Then at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, which is the month Sivan, the king's scribes were sent for; and everything ordered by Mordecai was put in writing and sent to the Jews and the captains and the rulers and the chiefs of all the divisions of the kingdom from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven divisions, to every division in the writing commonly used there, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing and their language.
In these letters the king gave authority to the Jews in every town to come together and make a fight for their lives, and to send death and destruction on the power of any people in any part of the kingdom attacking them or their children or their women, and to take their goods from them by force,
A copy of the writing, to be made public as an order in every division of the kingdom, was given out to all the peoples, so that the Jews might be ready when that day came to give punishment to their haters.
And the Jews had light and joy and honour.
And in every part of the kingdom and in every town, wherever the king's letter and his order came, the Jews were glad with great joy, and had a feast and a good day. And a great number of the people of the land became Jews: for the fear of the Jews had come on them.
Now on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, when the time came for the king's order to be put into effect, on the very day when the haters of the Jews had been hoping to have rule over them; though the opposite had come about, and the Jews had rule over their haters;
On that day, the Jews came together in their towns through all the divisions of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, for the purpose of attacking all those who were attempting evil against them: and everyone had to give way before them, for the fear of them had come on all the peoples.
And all the chiefs and the captains and the rulers and those who did the king's business gave support to the Jews; because the fear of mordecai had come on them.
So the Jews overcame all their attackers with the sword and with death and destruction, and did to their haters whatever they had a desire to do.
And in Shushan the Jews put to death five hundred men.
The ten sons of haman the son of Hammedatha, the hater of the Jews; but they put not a hand on any of their goods.
And the king said to Esther the queen, The Jews have put five hundred men to death in Shushan, as well as the ten sons of Haman: what then have they done in the rest of the kingdom! Now what is your prayer? for it will be given to you; what other request have you? and it will be done.
Then Esther said, If it is the king's pleasure, let authority be given to the Jews in Shushan to do tomorrow as has been done today, and let orders be given for the hanging of Haman's ten sons.
For the Jews who were in Shushan came together again on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and put to death three hundred men in Shushan; but they put not a hand on their goods.
And the other Jews in every division of the kingdom came together, fighting for their lives, and got salvation from their haters and put seventy-five thousand of them to death; but they did not put a hand on their goods.
But the Jews in Shushan came together on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth day of the month; and on the fifteenth day they took their rest, and made it a day of feasting and joy.
So the Jews of the country places living in unwalled towns make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of feasting and joy and a good day, a day for sending offerings one to another.
And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in every division of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, near and far,
As days on which the Jews had rest from their haters, and the month which for them was turned from sorrow to joy, and from weeping to a good day: and that they were to keep them as days of feasting and joy, of sending offerings to one another and good things to the poor.
And the Jews gave their word to go on as they had been doing and as Mordecai had given them orders in writing;
Because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the hater of all the Jews, had made designs for their destruction, attempting to get a decision by Pur (that is, chance) with a view to putting an end to them and cutting them off;
But when the business was put before the king, he gave orders by letters that the evil design which he had made against the Jews was to be turned against himself; and that he and his sons were to be put to death by hanging.
The Jews made a rule and gave an undertaking, causing their seed and all those who were joined to them to do the same, so that it might be in force for ever, that they would keep those two days, as ordered in the letter, at the fixed time every year;
And that those days were to be kept in memory through every generation and every family, in every division of the kingdom and every town, that there might never be a time when these days of Purim would not be kept among the Jews, or when the memory of them would go from the minds of their seed.
Then Esther the queen, daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, sent a second letter giving the force of their authority to the order about the Purim.
And he sent letters to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with true words of peace,
Giving the force of law to these days of Purim at their fixed times, as they had been ordered by Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen, and in keeping with the rules they had made for themselves and their seed, in connection with their time of going without food and their cry for help.
For mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and respected by the body of his countrymen; working for the good of his people, and saying words of peace to all his seed.
Gold and glass are not equal to it in price, and it may not be exchanged for jewels of the best gold.
She is of more value than jewels, and nothing for which you may have a desire is fair in comparison with her.
For wisdom is better than jewels, and all things which may be desired are nothing in comparison with her.
