The Song of Moses

³⁰ Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:

Haman Plots Against the Jews

3 After these things King Ahasuerus ^(A)promoted Haman ^(B)the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, ^(C)and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. ² And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. ^(D)But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. ³ Then the king's servants who were ^(E)at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress ^(F)the king's command?” ⁴ And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵ And when Haman saw that ^(G)Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was ^(H)filled with fury. ⁶ But he disdained^[a] to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy^[b] all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷ In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, ^(I)they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is ^(J)the month of Adar. ⁸ Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. ^(K)Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. ⁹ If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents^[c] of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries.” ^10 (L)So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman ^(M)the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, ^(N)the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹ And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

^12 (O)Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's ^(P)satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, ^(Q)to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written ^(R)in the name of King Ahasuerus ^(S)and sealed with the king's signet ring. ¹³ Letters were sent ^(T)by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction ^(U)to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, ^(V)in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, ^(W)and to plunder their goods. ^14 (X)A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. ^15 (Y)The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, ^(Z)but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

Him Whom They Have Pierced

¹⁰ “And ^(A)I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and ^(B)pleas for mercy, so that, ^(C)when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, ^(D)they shall mourn for him, ^(E)as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. ^11 (F)On that day ^(G)the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great ^(H)as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land shall mourn, ^(I)each family^[a] by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of ^(J)Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹³ the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of ^(K)the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; ¹⁴ and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.

13 ^(L)“On that day there shall be ^(M)a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Idolatry Cut Off

² “And ^(N)on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, ^(O)I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that ^(P)they shall be remembered no more. And also ^(Q)I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. ³ And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ^(R)‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

⁴ “On that day ^(S)every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, ⁵ but he will say, ^(T)‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’^{[b] 6} And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’^[c] he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck

The Bride's Dream

Solomon Arrives for the Wedding

Jesus Is Buried

^38 (A)After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly ^(B)for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. ^39 (C)Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus^[a] by night, came ^(D)bringing a mixture of ^(E)myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds^[b] in weight. ⁴⁰ So they took the body of Jesus and ^(F)bound it in ^(G)linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. ⁴¹ Now in the place where he was crucified there was a ^(H)garden, and ^(I)in the garden a new tomb ^(J)in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² So because of the Jewish ^(K)day of Preparation, ^(L)since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to ^(A)all the birds that fly directly overhead, ^(B)“Come, gather for ^(C)the great supper of God, ^18 (D)to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,^[a] both small and great.” ¹⁹ And I saw ^(E)the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies ^(F)gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. ²⁰ And the beast was captured, and with it ^(G)the false prophet ^(H)who in its presence^[b] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who ^(I)worshiped its image. These two were ^(J)thrown alive into the lake of ^(K)fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ And the rest were slain by the sword ^(L)that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and ^(M)all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

The Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, ^(N)holding in his hand the key to ^(O)the bottomless pit^[c] and a great chain. ² And he seized ^(P)the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and ^(Q)bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into ^(R)the pit, and shut it and ^(S)sealed it over him, so that ^(T)he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

⁴ Then I saw ^(U)thrones, and ^(V)seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw ^(W)the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those ^(X)who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. ^(Y)They came to life and ^(Z)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ^6 (AA)Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such ^(AB)the second death has no power, but they will be ^(AC)priests of God and of Christ, and they ^(AD)will reign with him for a thousand years.