Then I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. He was confined to his home. ¹  He said, “Let’s set up a time to meet in the house of God, within the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. It will surely be at night that they will come to kill you.”

For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him, ¹  because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jonathan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ¹  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

So all the assembly which had returned from the exile constructed temporary shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. Everyone experienced very great joy. ¹ 

You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, ¹  along with all their multitude of stars, ²  the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You impart life to them all, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

And on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard from far away.

On that day men were appointed over the storerooms for the contributions, first fruits, and tithes, to gather into them from ¹  the fields of the cities the portions prescribed by the law for the priests and the Levites, for the people of Judah ²  took delight in the priests and Levites who were ministering. ³ 

On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ¹  of the people. They found ²  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

But I warned them and said, ¹  “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” ²  From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath. ³ 

Now he was acting as the guardian ¹  of Hadassah ²  (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive. ³  This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure. ⁴  When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her ⁵  as if she were his own daughter.

And after they had spoken to him day after day ¹  without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. ²  Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew. ³ 

Now Haman went forth that day pleased and very much encouraged. ¹  But when Haman saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, and he did not rise nor tremble in his presence, ²  Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

His possessions ¹  included ²  7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. ³  Thus he ⁴  was the greatest of all the people in the east. ⁵ 

I decided ¹  to carefully ²  and thoroughly examine ³  all that has been accomplished on earth. ⁴  I concluded: ⁵  God has given people ⁶  a burdensome task ⁷  that keeps them ⁸  occupied. ⁹ 

I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.

Then I considered ¹  all the skillful work ²  that is done: Surely it is nothing more than ³  competition ⁴  between one person and another. ⁵  This also is profitless – like ⁶  chasing the wind.

Do not let your mouth cause you ¹  to sin, and do not tell the priest, ²  “It was a mistake!” ³  Why make God angry at you ⁴  so that he would destroy the work of your hands?”

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: ¹  to eat and drink, ²  and find enjoyment in all their ³  hard work ⁴  on earth ⁵  during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward. ⁶ 

To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability ¹  to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things ²  are the gift of God.

God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart ¹  desires, ²  yet God does not enable ³  him to enjoy ⁴  the fruit of his labor ⁵  – instead, someone else ⁶  enjoys ⁷  it! ⁸  This is fruitless and a grave misfortune. ⁹