But prior to this time, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been appointed over the storerooms ¹  of the temple of our God.

He established a rule ¹  in Jacob; he set up a law in Israel. He commanded our ancestors to make his deeds known to their descendants, ² 

“I am the Lord your God ¹  who brought you ²  out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. ³ 

Listen! The Lord is calling ¹  to the city! It is wise to respect your authority, O Lord! ²  Listen, O nation, and those assembled in the city! ³ 

On a day determined in advance, Herod ¹  put on his royal robes, ²  sat down on the judgment seat, ³  and made a speech ⁴  to them.

So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? ¹ 

For every high priest is taken from among the people ¹  and appointed ²  to represent them before God, ³  to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem ¹  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ² 

“Raise up battle flags throughout the lands. Sound the trumpets calling the nations to do battle. Prepare the nations to do battle against Babylonia. ¹  Call for these kingdoms to attack her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. ²  Appoint a commander to lead the attack. ³  Send horses ⁴  against her like a swarm of locusts. ⁵ 

And Adam had marital relations ¹  with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. She named him Seth, saying, “God has given ²  me another child ³  in place of Abel because Cain killed him.”

Moreover, ¹  I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled, ²  that they may make ³  everything I have commanded you:

“You must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days ¹  you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you; do this ²  at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.

“Command the Israelites: ¹  ‘With regard to my offering, ²  be sure to offer ³  my food for my offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to me at its appointed time.’ ⁴ 

“‘These things you must present to the Lord at your appointed times, in addition to your vows and your freewill offerings, as your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your drink offerings, and your peace offerings.’”

He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties, ¹  as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment.

But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me ¹  and that you didn’t come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash,

Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man ¹  at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. ²  This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. ³ 

Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and Levites to do their assigned tasks ¹  – to offer burnt sacrifices and present offerings and to serve, give thanks, and offer praise in the gates of the Lord’s sanctuary. ² 

Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis.

to establish these days of Purim in their proper times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as they had established both for themselves and their descendants, matters pertaining to fasting and lamentation.