Martin van Buren - "State of the Union Addresses of Martin van Buren"

John Ruskin - "The Ethics of the Dust"

Dennis McCarthy, Atlanta, GA. - "The Divine Comedy of Dante by H. W. Longfellow"

Charles Kingsley - "The Water of Life and Other Sermons"

The King James Bible

K >> King James >> The King James Bible




9:6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred
men.

9:7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha, 9:8 And Poratha, and
Adalia, and Aridatha, 9:9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and
Vajezatha, 9:10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy
of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.

9:11 On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the
palace was brought before the king.

9:12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and
destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of
Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now
what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy
request further? and it shall be done.

9:13 Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the
Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this
day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.

9:14 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given
at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.

9:15 For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on
the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men
at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.

9:16 But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered
themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from
their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but
they laid not their hands on the prey, 9:17 On the thirteenth day of
the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and
made it a day of feasting and gladness.

9:18 But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the
thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the
fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting
and gladness.

9:19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled
towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and
feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

9:20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the
Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh
and far, 9:21 To stablish this among them, that they should keep the
fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same,
yearly, 9:22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies,
and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from
mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting
and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the
poor.

9:23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai
had written unto them; 9:24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the
Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to
destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and
to destroy them; 9:25 But when Esther came before the king, he
commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against
the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons
should be hanged on the gallows.

9:26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur.

Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had
seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, 9:27 The
Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all
such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that
they would keep these two days according to their writing, and
according to their appointed time every year; 9:28 And that these days
should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every
family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim
should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish
from their seed.

9:29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the
Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.

9:30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty
and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace
and truth, 9:31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times
appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had
enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their
seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.

9:32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it
was written in the book.

10:1 And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the
isles of the sea.

10:2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the
declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced
him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Media and Persia? 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king
Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of
his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to
all his seed.




The Book of Job


1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that
man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

1:2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand
camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and
a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the
men of the east.

1:4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day;
and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with
them.

1:5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about,
that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning,
and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for
Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their
hearts. Thus did Job continually.

1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan
answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it.

1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 1:9 Then Satan
answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 1:10 Hast
not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all
that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands,
and his substance is increased in the land.

1:11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he
will curse thee to thy face.

1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy
power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth
from the presence of the LORD.

1:13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating
and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 1:14 And there came
a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses
feeding beside them: 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took
them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the
sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

1:16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The
fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and
the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell
thee.

1:17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The
Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have
carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the
sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

1:18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy
sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest
brother's house: 1:19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the
wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon
the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell
thee.

1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and
fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, 1:21 And said, Naked came I
out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD
gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present
himself before the LORD.

2:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan
answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it.

2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth
fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy
him without cause.

2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all
that a man hath will he give for his life.

2:5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh,
and he will curse thee to thy face.

2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but
save his life.

2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job
with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

2:8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat
down among the ashes.

2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity? curse God, and die.

2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women
speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we
not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

2:11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come
upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the
Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they
had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to
comfort him.

2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not,
they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his
mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.

2:13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven
nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief
was very great.

3:1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

3:2 And Job spake, and said, 3:3 Let the day perish wherein I was
born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child
conceived.

3:4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above,
neither let the light shine upon it.

3:5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell
upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.

3:6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be
joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of
the months.

3:7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

3:8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up
their mourning.

3:9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for
light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: 3:10
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow
from mine eyes.

3:11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost
when I came out of the belly? 3:12 Why did the knees prevent me? or
why the breasts that I should suck? 3:13 For now should I have lain
still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
3:14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which build desolate
places for themselves; 3:15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled
their houses with silver: 3:16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had
not been; as infants which never saw light.

3:17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at
rest.

3:18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the
oppressor.

3:19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his
master.

3:20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto
the bitter in soul; 3:21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and
dig for it more than for hid treasures; 3:22 Which rejoice
exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? 3:23 Why is
light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?
3:24 For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured
out like the waters.

3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that
which I was afraid of is come unto me.

3:26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet
trouble came.

4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 4:2 If we assay to
commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself
from speaking? 4:3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast
strengthened the weak hands.

4:4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast
strengthened the feeble knees.

4:5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee,
and thou art troubled.

4:6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the
uprightness of thy ways? 4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever
perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? 4:8
Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap
the same.

4:9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils
are they consumed.

4:10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and
the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

4:11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's
whelps are scattered abroad.

4:12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a
little thereof.

4:13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep
falleth on men, 4:14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all
my bones to shake.

