iron mixed with clay earthenware. ⁴²And as for the toes, partly of iron and partly of clay, part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be fragile. ⁴³And as regards the fact that you saw iron mixed with clay earthenware, they will be mixed in with the seed of mankind, but they will not stick to each other, just as iron does not blend with clay. ⁴⁴And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up an age-abiding kingdom which will not be destroyed, nor will the kingdom be left to another people. It will shatter and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it will stand age-abidingly. ⁴⁵In view of the fact that you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain, which was not done with hands, and it shattered the iron, the copper, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place after the present time. Now the dream is certain, and its interpretation is trustworthy.” ⁴⁶At this King Nebuchadnezzar fell face down, and he prostrated himself to Daniel, and he said he would pour out a meal-offering and fragrances to him. ⁴⁷The king responded to Daniel and said, “It is true that your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets, in that you were able to reveal this secret.” ⁴⁸Then the king exalted Daniel, and he gave him many great gifts, and he put him in charge of the whole province of Babylon, and he made him the administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹And Daniel made requests to the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego over the administration of the province of Babylon. And Daniel was in the king's royal court.

Reference(s) in Chapter 2: v.35 ↔ Revelation 12:8.

¹Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold. Its height was sixty cubits and its breadth was six cubits. He set it up in the lowland of Dura in the province of Babylon. ²And Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the administrators and the governors, the high court judges, the treasurers, the legislators, the security officials and all the rulers of the provinces, for them to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³At this the satraps, the administrators and the governors, the high court judges, the treasurers, the legislators, the security officials and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king set up, and they stood facing the image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴And the herald proclaimed loudly, “We command you, O peoples and nations and languages, ⁵that at the moment when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuke, the psaltery, the bagpipes, and all the kinds of music, you shall fall down and prostrate yourselves to the image of gold which Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. ⁶And whoever does not fall down and prostrate himself will at that time be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.” ⁷In accordance with this, at the very moment when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuke, the psaltery, and all the kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and languages would fall down and prostrate themselves to the image of gold which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. ⁸Pursuant to this, at that very time some Chaldean men came along and slandered the Jews. ⁹They broached the subject and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live age-abidingly. ¹⁰O king, you issued a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuke, the psaltery and the bagpipes, and all the kinds of music, shall fall down and prostrate themselves to the image of gold, ¹¹and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. ¹²There are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. These men, O king, have not heeded you; they do not worship your gods, nor do they prostrate themselves to the image of gold which you set up.” ¹³At this Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave commandment to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in. So these men were brought before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar addressed them and said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, do you really not worship my gods, nor prostrate yourselves to the image of gold which I set up? ¹⁵Now then, if you are willing at the time when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuke, the psaltery and the bagpipes, and all kinds of music, to fall down and prostrate yourselves to the image which I made, fine. But if you do not prostrate yourselves, at that very time you will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and what god is there who can deliver you from my hands?” ¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we are not obliged to reply to you in this matter. ¹⁷Nevertheless, our God, whom we worship, is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, he will save us. ¹⁸And even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not worship your gods, and we will not prostrate ourselves to the image of gold which you have set up.” ¹⁹At this Nebuchadnezzar became full of fury, and the complexion of his face changed, in opposition to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. He responded and gave commandment to heat the furnace seven times more than it was customary to heat it. ²⁰And he commanded men, valiant warriors who were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹So these men were bound in their trousers, their shirts and their hats and their garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. ²²As a result of this, considering that the king's word was pressing, and the furnace was heated in the extreme, the flame of the fire killed those men who took Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego up. ²³And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego fell into the furnace of blazing fire, bound. ²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and he arose in haste and reacted and said to his attendants, “Did we not throw three men into the fire, bound?” They answered and said to the king, “Certainly, O king.” ²⁵He replied and said, “Look, I see four men, loose, walking around in the fire, and there is no harm being done to them. And the appearance of the fourth is like a son of God.” ²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and addressed them and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego came out of the fire. ²⁷And the satraps, administrators and governors and attendants to the king gathered together and saw these men over whose bodies the fire had no power, and whose hair of their head was not singed, and whose trousers were not affected, and on whom the smell of fire did not pass. ²⁸Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, who sent his angel and saved his servants who put their trust in him and defied the king's word, and who gave up their bodies so that they should not worship or prostrate themselves to any god except their God. ²⁹And a decree is hereby issued by me, that every people and nation and language which speaks disrespectfully about the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego will be dismembered and their house will be made a dunghill, because there is no other god who can bring deliverance like this.” ³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon. ³¹“From Nebuchadnezzar the king to all peoples and nations and languages who dwell in all the earth, may your peace increase. ³²It gives me pleasure to communicate the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done in connection with me.

³³How great his signs are!

And how powerful his wonders are!

His kingdom is an age-abiding kingdom,

And his rule is with generation after generation.

Reference(s) in Chapter 3: v.31 ↔ 1 Peter 1:2.

¹I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and thriving in my palace. ²I had a dream, and it frightened me, and my thoughts on my bed and the visions in my head disturbed me. ³And a decree was issued by me to bring in before me all the wise men of Babylon, for them to make the interpretation of the dream known to me. ⁴At this the magi, the enchanters, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in, and I described the dream in their presence, but they did not make its interpretation known to me. ⁵And last of all Daniel came in to my presence, whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of holy gods, and I described the dream to him as follows: ⁶‘Belteshazzar, head of the magi, in whom I know that the spirit of the holy gods is, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Set out the visions of my dream which I had, and its interpretation. ⁷Now I saw the visions of my head on my bed,

And there was a tree in the middle of the earth,

And its height was great.

⁸The tree grew and became strong,

And in height it reached the sky,

And it was visible at the ends of the whole world.

⁹Its foliage was beautiful

And its fruit was plentiful,

And there was food for everything in it.

Under it wild animals could find shade,

And in its branches the birds of the sky could dwell,

And from it all flesh could be nourished.

¹⁰I saw things in the visions of my head on my bed, and there was an angel – indeed a holy one – descending from heaven. ¹¹He proclaimed loudly and said this:

«Cut the tree down,

And chop its branches off;

Strip its foliage off,

And scatter its fruit.

Let the animals under it flee,

And also the birds from its branches.

¹²But leave the stump with its roots in the ground,

And do that with iron and copper bonds

Pegged in the wild grass,

And let it be moistened with the dew from the sky,

And let its portion be with the animals

In the vegetation of the earth.

¹³Let his heart be changed from that of a man,

And let the heart of an animal be given to him,

And let seven timespans pass over him.

¹⁴The matter is by the decree of angels,

And the proceeding is by the edict of the holy ones,

So that the living may know

That the Most High is the ruler in the kingdom of man,

And that he may give it to whomever he wishes,

And that he may set the lowest of men over it.»

¹⁵I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw this dream. Now you, Belteshazzar, give the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom are able to make the interpretation known to me, but you are able to, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’ ¹⁶At this Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stupefied for about one hour, and his thoughts disturbed him. The king reacted and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and the interpretation disturb you.’ Belteshazzar replied and said, ‘My lord, may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your adversaries. ¹⁷The tree which you saw, which grew and became strong, and which in height reached the sky, and which was visible over the whole world, ¹⁸and whose foliage was beautiful, and whose fruit was plentiful, with there being food for everything in it, with wild animals able to dwell under it, and in whose branches the birds of the sky could settle, ¹⁹represents you, O king, who have grown and become strong, and whose greatness has increased and reached the sky, and whose rule extends to the end of the world. ²⁰And concerning the fact that the king saw an angel – indeed a holy one – descending from heaven saying, «Cut the tree down and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and do that with iron and copper bonds pegged in the wild grass, and let it be moistened by the dew from the sky, and let its portion be with the wild animals until seven timespans pass over it», ²¹this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High which has come upon my lord the king. ²²Now you will be driven out from human society, and your habitat will be with the wild animals, and you will be fed on grass like oxen, and you will obtain drink from the dew of the sky. And seven timespans will pass over you in order that you may know that the Most High is the ruler in the kingdom of man, and that he can give it to whomever he wishes. ²³And concerning the fact that it was enjoined to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will remain yours after you have come to know that heaven is the ruler. ²⁴So, O king, let my counsel be commended to you, desist from your sins in favour of righteousness, and from your iniquity in favour of being compassionate to the poor, and it may be that your prosperity will have long duration.’ ” ²⁵All this came upon Nebuchadnezzar the king. ²⁶Twelve months later as he was walking in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, ²⁷the king ventured to speak and said, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I built as a royal house by the strength of my power, and to the honour of my glory?” ²⁸While the words were still in the king's mouth, a voice came down from heaven and said, “You are hereby informed, O King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has retreated from you. ²⁹And you are hereby driven out from human society, and your habitat is with wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven timespans will pass over you in order that you may know that the Most High is the ruler in the kingdom of man, and that he can give it to whomever he wishes.” ³⁰At that very moment the pronouncement was fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven out from human society, and he ate grass like oxen, and his body obtained drink from the dew of the sky, until his hair had grown like eagle's plumage, and his nails were like birds' claws. ³¹“And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and gave glory to him who lives age-abidingly,

Whose dominion is an age-abiding dominion,

And whose kingdom is with every generation.

³²And all the inhabitants of the earth are considered nothing,

And as he wishes, so he acts,

With the might of heaven.

And as for the inhabitants of the earth,

Well there is no-one who can ward his hand off,

Or say to him,

‘What are you doing?’

³³At that very time my sanity returned to me. And to the honour of my kingdom, my glory and my splendour returned to me, and my attendants and my high-ranking officials sought me, and I was restored over my kingdom, and exceeding greatness was added to me. ³⁴So now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the king of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and whose ways are justice, and who is able to humble those who walk in arrogance.”

¹Belshazzar the king held a grand banquet for one thousand of his high-ranking officials, and he drank wine in the presence of the thousand. ²Belshazzar, while tasting the wine, gave an order to bring the gold and silver articles which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which is in Jerusalem, for the king and his high-ranking officials, his consorts and his concubines, to drink from. ³So they brought the golden articles which they had taken out of the temple of the house of God, which is in Jerusalem, and the king and his high-ranking officials and his consorts and his concubines drank from them. ⁴They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, copper, iron, wood and stone. ⁵At that very moment the fingers of a man's hand appeared and started writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. And the king saw the palm of the hand which was writing. ⁶At this the king's radiant complexion changed, and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints became loose, and his knees knocked against each other. ⁷The king called out loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king addressed them and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this writing and expound its interpretation to me will be clothed in purple and have a golden chain around his neck, and he will rule as the third in command in the kingdom.” ⁸So all the king's wise men came in, but they were not able to read the writing or to make the interpretation known to the king. ⁹Then King Belshazzar became exceedingly alarmed, and his radiance changed, and his high-ranking officials were perplexed. ¹⁰On account of the words of the king and his high-ranking officials, the queen came into the banqueting house. The queen spoke out and said, “O king, live age-abidingly. Do not let your thoughts alarm you and do not let your radiance change. ¹¹There is a man in your kingdom in whom there is the spirit of holy gods, and in the days of your father, enlightenment and intelligence and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And as for King Nebuchadnezzar your father, your father the king appointed him head of the magi, enchanters, Chaldeans and diviners, ¹²because a prodigious spirit and knowledge and intelligence in interpreting dreams and cracking riddles and solving problems were found in him – in Daniel – whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now then, let Daniel be called and let him give the interpretation.” ¹³So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king started to speak and said to Daniel, “Are you Daniel, who is one of the deportees from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴For I have heard concerning you that the spirit of gods is in you, and that enlightenment and intelligence and prodigious wisdom have been found in you. ¹⁵And now the wise men and the enchanters were brought into my presence to read this writing and to make its interpretation known to me, but they were not able to expound the meaning of the text. ¹⁶And I have heard concerning you that you are able to give interpretations and to solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed in purple, and you will have a golden chain around your neck, and you will rule as the third in command in the kingdom.” ¹⁷At this Daniel responded and said in the presence of the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another, but I will read the writing to the king, and I will make the interpretation known to him. ¹⁸You are the king, but it is the Most High God who gave the kingdom and the magnificence and the honour and the glory to Nebuchadnezzar your father. ¹⁹And on account of the magnificence which he gave him, all the peoples and nations and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he wished, he killed, and whom he wished, he preserved alive. Whom he wished, he exalted, and whom he wished, he brought low. ²⁰But when his heart became haughty, and his spirit became obdurate to the point of him acting impertinently, he was taken down from his royal throne, and his honour was removed from him. ²¹And he was driven out from human society, and his heart was made like that of animals, and his habitat was with wild asses, and he was fed on grass like oxen, and his body was moistened from the dew of the sky, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is the ruler in the kingdom of man, and that whom he wishes, he appoints over it. ²²And you are his son Belshazzar. You have not humbled your heart, yet you knew all this. ²³And you have exalted yourself over the Lord of heaven, and the articles of his house were brought in before you, and you and your high-ranking officials, your consorts and your concubines have drunk wine from them, and you have praised gods of silver and gold, copper and iron, wood and stone, which do not see and do not hear and do not perceive, but you have not glorified the God in whose hand your breath is and to whom all your ways are answerable. ²⁴So the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵And this is the writing which was inscribed:

‘Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.’

²⁶This is the interpretation of the words: mene – God has summed up your kingdom, and he has brought it to an end; ²⁷tekel – you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; ²⁸peres – your kingdom is divided and is to be given to Media and Persia.” ²⁹Then Belshazzar gave commandment, and they clothed Daniel in purple, and he put a chain of gold around his neck, and he made proclamation concerning him that he was to be the third in command in the kingdom. ³⁰That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.

¹Darius the Mede received the kingdom when he was sixty-two years old. ²It pleased Darius to appoint one hundred and twenty satraps over the kingdom, who were to be distributed throughout all the kingdom, ³and over them three ministers, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps would give a report, so that the king would not be in danger. ⁴Then this Daniel distinguished himself more than the other ministers and satraps, because there was a prodigious spirit in him, and the king proposed to appoint him over the whole kingdom. ⁵At this the ministers and satraps tried to find a pretext against Daniel from the standpoint of the kingdom, but they could not find any pretext or corrupt practice, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corrupt practice was found concerning him. ⁶So these men said, “We shall not find any pretext against this Daniel, except when we find something against him in the formalities of his God.” ⁷Then these ministers and satraps assembled with the king and spoke as follows to him: “O King Darius, live age-abidingly. ⁸All the ministers of the kingdom, the administrators and the satraps, the attendants and the governors have taken counsel together to establish a statute, O king, and to issue a prohibition, that anyone who prays for a request from any god or man for thirty days except from you, O king, will be thrown into the lions' den. ⁹Now then, O king, ratify the prohibition, and draw up the document which is immutable according to the law of Media and Persia, so that it does not lapse.” ¹⁰On account of this, King Darius drew up the document and the prohibition. ¹¹Then when Daniel came to know that the document had been drawn up, he went into his house with his windows open in his upper room facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt down on his knees and prayed and gave praise before his God, just as he used to do before this. ¹²Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. ¹³At this they went up to the king and said in his presence concerning the king's prohibition, “Did you not draw up a prohibition that anyone who prays for a request from any god or man for thirty days except from you, O king, would be thrown into the lions' den?” The king answered and said, “The words are fixed according to the law of Media and Persia which does not lapse.” ¹⁴To this they replied and said in the king's presence, “Daniel, who is one of the deportees from Judah, has not heeded you, O king, or the prohibition which you drew up, and he prays for his request three times a day.” ¹⁵Then when the king heard the words, it grieved him greatly. And concerning Daniel, he applied his mind to deliver him, and up to sunset he made efforts to save him. ¹⁶Then these men assembled to the king and said to the king, “Be aware, O king, that the law of Media and Persia is such that no prohibition or statute which the king establishes is open to change.” ¹⁷So the king gave commandment, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king addressed him and said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you constantly worship, will save you.” ¹⁸And a stone was brought, and it was placed on the entrance to the den, and the king sealed it with his seal ring and with the seal ring of his high-ranking officials, so that the plot against Daniel should not change. ¹⁹Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting, and he did not have entertainment come before him, and his sleep evaded him. ²⁰Then at dawn the king arose, at first light, and he went hastily to the lions' den. ²¹And as he approached the den, he called out in a sad voice to Daniel, and the king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God, whom you worship continually, able to save you from the lions?” ²²Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live age-abidingly. ²³My God has sent his angel and closed the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him, and I haven't done anything injurious before you either, O king.” ²⁴At this the king was very pleased about him, and he gave commandment to bring Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was brought up out of the den, and no harm was found on him, because he had put trust in his God. ²⁵And the king gave commandment, and they brought those men who had slandered Daniel, and they threw them, their sons, and their wives into the lions' den. And they had not landed at the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them, and they crushed all their bones. ²⁶Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and languages who lived in the whole earth, “May your peace increase. ²⁷A decree is hereby issued by me that in every administrative region of my kingdom, they tremble and fear before Daniel's God,

For he is the living God,

Who endures throughout the ages,

Whose kingdom will not be destroyed,

And whose dominion is up to the end.

²⁸He saves and rescues

And performs signs and wonders

In heaven and on earth,

For he saved Daniel

From the reach of the lions.”

²⁹And this Daniel prospered in the kingdom of Darius and in the kingdom of Cyrus the Persian.

Reference(s) in Chapter 6: v.26 ↔ 1 Peter 1:2.

¹In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and there were visions in his head while on his bed. Then he wrote the dream down and set out the essentials of the subject matter. ²Daniel elucidated and said, “I saw things in a vision of mine in the night. Now there were the four winds of heaven stirring the great sea, ³and four large animals arising out of the sea, differing one from another. ⁴The first one was like a lion, and it had an eagle's wings. I continued looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth and was made to stand on legs as a man does, and the heart of a man was given to it. ⁵And there was another animal – a second one – like a bear, and it was made to stand up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And this is what was said to it: ‘Arise, and devour much flesh.’ ⁶After this I continued to see, and there was another, like a leopard, and it had four bird's wings on its back, and the animal had four heads, and it was given rule. ⁷After this I continued to see a vision in the visions of the night, and there was a fourth animal, frightful and terrifying, and exceedingly strong. And its many teeth were of iron, and it devoured and crushed, and it trampled on the rest with its feet. Moreover it was different from all the animals which were before it, and it had ten horns. ⁸I looked at its horns, and I saw another small horn arise among them. And three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And what I saw was eyes in this horn like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking presumptuous words.

⁹I continued seeing,

And then the thrones were set up,

And the Ancient of Days sat down.

His clothing was like white snow,

And the hair on his head was like pure wool.

