Esther Agrees to Help the Jews

4 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes ^(A)and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. ² He went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth. ³ And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, ^(B)with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them ^(C)lay in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. ⁵ Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. ⁶ Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate, ⁷ and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, ^(D)and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. ⁸ Mordecai also gave him ^(E)a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favour and plead with him on behalf of her people. ⁹ And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰ Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, ¹¹ “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside ^(F)the inner court without being called, ^(G)there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one ^(H)to whom the king holds out the golden sceptre so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

¹² And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. ¹³ Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for ^(I)three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, ^(J)and if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷ Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Esther Prepares a Banquet

5 ^(K)On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in ^(L)the inner court of the king's palace, in front of the king's quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. ² And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, ^(M)she won favour in his sight, ^(N)and he held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the sceptre. ³ And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even ^(O)to the half of my kingdom.” ⁴ And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” ⁵ Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. ^6 (P)And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, ^(Q)“What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? ^(R)Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” ⁷ Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: ^8 (S)If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfil my request, let the king and Haman come to ^(T)the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”

Haman Plans to Hang Mordecai

⁹ And Haman went out that day ^(U)joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai ^(V)in the king's gate, ^(W)that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. ¹⁰ Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and ^(X)his wife Zeresh. ¹¹ And Haman recounted to them the splendour of his riches, ^(Y)the number of his sons, all the promotions with which ^(Z)the king had honoured him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. ¹² Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. ¹³ Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting ^(AA)at the king's gate.” ¹⁴ Then ^(AB)his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, ^(AC)“Let a gallows^[a] fifty cubits^[b] high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

The King Honours Mordecai

6 On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring ^(AD)the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. ² And it was found written how ^(AE)Mordecai had told about ^(AF)Bigthana and ^(AG)Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. ³ And the king said, “What honour or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king's young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” ⁴ And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered ^(AH)the outer court of the king's palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on ^(AI)the gallows^[c] that he had prepared for him. ⁵ And the king's young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” ⁶ So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man ^(AJ)whom the king delights to honour?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honour more than me?” ⁷ And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honour, ⁸ let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, ^(AK)and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head ^(AL)a royal crown^[d] is set. ⁹ And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honour, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, ^(AM)proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honour.’” ¹⁰ Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits ^(AN)at the king's gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” ¹¹ So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honour.”

¹² Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning ^(AO)and with his head covered. ¹³ And Haman told ^(AP)his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”

Esther Reveals Haman's Plot

¹⁴ While they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman ^(AQ)to the feast that Esther had prepared.

7 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. ² And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, ^(AR)“What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? ^(AS)Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” ³ Then Queen Esther answered, ^(AT)“If I have found favour in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. ^4 (AU)For we have been sold, I and my people, ^(AV)to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” ⁵ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared^[e] to do this?” ⁶ And Esther said, ^(AW)“A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

Haman Is Hanged

⁷ And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into ^(AX)the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. ⁸ And the king returned from ^(AY)the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on ^(AZ)the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face. ⁹ Then ^(BA)Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, ^(BB)the gallows^[f] that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, ^(BC)whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits^[g] high.” ¹⁰ And the king said, “Hang him on that.” ^(BD)So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. ^(BE)Then the wrath of the king abated.

Spiritual Gifts

12 Now ^(A)concerning^[a] spiritual gifts,^[b] brothers,^[c] I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that ^(B)when you were pagans ^(C)you were led astray to ^(D)mute idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I want you to understand that ^(E)no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is ^(F)accursed!” and ^(G)no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴ Now ^(H)there are varieties of gifts, but ^(I)the same Spirit; ⁵ and ^(J)there are varieties of service, but ^(K)the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is ^(L)the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ^7 (M)To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of ^(N)wisdom, and to another the utterance of ^(O)knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another ^(P)faith by the same Spirit, to another ^(Q)gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another ^(R)the working of miracles, to another ^(S)prophecy, to another ^(T)the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another ^(U)various kinds of tongues, to another ^(V)the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, ^(W)who apportions to each one individually ^(X)as he wills.

One Body with Many Members

¹² For just as ^(Y)the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, ^(Z)so it is with Christ. ¹³ For ^(AA)in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^(AB)Jews or Greeks, slaves^[d] or free—and ^(AC)all were made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body”, that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body”, that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, ^(AD)God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, ^(AE)as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts,^[e] yet one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”, nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honourable we bestow the greater honour, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, ^(AF)all rejoice together.

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the ^(A)servant of the Lord.