Job 1

Job 1

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land[1] of Uz named Job. He was a man of complete integrity, who feared God and avoided evil.

Job 1:2 He had seven sons and three daughters.

Job 1:3 He also had seven thousand sheep and goats, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and an enormous number of servants. Job was the most remarkable man among all the people of the East.

Job 1:4 His sons used to take turns feasting at their homes. They would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Job 1:5 Whenever a round of feasts was over, Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer ascending[2] offerings for all of them. Job thought, “Perhaps my children have failed,[3] having cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

Job 1:6 One day, the sons of God[4] came to present themselves before Yahveh,[5] and Satan also came with them.

Job 1:7 Yahveh asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” “From roaming through the land,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”

Job 1:8 Then Yahveh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on the land is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.”

Job 1:9 Satan answered Yahveh, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

Job 1:10 Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

Job 1:11 But send out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

Job 1:12 “Very well,” Yahveh told Satan, “everything he owns is in your power. However, do not lay a hand on Job himself.” So, Satan left Yahveh’s presence.

Job 1:13 One day, when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

Job 1:14 a messenger came to Job and reported: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing nearby,

Job 1:15 the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:16 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “God’s fire fell from the sky.[6] It burned the sheep and the servants and devoured them, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:17 That messenger was still speaking when yet another came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, made a raid on the camels, and took them away. They struck down the servants with the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:18 He was still speaking when another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house.

Job 1:19 Suddenly, a mighty wind[7] swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

Job 1:20 Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

Job 1:21 saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. Yahveh gives, and Yahveh takes away. Blessed be the name of Yahveh.

Job 1:22 Throughout all this, Job did not fail God or blame him for anything.

[1] אֶרֶץ = land, ground. Job 1:1, 7, 8, 10, 20; 2:2, 3, 13; 3:14; 5:10, 22, 25; 7:1; 8:9; 9:6, 24; 10:21, 22; 11:9; 12:8, 15, 24; 14:8, 19; 15:19, 29; 16:13, 18; 18:4, 10, 17; 20:4, 27; 22:8; 24:4, 18; 26:7; 28:5, 13, 24; 30:8; 34:13; 35:11; 37:3, 6, 12, 13, 17; 38:4, 13, 18, 24, 26, 33; 39:14, 24; 42:15.

[2] עֹלָה = ascending (offering). Job 1:5, 42:8.

[3] חָטָא = fail. Job 1:5, 22, 2:10, 5:24, 7:20, 8:4, 10:14, 24:19.31:30. 33:27, 35:6, 41:25.

[4] LXX = “οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ” (the agents of God).

[5] יהוה = Yahveh. Job 1:6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 21; 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7; 12:9; 38:1; 40:1, 3, 6; 42:1, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12.

[6] שָׁמַיִם = sky, air. Job 1:16; 2:12; 9:8; 11:8; 12:7; 14:12; 15:15; 16:19; 20:6, 27; 22:12, 14; 26:11, 13; 28:21, 24; 35:5, 11; 37:3; 38:29, 33, 37; 41:11.

[7] רוּחַ = wind, breath. Job 1:19; 4:9, 15; 6:4, 26; 7:7, 11; 8:2; 9:18; 10:12; 12:10; 15:2, 13, 30; 16:3; 17:1; 19:17; 20:3; 21:4, 18; 26:13; 27:3; 28:25; 30:15, 22; 32:8, 18, 33:4, 34:14; 37:21; 41:16.

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catastrophe
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The Job shelf in my library

Esther 10

Esther 10

Esther 10:1 King Ahasuerus imposed a tax throughout the land, even to the farthest shores.

Esther 10:2 All of his impressive accomplishments and the detailed account of Mordecai’s high rank, which the king had honored him with, have they not been written in the Book of the Historical Events of the Kings of Media and Persia?

Esther 10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was well-known among the Jews and highly respected by many of his relatives. He kept working to bring prosperity to his people and to speak up for the well-being of all his descendants.

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another Joseph

The Esther shelf in my library

Esther 9

Esther 9

Esther 9:1 The king’s command and law went into effect on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar. On the day when the Jews’ enemies had hoped to overpower them, the opposite happened. The Jews overcame those who hated them.

Esther 9:2 In each of King Ahasuerus’s provinces, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who intended to harm them. No one could withstand them; fear of them fell on every nationality.

Esther 9:3 All the captains of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the royal civil administrators aided the Jews because they feared Mordecai.

Esther 9:4 For Mordecai exercised great power in the house, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.

Esther 9:5 The Jews struck down[1] all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them. They did what they pleased to those who hated them.

Esther 9:6 In the fortress of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men,

Esther 9:7, including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

Esther 9:8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

Esther 9:9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.

Esther 9:10 They killed these ten sons of Haman, son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. However, they did not seize any plunder.

Esther 9:11 On that day, the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa was reported to the king.

Esther 9:12 The king said to Queen Esther, “In the fortress of Susa, the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will also be done.”

Esther 9:13 Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews who are in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s law, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hung on the gallows.”

Esther 9:14 The king gave the orders for this to be done, so a law was announced in Susa, and they hung the bodies of Haman’s ten sons.

Esther 9:15 The Jews in Susa assembled again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not seize any plunder.

Esther 9:16 The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled and defended their throats and gained relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder.