His throne was flames of fire,

And its wheels were burning fire.

¹⁰A river of fire flowed and issued from him;

A million served him,

And a hundred million arose in his presence.

The court sat, and the books were opened.

¹¹I continued seeing, and then from a voice there came presumptuous words which the horn spoke. I continued seeing, and then the animal was killed, and its body was destroyed and consigned to the burning of a fire. ¹²And as for the remaining animals, their rule was taken away, but a prolongation of their life was granted to them for a time and a season.

¹³And I continued seeing in the visions of the night,

And what I saw was,

With clouds of the sky,

One like a son of man coming,

And he went up to the Ancient of Days,

And he was brought near him.

¹⁴And to him rule was given,

And honour, and a kingdom,

And all peoples and nations and languages worshipped him.

His rule was an age-abiding rule

Which would never pass away,

And his kingdom was one

Which will not be destroyed.

¹⁵My spirit was grieved – that of me, Daniel, in my being – and the visions in my head disturbed me. ¹⁶I approached one of those standing, and I inquired of him the reality of all this, and he told me, and he made the interpretation of the words known to me. ¹⁷These large animals, of which there were four, represent four kings who will arise from the earth. ¹⁸But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and they will possess the kingdom age-abidingly, and throughout the durations of the ages. ¹⁹Then I wished to know precisely about the fourth animal, which was different from all the others, being exceedingly frightful. Its teeth were of iron, and its claws were of copper. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled on the rest with its feet. ²⁰And concerning the ten horns on its head, and the other one which arose, and before which the three fell, now that horn had eyes and a mouth speaking presumptuous words, and its appearance was more imposing than that of those accompanying it. ²¹I continued seeing, and that horn waged a war on the holy ones, and it prevailed over them, ²²until the Ancient of Days came, and justice was given to the holy ones of the Most High, and the time arrived when the holy ones took possession of the kingdom. ²³He said this: ‘The fourth animal will be the fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and pound it and crush it. ²⁴And the ten horns which constitute the kingdom represent ten kings who will arise, and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the preceding ones, and he will bring three kings down. ²⁵And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and he will contrive to change times and the law. And they will be delivered into his hand until a time, times, and half a time have passed. ²⁶And the court will sit, and his rule will be removed, by destroying and eliminating it until its end. ²⁷And the kingdom and the rule and the greatness of the kingdoms under all heaven will be given to the people – the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom is an age-abiding kingdom, and all administrative regions will worship him and obey him.’ ²⁸That is it up to the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts disturbed me very much, and my radiance changed. But I kept the matter in my heart.”

Reference(s) in Chapter 7: v.10 ↔ Revelation 5:11 ● v.11 ↔ Revelation 19:20, Revelation 20:10, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 20:15 ● v.13 ↔ Matthew 24:30, Matthew 26:64, Mark 13:26, Hebrews 10:37, Revelation 1:7, Revelation 1:13, Revelation 14:14 ● v.19 ↔ Revelation 12:3, Revelation 13:1, Revelation 17:3, Revelation 17:7 ● v.20 ↔ Revelation 12:3, Revelation 13:1, Revelation 17:3, Revelation 17:7, Revelation 17:12, Revelation 17:16 ● v.21 ↔ Revelation 11:7, Revelation 13:7 ● v.25 ↔ Revelation 11:2, Revelation 11:3, Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:14, Revelation 13:5.

¹In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me – to me Daniel – after what had appeared to me at first, ²and I saw in the vision, and it came to pass as I saw that I was at the citadel of Shushan, which is in the province of Elam. Then I saw in the vision that I was at the Ulai Canal. ³And I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there was a ram standing before the canal, and it had two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one arose later. ⁴I saw the ram butting westwards and northwards and southwards, and no animal could stand against it, and there was no-one who delivered anyone from its grip, and it did as it wished, and it became great. ⁵And as I was contemplating this, what I saw was a goat buck come from the west over the expanse of the whole land, not touching the ground, and the goat buck had a conspicuous horn between its eyes. ⁶And it came to the ram which had the two horns, which I saw standing at the canal, and it ran to it in its intense fury. ⁷And I saw it come up to the ram, and it acted ferociously against it, and it struck the ram and shattered its two horns, and there was no strength in the ram to stand against it. And it cast the ram down onto the ground and trampled on it, and there was no-one who delivered the ram from its grip. ⁸And the goat buck became very great, but just as it was displaying strength, the large horn broke, and four others arose conspicuously in its place, facing the four winds of heaven. ⁹And from one of them a very small horn came out, but it became exceedingly great southwards and eastwards and towards the Splendid Land. ¹⁰And it became great – as great as the host of the sky – and it brought some of the host and some of the stars down to the ground and trampled on them. ¹¹And it magnified itself to the heights of the prince of the host, and the perpetual sacrifice was removed from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown, ¹²so that the host would be delivered up at the place of the perpetual sacrifice in transgression, and truth would be cast to the ground. And it did this and prospered. ¹³And I heard a holy one speak, and a holy one said to the particular one speaking, “How long is the vision of the perpetual sacrifice and the devastating transgression – the delivering up of both the holy place and the host to being trampled on?” ¹⁴And he said to me, “Until two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be purified.” ¹⁵And it came to pass as I, Daniel, saw the vision, that I sought understanding. And what I saw was that there stood before me an apparition of a man. ¹⁶And I heard the voice of a man in the middle of the Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.” ¹⁷And he came to my station, and as he came, I was terrified and I fell face down. But he said to me, “Understand, son of Adam, that the vision is for the end time.” ¹⁸And as he spoke to me, I slumped down to the ground face down, and he touched me, and he stood me up at my station. ¹⁹And he said, “I am here making known to you what will take place at the end of the indignation, for it is for the end time period. ²⁰The ram which you saw, having two horns, represents the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹And the hairy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn which is between its eyes is the first king. ²²And as for the horn which was broken, and the four which stood in its place, these are four kingdoms out of a people which will stand up, but not in its own strength. ²³And at the end of their kingdom, when transgressors reach their conclusion, a king of fierce appearance, and shrewd in dealing with problems, will stand up. ²⁴And his power will be mighty, but it will not be in his own power, and he will spoil in an astounding way, and he will prosper and be active, and he will spoil mighty people including the holy people. ²⁵And through his expertise he will prosper, with deceit under his control, and in his heart he will magnify himself, and in calmness he will spoil many, and he will take a stand against the prince of princes. Then without human power he will be broken. ²⁶Now the vision of the evening and the morning which was declared is true, but you close the vision, for it is for many days from now.” ²⁷And I, Daniel, became ill for a number of days. Then I arose and did the king's work, but I was astounded at the vision, and there was no-one who understood it.

Reference(s) in Chapter 8: v.26 ↔ Revelation 10:4, Revelation 22:10.

¹In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median seed, who had been made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, ²in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel – because the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah the prophet – came to understand through books the number of years to fulfil the desolations of Jerusalem: seventy years. ³And I turned my attention to the Lord^* God, in seeking intercession and making supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. ⁴And I prayed to the Lord my God, and I confessed and said, “Please, Lord^*, O great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant, and shows kindness to those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵we have sinned and been iniquitous, we have acted wickedly and rebelled, and we have departed from your commandments and your regulations, ⁶and we did not heed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our high-ranking officials, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ⁷Yours, O Lord^*, is justice, and ours is shamefacedness on this day – on the men of Judah and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on all Israel, those near and those far away in all the lands to which you have driven them out – because of their perverseness with which they have acted perversely with you. ⁸O Lord, ours is shame to our faces, to our kings, to our high-ranking officials and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. ⁹Mercy and forgiveness are of the Lord^* our God, yet we have rebelled against him. ¹⁰And we have not obeyed the Lord our God telling us to walk in his laws which he has set before us, through the intermediacy of his servants the prophets. ¹¹And all Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside in not obeying you, and the curse has been poured out on us, and the oath, which are written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, for we have sinned against him. ¹²And he has fulfilled his words which he spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing a great calamity on us, which has not been done under all of heaven as it has been done in Jerusalem. ¹³As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us, and we have not pleaded with the Lord our God, by turning away from our iniquities and acting prudently in your truth. ¹⁴And the Lord watched over the calamity and brought it on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all his dealings which he does, but we did not obey him. ¹⁵And now, O Lord^* our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and acquired fame for yourself as on this day, with us having sinned and acted wickedly, ¹⁶O Lord^*, according to all your righteousness, do let your anger and your fury turn away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain, for it is because of our sins and because of the iniquities of our fathers that Jerusalem and your people are a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷So now, hear, O God of ours, the prayer of your servant and his supplications, and be propitious to your sanctuary, which is desolate, for the sake of the Lord^*. ¹⁸O God of mine, incline your ear and hear, open your eyes and see our desolate conditions and the city over which your name is called, for it is not on account of our righteousness that we lay our supplications before you, but on account of your many mercies. ¹⁹O Lord^*, do hear, O Lord^*, do forgive, O Lord^*, do listen and act. Do not delay, for your sake, O God of mine, for your name is called upon over your city and over your people.” ²⁰And as I was still speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and laying my supplication before the Lord my God on the holy mountain of my God, ²¹indeed while I was still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at first, being propelled into a rapid flight, touched me, at about the time of the evening meal-offering, ²²and he explained and spoke with me and said, “Daniel, I have come out now to impart understanding to you. ²³At the start of your supplications, a pronouncement went out, and I have come to report that you are greatly loved. So understand the matter and discern the vision. ²⁴Seventy year-weeks have been determined concerning your people and concerning your holy city, to put an end to transgression and to seal up sins, and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in age-abiding righteousness, and to seal the vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies. ²⁵And know and understand that from the issuing of the order to restore and rebuild Jerusalem up to messiah the leader, there are seven year-weeks and sixty-two year-weeks, and street and ditch will be built again, but in distressful times. ²⁶And after the sixty-two year-weeks, messiah will be cut off, but not for himself, and the people of the coming leader will spoil the city and the sanctuary, and his end will be with a flood. And until the end of the war, desolations are determined. ²⁷And he will confirm a covenant with many for one year-week, and after half of the year-week he will put a stop to sacrifice and meal-offering, and he who makes desolate will stand on the pinnacle of abominations, and this will be until the conclusion. Then what is determined will be poured out on the desolator.”

Reference(s) in Chapter 9: v.27 ↔ Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14.

¹In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a matter was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar, and the matter is true. Now there was intense warfare, and he understood the matter, and he had understanding in the vision. ²In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks; ³I did not eat appetizing food, and neither meat nor wine came to my mouth, and I did not anoint myself at all until three full weeks had elapsed. ⁴And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, when I was on the side of the great river, that is the Hiddekel, ⁵I lifted up my eyes, and I looked, and what I saw was a man clothed in fine linen, whose waist was girded with fine gold from Uphaz. ⁶And his body was like the Tarshish gemstone, and his face had the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like torches of fire, and his arms and his feet had the gleam of polished copper, and the sound of his speech was like the sound of a crowd. ⁷And I, Daniel, on my own, saw the vision, but the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great fear fell on them, and they fled so as to hide. ⁸And I remained on my own, and I saw this great vision, but I didn't have any strength left, and my radiance turned into pallor, and I didn't retain any strength. ⁹But I heard the sound of his speech, and when I heard the sound of his speech while I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground, ¹⁰it so happened that a hand touched me and made my knees and hands tremble. ¹¹And he said to me, “Daniel, greatly beloved man, understand the words which I am speaking to you, and stand at your station, for I have been sent to you now.” And as he spoke these words to me, I stood up trembling. ¹²And he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for ever since the first day when you set your heart on understanding things and submitting yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come in answer to your words. ¹³But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days. Then what happened was that Michael, one of the foremost princes, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision was for many days yet.” ¹⁵And as he spoke with me about these things, I faced the ground and became mute, ¹⁶and behold, someone in the likeness of the sons of Adam touched my lips, and I opened my mouth, and I spoke and said to the one standing opposite me, “My lord, at the vision pangs of pain came over me, and I did not retain any strength. ¹⁷For how can a servant of my lord here speak with my lord here, when for my part, from that moment, no strength has remained in me, and no breath has been left in me.” ¹⁸Then the one in the likeness of a man touched me again and strengthened me, ¹⁹and he said to me, “Do not fear, greatly beloved man. Peace to you. Become stronger and stronger.” And as he spoke with me, I gained strength, and I said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” ²⁰And he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and as I go, look, the prince of Greece will come. ²¹But I will tell you what is recorded in the scripture of truth, and there is not one gathering strength with me concerning these things, except Michael your prince.

¹And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, was at my station as his strengthener and stronghold. ²And now I will relate the truth to you. Behold, three kings are still to arise in Persia. And the fourth will accumulate greater wealth than any, and just as he will become strong in his riches, so he will stir everyone up against the kingdom of Greece. ³And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule over a great empire, and he will do as he wishes. ⁴And when he arises, his kingdom will be broken, and it will be divided into the four winds of heaven, but not for his posterity, and not according to his manner of rule by which he ruled, for his kingdom will be plucked up and will be for others – other than these. ⁵And the king of the south will become strong, but one of his princes will become stronger than him, and he will rule. His rule will be a great empire. ⁶And after some years, they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will go to the king of the north to make a compact, but she will not retain a strong arm, and he will not stand, nor will his arm, and she will be delivered up, as will those who brought her, and he who begot her, and he who strengthened her in those times. ⁷But one from a branch of her roots will assume his role, and he will turn to the army, and he will go to the fortress of the king of the north, and he will engage them and prevail. ⁸And he will also take back to Egypt their gods with their cast images, with their valuable articles of silver and gold which were captured, and he will stand for more years than the king of the north. ⁹So the king of the south will come into a kingdom then return to his territory. ¹⁰And his sons will be provoked, and they will gather a large quantity of powerful forces, and they will come with determination, and they will inundate the place and pass through, then they will return. Then they will be provoked at the fortress. ¹¹And the king of the south will become bitter, and he will go out to wage war against him – against the king of the north – and he will recruit a large multitude, but the multitude will be delivered into his hand. ¹²And he will carry the multitude away; his heart will be exalted, and he will cut down tens of thousands, but he will not gain strength. ¹³Then the king of the north will again recruit a multitude, larger than the first one, and after many vicissitudes and years, he will come with determination, with a great army and with much military equipment. ¹⁴And in those times, many will defend the king of the south, and the violent members of your people will exalt themselves in establishing the vision, but they will fail. ¹⁵And the king of the north will come, and he will cast up a rampart and capture a highly fortified city, and the arms of the south will not stand, nor will his elite people, and they will not have strength to stand. ¹⁶And the one who is coming will do as he wishes, and no-one will stand against him, and he will stand in the Splendid Land, and destructive power will be at his disposal. ¹⁷And he will resolve to come with the might of all his kingdom, and he will settle with equitable terms with him, and he will give him the fairest daughter among women to spoil her, but she will not brook it, and she will not be his. ¹⁸And he will turn his attention to the islands, and he will capture many of them, and a commander will put an end to his reproach for him. Then with no reproach of his, he will turn his attention to him. ¹⁹Then he will turn his attention to the strongholds of his own country, but he will fail and fall, and he will be nowhere to be found. ²⁰Then an oppressor will take on his role, and he will pass through the glorious kingdom. But in a few days he will be crushed, but not by anger and not by war. ²¹Then the despicable one will take on his role, but he will not be invested with the majesty of the kingdom. And he will come calmly, and he will take hold of the kingdom by flatteries. ²²And people will be swept away before him in the arms of a flood, and they will be crushed, as also the leader of the covenant. ²³And he will act deceitfully towards those in league with him, and he will rise and become strong with a small people. ²⁴Calmly and in the fertile parts of the province, he will come and do what neither his fathers nor his father's fathers ever did. He will lavishly distribute booty and spoil and property to them, and he will devise plots against fortifications, which will be for a time. ²⁵Then he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south, with a large force. And the king of the south will be provoked into war, with a force large and mighty in the extreme, but he will not prevail, because they will devise plots against him. ²⁶And those who dine with him will cut him to pieces, and his army will swirl around, and many will fall as casualties. ²⁷And the hearts of both kings will be set on wrongdoing, and they will tell lies at one table, but the proceeding will not be successful, for the end will still come in due course. ²⁸Then he will return to his own land with much property, and his heart will be against the holy covenant. Then he will take action and then return to his land. ²⁹In due course he will return and go to the south, but it will not be like the first occasion or the last. ³⁰And ships from Chittim will come against him, and he will be despondent, and he will return, and he will be indignant over the holy covenant, and he will take action. Then he will return and act shrewdly with those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹And brigades from him will arise and desecrate the sanctuary – the place of strength – and they will put a stop to the perpetual sacrifice, and they will set up the desolating abomination. ³²And he will entice violators of the covenant to profanity with flatteries, but a people who know their God will remain steadfast and take action. ³³And those of the people with insight will explain to many, but they will be brought down by the sword and by the flame, by captivity and by being plundered, for a number of days. ³⁴And as they are brought down, they will be afforded a little help, but many will associate with them with flatteries. ³⁵And some of those enlightened will be brought down, to refine them, and to purify them and to whiten them up to the end time. For it is still a designated time away. ³⁶And the king will do as he wishes, and he will exalt himself and present himself as great – above every god – and he will speak awesomely against the God of gods, and he will prosper until the indignation is ended, for what has been determined will be accomplished. ³⁷And he will not give consideration to the God of his fathers, nor will he give consideration to attraction to women, or give consideration to any god, because he will present himself as greater than all. ³⁸But he will honour the god of strongholds in his role. So he will honour a god whom his fathers did not know, with gold and with silver and with precious gemstones and with valuable items. ³⁹And he will organize fortified strongholds in connection with a foreign god, and whoever has acknowledged him, he will greatly honour, and he will give them rule over many, and he will apportion land at a price. ⁴⁰And at the end time, the king of the south will skirmish with him, and the king of the north will rage against him with chariots and with cavalry and with many ships, and he will enter those countries and will inundate them and pass on. ⁴¹Then he will enter the Splendid Land, and many countries will be brought down, but these will escape from his hand: Edom and Moab and the principal part of the sons of Ammon. ⁴²And he will stretch out his hand in various countries, and the land of Egypt will not have deliverance. ⁴³And he will rule over treasures of gold and silver, and over all the valuable items of Egypt. And Libyans and Ethiopians will follow in his footsteps. ⁴⁴But rumours from the east and from the north will alarm him, and he will set off in great fury to destroy and obliterate many. ⁴⁵And he will pitch the palatial tents between the seas in the holy Splendid Mount, and he will come to his end, with no-one helping him.

Reference(s) in Chapter 11: v.31 ↔ Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14.

