Produced by Marcia Brooks, Colin Bell, Julia Neufeld and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE EDITED BY THE REV. W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D. _Editor of "The Expositor"_ AUTHORIZED EDITION, COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED BOUND IN TWENTY-FIVE VOLUMES NEW YORK FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY LAFAYETTE PLACE 1900 EZRA, NEHEMIAH, AND ESTHER BY WALTER F. ADENEY, M.A. PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS AND CHURCH HISTORY, NEW COLLEGE, LONDON NEW YORK FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY LAFAYETTE PLACE 1900 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE INTRODUCTORY: EZRA AND NEHEMIAH 1 CHAPTER II. CYRUS 12 CHAPTER III. THE ROYAL EDICT 24 CHAPTER IV. THE SECOND EXODUS 36 CHAPTER V. THE NEW TEMPLE 48 CHAPTER VI. THE LIMITS OF COMPREHENSION 60 CHAPTER VII. THE MISSION OF PROPHECY 72 CHAPTER VIII. NEW DIFFICULTIES MET IN A NEW SPIRIT 83 CHAPTER IX. THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE 95 CHAPTER X. EZRA THE SCRIBE 107 CHAPTER XI. EZRA'S EXPEDITION 119 CHAPTER XII. FOREIGN MARRIAGES 131 CHAPTER XIII. THE HOME SACRIFICED TO THE CHURCH 142 CHAPTER XIV. THE COST OF AN IDEALIST'S SUCCESS 153 CHAPTER XV. NEHEMIAH THE PATRIOT 163 CHAPTER XVI. NEHEMIAH'S PRAYER 174 CHAPTER XVII. THE PRAYER ANSWERED 186 CHAPTER XVIII. THE MIDNIGHT RIDE 198 CHAPTER XIX. BUILDING THE WALLS 210 CHAPTER XX. "MARK YE WELL HER BULWARKS" 223 CHAPTER XXI. ON GUARD 235 CHAPTER XXII. USURY 247 CHAPTER XXIII. WISE AS SERPENTS 259 CHAPTER XXIV. THE LAW 271 CHAPTER XXV. THE JOY OF THE LORD 284 CHAPTER XXVI. THE RELIGION OF HISTORY 295 CHAPTER XXVII. THE COVENANT 307 CHAPTER XXVIII. THE HOLY CITY 317 CHAPTER XXIX. BEGINNINGS 328 CHAPTER XXX. THE RIGOUR OF THE REFORMER 339 CHAPTER XXXI. THE BOOK OF ESTHER: INTRODUCTORY 351 CHAPTER XXXII. AHASUERUS AND VASHTI 361 CHAPTER XXXIII.