¹ Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem!

and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels intended for the temple of our God – items that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present had contributed.

Be careful with them and protect them, until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, ¹  in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord.”

Then they presented the decrees of the king to the king’s satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who gave help to the people and to the temple of God.

I replied to the king, “O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors ¹  lies desolate and its gates destroyed ²  by fire?”

Malkijah son of Recab, head of the district of Beth Hakkerem, worked on the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and positioned its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

After him Baruch son of Zabbai worked on another section, from the buttress to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

After him Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, worked as far as the house of the temple servants and the traders, opposite the Inspection Gate, ¹  and up to the room above the corner.

These are the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer (although they were unable to certify ¹  their family connection ²  or their ancestry, ³  as to whether they were really from Israel):

Seraiah son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, supervisor in the temple of God,

and I returned to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by supplying him with a storeroom in the courts of the temple of God.

And day after day Mordecai used to walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem in order to learn how Esther was doing ¹  and what might happen to her.

the woman would go to the king in the following way: Whatever she asked for would be provided for her to take with her from the harem to the royal palace.

Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth ¹  month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh ²  year of his reign.

he ¹  said to take back this answer to Esther:

The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.

Now his sons used to go ¹  and hold ²  a feast in the house of each one in turn, ³  and they would send and invite ⁴  their three ⁵  sisters to eat and to drink with them.

I will remember and weep! ¹  For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God, shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival. ² 

Even the birds find a home there, and the swallow ¹  builds a nest, where she can protect her young ²  near your altars, O Lord who rules over all, my king and my God.

I purchased male and female slaves, and I owned slaves who were born in my house; ¹  I also possessed more livestock – both herds and flocks – than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem. ²