¹And at that time Michael will stand up – the great prince who stands for the sons of your people – and there will be a time of tribulation such as there never has been since the coming into existence of a nation up to that time, and at that time your people will be delivered – everyone who is found written in the book. ²And many of those sleeping in the dusty ground will awaken, some to age-abiding life, and some to age-abiding reproach and abhorrence. ³And those who have insight will shine like the brilliance of the firmament, and those who make many righteous will shine like the stars, age-abidingly and throughout time. ⁴But you, Daniel, close up the words and seal up the book, until the end time. Many will run to and fro, and knowledge will increase.” ⁵Then I, Daniel, saw a vision, and there were two others standing, one on one side of the river and one on the other side of the river. ⁶And he said to the man clothed in fine linen who was above the water of the river, “How long is it to the end of the wonders?” ⁷And I heard the man clothed in fine linen who was above the water of the river. And he raised his right hand and his left hand towards heaven, and he swore by him who lives age-abidingly, that it was for a time, times and a half, and he swore that at the completion of the crushing of the strength of the holy people, all these things would come to an end. ⁸And although I heard, I did not understand, and I said, “My lord, what is the end result of these things?” ⁹And he said, “Go your way Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed until the end time. ¹⁰Many will be purified and whitened and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand, but those with insight will understand. ¹¹And from the time when the perpetual sacrifice is removed and when the desolating abomination is installed, there are one thousand two hundred and ninety days. ¹²Blessed is he who waits and comes to one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. ¹³But you proceed to the end, and you shall rest. Then you shall stand in your lot at the end of days.”

Reference(s) in Chapter 12: v.1 ↔ Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19; Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 13:8, Revelation 17:8, Revelation 20:12, Revelation 20:15, Revelation 21:27 ● v.4 ↔ Revelation 10:4, Revelation 22:10 ● v.7 ↔ Revelation 10:5, Revelation 11:2, Revelation 11:3, Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:14, Revelation 13:5 ● v.11 ↔ Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14.

¹Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in fulfilling the word of the Lord from the speech of Jeremiah, the Lord aroused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he had a proclamation made throughout his kingdom, and also by a letter, saying, ²“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the world, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³Who is there among you from all his people to participate? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and let him build the house of the Lord God of Israel – of the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴And as for anyone who is not able to move about in any place where he lives, let the men of his home town transport him with his silver and gold and with his property and with his cattle, with his freewill-offering, to the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’ ” ⁵And the paternal heads of Judah and Benjamin arose, as did the priests and the Levites. God aroused the spirit of all of them to go up and to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. ⁶And all those around them supplemented their resources with articles of silver, of gold, with possessions and with cattle and with valuables, besides everything given as a freewill-offering. ⁷And King Cyrus brought the equipment of the house of the Lord out which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his gods. ⁸So Cyrus king of Persia brought them out under the direction of Mithredath the treasurer, and he registered them with Sheshbazzar the leading person of Judah. ⁹And these are their quantities: thirty golden basins, one thousand silver basins, twenty-nine slaughtering knives, ¹⁰thirty golden bowls, four hundred and ten silver bowls of second quality, and one thousand other items. ¹¹All the items of gold and silver amounted to five thousand four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought them all up along with the deportees being brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

¹And the following are the fraternity of the province who came back up from the displaced body of deportees, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon deported to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city. ²Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel was as follows: ³the fraternity of Parosh numbered two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁴the fraternity of Shephatiah numbered three hundred and seventy-two; ⁵the fraternity of Arah numbered seven hundred and seventy-five; ⁶the fraternity of Pahath-Moab, of the line of the sons of Jeshua-Joab, numbered two thousand eight hundred and twelve; ⁷the fraternity of Elam numbered one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ⁸the fraternity of Zattu numbered nine hundred and forty-five; ⁹the fraternity of Zaccai numbered seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁰the fraternity of Bani numbered six hundred and forty-two; ¹¹the fraternity of Bebai numbered six hundred and twenty-three; ¹²the fraternity of Azgad numbered one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; ¹³the fraternity of Adonikam numbered six hundred and sixty-six; ¹⁴the fraternity of Bigvai numbered two thousand and fifty-six; ¹⁵the fraternity of Adin numbered four hundred and fifty-four; ¹⁶the fraternity of Ater, of Hezekiah's line, numbered ninety-eight; ¹⁷the fraternity of Bezai numbered three hundred and twenty-three; ¹⁸the fraternity of Jorah numbered one hundred and twelve; ¹⁹the fraternity of Hashum numbered two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁰the fraternity of Gibbar numbered ninety-five; ²¹the fraternity of Bethlehem numbered one hundred and twenty-three; ²²the men of Netophah numbered fifty-six; ²³the men of Anathoth numbered one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁴the fraternity of Azmaveth numbered forty-two; ²⁵the fraternity of Kiriath-Arim, Chephirah and Beeroth numbered seven hundred and forty-three; ²⁶the fraternity of Ramah and Geba numbered six hundred and twenty-one; ²⁷the men of Michmas numbered one hundred and twenty-two; ²⁸the men of Beth-El and Ai numbered two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁹the fraternity of Nebo numbered fifty-two; ³⁰the fraternity of Magbish numbered one hundred and fifty-six; ³¹the fraternity of the other Elam numbered one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³²the fraternity of Harim numbered three hundred and twenty; ³³the fraternity of Lod, Hadid and Ono numbered seven hundred and twenty-five; ³⁴the fraternity of Jericho numbered three hundred and forty-five; ³⁵the fraternity of Senaah numbered three thousand six hundred and thirty; ³⁶the priests who were the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, numbered nine hundred and seventy-three; ³⁷the fraternity of Immer numbered one thousand and fifty-two; ³⁸the fraternity of Pashhur numbered one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; ³⁹the fraternity of Harim numbered one thousand and seventeen; ⁴⁰the Levites, the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, numbered seventy-four; ⁴¹the singers, the sons of Asaph, numbered one hundred and twenty-eight; ⁴²the sons of the gatekeepers – the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai – numbered in total one hundred and thirty-nine. ⁴³The temple-servants, the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁵the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, ⁴⁶the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan, ⁴⁷the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, ⁴⁸the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, ⁴⁹the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, ⁵⁰the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephusim, ⁵¹the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵²the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵³the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, ⁵⁴the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha, ⁵⁵the sons of Solomon's servants, the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Peruda, ⁵⁶the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁷the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of the Zebaim, the sons of Ami – ⁵⁸all the temple-servants and the sons of Solomon's servants numbered three hundred and ninety-two. ⁵⁹And the following are those who went up from Tel-Melah, Tel-Harsha, Cherub, Addan and Immer, but they could not specify their paternal house or their family line – whether they were of Israel – : ⁶⁰the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah and the sons of Nekoda, who numbered six hundred and fifty-two, ⁶¹and those of the sons of the priests who were the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was named after them. ⁶²These looked for their registration among those registered by genealogy, but they were not found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood as extraneous. ⁶³And the governor told them that they were not to eat anything from the holy of holies until a priest should stand with Urim and Thummim. ⁶⁴The whole convocation together numbered forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty people, ⁶⁵apart from these menservants and maidservants of theirs – seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven of them. And they also had two hundred male and female singers. ⁶⁶Their horses numbered seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules, two hundred and forty-five; ⁶⁷their camels, four hundred and thirty-five; the donkeys, six thousand seven hundred and twenty. ⁶⁸And when some of the paternal heads came to the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, they gave freewill-offerings for the house of God, to set it on its foundation. ⁶⁹They contributed according to their means to the treasury for the work: sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five thousand manehs of silver, and one hundred priests' gowns. ⁷⁰And the priests and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers and the gatekeepers and the temple-servants lived in their cities, as did all Israel in their cities.

¹And by the time the seventh month came, the sons of Israel were in their cities, and the people gathered in unison in Jerusalem. ²And Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose, as did his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to make burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. ³And they set up the altar on its base, because in a dread which had come over them because of the peoples of the various countries, they made burnt offerings to the Lord on it – burnt offerings of the morning and of the evening. ⁴And they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles as it is written, and they made burnt offerings daily, in the right quantity, according to the ordinance of the daily proceeding. ⁵And after that was the recurrent burnt offering, both for the new moons and for all the Lord's sanctified festival times, and a freewill-offering from everyone who freely offered it to the Lord. ⁶From the first day of the seventh month, they began to make burnt offerings to the Lord, although the Lord's temple had not yet had its foundations laid. ⁷And they gave money to the stonemasons and to the craftsmen, as well as food and drink and oil, and to the Sidonians and the Tyrians, for bringing cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the authorization given to them by Cyrus king of Persia. ⁸And in the second year after their coming to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers – the priests and the Levites – and all those who came back from captivity to Jerusalem, began to appoint the Levites from twenty years old and above to superintend the work of the house of the Lord. ⁹And Jeshua, his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons – the sons of Judah – stood in unison to superintend those doing the work in the house of God, with the sons of Henadad, and their sons and their brothers, the Levites. ¹⁰And the builders laid the foundations of the Lord's temple, and they appointed priests in full dress, with trumpets, and also Levites – sons of Asaph – with cymbals, to praise the Lord according to the instructions of David king of Israel. ¹¹And they sang to the Lord in praise and thanksgiving – that

He is good,

For his kindness to Israel is age-abiding.

And all the people shouted with loud shouting in praising the Lord for the fact that the foundations of the house of the Lord had been laid. ¹²And many of the priests and the Levites and the elderly paternal heads who had seen the first house, when this house had its foundations laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many raised their voice in shouting for joy. ¹³And the people could not distinguish between the sound of shouting for joy and the sound of weeping of the people, because the people were raising a loud shout, and the sound was heard a long way off.

¹But when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the deportees were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel, ²they went up to Zerubbabel and the paternal fathers, and they said to them, “Let us build with you, because, like you, we will seek your God, and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” ³But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the paternal heads of Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building the house for our God, for we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus king of Persia commanded us.” ⁴And the people of the land impeded the people of Judah, and they harassed them in building. ⁵And they contracted advisers to work against them, to frustrate their plan for all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, and up to the reign of Darius king of Persia. ⁶And in the reign of Ahasuerus, at the start of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. And the content of the communiqué was written in Aramaic, and on reception it was translated from Aramaic. ⁸Rehum the chief minister and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter to Artaxerxes the king against Jerusalem accordingly. ⁹At that time Rehum the chief minister and Shimshai the scribe wrote, along with the rest of their associates, judges and magistrates, Tripolitans, Persians, Urukites, Babylonians, Shushanites (that is, Elamites), ¹⁰and the rest of the various peoples whom the great and honourable Osnappar deported and settled in the towns of Samaria, and the rest of the region on the far side of the river etcetera. ¹¹This is a transcript of the letter which they sent to him – to Artaxerxes the king. “From your servants, men from the far side of the river etcetera, ¹²let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from where you are to us have come to Jerusalem, and they are rebuilding the rebellious and wicked city, and they have completed the walls, and they have laid the foundations. ¹³Let it now be known to the king that if that city is rebuilt, and the walls are completed, they will not pay the levy of tax and excise, and in the end it will harm the interests of the monarchy. ¹⁴Now since our salaries are paid by the palace, and it would not be proper for us to see any ingloriousness of the king, we have sent word and informed the king about this, ¹⁵so that it may be investigated in the chronicles of your fathers, and so that you may find it in the chronicles and know that this city is a rebellious city which damages kings and provinces, and that they have been perpetrating an insurrection inside it since days of old, on account of which this city was destroyed. ¹⁶We hereby inform the king that if this city is rebuilt, and its walls are completed, as a result of it you will not have revenue from the far side of the river.” ¹⁷The king sent the following message to Rehum the chief minister and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who were living in Samaria, and the rest who were on the far side of the river: “Peace etcetera. ¹⁸The communiqué which you sent us has been translated and read before me, ¹⁹and a decree has been issued by me, and a search has been carried out, and it was found that this city since days of old has been rising up against kings, and that rebellion and insurrection have been perpetrated in it, ²⁰and that powerful kings have ruled over Jerusalem, as have rulers in all regions on the far side of the river, and the levy of tax and excise was paid to them. ²¹Issue a decree now to stop those men, and that that city is not to be rebuilt, until the decree is issued by me. ²²And be warned against being negligent in this, so that the damage does not increase in harming the monarchy.” ²³Then as soon as a transcript of King Artaxerxes' communiqué was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe, and their associates, they hastily went to Jerusalem, to the Jews, and they stopped them with might and force. ²⁴Then the work on the house of God which is in Jerusalem stopped. And it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

¹Then Haggai the prophet prophesied, as did Zechariah the son of Iddo – the prophets to the Jews who were in Judah and in Jerusalem – to them in the name of the God of Israel. ²Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose, and they began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem, and with them were God's prophets helping them. ³At that very moment Tattenai the governor of the region on the far side of the river came to them, with Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, and they said this to them: “Who gave you authorization to build this house and to complete this wall?” ⁴Then we accordingly told them what the names of the men were who were building this building. ⁵But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they could not make them stop the work, and at length the matter came to Darius, when a communiqué about this was handed over. ⁶There follows a transcript of the letter which Tattenai the governor of the regions on the far side of the river, and Shethar-Bozenai and his associates, and the magistrates who were on the far side of the river, sent to Darius the king. ⁷They sent the message to him, in which the following was written: “To Darius the king, complete peace. ⁸Let it be known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, and it is being built of hewn stone, and wood is being placed on the walls, and this work is being carried out with precision, and it is progressing well in their hands. ⁹Then we questioned those elders. This is what we said to them: ‘Who gave you authorization to build this house and to complete this wall?’ ¹⁰And we also asked them to make their names known to you, so that we could write down the names of the men who are their head people. ¹¹But this is the response which they gave us, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house which was built many years ago when a great king of Israel built it and completed it. ¹²But because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to anger, he delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, and he tore down this house and deported the people to Babylon. ¹³But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king issued a decree to build this house of God. ¹⁴And also, as for the articles of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon, Cyrus the king brought them out of the temple in Babylon, and they were given to a certain Sheshbazzar by name, whom he had appointed governor, ¹⁵and he said to him, «Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built on its site.» ¹⁶Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from then up to now it has been built, but it is not finished.’ ¹⁷So now, if the king approves, let a search be made where the king's treasure house is in Babylon, as to whether it is a fact that a decree was issued by Cyrus the king to build this house of God in Jerusalem, and let the king send his wishes to us concerning this matter.”

¹Then Darius the king issued a decree, and they searched in the library where they deposit treasures in Babylon. ²And a scroll was found in Ecbatana, in the fortress which is in the province of Media, and this is what was written on it – a memorandum – : ³“In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree. Regarding the house of God in Jerusalem, let the house be built as a place where sacrifices are offered. Now its foundations are load-bearing; its height is sixty cubits and its breadth is sixty cubits, ⁴with three storeys of hewn stone and one storey of wood. And let the expenses be paid from the king's house. ⁵And also, as for the articles of gold and silver of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, let them be returned and let them go to the temple in Jerusalem, to their rightful place, and deposit them in the house of God.” ⁶Darius wrote, “So Tattenai, governor of the region on the far side of the river, and Shethar-Bozenai and your associates, the magistrates who are on the far side of the river, stay away from there. ⁷Leave the work on this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and of the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site. ⁸And a decree is hereby issued by me as to what you shall do with these elders of the Jews – regarding the building of this house of God – that from the king's resources which are from the tax on the region on the far side of the river, the expenses of these men shall be rigorously paid and that they are not to be hindered. ⁹And let whatever they need – bull-calves and rams and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine and oil, according to the specification of the priests of Jerusalem – be given to them on a daily basis without fail, ¹⁰so that they may offer sweet fragrances to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹And a decree is hereby issued by me that as for any man who changes this pronouncement, the wood be torn out of his house, and let him be vertically affixed to it, and let his house be made a dung heap for this. ¹²And may the God who causes his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who stretches out his hand to change or damage this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued a decree; let it be carried out diligently.” ¹³At this Tattenai the governor of the region on the far side of the river, Shethar-Bozenai, and their associates, pursuant to Darius the king sending this, carried it out diligently. ¹⁴And the elders of the Jews built and made good progress with the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo being fulfilled, and they built and completed it, by the decree of the God of Israel, and by the decree of Cyrus and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, and it was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. ¹⁶And the sons of Israel – the priests and the Levites and the rest of the deportees – celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷And for the dedication of this house of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve he-goats, to offer as a sin-offering for all Israel – for the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸And the priests were appointed in their sections, and Levites in their divisions, for God's work in Jerusalem, according to the stipulation in the book of Moses. ¹⁹And the deportees celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰So the priests and the Levites purified themselves as a unity – all of them were pure, and they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the deportees and for their brothers the priests and for themselves. ²¹And the sons of Israel who had returned from the deportation ate, as did all who had set themselves aside from the uncleanness of the nations of the earth and had come to them, in seeking the Lord God of Israel. ²²And they celebrated the Festival of the Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy, and he had turned the heart of the king of Assyria towards them, in empowering them in the work of the house of God – the God of Israel.

¹And after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, came Ezra, the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, ²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ³the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the head priest. ⁶This Ezra came up from Babylon, and he was a scribe astute in the law of Moses, whom the Lord God of Israel had appointed, and to whom the king had granted every request of his, according to the hand of the Lord his God on him. ⁷And in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the sons of Israel and some priests and Levites went up to Jerusalem, as did the singers and the gatekeepers and the temple-servants. ⁸And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, and it was in the king's seventh year. ⁹For it was on the first day of the first month that the start of the coming back up from Babylon took place, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived in Jerusalem, with the good hand of his God on him. ¹⁰For Ezra had resolved to seek the law of the Lord, and to observe it, and to teach statute and judgment in Israel. ¹¹And this is a transcript of the communiqué which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest and scribe – the scribe of the words of the Lord's commandments, and his statutes imposed on Israel: ¹²“From Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scribe in the law of the God of heaven, greetings etcetera. ¹³A decree is hereby issued by me that everyone of the people of Israel in my kingdom – including its priests and the Levites – who wishes to go to Jerusalem, may go with you, ¹⁴it being so that you are sent from the king and his seven advisers to carry out investigations concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the law of your God, which is in your hand, ¹⁵and to take the silver and gold which the king and his advisers have voluntarily given to the God of Israel, whose abode is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶and all silver and gold which you find in the entire province of Babylon, given by the free will of the people and the priests, who freely give for the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷Pursuant to this, you shall diligently buy bulls and rams and lambs with this money, and their meal-offerings and their libations, and you will offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸And whatever seems right to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, do according to the good pleasure of your God. ¹⁹And restore in the presence of the God of Jerusalem the articles which are given to you for worship in the house of your God. ²⁰And pay for the remaining needs of the house of your God which you incur as expenses from the king's treasury. ²¹And a decree is hereby issued by me, Artaxerxes the king, to all treasurers of the region on the far side of the river, that whatever Ezra – the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven – asks of you, it be done forthwith, ²²up to one hundred talents of silver, and up to one hundred cors of wheat, and up to one hundred baths of wine, and up to one hundred baths of oil, and salt without bookkeeping. ²³Let everything which is by decree of the God of heaven be done diligently for the house of the God of heaven lest anger come upon the kingdom of the king or his sons. ²⁴And we make it known to you that for all the priests and the Levites and the singers and the gatekeepers and the temple-servants and the worshippers in this house of God, it is not authorized to impose the levy of tax and excise on them. ²⁵And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which is in your hand, appoint judges and magistrates who will judge all the people on the far side of the river – all those who know the laws of your God. And teach those who do not know them. ²⁶And as for anyone who does not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let justice be rigorously done with him, whether death or exile or confiscation of property or imprisonment.” ²⁷Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers who put this in the heart of the king, to adorn the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. ²⁸And he showed me kindness in the presence of the king and his advisers, and all the king's valiant commanders, and I was strengthened according to the hand of the Lord my God on me, and I gathered head men from Israel to go up with me.

