Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Esther+002   CHAPTER 2 (ESV) 16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Esther+001   Esther The book of Esther explains why Jews in the Persian period began celebrating a new festival called Purim. The Law of Moses had earlier described how God’s mighty acts of deliverance lay behind holidays such as Passover and Tabernacles. The book of Esther shows how God intervened once […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Nehemiah+013   CHAPTER 13 (ESV) 23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Nehemiah+012   CHAPTER 12 (ESV) 27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 And the sons of the singers […]

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Nehemiah+011   CHAPTER 11 (ESV) 1 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed […]