Esther 6:4

Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;

And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,

I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.

But you, Yahweh, laugh at them. You scoff at all the nations.

not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter.

In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword.

The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Susa, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”

Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on it. Then go in merrily with the king to the banquet.” This pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

Then the king held out to Esther the golden scepter. So Esther arose, and stood before the king.

For in death there is no memory of you. In Sheol, who shall give you thanks?

Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.

I lift up my eyes to you, you who sit in the heavens.

For they don’t sleep unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.

For Sheol can’t praise you. Death can’t celebrate you. Those who go down into the pit can’t hope for your truth.

I have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts;

But if you don’t make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the situation changes. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can show me its interpretation.”

Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.

redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice,

Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcass, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,

“All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, know, that whoever, whether man or woman, comes to the king into the inner court without being called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except those to whom the king might hold out the golden scepter, that he may live. I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

Don’t draw me away with the wicked, with the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.

Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.

They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war.

In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don’t withhold your hand; for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good.

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,

“ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “It will happen in that day that things will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.

Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.

As the camels had done drinking, the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold,

It shall be that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, you shall rise early and rush on the city. Behold, when he and the people who are with him come out against you, then may you do to them as you shall find occasion.”

Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; also onyx stones, stones to be set, stones for inlaid work, of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

After him, Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired another portion, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

In the evening she went, and on the next day she returned into the second women’s house, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who kept the concubines. She came in to the king no more, unless the king delighted in her, and she was called by name.

Now on the third day, Esther put on her royal clothing, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, next to the king’s house. The king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, next to the entrance of the house.

Therefore men revere him. He doesn’t regard any who are wise of heart.”

He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.

Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.

The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright on the path.

The wicked watch the righteous, and seek to kill him.

You who love Yahweh, hate evil! He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

“Surely I will not come into the structure of my house, nor go up into my bed;

Let the wicked fall together into their own nets while I pass by.

I also will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you,

a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are swift in running to mischief,

Yahweh will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.

Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings. He won’t serve obscure men.

All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.

and Yahweh will guide you continually, satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones strong. You will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters don’t fail.

Then they said, “Come! Let’s devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law won’t perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let’s strike him with the tongue, and let’s not give heed to any of his words.”

“This is what Yahweh of Armies says: These people say, ‘The time hasn’t yet come, the time for Yahweh’s house to be built.’ ”

He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.”

Someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “Yahweh, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, arose, and went home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.

But there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown, to show the people and the princes her beauty; for she was beautiful.

It was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who were doorkeepers, who had tried to lay hands on the King Ahasuerus.

Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were with the king said, “Behold, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman has made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, is standing at Haman’s house.” The king said, “Hang him on it!”

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath was pacified.

but when this became known to the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked plan, which he had planned against the Jews, should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.

With the pure, you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.

to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine.

He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil.

How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.

but these lay in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.

For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh, but his friendship is with the upright.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor plan, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.

The king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions mauled them, and broke all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.

who, knowing the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.

“Their feet are swift to shed blood.