¹Now these are their paternal heads and the registration by genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: ²of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; ³of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him one hundred and fifty males were registered by genealogy; ⁴of the sons of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; ⁵of the sons of Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; ⁶and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; ⁷and of the sons of Elam, Isaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; ⁸and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males; ⁹and of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; ¹⁰and of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; ¹¹and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; ¹²and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; ¹³and of the last sons of Adonikam – these are their names – Eliphelet, Jeiel and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males; ¹⁴and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them seventy males. ¹⁵And I gathered them at the river which goes to Ahava, where we encamped for three days, and I took stock of the people and of the priests, and I did not find any sons of Levi there. ¹⁶So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah and Elnathan and Jarib and Elnathan and Nathan and Zechariah and Meshullam – head men – and for Joiarib and Elnathan – intelligent men. ¹⁷And I sent them out to Iddo the head man in Casiphia-the-Resort, and I put words in their mouth to say to Iddo and his brother, the temple-servants in Casiphia-the-Resort, to bring us servants for the house of our God. ¹⁸And with the good care of our God over us, they brought us a sensible man, one of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi the son of Israel, and Sherebiah and his sons and his brothers – eighteen of them, ¹⁹and Hashabiah, and with him Isaiah one of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons – twenty of them, ²⁰and of the temple-servants whom David and the officials appointed for the work of the Levites – two hundred and twenty temple-servants – all of them specified by their names. ²¹And I called a fast there, at the River Ahava, to afflict ourselves before our God, and to seek the right way from him, for us and for our little ones and all that belong to us. ²²For I was ashamed to ask for soldiers and horsemen from the king to help protect us from an enemy on the way, for we had spoken to the king and said, “The hand of our God is favourably on all who seek him, but his vehemence and anger are on all who desert him.” ²³So we fasted and asked our God about this, and he was entreated by us. ²⁴Then I separated twelve of the high-ranking priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers with them. ²⁵And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the articles – the gifts for the house of our God which the king and his advisers and his officials and all Israel who were present had donated. ²⁶And I weighed out into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver articles to the value of one hundred talents, and one hundred talents of gold, ²⁷and twenty golden bowls, to the value of one thousand darics, and two articles of high quality gold-coloured copper, as sought after as gold. ²⁸And I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the articles are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering to the Lord God of your fathers. ²⁹Watch over it and guard it until you weigh it before the high-ranking priests and the Levites and the paternal officials of Israel in Jerusalem, in the offices of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰So the priests and the Levites took the weighed-out amount of silver and gold and the articles, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God. ³¹Then we set off from the River Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambusher along the road. ³²And we arrived in Jerusalem, and we stayed there for three days. ³³Then on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the articles were weighed in the house of our God by Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levites. ³⁴Everything was done by number and by weight, and the entire weight was written down at that time. ³⁵Those who came back from captivity – the deportees – made burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs and twelve goats as a sin-offering. Everything was a burnt offering to the Lord. ³⁶And the king's edicts were delivered to the king's satraps and the governors of the region on the far side of the river, and they supported the people and the house of God.

¹And when these had discharged their duties, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the various countries, with their abominations – those of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, the Egyptian and the Amorite. ²For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, and they have mixed holy seed with the peoples of the various countries. And the involvement of the officials and the administrators was first in this perverseness.” ³And when I heard this matter, I tore my clothes and my coat, and I pulled the hair out of my head and my chin, and I sat down devastated. ⁴Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel concerning the perverseness of the deportees gathered around me as I sat devastated, until the evening offering. ⁵At the evening offering I arose from my humbled state, and having torn my clothes and my coat, I bowed down on my knees and stretched my hands out to the Lord my God. ⁶And I said, “O God of mine, I am ashamed and unworthy to lift up, O God of mine, my face to you, for our iniquities have risen above our head, and our guilt extends to heaven. ⁷We have been highly guilty from the days of our fathers up to this day, and for our iniquities we – our kings and our priests – have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the various countries, by the sword and in captivity and through spoil and with shamefacedness, as on this day. ⁸But now, in a short moment, grace has come from the Lord our God in leaving us an escaped remnant, and in giving us a tent-peg hold in his holy place, and in our God enlightening our eyes and in reanimating us a little in our enslavement. ⁹For we are slaves, but our God has not abandoned us in our enslavement, and he has shown us kindness from the kings of Persia in reanimating us to raise up the house of our God, and to restore it from its ruins, and in giving us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰And now, what can we say, O God of ours, after this, for we have abandoned your commandments ¹¹which you gave through the intermediacy of your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land into which you are coming, to inherit it, is a filthy land with the filth of the peoples of the various countries, with their abominations with which they have filled it from end to end in their uncleanness. ¹²So now, do not give your daughters to their sons, and do not take their daughters for your sons, and do not seek their peace or their welfare, throughout the age, in order that you may prevail and eat the good produce of the land, and bequeath it to your sons age-abidingly.’ ¹³And after everything that has come over us for our evil works and for our great guilt, since you, our God, have been lenient with our iniquities and have given us this very escaped remnant, ¹⁴how could we go back and break your commandments by intermarrying with the various peoples of these abominations? Would you not be incensed at us to the extent of finishing us off without remainder or escaped remnant? ¹⁵O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we remain an escaped remnant on this very day. Here we are before you in our guilt, for there are no grounds for standing before you on account of this.”

¹And as Ezra was praying, and as he was confessing, weeping, and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large convocation of men and women and children of Israel gathered around him. For the people wept with many tears. ²And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, started to speak and said to Ezra, “We have acted treacherously against our God, and we have brought foreign women from the various countries into our homes, but now there is hope for Israel despite this. ³So now, let us make a covenant with our God to remove all the women and those born by them, in line with the advice of the Lord^* and those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the law. ⁴Get up, for the matter is your responsibility. And we are with you. Be strong and act.” ⁵And Ezra got up and adjured the high-ranking priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to act according to these words. And they swore. ⁶Then Ezra got up from his position before the house of God, and he went to the office of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Having arrived there, he did not eat bread and he did not drink water, because he was mourning over the perverseness of the deportees. ⁷And they had it proclaimed in Judah and Jerusalem for all the deportees to be gathered in Jerusalem. ⁸And that as for anyone who did not come within three days according to the advice of the officials and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he would be excluded from the convocation of the deportees. ⁹At this all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month, and all the people sat in the open at the house of God, trembling at the matter and because of the rain. ¹⁰Then Ezra the priest arose and said to them, “You have acted perversely and brought foreign women into your homes, so adding to Israel's guilt. ¹¹So now, make a confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do his will, and separate yourselves from the various peoples of the land, and from foreign women.” ¹²And the whole convocation answered and said in a loud voice, “We must indeed act according to your words. ¹³But the people are many and it is the season of rain, and we do not have the fortitude to endure outside, and the operation is not a matter of one day, nor is it of two, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter. ¹⁴Please let our officials of the whole convocation superintend, and let everyone who has brought foreign women into his home in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of each city, with its judges, until the fury of our God's anger is averted from us – until this matter is over.” ¹⁵And indeed it was Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah who superintended this, while Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. ¹⁶So the deportees did this. And Ezra the priest, and men who were paternal heads of their paternal house were all separated by name, and they sat on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. ¹⁷And they finished investigating all the men who had brought foreign women into their homes by the first day of the first month. ¹⁸And among the sons of the priests who had brought foreign women into their homes, the following were found: of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the sons of his brothers, were Maaseiah and Eliezer and Jarib and Gedaliah, ¹⁹and they pledged to remove their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their guilt. ²⁰And among the sons of Immer were Hanani and Zebadiah; ²¹and among the sons of Harim were Maaseiah and Elijah and Shemaiah and Jehiel and Uzziah; ²²and among the sons of Pashhur were Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad and Elasah; ²³and among the Levites were Jozabad and Shimei and Kelaiah (he is Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer; ²⁴and among the singers was Eliashib; and among the gatekeepers were Shallum and Telem and Uri; ²⁵and among Israel, among the sons of Parosh were Ramiah and Jiziah and Malchijah and Miamin and Eleazar and Malchijah and Benaiah; ²⁶and among the sons of Elam were Mattaniah, Zechariah and Jehiel and Abdi and Jeremoth and Eliah; ²⁷and among the sons of Zattu were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah and Jeremoth and Zabad and Aziza; ²⁸and among the sons of Bebai were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai; ²⁹and among the sons of Bani were Meshullam, Malluch and Adaiah, Jashub and Sheal and Jeremoth; ³⁰and among the sons of Pahath-Moab were Adna and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel and Binnui and Manasseh; ³¹and among the sons of Harim were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimon, ³²Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah; ³³among the sons of Hashum were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei; ³⁴among the sons of Bani were Maadai, Amram and Uel, ³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelahai, ³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai and Jaasai, ³⁸and Bani and Binnui and Shimei, ³⁹and Shelemiah and Nathan and Adaiah, ⁴⁰Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹Azarel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴²Shallum, Amariah and Joseph. ⁴³Among the sons of Nebo were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai and Joel and Benaiah. ⁴⁴All these married foreign women, and there are among them women by whom they begot sons.

¹The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass, in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, that I was in the citadel of Shushan, ²and Hanani, who is one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came, and I asked them about the escaped remnant of Jews who were left behind avoiding the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³And they said to me, “Those remaining, who were left behind avoiding the captivity, there in the province, are in a very bad state and in disrepute, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned down with fire.” ⁴And it came to pass when I heard these things that I sat down and wept, and I mourned for a number of days, and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. ⁵And I said, “Please, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and kindness to those who love him and to those who keep his commandments, ⁶may your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant which I am praying before you today, day and night, concerning the sons of Israel, your servants. And I confess the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against you, and that I and the house of my father have sinned. ⁷We have offended you badly, and we have not kept the commandments and the statutes and the ordinances which you commanded Moses your servant. ⁸Do remember the words which you commanded your servant Moses when you said, ‘If you act perversely, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹but if you return to me and keep my commandments and carry them out, even if any of you were to be driven out to the end of heaven, I would gather them from there and bring them to the place where I have chosen to set up my name.’ ¹⁰And they are your servants and your people whom you have redeemed by your great power and with your strong hand. ¹¹Please, Lord^*, may your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in fearing your name. And do be propitious to your servant today, and show him compassion in the presence of this man, for I have become the king's butler.”

¹And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that there was wine available for him, and I bore the wine and gave some to the king. Now I was not normally sorrowful in his presence, ²and the king said to me, “Why is your expression sorrowful, although you are not ill? Is this nothing other than a sorrowful heart?” And I was very much afraid. ³And I said to the king, “May the king live age-abidingly. Why should my expression not be sorrowful when the city of the graveyards of my fathers is desolate, and its gates have been consumed by fire?” ⁴At this the king said to me, “What is it that you are requesting?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵And I said to the king, “If it is acceptable to the king, and if your servant is approved of in your sight, it is that you should send me to Judah, to the city of the tombs of my fathers, and that I should rebuild it.” ⁶And the king said to me, with the queen sitting next to him, “How long would your journey take and when would you return?” And it was acceptable to the king, and he let me go, and I gave him a timescale. ⁷And I said to the king, “If it is acceptable to the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region on the far side of the river, so that I am given passage until I arrive in Judah, ⁸and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's park, for him to give me wood to put a roof over the gates of the citadel which belongs to the house, and for the city wall, and for the house to which I am going.” And the king gave me these, according to the good hand of my God on me. ⁹And I came to the governors of the region on the far side of the river, and I gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent army commanders with me, and horsemen. ¹⁰But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard it, it grieved them very greatly that a man should have come to seek the welfare of the sons of Israel. ¹¹And I arrived in Jerusalem, and I was there for three days. ¹²Then I got up at night – I and a few men with me – but I did not tell anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. And I did not have any animals with me except the animal I rode on. ¹³And I went out through the Valley Gate by night and came up to the Crocodile Fount and to the Dung Gate, and I examined the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and its gates which had been consumed by fire. ¹⁴And I crossed over to the Fount Gate and to the king's pool, but there was no place for the animal under me to pass. ¹⁵Then I went up by the way of the brook by night, and I examined the wall, and I returned and went in by the Valley Gate, then I came back. ¹⁶And the administrators did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and up to this time I had not told the Jews or the priests or the nobles or the administrators or the rest who were doing the work. ¹⁷And I said to them, “You see the plight which we are in – that Jerusalem is desolate, and its gates here have been burnt with fire. Come, and let's build the wall of Jerusalem so that we are no longer a reproach.” ¹⁸And I told them that the hand of my God had been good on me, and also the king's words which he spoke to me. Then they said, “We will arise and build.” And they encouraged themselves for the good work. ¹⁹But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arabian heard about it, they mocked us and despised us, and they said, “What is this thing you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” ²⁰And I replied to them, and I said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success, and we, his servants, will arise and build, but you have no part or right or remembrance in Jerusalem.”

¹And Eliashib the high priest arose, as did his brothers – the priests – and they built the Sheep Gate. They sanctified it and installed its doors. And they sanctified it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and as far as the Tower of Hananel. ²And alongside it men from Jericho did building work, and alongside that Zaccur the son of Imri did building work. ³And the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They put a roof over it and installed its doors, its bars and its bolts. ⁴And alongside them Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, did repair work. Also alongside them Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel, did repair work. Also alongside them Zadok, the son of Baana, did repair work. ⁵And alongside them the Tekoites did repair work, but their nobles did not put their backs into the work of their Lord. ⁶And Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate. They put a roof over it and installed its doors and bars and bolts. ⁷And alongside them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite – men of Gibeon and Mizpah – did repair work for the seat of office of the governor of the region on the far side of the river. ⁸Alongside him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, one of the refiners, did repair work, and alongside him Hananiah the son of the pharmacists did repair work, and they restored Jerusalem up to the Broad Wall. ⁹And alongside them Rephaiah the son of Hur, an official in charge of half of the district of Jerusalem, did repair work. ¹⁰And alongside them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph did repair work, opposite his own house, and alongside him Hattush the son of Hashabniah did repair work. ¹¹Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashshub the son of Pahath-Moab repaired another section, and the Tower of Furnaces. ¹²And alongside him Shallum the son of Halohesh, an official in charge of half of the district of Jerusalem, did repair work – he and his daughters. ¹³Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and installed its doors, its bars and its bolts, and a thousand cubits of the wall – as far as the Dung Gate. ¹⁴And Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official in charge of the district of Beth-Haccerem, repaired the Dung Gate. He would build it and would install its doors, its bars and its bolts. ¹⁵And Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh, the official in charge of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fount Gate. He would build it and would roof it, and he would install its doors, its bars and its bolts, and the wall of the Pool of Siloam for the king's garden as far as the steps which go down from the City of David. ¹⁶After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, an official in charge of half the district of Beth-Zur, made repairs as far as opposite the tombs of David, and as far as the pool which had been made, and as far as the Warriors' House. ¹⁷After him the Levites made repairs. Rehum the son of Bani, and alongside him Hashabiah, an official in charge of half the district of Keilah, made repairs in his district. ¹⁸After him their brothers made repairs: Bavai the son of Henadad, an official in charge of half of the district of Keilah, ¹⁹and alongside him, Ezer the son of Jeshua, the official in charge of Mizpah, repaired a further section, opposite the ascent to the armoury at the corner buttress; ²⁰after him Baruch the son of Zaccai was zealous to repair a further section from the corner buttress to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest; ²¹after him Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired a further section from the entrance to Eliashib's house to the end of Eliashib's house. ²²And after him the priests, men of the adjoining tract, made repairs. ²³After him Benjamin, with Hashshub, made repairs opposite their house. After him Azariah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made repairs by his house. ²⁴After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired a further section from Azariah's house to the corner buttress and to the battlement. ²⁵Palal the son of Uzai repaired from opposite the corner buttress and the tower which protrudes from the king's lofty house towards the prison court. After him came Pedaiah the son of Parosh. ²⁶And the temple-servants were living in the Ophel, as far as opposite the Water Gate to the east, and the protruding tower. ²⁷After him the Tekoites repaired a further section, from opposite the Great Tower which protrudes, as far as the wall of the Ophel. ²⁸The priests made repairs above the Horse Gate, each opposite his house. ²⁹After them Zadok the son of Immer made repairs opposite his house, and after him Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah the keeper of the Eastern Gate made repairs. ³⁰After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah made repairs, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired a further section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah made repairs opposite his office. ³¹After him Malchijah the son of the refiner made repairs as far as the house of the temple-servants and the traders, opposite the Muster Gate, and as far as the corner ascent. ³²And between the corner ascent and the Sheep Gate, the refiners and the traders made repairs. ³³And it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, it infuriated him, and he became very angry, and he mocked the Jews, ³⁴and he spoke in the presence of his brothers and the forces of Samaria, and he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they re-establish themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from heaps of dust, which have been burned?” ³⁵And Tobiah the Ammonite was with him, and he said, “Even what they're building – if a fox were to climb onto it, it would cause their wall of stones to collapse.” ³⁶“Hear, O God of ours, how we have become an object of contempt, and turn their reproach onto their heads, and make them into a spoil in a land where they are in captivity. ³⁷And do not pardon their iniquity and do not let their sin be blotted out before you, for they have been provocative towards the builders.” ³⁸And we built the wall, and all the wall was joined up for half its length, and the people had a heart to work on it.

