Esther’s Plea

7 Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. ² And the king said to Esther on the second day also ^[a]as they drank their wine at the banquet, “^(A)What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? ^(B)Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” ³ Then Queen Esther replied, “^(C)If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; ⁴ for ^(D)we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, ^(E)to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the ^[b]trouble would not be commensurate with the ^[c]annoyance to the king.” ⁵ Then King Ahasuerus ^[d]asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, ^[e]who would presume to do thus?” ⁶ Esther said, “^(F)A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

Haman Is Hanged

⁷ The king arose ^(G)in his anger from ^[f]drinking wine and went into ^(H)the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king. ⁸ Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the ^[g]place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on ^(I)the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. ⁹ Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, “Behold indeed, ^(J)the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai ^(K)who spoke good on behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” ^10 (L)So they hanged Haman on the ^[h]gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, ^(M)and the king’s anger subsided.

Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.

Walk According to His Commandments

^1 (A)The elder to the ^(B)chosen ^(C)lady and her children, whom I ^(D)love in truth; and not only I, but also all who ^(E)know the truth, ² for ^(F)the sake of the truth which abides ^(G)in us and will be ^(H)with us forever: ^3 (I)Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

^4 (J)I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father. ⁵ Now I ask you, lady, ^(K)not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had ^(L)from the beginning, that we ^(M)love one another. ⁶ And ^(N)this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, ^(O)just as you have heard ^(P)from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

⁷ For ^(Q)many deceivers have ^(R)gone out into the world, those who ^(S)do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is ^(T)the deceiver and the ^(U)antichrist. ^8 (V)Watch yourselves, ^(W)that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. ^9 [a]Anyone who ^[b]goes too far and ^(X)does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^(Y)do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; ¹¹ for the one who gives him a greeting ^(Z)participates in his evil deeds.

^12 (AA)Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that ^[c]your ^(AB)joy may be made full.

¹³ The children of your ^(AC)chosen sister greet you.