When the king's order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the Harem. She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately, he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from...  Read More

But after Xerxes' anger had subsided, he began thinking about Vashti and what she had done and the decree he had made.So his personal attendants suggested, "Let us search the empire to find beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint agents in each province to bring these beautiful young women into the royal harem at the fortress of Susa. Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the ha...  Read More

"According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?" he asked, "She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her."Then Memukan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, "Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. For the Queen's conduct will become known to a...  Read More

This is what happened during the time of Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. At that time, King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials…For a full 180 days, he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty…Wine was served in ...  Read More

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD;Look to the Rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth.When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many."The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins;He will make her deserts like E...  Read More

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.It is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new.See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.The wild animals in the field will thank Me, the jackals and the owls, too, for giving them water in the desert.Yes, I will make ri...  Read More

That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron . . . And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.". . . Joshua son of Nun and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed t...  Read More

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!"But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!" So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: "The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who ...  Read More

The LORD now said to Moses, "Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites.  . . . So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men . . . After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel . . .  They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had take...  Read More

Hear the word of the LORD, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel.This is what the LORD says:  "What fault did your ancestors find in Me, that they strayed so far from Me?They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a lan...  Read More

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my ...  Read More

I hear many whispering, "Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let's denounce him!"All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him."But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fall and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.L...  Read More