¹Then it came to pass when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs to the walls of Jerusalem had progressed, and that the breaches had begun to be closed up, it infuriated them greatly. ²And they all conspired together to go and fight against Jerusalem and to do harm to it. ³So we prayed to our God, and we set up a look-out for them by day and night because of them. ⁴But the people of Judah said, “The strength of those who carry a load has failed them, and there is much dust, and we will not be able to build the wall.” ⁵And our adversaries said, “They will not know, and they will not see anything until we have come among them, and we kill them and put a stop to the work.” ⁶And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived among them came, that they said to us ten times, “From all the places to which you might turn, they will be upon us.” ⁷So I set up defences in the lower parts of the place behind the wall in the dry places, and I stationed the people according to their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ⁸And I observed, and I arose, and I said to the nobles and the administrators and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the great and awesome Lord^*, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.” ⁹And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us that God had frustrated their plan, that we all returned to the wall – each man to his work. ¹⁰And it was from that day that half of my servant-lads were engaged in the work, and half of them held spears and shields and bows and wore armour. And the commanders were behind the whole house of Judah. ¹¹Those building the wall and those carrying a load or loading it would do the work with one hand, while the other would hold the weapon. ¹²And each of the builders had his sword fastened at his waist while they built. And he who blew the ramshorn was next to me. ¹³And I said to the nobles, and to the administrators, and to the rest of the people, “The work is immense and extensive, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. ¹⁴In a place where you hear the sound of the ramshorn, gather round us there. Our God will fight for us.” ¹⁵So we were engaged in the work, and half of them held spears from the rise of dawn until the appearance of the stars. ¹⁶Also at that time I said to the people, “Let every man and his servant-lad lodge inside Jerusalem, and they will be our watch at night, and the day will be for work.” ¹⁷And neither I nor my brothers nor my servant-lads, nor the men of the guard who were behind me – none of us – took off our clothes. Each man had his weapon and water.

¹Then there was a great outcry from the people and their wives to their brothers the Jews. ²And there were some who said, “We, our sons and our daughters, are many, and we need to get corn and eat to survive.” ³And there were some who said, “We are mortgaging our fields and our vineyards and our houses, so that we can get corn in the famine.” ⁴And there were some who said, “We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵And although our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, and our sons are like their sons, yet see how we are reducing our sons and our daughters to slavery, and there are some of our daughters so reduced, and it is out of our control, and others have our fields and our vineyards.” ⁶And it infuriated me greatly when I heard their cry and these things. ⁷And my heart commended itself to me, and I took issue with the nobles and the administrators, and I said to them, “Each of you is bringing his brother into debt.” And I presented a large assembly against them. ⁸And I said to them, “We have redeemed our brothers the Jews who were sold to the Gentiles as much as we could. Now would you even sell your brothers, so that they are sold back to us?” And they were silent and did not find a word to say. ⁹And I said, “The thing you are doing is not right. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, rather than the reproachful way of the nations which are our enemies? ¹⁰But I too, my brothers, and my servant-lads have been lending them money and corn on interest, but let us please discontinue this lending on interest. ¹¹Do restore to them today their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, and the one per cent monthly interest on their money and corn and new wine and fresh oil which you have been lending them on interest.” ¹²And they said, “We will restore them, and we will not require anything of them. As you have said, so we shall do.” Then I called the priests, and I had them swear to do this undertaking. ¹³I also shook the breast fold of my garment, and I said, “So shall God shake every man who does not fulfil this undertaking, out of his house and out of his livelihood, and so he will be shaken out and empty.” And the whole convocation said, “Amen.” And they praised the Lord, and the people acted according to this proceeding. ¹⁴Moreover from the day when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king – twelve years – neither I nor my brothers ate the governor's fare. ¹⁵But the previous governors who were before me had weighed down heavily on the people, and they had taken bread and wine from them to the value of forty shekels. Even their servants lorded it over the people, but I did not act like that, because of the fear of God. ¹⁶And I also persevered in the work of this wall, and we did not buy a field, and all my servant-lads were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷And the Jews and the administrators – one hundred and fifty men – and those who came to us from the nations around us, were at my table. ¹⁸And this is what was prepared for one day: one ox, six choice sheep; and poultry was prepared for me, and at ten day intervals all sorts of wine in abundance. But nevertheless, I did not require the governor's fare, because the work was a heavy load on this people. ¹⁹Remember me, O God of mine, favourably, for everything I have done concerning this people.

¹And it came to pass, when it came to the ear of Sanballat and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, that I had built the wall, and that there was not a single breach remaining in it, even though at that time I had not installed doors in the gates, ²that Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me and said, “Come and let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they were plotting to do me harm. ³So I sent messengers to them, and I said, “I am carrying out a major work, and I will not be able to come down. Why should the work stop, while I leave it and go down to you?” ⁴Then they sent word to me in the same way four times, and I replied to them in the same way. ⁵Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same way for a fifth time, with the letter open in his hand. ⁶In it was written, “Among the nations it is reported, and Gashmu states, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel, which is why you are building the wall, and that you will be their king, in accordance with these things. ⁷And you have also appointed prophets to make proclamation about you in Jerusalem, saying, ‘The king is in Judah.’ So now, let it be reported to the king, in accordance with these things. Or come now, and let us take counsel together.” ⁸At this I sent word to him and said, “No such thing as what you say has happened, for you are devising them in your own heart.” ⁹For they were all intimidating us, saying, “The strength of their hands for the work will ebb away, and it will not be done.” “But now, strengthen my hands.” ¹⁰Then I went to the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was confined there, and he said, “Let us meet at the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and it is tonight that they are coming to kill you.” ¹¹But I said, “Will a man such as myself flee? And who such as I would go into the temple for his life? I shall not go.” ¹²And I became aware that God had not sent him, but that he had spoken the prophecy against me, and that Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³He was hired for a purpose – so that I should be afraid and do that, and so sin, and they would have an ill report with which to reproach me. ¹⁴“Remember, O God of mine, Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these works of theirs, and also Noadiah the prophetess, and the rest of the prophets who were intimidating me.” ¹⁵And the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard this, that all the nations around us feared and were very downcast, and they knew that this work had been done by inducement from our God. ¹⁷Also in those days the nobles of Judah wrote many letters which went to Tobiah, and those of Tobiah came to them. ¹⁸For there were many in Judah who had sworn allegiance to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and Jehohanan his son had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife. ¹⁹They also recounted his good news to me, and my words were expounded to him, but Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

¹And it came to pass when the wall was built that I installed the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed. ²And I assigned Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the official in charge of the citadel, to be in charge of Jerusalem, for the latter was very much a man of truth, and he feared God more than many. ³And I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem shall not be opened until the heat of the sun, and while the gatekeepers are standing by, let them shut the doors and fasten them.” And I set up watches from the inhabitants of Jerusalem – each man in his watch, and each man opposite his house. ⁴Now the city was very wide and large, but the people in it were few, and there were no houses built. ⁵Then my God put it in my heart that I should assemble the nobles and the administrators and the people to be registered by genealogy, and I found the book of genealogy of those who had come up previously, and I found this written in it: ⁶“The following are the fraternity of the province who came back up from the displaced body of deportees whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon deported, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city. ⁷Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah. The number of men of the people of Israel was as follows: ⁸the fraternity of Parosh numbered two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁹the fraternity of Shephatiah numbered three hundred and seventy-two; ¹⁰the fraternity of Arah numbered six hundred and fifty-two; ¹¹the fraternity of Pahath-Moab, of the line of the fraternity of Jeshua-Joab, numbered two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; ¹²the fraternity of Elam numbered one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ¹³the fraternity of Zattu numbered eight hundred and forty-five; ¹⁴the fraternity of Zaccai numbered seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁵the fraternity of Binnui numbered six hundred and forty-eight; ¹⁶the fraternity of Bebai numbered six hundred and twenty-eight; ¹⁷the fraternity of Azgad numbered two thousand three hundred and twenty-two; ¹⁸the fraternity of Adonikam numbered six hundred and sixty-seven; ¹⁹the fraternity of Bigvai numbered two thousand and sixty-seven; ²⁰the fraternity of Adin numbered six hundred and fifty-five; ²¹the fraternity of Ater, of Hezekiah's line, numbered ninety-eight; ²²the fraternity of Hashum numbered three hundred and twenty-eight; ²³the fraternity of Bezai numbered three hundred and twenty-four; ²⁴the fraternity of Hariph numbered one hundred and twelve; ²⁵the fraternity of Gibeon numbered ninety-five; ²⁶the men of Bethlehem and Netophah numbered one hundred and eighty-eight; ²⁷the men of Anathoth numbered one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁸the men of Beth-Azmaveth numbered forty-two; ²⁹the men of Kiriath-Jearim, Chephirah and Beeroth numbered seven hundred and forty-three; ³⁰the men of Ramah and Geba numbered six hundred and twenty-one; ³¹the men of Michmas numbered one hundred and twenty-two; ³²the men of Beth-El and Ai numbered one hundred and twenty-three; ³³the men of the other Nebo numbered fifty-two; ³⁴the fraternity of the other Elam numbered one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³⁵the fraternity of Harim numbered three hundred and twenty; ³⁶the fraternity of Jericho numbered three hundred and forty-five; ³⁷the fraternity of Lod, Hadid and Ono numbered seven hundred and twenty-one; ³⁸the fraternity of Senaah numbered three thousand nine hundred and thirty; ³⁹the priests who were the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, numbered nine hundred and seventy-three; ⁴⁰the fraternity of Immer numbered one thousand and fifty-two; ⁴¹the fraternity of Pashhur numbered one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; ⁴²the fraternity of Harim numbered one thousand and seventeen; ⁴³the Levites, the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of Hodevah, numbered seventy-four; ⁴⁴the singers, the sons of Asaph, numbered one hundred and forty-eight; ⁴⁵the gatekeepers, the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, numbered one hundred and thirty-eight. ⁴⁶The temple-servants, the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁷the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, ⁴⁸the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Shalmai, ⁴⁹the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, ⁵⁰the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, ⁵¹the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, ⁵²the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim, ⁵³the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, ⁵⁴the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, ⁵⁵the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, ⁵⁶the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha, ⁵⁷the sons of Solomon's servants, the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, ⁵⁸the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, ⁵⁹the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of the Zebaim, the sons of Amon – ⁶⁰all the temple-servants and the sons of Solomon's servants numbered three hundred and ninety-two. ⁶¹And the following are those who came up from Tel-Melah, Tel-Harsha, Cherub, Addon and Immer, but they could not specify their paternal house or their family line – whether they were of Israel – : ⁶²the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, who numbered six hundred and forty-two, ⁶³and those of the priests who were the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was named after them. ⁶⁴These looked for their registration among those registered by genealogy, but it wasn't found, and they were disqualified from the priesthood as extraneous. ⁶⁵And the governor told them that they were not to eat anything from the holy of holies until the priest should stand with Urim and Thummim. ⁶⁶The whole convocation together numbered forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty people, ⁶⁷apart from these menservants and maidservants of theirs – seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven of them. And they also had two hundred and forty-five male and female singers. ⁶⁸There were four hundred and thirty-five camels and six thousand seven hundred and twenty donkeys. ⁶⁹And some of the paternal heads contributed to the work. The governor gave one thousand darics of gold to the treasury, fifty bowls and five hundred and thirty priests' gowns. ⁷⁰And some of the paternal heads gave twenty thousand darics of gold and two thousand two hundred manehs of silver to the treasury of the work. ⁷¹And this is what the rest of the people gave: twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand manehs of silver, and sixty-seven priests' gowns.” ⁷²And the priests and the Levites, and the gatekeepers and the singers, and some of the people, and the temple-servants and all Israel lived in their cities, and by the time the seventh month came, the sons of Israel were in their cities.

¹And all the people gathered in unison in the square which was opposite the Water Gate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel to observe. ²And Ezra the priest presented the law to the convocation, to both men and women, and everyone who would understand on hearing it, on the first day of the seventh month. ³And he read from it facing the square which was opposite the Water Gate, from first light until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who understood. And the ears of all the people were riveted to the book of the law. ⁴And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden tower which they had made for the occasion, and next to him stood Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah on his right, and on his left were Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. ⁵And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was higher up than all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up. ⁶And Ezra blessed the great Lord God, and all the people answered, “Amen, amen”, with their arms raised, then they bowed to and worshipped the Lord face down to the ground. ⁷And Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah and the Levites expounded the law to the people, and the people stood glued to their place. ⁸And they read from the book of the law of God distinctly, and they gave insight, and they enabled them to understand the reading. ⁹And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who expounded to the people, said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn and do not weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰And he said to them, “Go and eat rich food, and drink sweet drinks, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared for him, for the day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.” ¹¹And the Levites made all the people be quiet, and they said, “Be quiet, for this day is holy, and do not be grieved.” ¹²Then all the people went to eat and to drink and to send portions and to celebrate with great joy, for they understood the words which had been made known to them. ¹³And on the second day, the paternal heads of all the people, and the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe, and it was to gain insight into the words of the law. ¹⁴And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded through the intermediacy of Moses, that the sons of Israel should live in tabernacles during the festival in the seventh month, ¹⁵and that they should proclaim and publish an announcement in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain and bring back olive foliage, and wild olive foliage, and myrtle foliage, and palm foliage, and foliage from bushy trees, to make tabernacles, as it is written.” ¹⁶So the people went out and brought them, and they made themselves tabernacles, each one on his roof and in their courtyards and in the courtyards of the house of God, and in the square of the Water Gate and in the square of the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷And the whole convocation of those who returned from captivity made tabernacles, and they lived in the tabernacles, which the sons of Israel had not done like this since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun up to this day, and there was very great joy. ¹⁸And he read from the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last day, and they celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.

¹Then on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the sons of Israel assembled, fasting and in sackcloth and with soil on them. ²And the seed of Israel were separated from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³And they stood up in their place, and they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a quarter of a day, and for another quarter they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God. ⁴Then Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Chenani arose on the Levites' platform and cried out in a loud voice to the Lord their God. ⁵And the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah said,

“Arise and bless the Lord your God

From age to age.”

“And may your glorious name be blessed,

Which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

⁶You alone are the Lord.

You made heaven,

The heaven of heavens and all their array,

The earth and everything on it,

The seas and everything in them,

And you give them all life.

And the array of heaven worships you.

⁷You are the Lord God

Who chose Abram

And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees

And appointed his name as Abraham.

⁸And you found his heart to be faithful before you,

And you made a covenant with him

To give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite

And the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite

– To give it to his seed –

And you fulfilled your words,

For you are righteous.

⁹And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,

And you heard their cry at the Red Sea.

¹⁰And you performed signs and miracles against Pharaoh

And against all his servants

And against all the people of his land,

For you know that they acted presumptuously against them,

And you made yourself a name,

As it is today.

¹¹And you divided the sea in front of them,

And they crossed in the middle of the sea on dry land,

But you cast those chasing them into the depths,

Like a stone in fierce waters.

¹²And by day you led them with a column of cloud,

And by night with a pillar of fire,

To light up for them the way

By which they were to go.

¹³And you came down onto Mount Sinai,

And you spoke with them from heaven,

And you gave them upright judgments

And truthful laws

And good statutes and commandments.

¹⁴And you made your holy Sabbath known to them,

And you gave them commandments and statutes and law

Through the intermediacy of Moses your servant.

¹⁵And you gave them bread from heaven

When they were hungry,

And you brought water out of a rock for them

When they were thirsty,

And you instructed them to come and inherit the land

Concerning which you took an oath

To give it to them.

¹⁶But they and our fathers acted presumptuously,

And they became stiff-necked

And did not heed your commandments.

¹⁷And they refused to hear,

And they did not remember your wonders

Which you performed with them,

And they became stiff-necked,

And they appointed a head man

So as to return to their slavery in their rebellion.

But you are a God of forgiveness,

Gracious and compassionate,

Forbearing and of great kindness,

And you did not desert them.

¹⁸Even when they made themselves a cast calf

And said, ‘This is your God

Who brought you up out of Egypt’,

And they committed gross blasphemies,

¹⁹You still in your many mercies

Did not abandon them in the desert.

The column of cloud did not go away from them by day,

It being to lead them on the way,

Nor did the pillar of fire by night,

It being to give them light

And to light up the way which they were to go.

²⁰And you gave your good spirit to enlighten them,

And you did not withhold your manna from their mouth,

And you gave them water for their thirst.

²¹And you sustained them for forty years in the desert;

They did not lack anything.

Their clothes did not wear out,

And their feet did not swell.

²²And you gave them kingdoms and peoples,

And you apportioned them territory,

And they inherited the land of Sihon

And the land of the king of Heshbon

And the land of Og king of Bashan.

²³And you increased the number of their sons like the stars of the sky,

And you brought them to the land

Which you told their fathers to come into

And inherit.

²⁴And the sons came and inherited the land,

And you subdued the inhabitants of the land

– The Canaanites – at their advance,

And you delivered them into their hand,

Including their kings and the various peoples of the land,

To do what they wanted with them.

²⁵And they captured fortified cities and fertile land,

And they inherited houses full of all good accessories

– Hewn cisterns, vineyards and olive groves

And orchard trees in abundance –

And they ate and were satisfied and became fat,

And they lived luxuriously in your great goodness.

²⁶But they became contentious

And they rebelled against you,

And they cast your law behind their back,

And they killed your prophets,

Who testified against them

To turn them back to you,

And they committed gross blasphemies.

²⁷Then you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries,

Who maltreated them.

Then in the time of their distress they cried out to you,

And you heard them from heaven.

And according to your many mercies, you gave them saviours

Who saved them from the hand of their adversaries.

²⁸But when they had quiet,

They again did what was wrong before you,

And you abandoned them in the hand of their enemies,

Who trod them down.

Then they cried out to you again,

And you heard from heaven,

And you saved them according to your mercies many times.

²⁹And you testified against them,

So as to bring them back to your law,

But they acted presumptuously

And did not heed your commandments.

And as for your judicial principles, they sinned against them

– Principles which a man shall observe and live by –

And they shrugged their wayward shoulders

And stiffened their necks

And did not heed them.

³⁰And you endured them for many years,

And you testified against them by your spirit

Through the intermediacy of your prophets,

But they did not listen,

And you delivered them into the hand of the nations of the various countries.

³¹But in your many mercies,

You did not finish with them,

And you did not abandon them,

For you are a gracious and compassionate God.

³²And now, O God of ours,

The great and mighty and awesome God

Who keeps the covenant and maintains kindness,

Do not let all the weariness be considered little before you,

Which has come over us,

Over our kings, our officials,

And our priests and our prophets,

And our fathers, and all your people,

From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.

