On the second day of the banquet of wine the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your petition? Ask up to half the kingdom, and it shall be done!”

But when ¹  the sovereign master ²  finishes judging ³  Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I ⁴  will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. ⁵ 

Jonadab son of Rechab ordered his descendants not to drink wine. His orders have been carried out. ¹  To this day his descendants have drunk no wine because they have obeyed what their ancestor commanded them. But I ²  have spoken to you over and over again, ³  but you have not obeyed me!

“Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar ¹  of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. ²  Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.

When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. ¹  Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas? ²  And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands?

When ¹  Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, they did so, just as the Lord had commanded them – Aaron threw ²  down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants and it became a snake. ³ 

Then he presented the people’s offering. He took the sin offering male goat which was for the people, slaughtered it, and performed a decontamination rite with it ¹  like the first one. ² 

“The priest who is anointed and ordained to act as high priest in place of his father ¹  is to make atonement. He is to put on the linen garments, the holy garments,

“All the service of the Gershonites, whether ¹  carrying loads ²  or for any of their work, will be at the direction of ³  Aaron and his sons. You will assign them all their tasks ⁴  as their responsibility.

The Levites purified themselves ¹  and washed their clothing; then Aaron presented them like a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them.

He has selected the best part for himself, for the portion of the ruler ¹  is set aside ²  there; he came with the leaders ³  of the people, he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord and his ordinances with Israel.

Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord’s messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. ¹ 

He replied, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

Hiram also made basins, shovels, and bowls. He ¹  finished all the work on the Lord’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon. ² 

Huram Abi ¹  made the pots, shovels, and bowls. He finished all the work on God’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon. ² 

and their colleagues ¹  who were carrying out work for the temple – 822; and Adaiah son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malkijah,

While at the banquet of wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your request? It shall be given to you. What is your petition? Ask for as much as half the kingdom, ¹  and it shall be done!”

All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who performed the king’s business were assisting the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.

we will not hide from their ¹  descendants. We will tell the next generation about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, ²  about his strength and the amazing things he has done.

Give the signal to attack Babylon’s wall! ¹  Bring more guards! ²  Post them all around the city! ³  Put men in ambush! ⁴  For the Lord will do what he has planned. He will do what he said he would do to the people of Babylon. ⁵