Esther Plans a Banquet

5 Now it came about ^(A)on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood ^(B)in the inner court of the king’s palace in front of the king’s ^[a]rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the ^[b]throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. ² When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, ^(C)she obtained favor in his sight; and ^(D)the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. ³ Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? ^(E)Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you.” ⁴ Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

⁵ Then the king said, “^(F)Bring Haman quickly that we may do ^[c]as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared. ^6 [d]As they drank their wine at the banquet, ^(G)the king said to Esther, “^(H)What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” ⁷ So Esther replied, “My petition and my request is: ^8 (I)if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do ^[e]what I request, may the king and Haman come to ^(J)the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do ^[f]as the king says.”

Haman’s Pride

⁹ Then Haman went out that day glad and pleased of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai ^(K)in the king’s gate and ^(L)that he did not stand up or ^[g]tremble before him, Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai. ¹⁰ Haman controlled himself, however, went to his house and ^[h]sent for his friends and his wife ^(M)Zeresh. ¹¹ Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, and the ^[i](N)number of his sons, and every instance where the king had magnified him and how he had ^[j](O)promoted him above the princes and servants of the king. ¹² Haman also said, “Even Esther the queen let no one but me come with the king to the banquet which she had prepared; and ^(P)tomorrow also I am ^[k]invited by her with the king. ¹³ Yet all of this ^[l]does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at ^(Q)the king’s gate.” ¹⁴ Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “^(R)Have a ^[m]gallows fifty cubits high made and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully with the king to the banquet.” And the ^[n]advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

Testing the Spirits

4 ^(A)Beloved, do not believe every ^(B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(D)every spirit that ^(E)confesses that ^(F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³ and every spirit that ^(G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(H)antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and ^(I)now it is already in the world. ⁴ You are from God, ^(J)little children, and ^(K)have overcome them; because ^(L)greater is He who is in you than ^(M)he who is in the world. ^5 (N)They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ^6 (O)We are from God; ^(P)he who knows God listens to us; ^(Q)he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(R)the spirit of truth and ^(S)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

^7 (T)Beloved, let us ^(U)love one another, for love is from God; and ^(V)everyone who loves is ^[a](W)born of God and ^(X)knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, for ^(Y)God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was manifested ^[b](Z)in us, that ^(AA)God has sent His ^[c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(AB)not that we loved God, but that ^(AC)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(AD)the propitiation for our sins. ^11 (AE)Beloved, if God so loved us, ^(AF)we also ought to love one another. ^12 (AG)No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His ^(AH)love is perfected in us. ^13 (AI)By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and ^(AJ)testify that the Father has ^(AK)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

^15 (AL)Whoever confesses that ^(AM)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(AN)abides in him, and he in God. ^16 (AO)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[d](AP)for us. ^(AQ)God is love, and the one who ^(AR)abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this, ^(AS)love is perfected with us, so that we may have ^(AT)confidence in ^(AU)the day of judgment; because ^(AV)as He is, so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but ^(AW)perfect love casts out fear, because fear ^[e]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not ^(AX)perfected in love. ^19 (AY)We love, because He first loved us. ^20 (AZ)If someone says, “I love God,” and ^(BA)hates his brother, he is a ^(BB)liar; for ^(BC)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ^(BD)cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(BE)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(BF)should love his brother also.