³³But you are righteous

Concerning everything which has come over us,

For you have acted truthfully,

Whereas we have acted wickedly,

³⁴And our kings, our officials,

Our priests and our fathers

Did not observe your law

And did not heed your commandments or your testimonies

Which you testified against them.

³⁵And they – in their kingdom

And despite your great generosity which you showed them,

And in the broad and fertile land which you gave them in their presence –

Did not serve you

And did not turn away from their wicked deeds.

³⁶Behold, we are servants today,

And as for the land which you gave to our fathers,

To eat its fruit and its good produce,

Behold, we are servants on it.

³⁷And its produce is abundant,

Destined for kings

Whom you have set over us for our sins,

And they rule over our bodies and our cattle as they wish,

And we are in great distress.

¹And because of all this, we are making a treaty

And putting it in writing,

And the parties participating in sealing it

Are our officials, Levites and priests.”

²Now the individuals participating in sealing it were Nehemiah the governor – the son of Hachaliah – and Zedekiah, ³Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ⁴Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, ⁵Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁶Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁷Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁸Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁹Maaziah, Bilgai and Shemaiah. Those were the priests. ¹⁰And the Levites were Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui, who was one of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, ¹¹and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹²Micah, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹³Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹⁴Hodijah, Bani and Beninu. ¹⁵The heads of the people were Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ¹⁶Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁷Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁸Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, ¹⁹Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, ²⁰Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, ²¹Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ²²Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, ²³Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ²⁴Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashshub, ²⁵Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, ²⁶Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ²⁷and Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁸Malluch, Harim and Baanah. ²⁹And the rest of the people, that is the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple-servants and everyone who had separated himself from the peoples of the various lands to the law of God, and their wives, their sons and their daughters – all who knew and understood – ³⁰joined up with their brothers, their nobles, and they entered into a curse and an oath, to walk in the law of God, which was given through the intermediacy of Moses the servant of God, and to keep and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes, ³¹and that we would not give our daughters to the various peoples of the land, and that we would not take their daughters for our sons. ³²And that as for the various peoples of the land who brought merchandise and any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not accept anything from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day, and that we would leave the seventh year fallow, and waive the debt owed by every claimant. ³³And we instituted obligations on ourselves to be obliged to give a third of a shekel per year for the work of the house of our God, ³⁴for the showbread and the perpetual meal-offering and the perpetual burnt offering, and the Sabbaths, and the new moons, for the festivals and for holy things, and for sin-offerings, to atone for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God. ³⁵And we – the priests, the Levites and the people – cast lots for the offering of wood, to bring it to the house of our God, to the house of our fathers, at appointed times, year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law, ³⁶and to bring the firstfruits of our land, and the firstfruits of all the fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord. ³⁷And to bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as it is written in the law (so the firstborn of our oxen and our sheep), to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in the house of our God. ³⁸And that we should bring the firstfruits of our grain, and our heave-offering, and the fruit of every tree, new wine and new oil, to the priests at the offices of the house of our God, and the tithes of our ground to the Levites, who are the very Levites who take tithes in all the cities where we work. ³⁹And that the priest – a son of Aaron – would be with the Levites when the Levites take tithes, and that the Levites should bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the offices of the treasury. ⁴⁰For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi will bring the heave-offering of the corn, the new wine and the new oil, to the offices where the equipment of the sanctuary is, and where the priests who serve and the gatekeepers and the singers are. And we will not neglect the house of our God.

¹And the officials among the people lived in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots for bringing one in ten to live in Jerusalem – the holy city – whereas nine out of ten would be in the cities. ²And the people blessed all the men who were willing to live in Jerusalem. ³And these were the heads of the province who lived in Jerusalem (whereas in the cities of Judah, each man lived on his estate in their cities), these people being Israel, the priests and the Levites and the temple-servants and the sons of Solomon's servants. ⁴Also in Jerusalem there lived some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah were Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, he being of the sons of Perez, ⁵and Maaseiah, the son of Baruch, the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. ⁶All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem amounted to four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men. ⁷And these were the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Isaiah, ⁸and after him, Gabbai and Sallai – nine hundred and twenty-eight in all. ⁹And Joel the son of Zichri was superintendent over them, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second in charge of the city. ¹⁰From the priests were Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin, ¹¹Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub – the leader in the house of God – ¹²with their brothers who carried out the work on the house who were eight hundred and twenty-two in number, and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, ¹³and his brothers the paternal heads – two hundred and forty-two in number – and Amashsai, the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, ¹⁴and their brothers – valiant warriors – one hundred and twenty-eight in number. And the superintendent over them was Zabdiel, a son of the great ones. ¹⁵And from the Levites was Shemaiah the son of Hashshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni. ¹⁶And Shabbethai and Jozabad from the heads of the Levites were in charge of the exterior work on the house of God. ¹⁷And Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was head – at the start he would give thanks in prayer – and Bakbukiah was assistant head among his brothers, with Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty-four in number. ¹⁹And the gatekeepers, Akkub and Talmon and their brothers who guarded the gates were one hundred and seventy-two in number. ²⁰And the rest of Israel and the Levite priests were in all the cities of Judah, each in his inheritance. ²¹And the temple-servants lived in the Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple-servants. ²²And the superintendent of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micah. The singers were from the sons of Asaph, appointed for the work of the house of God. ²³For a commandment from the king had been imposed on them, as had an obligation on the singers as a daily undertaking. ²⁴And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel from the sons of Zerah the son of Judah was at the king's side in every matter of the people. ²⁵And some of the sons of Judah lived in the outlying areas in their countryside, in Kiriath-Arba and its satellite villages, and in Dibon and its satellite villages, and in Jekabzeel and its outlying areas, ²⁶and in Jeshua and in Moladah and in Beth-Pelet, ²⁷and in Hazar-Shual and in Beersheba and its satellite villages, ²⁸and in Ziklag and in Mekonah and its satellite villages, ²⁹and in En-Rimmon and in Zareah and in Jarmuth, ³⁰Zanoah, Adullam and their outlying areas, Lachish and its countryside, and Azekah and its satellite villages. And they encamped in places from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom. ³¹And the sons of Benjamin from Geba lived in Michmas and Aijah and Beth-El and its satellite villages, ³²and in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵Lod and Ono and the Valley of the Craftsmen. ³⁶And among the Levites were divisions of Judah assigned to Benjamin.

¹And these are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, ⁵Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah and Jedaiah. Those were the heads of the priests and their brothers in the days of Jeshua. ⁸And the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was in charge of songs of praise – he and his brothers – ⁹and Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, corresponding to them in guard duties. ¹⁰Now Jeshua begot Joiakim, and Joiakim begot Eliashib, and Eliashib begot Joiada, ¹¹and Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua. ¹²And in the days of Joiakim, the priests – the paternal heads – were: in Seraiah's line, Meraiah; in Jeremiah's line, Hananiah; ¹³in Ezra's line, Meshullam; in Amariah's line, Jehohanan; ¹⁴in Melicu's line, Jonathan; in Shebaniah's line, Joseph; ¹⁵in Harim's line, Adna; in Meraioth's line, Helkai; ¹⁶in Iddo's line, Zechariah; in Ginnethon's line, Meshullam; ¹⁷in Abijah's line, Zichri; in Miniamin's line, in Moadiah's line, Piltai; ¹⁸in Bilgah's line, Shammua; in Shemaiah's line, Jonathan; ¹⁹in Joiarib's line, Mattenai; in Jedaiah's line, Uzzi; ²⁰in Sallai's line, Kallai; in Amok's line, Eber; ²¹in Hilkiah's line, Hashabiah; and in Jedaiah's line, Nethaneel. ²²In the days of Eliashib, Joiada and Johanan and Jaddua, the Levites were registered as paternal heads, and the priests were registered in the kingdom of Darius the Persian. ²³The sons of Levi – the paternal heads – were written in the Book of Chronicles, up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, and their brothers corresponding to them to praise and to give thanks in fulfilment of the commandment of David the man of God, one duty alongside another. ²⁵Mattaniah and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were guards gatekeeping, in a watch at the gate storehouses. ²⁶Those were in the days of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe. ²⁷At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they looked for the Levites in all their places, so as to bring them to Jerusalem, to celebrate the dedication and festivity, with both thanksgiving and song, with timbrels and lutes and with harps. ²⁸And the sons of the singers were gathered, both from the adjoining tract around Jerusalem, and from the outlying villages of Netophathi, ²⁹and from the house of Gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves outlying villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. ³¹And I brought the officials of Judah up above the wall, and I organized two great thanksgiving processions, and processions to the right above the wall towards the Dung Gate. ³²And after them came Hoshaiah and half the officials of Judah, ³³and Azariah, Ezra and Meshullam, ³⁴Judah and Benjamin and Shemaiah and Jeremiah, ³⁵and some of the sons of the priests, with trumpets, namely Zechariah, the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, ³⁶and his brothers, Shemaiah and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel and Judah and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. ³⁷And at the Fount Gate, which was opposite them, they went up the steps of the City of David, at the ascent of the wall above David's house, up to the Water Gate to the east. ³⁸And the second thanksgiving procession went in the opposite direction, and I followed it. And half the people were above the wall, above the Tower of Furnaces, as far as the Broad Wall, ³⁹and above the Gate of Ephraim, and on the Old Gate, and on the Fish Gate, and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, and as far as the Sheep Gate, and they stood at the Prison Gate. ⁴⁰And the two thanksgiving processions stopped at the house of God, as did I and the half of the administrators who were with me, ⁴¹and the priests, namely Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, with trumpets, ⁴²and Maaseiah and Shemaiah and Eleazar and Uzzi and Jehohanan and Malchijah and Elam and Ezer. And the singers made themselves heard, and Jizrahiah was the choirmaster. ⁴³And on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God gave them great joy, and the women and children also rejoiced, and the rejoicing in Jerusalem was heard at a distance. ⁴⁴And on that day men were appointed over the treasury office rooms for the heave-offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to collect through them the contributions of the outlying fields of the cities specified in the law, for the priests and the Levites. For it was Judah's joy for the priests and the Levites who stood serving. ⁴⁵And both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the observance of their God and the observance of purification, according to the commandment of David and Solomon his son. ⁴⁶For back in the former days of David and Asaph there was a head over the singers, and singing in praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah would give contributions for the singers and the gatekeepers, as a daily undertaking, and they consecrated the contributions to the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them to the sons of Aaron.

¹On that day there was a reading from the book of Moses with the people hearing, and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the convocation of God. ²For they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, and they hired Balaam against them to curse them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³And it came to pass when they heard the law that they separated all the mixed camp followers from Israel. ⁴Now before this, Eliashib the priest had been given an appointment in an office of the house of our God. He was related to Tobiah, ⁵and he had acquired for him a large office where people had previously given the meal-offering, the frankincense and various articles and the tithe of the corn, the new wine and the new oil – a commandment for the Levites and the singers and the gatekeepers – and the heave-offering for the priests. ⁶But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I had gone to the king, and after some days I asked the king for leave, ⁷and I came to Jerusalem, and I became aware of the wrong which Eliashib had done for the benefit of Tobiah in acquiring an office for him in the courtyards of the house of God. ⁸And it was very hurtful to me, and I threw all Tobiah's household articles out of the office. ⁹And I gave instruction, and they cleansed the offices, and I restored the equipment of the house of God there, and the meal-offering, and the frankincense. ¹⁰And I knew that the contributions for the Levites had not been given, and that the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled – each to his own field. ¹¹And I argued with the administrators, and I said, “Why has the house of God been abandoned?” And I gathered them together and stationed them in their positions. ¹²And all Judah brought the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the new oil to the treasuries. ¹³And I appointed treasurers over the treasuries: Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah from the Levites, and alongside them was Hanan, the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful, and it was incumbent on them to apportion the revenue to their brothers. ¹⁴Remember me, O God of mine, for this, and do not blot out the kind deeds which I have done in the house of my God and its observances. ¹⁵In those days I saw in Judah men treading in wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing grain in in heaps, and loading it on donkeys – and also wine, grapes and figs and all kinds of burden – and bringing them to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I testified against them on the day when they sold the produce. ¹⁶And Tyrians lived in the place, and they brought fish and all kinds of merchandise and sold it on the Sabbath to the sons of Judah and in Jerusalem. ¹⁷And I argued with the nobles of Judah, and I said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, seeing you are profaning the Sabbath day? ¹⁸Did not your fathers do likewise, so that our God brought all this trouble on us and on this city, yet you are adding fury on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” ¹⁹And it came to pass, when the gates of Jerusalem were becoming overshadowed before the Sabbath, that I ordered that the doors be shut, and I ordered that they should not be open until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servant-lads at the gates so that no burden should enter on the Sabbath day. ²⁰Then the traders and sellers of all kinds of merchandise lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. ²¹But I testified against them, and I said to them, “Why do you lodge opposite the wall? If you do it again I will lay hands on you.” From that time they did not come on the Sabbath. ²²And I instructed the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember this too on my account, O God of mine, and have pity on me, according to the abundance of your kindness. ²³Also in those days I saw the Jews bringing Ashdodite, Ammonite and Moabite women into their homes, ²⁴and their sons spoke half Ashdodian, and they were not familiar with speaking the Judaean language, but they spoke in the tongue of the various peoples. ²⁵And I argued with them, and I cursed them, and I struck some of the men, and I plucked out their hair, and I adjured them by God and said, “Do not give your daughters to their sons and do not take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves at all. ²⁶Did not Solomon king of Israel sin similarly? Yet among the numerous nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God appointed him king over all Israel. But the foreign women induced even him to sin. ²⁷So shall we consent to you doing all this great evil, in acting perversely against our God, in taking foreign women into our homes?” ²⁸And one of the sons of Joiada the son of Eliashib the high priest was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, and I chased him away from me. ²⁹Remember them, O God of mine, for the stains they brought on the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. ³⁰And I cleansed them from all foreignness, and I instituted duties for the priests and Levites – each in his own work – ³¹and for the offering of wood at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me favourably, O God of mine.

¹Adam, Seth, Enos, ²Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, ³Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth. ⁵The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. ⁶And the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Diphath and Togarmah. ⁷And the sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Rodanim. ⁸And the sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. ⁹And the sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabtechah. And the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. ¹⁰And Cush begot Nimrod. He started to become mighty in the land. ¹¹And Mizraim begot Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim, ¹²and Pathrusim, and Casluhim from whom the Philistines emerged, and the Caphtorites. ¹³And Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn and Heth, ¹⁴and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite, ¹⁵and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite, ¹⁶and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite. ¹⁷The sons of Shem were Elam and Ashshur and Arphaxad and Lud and Aram and Uz and Hul and Gether and Meshech. ¹⁸And Arphaxad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber. ¹⁹And by Eber two sons were begotten. The name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth became divided, and the name of his brother was Joktan. ²⁰And Joktan begot Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah, ²¹and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah, ²²and Ebal and Abimael and Sheba, ²³and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab. All of those were the sons of Joktan. ²⁴Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, ²⁵Eber, Peleg, Reu, ²⁶Serug, Nahor, Terah, ²⁷Abram, who is Abraham. ²⁸The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael. ²⁹This is their genealogy: the firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam, ³⁰and Mishma and Dumah, Massa, Hadar and Tema, ³¹Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. Those were the sons of Ishmael. ³²And as for the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine, she bore Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan. ³³And the sons of Midian were Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All those were the sons of Keturah. ³⁴And Abraham begot Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel. ³⁵The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel and Jeush and Jaalam and Korah. ³⁶The sons of Eliphaz were Teman and Omar, Zephi and Gatam, Kenaz and Timna and Amalek. ³⁷And the sons of Reuel were Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. ³⁸And the sons of Seir were Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan. ³⁹And Lotan's sons were Hori and Homam, and Lotan's sister was Timna. ⁴⁰The sons of Shobal were Alian and Manahath and Ebal, Shephi and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon were Ajah and Anah. ⁴¹The sons of Anah were Dishon and his line. And the sons of Dishon were Hamran and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran. ⁴²The sons of Ezer were Bilhan and Zaavan and Jaakan. The sons of Dishon were Uz and Aran. ⁴³And these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel: Bela the son of Beor. And the name of his city was Dinhabah. ⁴⁴Then Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in place of him. ⁴⁵Then Jobab died, and Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in place of him. ⁴⁶Then Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who struck Midian down in the countryside of Moab, reigned in place of him, and the name of his city was Avith. ⁴⁷Then Hadad died, and Samlah from Masrekah reigned in place of him. ⁴⁸Then Samlah died, and Saul from Rehoboth-upon-the-River reigned in place of him. ⁴⁹Then Saul died, and Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in place of him. ⁵⁰Then Baal-Hanan died, and Hadad reigned in place of him, and the name of his city was Pai, and the name of his wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab. ⁵¹Then Hadad died, and there arose chieftains of Edom: Chieftain Timna, Chieftain Alvah, Chieftain Jetheth, ⁵²Chieftain Aholibamah, Chieftain Elah, Chieftain Pinon, ⁵³Chieftain Kenaz, Chieftain Teman, Chieftain Mibzar, ⁵⁴Chieftain Magdiel, Chieftain Iram. These were the chieftains of Edom.

¹These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, ²Dan, Joseph and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. ³The sons of Judah were Er and Onan and Shelah. Three were born to him by the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah's firstborn was evil in the Lord's sight, and he killed him. ⁴Then Tamar, his daughter-in-law bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah's sons were five in total. ⁵The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ⁶And the sons of Zerah were Zimri and Ethan and Heman and Calcol and Dara – five of them in total. ⁷And the sons of Carmi were Achar the plague of Israel who acted treacherously with the condemned spoils. ⁸And the sons of Ethan were Azariah and his line. ⁹And the sons of Hezron who were born to him were Jerahmeel and Ram and Chelubai. ¹⁰And Ram begot Amminadab, and Amminadab begot Nahshon, the leader of the sons of Judah. ¹¹And Nahshon begot Salma, and Salma begot Boaz. ¹²And Boaz begot Obed, and Obed begot Jesse, ¹³and Jesse begot his firstborn, Eliab, and Abinadab the second son, and Shimah the third, ¹⁴and Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, ¹⁵Ozem the sixth, and David the seventh. ¹⁶And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And Zeruiah's sons were Abishai and Joab and Asahel – three of them. ¹⁷And Abigail bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite. ¹⁸And Caleb the son of Hezron begot offspring by Azubah his wife and by Jerioth, and these were their sons: Jesher and Shobab and Ardon. ¹⁹Then when Azubah died, Caleb took Ephrath as his wife, and she bore him Hur. ²⁰And Hur begot Uri, and Uri begot Bezalel. ²¹And afterwards Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead. And when he took her as wife, he was sixty years old, and she bore him Segub. ²²And Segub bore Jair, who had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. ²³And he took Geshur and Aram with the villages of Jair from them, with Kenath and its satellites – sixty towns. All these fell to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. ²⁴And after the death of Hezron in Caleb-Ephrathah, Hezron's wife Abijah bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa. ²⁵And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were Ram the firstborn and Bunah and Oren and Ozem and Ahijah. ²⁶And Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah. She was the mother of Onam. ²⁷And the sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz and Jamin and Eker. ²⁸And the sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. And the sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. ²⁹And the name of Abishur's wife was Abihail, and she bore him Ahban and Molid. ³⁰And the sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. But Seled died without sons. ³¹And the sons of Appaim were Ishi and his line. And the sons of Ishi were Sheshan and his line. And the sons of Sheshan were Ahlai and his line. ³²And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai were Jether and Jonathan. But Jether died without sons. ³³And the sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. Those were the sons of Jerahmeel. ³⁴Now Sheshan did not have any sons, but daughters, and Sheshan had an Egyptian servant whose name was Jarha. ³⁵And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as a wife, and she bore him Attai. ³⁶And Attai begot Nathan, and Nathan begot Zabad, ³⁷and Zabad begot Ephlal, and Ephlal begot Obed, ³⁸and Obed begot Jehu, and Jehu begot Azariah, ³⁹and Azariah begot Helez, and Helez begot Elasah, ⁴⁰and Elasah begot Sismai, and Sismai begot Shallum, ⁴¹and Shallum begot Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begot Elishama. ⁴²And the sons of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha his firstborn and his line. He is the father of Ziph, and the forefather of the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron. ⁴³And the sons of Hebron were Korah and Tappuah and Rekem and Shema, ⁴⁴and Shema begot Raham, the father of Jorkoam, and Rekem begot Shammai. ⁴⁵And the son of Shammai was Maon. And Maon was the father of Beth-Zur. ⁴⁶And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bore Haran and Moza and Gazez. And Haran begot Gazez. ⁴⁷And the sons of Johdai were Regem and Jotham and Geshan and Pelet and Ephah and Shaaph. ⁴⁸Caleb's concubine Maachah bore Sheber and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹And she bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea. And Caleb's daughter was Achsah. ⁵⁰These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath-Jearim, ⁵¹Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth-Gader. ⁵²And Shobal the father of Kiriath-Jearim had sons: Haroeh and half of the Manahethites. ⁵³And the families of Kiriath-Jearim were the Ithrites and the Puthites and the Shumathites and the Mishraites. From these the Zorathites and the Eshtaulites descended. ⁵⁴The sons of Salma were Bethlehem and the Netophathites, Ataroth the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites. ⁵⁵And the families of the scribes – the inhabitants of Jabez – were the Tirathites, the Shimathites and the Suchathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hamath, the father of the house of Rechab.

¹And these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron. The firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second was Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelitess; ²the third was Absalom, the son of Maachah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith; ³the fifth was Shephatiah by Abital; the sixth was Ithream by Eglah his wife. ⁴Six were born to him in Hebron, and he reigned there for seven years and six months, then he reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-three years. ⁵And these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimah and Shobab and Nathan and Solomon – four by Bath-Shua the daughter of Ammiel – ⁶and Ibhar and Elishama and Eliphelet, ⁷and Nogah and Nepheg and Japhia, ⁸and Elishama and Eliada and Eliphelet – nine of them. ⁹These were all the sons of David, apart from the sons of his concubines, and Tamar was their sister. ¹⁰And Solomon's son was Rehoboam, whose son was Abijah, whose son was Asa, whose son was Jehoshaphat, ¹¹whose son was Joram, whose son was Ahaziah, whose son was Joash, ¹²whose son was Amaziah, whose son was Azariah, whose son was Jotham, ¹³whose son was Ahaz, whose son was Hezekiah, whose son was Manasseh, ¹⁴whose son was Amon, whose son was Josiah. ¹⁵And the sons of Josiah were Johanan the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second son, Zedekiah the third, Shallum the fourth. ¹⁶And the sons of Jehoiakim were Jeconiah his son, and Zedekiah his son. ¹⁷And the sons of Jeconiah were Assir, Shealtiel his son, ¹⁸and Malchiram and Pedaiah and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah. ¹⁹And the sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei. And the sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister, ²⁰and Hashubah and Ohel and Berechiah and Hasadiah and Jushab-Hesed – five of them. ²¹And the sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah and Isaiah, the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah. ²²And the sons of Shechaniah were Shemaiah and his line. And the sons of Shemaiah were Hattush and Igeal and Bariah and Neariah and Shaphat – six of them. ²³And the sons of Neariah were Elioenai and Hezekiah and Azrikam – three of them. ²⁴And the sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah and Eliashib and Pelaiah and Akkub and Johanan and Delaiah and Anani – seven of them.

¹The sons of Judah were Perez and Hezron and Carmi and Hur and Shobal. ²And Reaiah the son of Shobal bore Jahath, and Jahath begot Ahumai and Lahad. Those were the families of the Zorathites. ³And these were the fathers of Etam: Jezreel and Ishma and Idbash. And the name of their sister was Hazlelponi. ⁴And Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. Those were the sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. ⁵And Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. ⁶And Naarah bore him Ahuzam and Hepher and Temeni and Haahashtari. Those were the sons of Naarah. ⁷And the sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. ⁸And Coz begot Anub and Hazzobebah and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum. ⁹Now Jabez was more honoured than his brothers, and his mother called him Jabez and said, “It is because I bore him in sorrow.” ¹⁰And Jabez called on the God of Israel and said, “If only you would make a point of blessing me, and increasing my territory, and your hand would be with me, and you would act keeping me from harm so that I may not have sorrow!” And God brought about what he had asked. ¹¹And Chelub the brother of Shuhah begot Mehir – he was the father of Eshton. ¹²And Eshton begot Beth-Rapha and Paseah and Tehinnah the father of Ir-Nahash. Those were the men of Rechah. ¹³And the sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. And the sons of Othniel were Hathath and his line. ¹⁴And Meonothai begot Ophrah. And Seraiah begot Joab the father of the Valley of Harashim, for they were craftsmen. ¹⁵And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah and Naam. And the sons of Elah were Kenaz and his line. ¹⁶And the sons of Jehalelel were Ziph and Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel. ¹⁷And the sons of Ezrah were Jether and Mered and Epher and Jalon. And she bore Miriam and Shammai and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. ¹⁸And his wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Sochoh, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And those were the sons of Bithiah, Pharaoh's daughter, whom Mered took. ¹⁹And the sons of the wife of Hodijah, the sister of Naham, were the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite. ²⁰And the sons of Shimon were Amnon and Rinnah, Ben-Hanan and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth. ²¹The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of fine linen work, of the house of Ashbea, ²²and Jokim and the men of Chozeba, and Joash and Saraph who ruled over Moab and Jashubi-Lehem. And the records are ancient. ²³Those were the potters and the inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They accompanied the king in his work, and they lived there. ²⁴The sons of Simeon were Nemuel and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Saul, ²⁵Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. ²⁶And the sons of Mishma were Hamuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. ²⁷And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many sons, and their family as a whole did not multiply to the extent the sons of Judah did. ²⁸And they lived in Beersheba and Moladah and Hazar-Shual, ²⁹and in Bilhah and in Ezem and in Tolad, ³⁰and in Bethuel and in Hormah and in Ziklag, ³¹and in Beth-Marcaboth and in Hazar-Susim and in Beth-Birei and in Shaaraim. These were their cities until David reigned. ³²And their villages were Etam and Ain, Rimmon and Tochen and Ashan – five cities. ³³And all their villages in the areas surrounding these cities extended as far as Baal. This was their homeland and their place of genealogical registration which they had. ³⁴And as for Meshobab and Jamlech and Joshah the son of Amaziah, ³⁵and Joel and Jehu the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, ³⁶and Elioenai and Jaakobah and Jeshohaiah and Asaiah and Adiel and Jesimiel and Benaiah, ³⁷and Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah, ³⁸these are those who came in high standing – leaders among their families – and the house of their fathers expanded profusely. ³⁹And they went to the approach of Gedor, as far as the east of the valley, to look for pasture for their sheep. ⁴⁰And they found rich and good quality pasture, and the land was wide on both sides, and quiet and calm, for the inhabitants there had for a long time been those descended from Ham. ⁴¹And those who were registered by their names in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah came and attacked their tents and the dwelling places which were found there, and they obliterated them, as they are up to this day. And they lived there in place of them, for there was pasture for their sheep there. ⁴²And some of them from the sons of Simeon went to Mount Seir – five hundred men – and Pelatiah and Neariah and Rephaiah and Uzziel the sons of Ishi were at their head. ⁴³And they struck down the escaped remnant of the Amalekites, and they have been living there up to this day.

¹And concerning the sons of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, although he was the firstborn, by his violation of his father's bed, his firstborn status was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, and he was not registered as having firstborn status. ²For Judah became strong among his brothers, and he was destined for a leader to stem from him, but the firstborn status was Joseph's. ³The sons of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, were Hanoch and Pallu and Hezron and Carmi. ⁴The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, ⁵Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, ⁶Beerah his son whom Tilgath-Pilneser king of Assyria deported. He was a leader of the Reubenites. ⁷And his brothers according to their families, according to the registration of their genealogy were Jeiel the head, and Zechariah, ⁸and Bela, the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. He dwelt in Aroer, and as far as Nebo and Baal-Meon. ⁹And in the east he dwelt as far as the way into the desert, up to the River Euphrates, because their cattle had increased in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰And in the days of Saul they waged war against the Hagarites, who fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents, over the whole landscape of the east of Gilead. ¹¹And the sons of Gad lived opposite them in the land of Bashan, as far as Salcah. ¹²And Joel was the head, and Shapham was second, then there were Jaanai and Shaphat in Bashan. ¹³And their brothers according to their paternal house were Michael and Meshullam and Sheba and Jorai and Jacan and Zia and Eber – seven of them. ¹⁴Those were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz. ¹⁵Ahi, the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was the head of their paternal house. ¹⁶And they lived in Gilead in Bashan and its satellite towns and in all the pasture lands of Sharon in their most distant parts. ¹⁷They were all registered genealogically in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. ¹⁸The sons of Reuben and the Gadites and half of the tribe of Manasseh, with some of the soldiers – men who bore a shield and sword and drew a bow and who were skilled in war – were forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty in number who went out to war. ¹⁹And they waged war against the Hagarites and Jetur and Naphish and Nodab. ²⁰And they were helped in fighting against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, as were all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the war, and he acceded to them, because they had put their trust in him. ²¹And they captured their cattle – fifty thousand of their camels and two hundred and fifty thousand of their sheep and two thousand donkeys – and one hundred thousand men, alive. ²²For many fell defeated, for the war was from God, and they lived there instead of them until the deportation. ²³And the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They increased from Bashan to Baal-Hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon. ²⁴And these are the heads of their paternal house: both Epher and Ishi, and Eliel and Azriel and Jeremiah and Hodaviah and Jahdiel – men who were valiant warriors, men of renown, heads of their paternal house. ²⁵But they acted perversely with the God of their fathers, and they acted promiscuously in going after the gods of the various peoples of the land whom God had destroyed before them. ²⁶And the God of Israel aroused the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-Pilneser king of Assyria, and he deported them – that is the Reubenites and the Gadites and half of the tribe of Manasseh – and he brought them to Halah, and Habor, and Hara and the River Gozan, as it is up to this day. ²⁷The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. ²⁸And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel. ²⁹And the sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron were Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ³⁰Eleazar begot Phinehas, Phinehas begot Abishua, ³¹and Abishua begot Bukki, and Bukki begot Uzzi, ³²and Uzzi begot Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begot Meraioth. ³³Meraioth begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub, ³⁴and Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot Ahimaaz, ³⁵and Ahimaaz begot Azariah, and Azariah begot Johanan, ³⁶and Johanan begot Azariah – it is he who officiated as priest in the house which Solomon built in Jerusalem – ³⁷and Azariah begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub, ³⁸and Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot Shallum, ³⁹and Shallum begot Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begot Azariah, ⁴⁰and Azariah begot Seraiah, and Seraiah begot Jehozadak. ⁴¹And Jehozadak was moved out when the Lord deported Judah and Jerusalem by the agency of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹The sons of Levi were Gershom Kohath and Merari. ²And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. ³And the sons of Kohath were Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel. ⁴The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. And these were the families of the Levites according to their fathers: ⁵of Gershom, Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, ⁶Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. ⁷The sons of Kohath were Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, ⁸Elkanah his son and Ebiasaph his son and Assir his son, ⁹Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son and Saul his son. ¹⁰And the sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth. ¹¹As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah were Zophai his son, Nahath his son, ¹²Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. ¹³And the sons of Samuel were the firstborn Vashni, and Abijah. ¹⁴The sons of Merari were Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son, ¹⁵Shimah his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son. ¹⁶And these are they whom David set up to attend to singing in the house of the Lord after the resting of the ark. ¹⁷And they served before the tabernacle of the tent of contact with song until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. And they stood according to their schedule at their work. ¹⁸And these are those who stood, as did their sons. Those of the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, ¹⁹the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, ²⁰the son of Ziph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, ²¹the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, ²²the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, ²³the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, ²⁴and his brother Asaph who stands on his right hand side, Asaph being the son of Berechiah, the son of Shima, ²⁵the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, ²⁶the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, ²⁷the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, ²⁸the son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi, ²⁹and the sons of Merari, their brothers who stand on the left hand side, were Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, ³⁰the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, ³¹the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer, ³²the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. ³³And there were their brothers, the Levites, who were appointed to all the work of the tabernacle of the house of God. ³⁴And Aaron and his sons burned incense on the altar for the burnt offering, and on the altar for incense, and they were appointed for all service concerning the holy of holies, and to atone for Israel according to everything that Moses the servant of God commanded. ³⁵And these were the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, ³⁶Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, ³⁷Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, ³⁸Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son. ³⁹And these are their places of abode, concerning their castles in their territory, belonging to the sons of Aaron, to the Kohathite family, for they had this lot, ⁴⁰that they were given Hebron in the land of Judah, and its pasture lands around it, ⁴¹but the fields of the city and its courtyards were given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ⁴²So they gave the sons of Aaron the cities of refuge: Hebron and Libnah and its pasture lands, and Jattir and Eshtemoa and its pasture lands, ⁴³and Hilez and its pasture lands, Debir and its pasture lands, ⁴⁴and Ashan and its pasture lands, and Beth-Shemesh and its pasture lands. ⁴⁵And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Geba and its pasture lands, and Alemeth and its pasture lands, and Anathoth and its pasture lands. In total their cities came to thirteen cities among their families. ⁴⁶And to the sons of Kohath who remained of the family of the tribe were given – from a half-tribe, the half-tribe of Manasseh – ten cities by lot. ⁴⁷And to the sons of Gershom, according to their families were given – from the tribe of Issachar and from the tribe of Asher and from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan – thirteen cities. ⁴⁸To the sons of Merari, according to their families were given – from the tribe of Reuben and from the tribe of Gad and from the tribe of Zebulun – twelve cities by lot. ⁴⁹So the sons of Israel gave the cities with their pasture lands to the Levites. ⁵⁰And from the tribe of the sons of Judah, and from the tribe of the sons of Simeon, and from the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, they gave by lot these cities which they specified by name. ⁵¹And as for a certain part of the families of the sons of Kohath, the cities of their territory were from the tribe of Ephraim. ⁵²And they gave them the cities of refuge: Shechem and its pasture lands at Mount Ephraim, and Gezer and its pasture lands, ⁵³and Jokmeam and its pasture lands, and Beth-Horon and its pasture lands, ⁵⁴and Aijalon and its pasture lands, and Gath-Rimmon and its pasture lands, ⁵⁵and from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Aner and its pasture lands, Bilam and its pasture lands, given to the family of the sons of Kohath who remained. ⁵⁶To the sons of Gershom, from the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan and its pasture lands, and Ashtaroth and its pasture lands, ⁵⁷and from the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh and its pasture lands, and Daberath and its pasture lands, ⁵⁸and Ramoth and its pasture lands, and Anem and its pasture lands, ⁵⁹and from the tribe of Asher: Mashal and its pasture lands, and Abdon and its pasture lands, ⁶⁰and Hukok and its pasture lands, and Rehob and its pasture lands, ⁶¹and from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee and its pasture lands, and Hammon and its pasture lands, and Kiriathaim and its pasture lands. ⁶²To the remaining sons of Merari were given: from the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono and its pasture lands, and Tabor and its pasture lands, ⁶³and on the other side of the Jordan, Jericho, to the east of the Jordan; from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the desert and its pasture lands, and Jahzah and its pasture lands, ⁶⁴and Kedemoth and its pasture lands, and Mephaath and its pasture lands, ⁶⁵and from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead and its pasture lands, and Mahanaim and its pasture lands, ⁶⁶and Heshbon and its pasture lands and Jazer and its pasture lands.

