城因正直人祝福便高举，却因邪恶人的口就倾覆。

因正直人的祝福，城必升高；因邪恶人的口，它必倾覆。

因正直人的祝福，城必升高；因邪恶人的口，它必倾覆。

城因正直人的祝福而兴盛，因恶人的口舌而倾覆。

因正直人的祝福，城的地位就提高；因恶人的口，城就倾覆。

因正直人的祝福，城就被高举；因恶人的口，城就被倾覆。

城因正直人祝福便高舉，卻因邪惡人的口就傾覆。

因正直人的祝福，城必升高；因邪惡人的口，它必傾覆。

因正直人的祝福，城必升高；因邪惡人的口，它必傾覆。

城因正直人的祝福而興盛，因惡人的口舌而傾覆。

因正直人的祝福，城的地位就提高；因惡人的口，城就傾覆。

因正直人的祝福、城就被捧得很高；因惡人的口所說的、城便傾覆。

因正直人的祝福，城就被高舉；因惡人的口，城就被傾覆。

維彼城邑、以正直者之祝而振興、因邪惡者之口而傾覆、

惟彼城邑、義者頌祝則鞏固、惡者謗讟則傾圮。

城因正直人祝福則高堅、因惡者妄言則傾圮、

Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.

The blessing of honest people builds up a city. But the words of sinners destroy it.

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.

Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.

A city is built up by the blessing of the upright, but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.

By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down.

By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted; But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

A city is built up by the blessing of the upright, but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.

By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

A city is exalted by the blessing provided from the upright, but it is destroyed by the counsel of the wicked.

By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger. (niv)

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people. (niv)

King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this.And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side. (niv)

Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. (niv)

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (niv)

He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.” (niv)

“ So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. (niv)

Then Haman said to King Xerxes,“ There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.“ Keep the money,” the king said to Haman,“ and do with the people as you please.”Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring.Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews— young and old, women and children— on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered. (niv)

Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted,“ We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, Israel!” (niv)

So Pharaoh asked them,“ Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,“ Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”So Pharaoh said to Joseph,“ I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. (niv)

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them.The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them.And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them.Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha,the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day.The king said to Queen Esther,“ The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.”“ If it pleases the king,” Esther answered,“ give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on poles.”So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman.The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. (niv)