There is gold and a store of corals: but the lips of knowledge are a jewel of great price.
Who may make discovery of a woman of virtue? For her price is much higher than jewels.
Your face is a delight with rings of hair, your neck with chains of jewels.
How beautiful are your feet in their shoes, O king's daughter! The curves of your legs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a good workman:
In that day the Lord will take away the glory of their foot-rings, and their sun-jewels, and their moon-ornaments,
The head-bands, and the arm-chains, and the worked bands, and the perfume-boxes, and the jewels with secret powers,
The rings, and the nose-jewels,
Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rab-shakeh, please make use of the Aramaean language in talking to your servants, for we are used to it, and do not make use of the Jews' language in the hearing of the people on the wall.
Then the Rab-shakeh got up and said with a loud voice in the Jews' language, Give ear to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria:
I will be full of joy in the Lord, my soul will be glad in my God; for he has put on me the clothing of salvation, covering me with the robe of righteousness, as the husband puts on a fair head-dress, and the bride makes herself beautiful with jewels.
The sin of Judah is recorded with a pen of iron, and with the sharp point of a jewel it is cut on their hearts of stone, and on the horns of their altars for a sign to them:
And I gave the paper to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, before the eyes of Hanamel, the son of my father's brother, and of the witnesses who had put their names to the paper, and before all the Jews who were seated in the place of the armed watchmen.
That every man was to let his Hebrew man-servant and his Hebrew servant-girl go free; so that no one might make use of a Jew, his countryman, as a servant:
And King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, I am troubled on account of the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldaeans, for fear that they may give me up to them and they will put me to shame.
In the same way, when all the Jews who were in Moab and among the children of Ammon and in Edom and in all the countries, had news that the king of Babylon had let Judah keep some of its people and that he had put over them Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan;
Then all the Jews came back from all the places to which they had gone in flight, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and got in a great store of wine and summer fruit.
Then Johanan, the son of Kareah, said to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, Let me now go and put Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, to death without anyone's knowledge: why let him take your life so that all the Jews who have come together to you may be sent in flight, and the rest of the men of Judah come to an end?
And Ishmael put to death all the Jews who were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldaean men of war.
The word which came to Jeremiah about all the Jews who were living in the land of Egypt, in Migdol and at Tahpanhes and at Noph and in the country of Pathros, saying,
These are the people whom Nebuchadrezzar took away prisoner: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews:
In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, took away as prisoners seven hundred and forty-five of the Jews: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
And I made you fair with ornaments and put jewels on your hands and a chain on your neck.
And you took the fair jewels, my silver and gold which I had given to you, and made for yourself male images, acting like a loose woman with them;
I will give you into their hands, and your arched room will be overturned and your high places broken down; they will take your clothing off you and take away your fair jewels: and when they have done, you will be uncovered and shamed.
... and they put jewels on her hands and beautiful crowns on her head.
At that time certain Chaldaeans came near and made a statement against the Jews.
There are certain Jews whom you have put over the business of the land of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men have not given attention to you, O King: they are not servants of your gods or worshippers of the gold image which you have put up.
But in place of this he will give honour to the god of armed places, and to a god of whom his fathers had no knowledge he will give honour with gold and silver and jewels and things to be desired.
And I will give her punishment for the days of the Baals, to whom she has been burning perfumes, when she made herself fair with her nose-rings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, giving no thought to me, says the Lord.
In that day, says the Lord of armies, I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and will make you as a jewelled ring: for I have taken you to be mine, says the Lord of armies.
This is what the Lord of armies has said: In those days, ten men from all the languages of the nations will put out their hands and take a grip of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for it has come to our ears that God is with you.
And the Lord their God will be their saviour in that day, giving them food like the flock of his people: for they will be like the jewels of a crown shining over his land.
Saying, Where is the King of the Jews whose birth has now taken place? We have seen his star in the east and have come to give him worship.
Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, or put your jewels before pigs, for fear that they will be crushed under foot by the pigs whose attack will then be made against you.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader searching for beautiful jewels.
And having come across one jewel of great price, he went and gave all he had in exchange for it.
And Jesus was before the ruler, who put a question to him, Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, You say so.
And they made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and put a rod in his right hand, and they went down on their knees before him, and made sport of him, saying, Long life to the King of the Jews.
And they put up over his head the statement of his crime in writing, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
So they took the money, and did as they had been ordered: and this account has been current among the Jews till the present time.
Now the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not take food without washing their hands with care, keeping the old rule which has been handed down to them:
And Pilate put a question to him, Are you the King of the Jews? And he, answering, said to him, You say so.
And Pilate said in answer to them, Is it your desire that I let the King of the Jews go free?
And Pilate again said in answer to them, What then am I to do to him to whom you give the name of the King of the Jews?
And, as if honouring him, they said, Long life to the King of the Jews!
And the statement of his crime was put in writing on the cross, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
And when news of Jesus came to his ears, he sent to him rulers of the Jews, requesting that he would come and make his servant well.
And Pilate said to him, Are you the King of the Jews? And he said in answer, You say so.
And saying, If you are the King of the Jews, get yourself free.
And these words were put in writing over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
(He had not given his approval to their decision or their acts), of Arimathaea, a town of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God:
And this is the witness of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to him with the question, Who are you?
Now six pots of stone, every one taking two or three firkins of water, were placed there for the purpose of washing, as is the way of the Jews.
The time of the passover of the Jews was near and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Then the Jews put this question to him: What sign of authority have you to give us, seeing that you do these things?
The Jews said, The building of this Temple took forty-six years; and you will put it up in three days!
Now there was among the pharisees a man named Nicodemus, who was one of the rulers of the Jews.
Then a question came up between John's disciples and a Jew about washing.
The woman of Samaria said to him, Why do you, a Jew, make a request for water to me, a woman of Samaria? She said this because Jews have nothing to do with the people of Samaria.
Our fathers gave worship on this mountain, but you Jews say that the right place for worship is in Jerusalem.
You give worship, but without knowledge of what you are worshipping: we give worship to what we have knowledge of: for salvation comes from the Jews.
After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
So the Jews said to the man who had been made well, It is the Sabbath; and it is against the law for you to take up your bed.
The man went away and said to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
For this cause the Jews had an even greater desire to put Jesus to death, because not only did he not keep the sabbath but he said God was his Father, so making himself equal with God.
Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.
Now the Jews said bitter things about Jesus because of his words, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
Then the Jews had an angry discussion among themselves, saying, How is it possible for this man to give us his flesh for food?
After this, Jesus went from place to place in Galilee. He did not go about in Judaea, because the Jews were looking for a chance to put him to death.
But the feast of the Jews, the feast of tents, was near.
At the feast the Jews were looking for him and saying, Where is he?
But no man said anything about him openly for fear of the Jews.
Then the Jews were surprised and said, How has this man got knowledge of books? He has never been to school.
So the Jews said among themselves, To what place is he going where we will not see him? will he go to the Jews living among the Greeks and become the teacher of the Greeks?
So the Jews said, Will he take his life? Is that why he says, Where I go it is not possible for you to come?
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had faith in him, If you keep my word, then you are truly my disciples;
The Jews said to him in answer, Are we not right in saying that you are of Samaria and have an evil spirit?
The Jews said to him, Now we are certain that you have an evil spirit. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and you say, If a man keeps my word he will never see death.
Then the Jews said to him, You are not fifty years old; have you seen Abraham?
Now the Jews had no belief in the statement that he had been blind and was now able to see, till they sent for the father and mother of the man whose eyes had been made open,
They said this because of their fear of the Jews: for the Jews had come to an agreement that if any man said that Jesus was the Christ he would be put out of the Synagogue.
There was a division again among the Jews because of these words.
Then the Jews came round him, saying, how long are you going to keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, say so clearly.
Then the Jews took up stones again to send at him.
The disciples said to him, Master, the Jews were attempting only the other day to have you stoned, and are you going back there again?
And a number of Jews had come to Martha and Mary to give them comfort about their brother.
Then the Jews who were with her in the house, comforting her, when they saw Mary get up quickly and go out, went after her in the belief that she was going to the place of the dead and would be weeping there.
And when Jesus saw her weeping, and saw the Jews weeping who came with her, his spirit was moved and he was troubled,
So the Jews said, See how dear he was to him!
Then a number of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did had belief in him.
So Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near to the waste land, to a town named Ephraim, where he was for some time with the disciples.
Now the passover of the Jews was near, and numbers of people went up from the country to Jerusalem to make themselves clean before the Passover.
Then a great number of the Jews had news that he was there: and they came, not only because of Jesus, but so that they might see Lazarus who had been dead and to whom he had given life.
For because of him a great number of the Jews went away and had belief in Jesus.
My dear children, I am only to be with you a little longer. Then you will be looking for me: and as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you, Where I am going you may not come.
It was Caiaphas who had said to the Jews that it was in their interest for one man to be put to death for the people.
Jesus made answer, I said things openly to the world at all times; I have given my teaching in the Synagogues and in the temple to which all the Jews come; and I have said nothing secretly.
Then Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and let him be judged by your law. But the Jews said to him, We have no right to put any man to death.
Then Pilate went back into the Praetorium and sent for Jesus and said to him, Are you the King of the Jews?
Pilate said, Am I a Jew? Your nation and the chief priests have given you into my hands: what have you done?
Jesus said in answer, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom was of this world, my disciples would have made a good fight to keep me out of the hands of the Jews: but my kingdom is not here.
Pilate said to him, True? what is true? Having said this he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I see no wrong in him.
But every year you make a request to me to let a prisoner go free at the Passover. Is it your desire that I let the King of the Jews go free?
And they kept coming and saying, Long life to the King of the Jews! And they gave him blows with their hands.
And the Jews made answer, We have a law, and by that law it is right for him to be put to death because he said he was the Son of God.
Most of the teaching of Jesus are recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Complete Sayings of Jesus presents every word spoken by Jesus in one place and provides an index to assist in finding specific ocassions, places and/or events. It is a must read aid for serious Bible study.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ; and they direct us to imitate his life and character. The Imitation of Christ is guide to following the example of Jesus Christ. Let it be our most earnest study to dwell upon the life and example of Jesus.
The Apocrypha books are 14 books that were included between the old and new testaments in the original King James Version of the bible and many others. Church leaders agreed that these books were valuable for instruction in life and manners, but did not all agree that they should be considered cannon.
The Childrens Bible provides bible lessons from the Old and New testaments. There are 216 stories written in plain english. The stories are easy to read and understand but they are not just for childern. It is a pleasure to read and enjoy these important stories.
Let us love one another, for love comes from God and every one who loves is a child of God and knows God. He who loves not man does not know God, for God is love. God showed his love for us, for he sent his only Son into the world that through him we might have life. Love the stranger.
In Mark 12:30 Jesus said;
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment.
And the second Mark 12:31 [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
The Gospel of The Birth of Mary was attributed to St. Matthew and was received as genuine and authentic by early Christians. It is to be found in the works of Jerome, a Father of the Church in the 4th century and is translated from his collection.
The Book of Enoch is ascribed to the great-grandfather of Noah and is included in the cannon of some churches. It describes the fall of the angels (watchers), visions of heaven and hell and the birth of Noah. Quotes from the book of Enoch are found in the New Testament.
The First Book of Adam and Eve. Books 1 begins immediately after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. We learn about the fall but also of the promise to save Adam and his decendents. The story depicts mans struggle against evil, the devil and sin.
The Second Book of Adam and Eve. Discusses Adam's sorrow and death. The history of the patriarchs who lived before the Flood until the birth of Noah; the children of Seth on Mount Hermon and Cain's death. It ends with the testament and translation of Enoch.
The Infancy of Jesus Christ (Infancy Gospel of Thomas) relates the life of Jesus from the ages of five to twelve. It is believed that the document was transcribed from oral traditions some time prior to the second century. The ancient writing is possibly Gnostic and many early church leaders considered it heretical.
Daily Bible study is essential. The Bible Verse of the Day provides a collection of enlightening and inspiration bible verses. Improve your knowledge and understanding of the Bible and your life by studying the words of the holy scripture. Explore the King James Bible (kjv) and discover new insights.
The World English Bible was produced to provide speakers of modern English with a version of the Bible that is easily understood. The Bible is in the public domain and available world-wide. It is an accurate modern translation of the original King James Bible, including the Apocryphal books.
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