¹And as for the sons of Issachar, they were Tola and Puah, Jashub and Shimron – four of them. ²And the sons of Tola were Uzzi and Rephaiah and Jeriel and Jahmai and Jibsam and Samuel – heads of their paternal house. To Tola valiant warriors were recorded in their genealogies. Their number in David's days was twenty-two thousand six hundred. ³And the sons of Uzzi were Izrahiah and his line. And the sons of Izrahiah were Michael and Obadiah and Joel and Ishiah – five of them – all heads in rank. ⁴And alongside them according to their genealogies, according to their paternal house, were the troops of the army for war – thirty-six thousand men – for they had many wives and sons. ⁵And their brothers according to all the families of Issachar were valiant soldiers – eighty-seven thousand of them in total according to their registration by their genealogy. ⁶The sons of Benjamin were Bela and Becher and Jediael – three of them. ⁷And the sons of Bela were Ezbon and Uzzi and Uzziel and Jerimoth and Iri – five of them – heads of the paternal house, valiant soldiers – and they were twenty-two thousand and thirty-four in number in their registration by their genealogy. ⁸And the sons of Becher were Zemira and Joash and Eliezer and Elioenai and Omri and Jeremoth and Abijah and Anathoth and Alemeth. All those were the sons of Becher. ⁹And their registration according to their genealogy was as heads of their paternal house – as valiant warriors – twenty thousand two hundred in number. ¹⁰And the sons of Jediael were Bilhan and his line. And the sons of Bilhan were Jeush and Benjamin and Ehud and Chenaanah and Zethan and Tarshish and Ahishahar. ¹¹All those were the sons of Jediael according to the paternal heads – valiant soldiers – seventeen thousand two hundred in number who would go out to battle in the army. ¹²And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, and there was Hushim, of the sons of someone else. ¹³The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel and Guni and Jezer and Shallum, being the sons of Bilhah. ¹⁴The sons of Manasseh were Asriel to whom his wife gave birth. His Aramaean concubine gave birth to Machir the father of Gilead. ¹⁵And Machir took as wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, and the name of his sister was Maachah. And the name of the second son was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. ¹⁶And Maachah the wife of Machir gave birth to a son, and she called him Peresh, and the name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rekem. ¹⁷And the sons of Ulam were Bedan and his line. Those were the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. ¹⁸And his sister Hammolecheth gave birth to Ishhod and Abiezer and Mahlah. ¹⁹And the sons of Shemida were Ahian and Shechem and Likhi and Aniam. ²⁰And the sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son and Tahath his son, ²¹and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elad, but the men of Gath who were born in the land killed them, because they came down to take their cattle. ²²And Ephraim their father mourned for many days, and his brothers came to console him. ²³And after he had gone in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son, and he called him Beriah, because it was troublesome in his house. ²⁴And his daughter was Sheerah, and she built Lower and Upper Beth-Horon and Uzzen-Sheerah. ²⁵And Rephah was his son, as were Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, ²⁶Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, ²⁷Non his son and Joshua his son. ²⁸And their estate and place of residence was Beth-El and its satellite villages. And to the east it was Naaran, and to the west it was Gezer and its satellite villages, and Shechem and its satellite villages, as far as Ajah and its satellite villages. ²⁹And next to the sons of Manasseh were Beth-Shean and its satellite villages, Taanach and its satellite villages, Megiddo and its satellite villages, and Dor and its satellite villages. It is in these places that the sons of Joseph the son of Israel lived. ³⁰The sons of Asher were Jimnah and Jishvah and Jishvi and Beriah, and Serah was their sister. ³¹And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel – he was the father of Birzoth. ³²And Heber begot Japhlet and Shomer and Hotham and Shua their sister. ³³And the sons of Japhlet were Pasach and Bimhal and Ashvath. Those were the sons of Japhlet. ³⁴And the sons of Shemer were Ahi and Rohgah and Jahbah and Aram. ³⁵And the sons of Helem his brother were Zophah and Imna and Shelesh and Amal. ³⁶And the sons of Zophah were Suah and Harnepher and Shual and Beri and Imrah, ³⁷Bezer and Hod and Shammah and Shilshah and Ithran and Beera. ³⁸And the sons of Jether were Jephunneh and Pispah and Ara. ³⁹And the sons of Ulla were Arah and Hanniel and Rizia. ⁴⁰All of those were the sons of Asher – heads of the paternal house, elite men, valiant soldiers, top ranking leaders – and their genealogical registration was in the army for warfare. They were twenty-six thousand men in number.

¹And Benjamin begot Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second son and Ahrah the third, ²Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. ³And Bela's sons were Addar and Gera and Abihud, ⁴and Abishua and Naaman and Ahoah, ⁵and Gera and Shephuphan and Huram. ⁶And these were the sons of Ehud – these were the paternal heads over the inhabitants of Geba – but they were deported to Manahath – : ⁷both Naaman and Ahiah, and Gera who deported them and begot Uzza and Ahihud. ⁸And Shaharaim begot offspring in rural Moab after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. ⁹And he begot, by Hodesh his wife, Jobab and Zibia and Mesha and Malcam, ¹⁰and Jeuz and Sachiah and Mirmah. Those were his sons – paternal heads. ¹¹And by Hushim he begot Abitub and Elpaal. ¹²And the sons of Elpaal were Eber and Misham and Shemed – he built Ono and Lod and its satellite villages – ¹³and Beriah and Shema – paternal heads of the inhabitants of Aijalon; they drove the inhabitants of Gath out – ¹⁴and Ahio, Shashak and Jeremoth, ¹⁵and Zebadiah and Arad and Eder. ¹⁶And Michael and Ishpah and Joha, who were the sons of Beriah, were also paternal heads, ¹⁷as were Zebadiah and Meshullam and Hezeki and Heber, ¹⁸and Ishmerai and Jizliah and Jobab, the sons of Elpaal, ¹⁹as were Jakim and Zichri and Zabdi, ²⁰and Elienai and Zillethai and Eliel, ²¹and Adaiah and Beraiah and Shimrath the sons of Shimei, ²²and Ishpan and Eber and Eliel, ²³and Abdon and Zichri and Hanan, ²⁴and Hananiah and Elam and Anthothijah, ²⁵and Iphdeiah and Penuel, the sons of Shashak, ²⁶and Shamsherai and Shehariah and Athaliah, ²⁷and Jaareshiah and Eliah and Zichri, the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸Those were the paternal heads according to their genealogies as heads. Those lived in Jerusalem. ²⁹And in Gibeon there lived the father of Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maachah. ³⁰And his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur and Kish and Baal and Nadab, ³¹and Gedor and Ahio and Zecher. ³²And Mikloth begot Shimah. And these also lived opposite their brothers in Jerusalem, with their brothers. ³³And Ner begot Kish, and Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan and Malchi-Shua and Abinadab and Eshbaal. ³⁴And the son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begot Micah. ³⁵And the sons of Micah were Pithon and Melech and Tarea and Ahaz. ³⁶And Ahaz begot Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah begot Alemeth and Azmaveth and Zimri. And Zimri begot Moza. ³⁷And Moza begot Bina. Rapha was his son, Elasa was his son, and Azel was his son. ³⁸And Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru and Ishmael and Sheariah and Obadiah and Hanan. All those were the sons of Azel. ³⁹And the sons of Eshek his brother were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second son, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰And the sons of Ulam were men who were valiant warriors, who drew the bow, who had many sons and grandsons – one hundred and fifty of them. All these were from the sons of Benjamin.

¹And all Israel was registered by genealogy, and they were written in the Book of the Kings of Israel, but Judah was deported to Babylon because of their treachery. ²And the first inhabitants who were back in their possession in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites and the temple-servants. ³And in Jerusalem there lived some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin, and some of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh: ⁴Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, one of the sons of Perez, the son of Judah; ⁵and from the Shilonites, Asaiah the firstborn and his sons; ⁶and from the sons of Zerah, Jeuel and their brothers – six hundred and ninety of them; ⁷and from the sons of Benjamin, Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah, ⁸and Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; ⁹and their brothers according to their genealogies – nine hundred and fifty-six of them. All these were men who were paternal heads over the house of their fathers. ¹⁰And in Jerusalem there lived: from the priests, Jedaiah and Jehoiarib and Jachin, ¹¹and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub – the leader in the house of God – ¹²and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer, ¹³and their brothers, heads of their paternal house – one thousand seven hundred and sixty of them – valiant heroes in the execution of the work of the house of God; ¹⁴and from the Levites, Shemaiah the son of Hashshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, from the sons of Merari, ¹⁵and Bakbakkar, Heresh and Galal and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph, ¹⁶and Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites; ¹⁷and the gatekeepers, Shallum and Akkub and Talmon and Ahiman, and their brother – Shallum being the head – ¹⁸who are the ones who have been gatekeeping at the king's gate in the east up to now, as companies of the sons of Levi. ¹⁹And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brothers of his paternal house, the Korhites, were in charge of the execution of the work, they being the doorkeepers of the tent. And their fathers had been in charge of the Lord's precinct as keepers of the entrance. ²⁰And Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been an overseer in charge of them, previously, the Lord being with him. ²¹Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper at the entrance to the tent of contact. ²²All of them who were elite in gatekeeping at the thresholds came to two hundred and twelve. Their registration by their genealogy was in their villages. They are whom David and Samuel the seer installed on account of their faithfulness. ²³And they and their sons were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord – the house of the tent – in guard shifts. ²⁴The gatekeepers were in their four quarters: east, to the west, to the north and to the south. ²⁵And their brothers in their villages were charged to come for seven days from time to time, with these. ²⁶For it was on account of their faithfulness that they were there – the four valiant gatekeepers. They were Levites, and they were in charge of the office rooms and in charge of the treasuries of the house of God. ²⁷And they lodged in the vicinity of the house of God, because the duty of guarding had been committed to them, and they had charge of the key every morning. ²⁸And some of them were in charge of the equipment for the service, for they would bring it in with a tally and bring it out with a tally. ²⁹And some of them were appointed over the equipment and over all the holy equipment, and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the frankincense and the fragrances. ³⁰And some of the sons of the priests were preparers of the ointment for the fragrances. ³¹And Mattithiah from the Levites – he was the firstborn of Shallum the Korhite – was faithfully in charge of the work with the pans. ³²And some of the sons of the Kohathites, taken from their brothers, were in charge of the showbread, to prepare it every Sabbath. ³³And these were the singers, paternal heads of the Levites in the annexes; they were there when discharged between shifts, for they were charged with their function day and night. ³⁴These were the paternal heads of the Levites in their genealogies as heads, and they lived in Jerusalem, ³⁵and the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, lived in Gibeon, and his wife's name was Maachah, ³⁶and there was his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur and Kish and Baal and Ner and Nadab, ³⁷and Gedor and Ahio and Zechariah and Mikloth. ³⁸And Mikloth begot Shimam. And they also lived opposite their brothers in Jerusalem, with their brothers. ³⁹And Ner begot Kish, and Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan and Malchi-Shua and Abinadab and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰And the son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal, and Meri-Baal begot Micah. ⁴¹And the sons of Micah were Pithon and Melech and Tahrea. ⁴²And Ahaz begot Jarah, and Jarah begot Alemeth and Azmaveth and Zimri, and Zimri begot Moza. ⁴³And Moza begot Bina and Rephaiah his son, Elasah his son and Azel his son. ⁴⁴And Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru and Ishmael and Sheariah and Obadiah and Hanan. These were Azel's sons.

¹And the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines, and they fell as casualties on Mount Gilboa. ²And the Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-Shua, Saul's sons. ³And the war went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers. ⁴And Saul said to his arms-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised men do not come and ill-treat me.” But his arms-bearer was not willing to do so, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. ⁵Then when his arms-bearer saw that Saul had died, he too fell on his sword and died. ⁶So Saul and his three sons died, and all his household died together. ⁷And when every man of Israel who was in the valley saw that they had fled, and that Saul and his sons had died, they left their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and lived in them. ⁸And it came to pass on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the fallen, that they found Saul and his sons lying fallen at Mount Gilboa. ⁹And they stripped him and removed his head, and his weaponry, and they sent messengers into the land of the Philistines round about to bring the good news to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰And they put his weaponry in the house of their gods, and they mounted his skull in the house of Dagon. ¹¹And when all of Jabesh-Gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹²every valiant man arose and removed Saul's corpse and his sons' corpses and brought them to Jabesh, and they buried their bones under the terebinth tree in Jabesh. And they fasted for seven days. ¹³So Saul died for his treachery which he committed against the Lord, against the word of the Lord, which he did not keep, and also for consulting a necromancer to make an inquiry. ¹⁴But he did not inquire of the Lord, so he killed him, and he directed the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.

¹And all Israel converged on David, in Hebron, and they said, “Here we are; we are your bone and your flesh. ²Throughout the past when Saul was king, it was you who brought Israel out and led it in. And the Lord your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be a leader over my people Israel.’ ” ³And all the elders of Israel came to the king in Hebron, and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David as king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord through the intermediacy of Samuel. ⁴And David and the whole of Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, and the Jebusites were there, inhabiting the land. ⁵And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You shall not come here.” But David captured the stronghold of Zion, which is the City of David. ⁶And David said, “Whoever strikes a Jebusite first will be a head and a commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and he became head. ⁷And David resided in the citadel, which is why they called it the City of David. ⁸And he built the city round about, from the Millo to the surrounding area. And Joab fortified the remainder of the city. ⁹And David continued to become greater, and the Lord of hosts was with him. ¹⁰And these were the heads of the warriors whom David had, who showed themselves strong with him in his kingdom with all Israel, in making him king according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. ¹¹And these are the number of the warriors whom David had: Jashobam a member of the Hachmonites, a head of thirty. He raised his spear against three hundred who were struck down by him on one occasion. ¹²And after him came Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite. He was among the three warriors. ¹³He was with David in Pas-Dammim, where the Philistines had assembled for war, and where there was a parcel of land in the field full of barley, and the people fled from the presence of the Philistines. ¹⁴But they took a stand in the middle of the parcel of land, and they saved it, and they struck the Philistines, and the Lord brought about a great salvation. ¹⁵And three of the thirty heads went down to the rock, to David, to the cave of Adullam, while the Philistines' camp was pitched in the Valley of the Rephaim. ¹⁶And David was then in the stronghold, whereas the garrison of the Philistines was at that time in Bethlehem. ¹⁷And David had a longing and said, “Who will give me a drink of water from the cistern in Bethlehem, which is at the gate?” ¹⁸And the three broke through into the Philistines' camp and drew water from the cistern in Bethlehem, which is at the gate, and they carried it, and they brought it to David, but David was not willing to drink it, and he poured it out to the Lord. ¹⁹And he said, “Far be it from me, O God of mine, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For they brought it at the risk of their lives.” So he was not willing to drink it. The three warriors did these things. ²⁰And Abishai the brother of Joab was the head of the three, and he raised his spear against three hundred who were struck down by him, and he had fame among the three. ²¹Of the three he was more honoured than the two, and he became their commander, but he did not equal the three. ²²There was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of many exploits, from Kabzeel. He struck down two men of Ariel of Moab, and he went down and struck a lion inside a pit on a snowy day. ²³And he struck down an Egyptian man, a man of five cubits in height, and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam, and he went down against him with a staff, and he wrenched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his spear. ²⁴Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did these things, and he had fame among the three warriors. ²⁵You see how he was the most honoured of the thirty, but he did not equal the three, and David appointed him to his council. ²⁶And the valiant warriors were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo from Bethlehem, ²⁷Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, ²⁹Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰Mahrai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, ³¹Ithai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, ³²Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shageh the Hararite, ³⁵Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, ³⁶Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, ³⁹Zelek the Ammonite, Nahrai the Berothite, the arms-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴²Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a head of the Reubenites, with thirty alongside him, ⁴³Hanan the son of Maachah and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴Uzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, ⁴⁵Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother the Tizite, ⁴⁶Eliel of the Mahavites and Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷Eliel and Obed, and Jasiel the Mezobaite.

¹And these were those who came to David in Ziklag while he was still being constrained because of Saul the son of Kish, and they were among the warriors who were helpers in the war, ²armed with a bow, right and left handed with stones, and arrows from the bow, from Saul's brothers, from Benjamin. ³The head was Ahiezer, as were Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite, and Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth, and Berachah, and Jehu the Anathothite, ⁴and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a warrior among thirty, and in charge of the thirty, ⁵and Jeremiah and Jahaziel and Johanan and Jozabad the Gederathite, ⁶Eluzai and Jerimoth and Bealiah and Shemariah and Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁷Elkanah and Jishshiah and Azarel and Joezer and Jashobam, the Korhites, ⁸and Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham from Gedor. ⁹And from the Gadites men detached themselves to David in the fortification in the desert, men who were valiant warriors, men of the army of warfare, handling shield and spear, whose faces were like a lion's face, and who were like gazelles on the mountain in speed: ¹⁰Ezer the head, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, ¹¹Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, ¹²Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, ¹³Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, ¹⁴Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh. ¹⁵These, who were of the sons of Gad, were heads of the army – a junior one over a hundred and a senior one over a thousand. ¹⁶These are they who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it flooded all its banks, and they put all the inhabitants of the valleys to flight eastwards and westwards. ¹⁷And some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came up to David's fortification. ¹⁸And David went out to confront them, and he addressed them and said to them, “If you have come to me in peace to assist me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries – with there being no violence on my part – may the God of my fathers see it and convict it.” ¹⁹Then a spirit invested Amasai, a head of thirty, and it said,

“We are for you, David,

And with you, son of Jesse.

Peace, peace be to you,

And peace to your helpers,

For your God has helped you.”

Then David accepted them and appointed them among the heads of the troop. ²⁰And some men of Manasseh defected to David when he came with Philistines against Saul in the war, but they did not help them, for the barons of the Philistines sent him away by counsel and said, “He will defect to his master Saul at the cost of our heads.” ²¹When he went to Ziklag, these defected to him from Manasseh: Adnah and Jozabad and Jediael and Michael and Jozabad and Elihu and Zillethai – heads of thousands who were from Manasseh. ²²And they helped David against the hostile troop, for they were all valiant warriors, and they became commanders in the army. ²³For at that time day by day they would come to David to help him until it became a great camp, like a camp of God. ²⁴And these are the numbers of the heads of the army's armed soldiery. They came to David in Hebron to direct Saul's kingdom to him, according to the pronouncement of the Lord: ²⁵the sons of Judah who bore a shield and spear, six thousand eight hundred armed soldiers; ²⁶from the sons of Simeon, valiant warriors in the army, seven thousand one hundred; ²⁷from the sons of Levi, four thousand six hundred; ²⁸and Jehoiada the leader of the sons of Aaron, and with him three thousand seven hundred men; ²⁹and Zadok, a lad, a valiant warrior; and his paternal house, twenty-two commanders; ³⁰and from the sons of Benjamin, Saul's kin, three thousand – up to this point the majority of them having been guards in the guard duty of Saul's house; ³¹and from the sons of Ephraim, twenty thousand eight hundred valiant warriors, men of fame of their paternal house; ³²and from half of the tribe of Manasseh, eighteen thousand men who were specified by name to go and make David king; ³³and from the sons of Issachar, who were knowledgeable in timely tactics, so as to know what Israel should do, their heads who were two hundred in number and all of whose brothers were at their command; ³⁴from Zebulun, those who went out in the army, equipped for war with every weapon of war, fifty thousand men, fit to take up position without wavering; ³⁵and from Naphtali, a thousand commanders, and with them, with shield and spear, thirty-seven thousand; ³⁶and from the Danites, those equipped for war, twenty-eight thousand six hundred; ³⁷and from Asher, those who went out in the army, equipped for war, forty thousand; ³⁸and from the other side of the Jordan, from the Reubenites and the Gadites and half of the tribe of Manasseh, with all weaponry of the army of warfare, one hundred and twenty thousand. ³⁹All these warfaring men, who took up position in battle formation, went wholeheartedly to Hebron to make David king over all Israel, and also all the rest of Israel was unanimous in making David king. ⁴⁰And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had prepared it for them. ⁴¹And also those who were related to them – to Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali – brought bread on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen: food, flour, pressed fig cake, raisin cake, wine and oil, and oxen and small cattle in abundance, for there was joy in Israel.