Esther 9:17 They fought on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar and rested on the fourteenth, which became a day of feasting and rejoicing.

Esther 9:18 But the Jews in Susa had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. They rested on the fifteenth day of the month, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing.

Esther 9:19 This explains why the rural Jews who live in villages observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a time of rejoicing and feasting. It is a holiday when they send gifts to one another.

Esther 9:20 Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in King Ahasuerus’s provinces near and far.

Esther 9:21 He ordered them to celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar every year.

Esther 9:22 because during those days, the Jews gained relief from their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday. They were to be days of feasting, rejoicing, and sending gifts to one another and to people experiencing poverty.

Esther 9:23 So the Jews agreed to continue the practice they had begun, as Mordecai had written them to do.

Esther 9:24 For Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them. He cast the Pur – the lot- to crush and destroy them.

Esther 9:25 But when the matter was brought before the king, he ordered by letter that the evil plan Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he should be hanged along with his sons on the gallows.

Esther 9:26 For this reason, these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, as well as what they had witnessed and what had happened to them,

Esther 9:27 The Jews bound themselves, their seed, and all who joined with them to a commitment that they would not fail to celebrate these two days every year according to the written instructions and according to the time appointed.

Esther 9:28 These days are remembered and celebrated by every generation, clan,[2] Province, and city, so that these days of Purim will not lose their significance in Jewish life and their memory will not fade from their seed.

Esther 9:29 Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew wrote this second letter with full authority to confirm the letter about Purim.

Esther 9:30 He sent letters with assurances of peace and reliability[3] to all the Jews who were in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus,

Esther 9:31 confirms these days of Purim at their proper time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the Queen had established them and committed their throats and their seed to the practices of fasting and lamentation.

Esther 9:32 So Esther’s command confirmed these customs of Purim, which were then written into the record.

[1] נָכָה = strike, strike down (kill). Esther 9:5.

[2] מִשְׁפָּחָה = clan. Esther 9:28.

[3] אֱמֶת = reliable, reliability. Esther 9:30.

links:

another Joseph

The Esther shelf in my library

Esther 7

Esther 7

Esther 7:1 The king and Haman came to feast with Esther, the queen.

Esther 7:2 On the second day, while drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “Queen Esther, whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will be done even to half the kingdom.”

Esther 7:3 Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your eyes, Your Majesty, and if the king is pleased, spare my throat;[1] this is my request. And spare my people; this is my desire.

Esther 7:4 For my people and I have been sold to extermination, death, and destruction. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”

Esther 7:5 King Ahasuerus spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme in his heart?”

Esther 7:6: Esther answered, “The adversary and enemy are this evil Haman.” Haman stood terrified before the king and queen.

Esther 7:7 The king arose angrily and went from where they were drinking wine to the palace garden. Haman remained to beg Queen Esther for his throat because he realized the king was planning something terrible for him.

Esther 7:8 Just as the king returned from the house garden to the banquet hall, Haman fell on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he violate the queen while I am in the house?” As soon as the statement left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Esther 7:9 Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said: “Notice, there is a gallows seventy-five feet tall at Haman’s house that he made for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” The king said, “Hang him on it.”

Esther 7:10 They hung Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then, the king’s anger subsided.

[1] נֶפֶשׁ = throat (life) Esther 7:3, 7; 8:11; 9:16, 31.

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Hang him on that

The Esther shelf in my library

Esther 6

Esther 6

Esther 6:1 That night, sleep escaped the king, so he ordered the book recording daily events to be brought and read before the king.

Esther 6:2 They found the written report on how Mordecai had informed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, when they planned to assassinate King Ahasuerus.

Esther 6:3 The king inquired, “What honor and special recognition have been given to Mordecai for this act?” The king’s boys who ministered to him replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”

Esther 6:4 The king asked, “Who is in the court?” Now, Haman was entering the house’s outer court to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

Esther 6:5 The king’s boys answered, “Notice,[1] Haman is standing in the court.” “Have him enter,” the king ordered.

Esther 6:6 Haman entered, and the king asked, “What should be done for the man the king wants to honor?” Haman thought in his heart, “Who would the king want to honor more than me?”

Esther 6:7 Haman told the king, “For the man the king wants to honor:

Esther 6:8 Have them bring a royal garment that the king has worn himself, along with a horse he has ridden, and place a royal crown on its head.

Esther 6:9 Put the garment and the horse under the charge of one of the king’s most noble captains. Have them clothe the man the king wants to honor, parade him on the horse through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor.'”

Esther 6:10 The king told Haman, “Hurry, and do as you propose. Take a garment and a horse for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the King’s Gate. Do not leave out anything you have suggested.”

Esther 6:11 So Haman took the garment and the horse. He clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor.”

Esther 6:12 Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, but Haman hurried off to his house, mournful and with his head covered.

Esther 6:13 Haman told his wife Zeresh and all the ones he cared for everything that had happened. His advisers and wife Zeresh said, “Since Mordecai is Jewish seed,[2] and you have begun to fall before him, you won’t overcome him because your downfall is inevitable.”

Esther 6:14 While speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.

[1] הִנֵּה = notice. Esther 6:5; 7:9; 8:7.

[2] זֶרָע = seed. Esther 6:13; 9:27, 28, 31; 10:3.

links:

well made plans

The Esther shelf in my library