4:15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood
up: 4:16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an
image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice,
saying, 4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be
more pure than his maker? 4:18 Behold, he put no trust in his
servants; and his angels he charged with folly: 4:19 How much less in
them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust,
which are crushed before the moth? 4:20 They are destroyed from
morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

4:21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die,
even without wisdom.

5:1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of
the saints wilt thou turn? 5:2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and
envy slayeth the silly one.

5:3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his
habitation.

5:4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the
gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

5:5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the
thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

5:6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth
trouble spring out of the ground; 5:7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as
the sparks fly upward.

5:8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: 5:9
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without
number: 5:10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon
the fields: 5:11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which
mourn may be exalted to safety.

5:12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands
cannot perform their enterprise.

5:13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of
the froward is carried headlong.

5:14 They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday
as in the night.

5:15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from
the hand of the mighty.

5:16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise
not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 5:18 For he maketh sore, and
bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

5:19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall
no evil touch thee.

5:20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the
power of the sword.

5:21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt
thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

5:22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be
afraid of the beasts of the earth.

5:23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the
beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

5:24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and
thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.

5:25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine
offspring as the grass of the earth.

5:26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of
corn cometh in in his season.

5:27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it
for thy good.

6:1 But Job answered and said, 6:2 Oh that my grief were throughly
weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! 6:3 For now
it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are
swallowed up.

6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof
drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array
against me.

6:5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over
his fodder? 6:6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or
is there any taste in the white of an egg? 6:7 The things that my
soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.

6:8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the
thing that I long for! 6:9 Even that it would please God to destroy
me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! 6:10 Then
should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let
him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

6:11 What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end,
that I should prolong my life? 6:12 Is my strength the strength of
stones? or is my flesh of brass? 6:13 Is not my help in me? and is
wisdom driven quite from me? 6:14 To him that is afflicted pity
should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the
Almighty.

6:15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream
of brooks they pass away; 6:16 Which are blackish by reason of the
ice, and wherein the snow is hid: 6:17 What time they wax warm, they
vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

6:18 The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and
perish.

6:19 The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for
them.

6:20 They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither,
and were ashamed.

6:21 For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

6:22 Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your
substance? 6:23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me
from the hand of the mighty? 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my
tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

6:25 How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
6:26 Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is
desperate, which are as wind? 6:27 Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless,
and ye dig a pit for your friend.

6:28 Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto
you if I lie.

6:29 Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my
righteousness is in it.

6:30 Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse
things? 7:1 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not
his days also like the days of an hireling? 7:2 As a servant
earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the
reward of his work: 7:3 So am I made to possess months of vanity, and
wearisome nights are appointed to me.

7:4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone?
and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

7:5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is
broken, and become loathsome.

7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without
hope.

7:7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.

7:8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes
are upon me, and I am not.

7:9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down
to the grave shall come up no more.

7:10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place
know him any more.

7:11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the
anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

7:12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? 7:13
When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my
complaints; 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me
through visions: 7:15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death
rather than my life.

7:16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days
are vanity.

7:17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou
shouldest set thine heart upon him? 7:18 And that thou shouldest
visit him every morning, and try him every moment? 7:19 How long wilt
thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my
spittle? 7:20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou
preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so
that I am a burden to myself? 7:21 And why dost thou not pardon my
transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the
dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

8:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 8:2 How long wilt thou
speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like
a strong wind? 8:3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty
pervert justice? 8:4 If thy children have sinned against him, and he
have cast them away for their transgression; 8:5 If thou wouldest seek
unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; 8:6 If
thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and
make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

8:7 Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly
increase.

8:8 For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself
to the search of their fathers: 8:9 (For we are but of yesterday, and
know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) 8:10 Shall
not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their
heart? 8:11 Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow
without water? 8:12 Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut
down, it withereth before any other herb.

8:13 So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope
shall perish: 8:14 Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall
be a spider's web.

8:15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall
hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

8:16 He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his
garden.

8:17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of
stones.

8:18 If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying,
I have not seen thee.

8:19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall
others grow.

8:20 Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he
help the evil doers: 8:21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and
thy lips with rejoicing.

8:22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling
place of the wicked shall come to nought.

9:1 Then Job answered and said, 9:2 I know it is so of a truth: but
how should man be just with God? 9:3 If he will contend with him, he
cannot answer him one of a thousand.

9:4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened
himself against him, and hath prospered? 9:5 Which removeth the
mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

9:6 Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof
tremble.

9:7 Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the
stars.

9:8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves
of the sea.

9:9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of
the south.

9:10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders
without number.

9:11 Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I
perceive him not.

9:12 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto
him, What doest thou? 9:13 If God will not withdraw his anger, the
proud helpers do stoop under him.

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