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Mordecai Tells Esther of Haman’s Plot
4 Mordecai learned all that had been done and he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. And he went through the middle of the city and cried out a loud and bitter cry; 2 he went up to the entrance of the gate of the king, for he could not go to the gate of the king in sackcloth. 3 In every province each place where the king’s edict and his law came, there was great mourning for the Jews with fasting, crying, wailing, and sackcloth; and ashes were spread out as a bed for them.
4 And Esther’s maids and her eunuchs came and they told her, and the queen was deeply distressed; she sent garments to clothe Mordecai so that he might remove his sackcloth—but he did not accept them. 5 Then Esther called Hathach from the king’s eunuchs who regularly attended to her,[a] and she ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what was happening and why. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai, to the public square of the city, which was in front of the gate of the king, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact amount of money that Haman has promised to pay to the treasury of the king for the destruction of the Jews. 8 And he gave him a copy of the edict of the law that had been issued in Susa for their destruction to show Esther, and to inform her, and to charge her to go to the king and make supplication to him and entreat before him for her people.
9 And Hathach went back and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 10 And Esther spoke to Hathach and she gave him a message for Mordecai:[b] 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman who goes to the king to the inner courtyard, who is not called, he has one law, to be killed, except if the king extends to him the gold scepter so that he may live. I have not been called to come to the king for thirty days.”[c] 12 And they told Mordecai the words of Esther. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther: “Do not think that your life will be saved in the palace of the king more than all the Jews. 14 For if indeed you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and the family of your father will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to a royal position for a time such as this.” 15 Esther replied to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews that are found in Susa and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, both night and day. I and my young girls will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king, which is not according to the law; if I perish, I perish. 17 And Mordecai went away and he did everything that Esther commanded him.
Esther’s Banquet
5 And it happened, on the third day, and Esther put on royal clothes, and she stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s palace,[d] opposite the king’s palace;[e] the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room[f] opposite the doorway of the palace. 2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard she found favor in his eyes, and the king held out the gold scepter that was in his hand to Esther, and Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It will be given to you—even half the kingdom.” 4 And Esther said, “If it is good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” 5 And the king said, “Bring Haman quickly to fulfill[g] the request of Esther.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 And the king said to Esther while they were drinking wine,[h] “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even half the kingdom, it will done. 7 And Esther answered and said, “This is my petition and my request. 8 If I have found favor in the eyes of the king,[i] and if it is good to the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them tomorrow, and I will do according to the word of the king.
9 And Haman went out on that day rejoicing and feeling good.[j] But when Haman saw Mordecai at the gate of the king, and he did not rise or tremble before him, Haman was filled with rage toward[k] Mordecai. 10 But Haman controlled himself and went to his house, and he sent for and brought his friends and Zeresh his wife. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his wealth and the number of his sons and all the ways that the king had honored him and promoted him above the officials and king’s servants. 12 And Haman added,[l] “Esther the Queen did not let just anyone come to the banquet that she prepared with the king except me, and I am also invited tomorrow to her banquet with the king. 13 But all this fails to satisfy me[m] when[n] I see Mordecai the Jew setting at the gate of the king.” 14 And Zeresh his wife and all of his friends said to him, “Let them make a gallows fifty cubits[o] high, and in the morning tell the king, “Let them hang Mordecai on it; then go with the king to the banquet happily.” The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.
Mordecai is Honored
6 During that night the king’s sleep escaped him, and he gave orders to bring the scroll of records and chronicles,[p] and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written how Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from the keepers of the threshold who had conspired to assassinate[q] King Ahasuerus. 3 And the king asked, “What has been done to bestow honor to Mordecai for this?” And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 And the king asked, “Who is in the courtyard?” Haman had just come to the courtyard of the king’s outer palace to tell the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 And the king’s servants said to him, “Look! Haman is standing in the courtyard.” And the king said, “Let him come.” 6 And Haman came, and the king said to him, “What is to be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” And Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” 7 So Haman said to the king, “For a man whom the king wishes to honor, 8 let them bring royal clothing[r] with which the king has clothed himself, and a horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal head-dress has been given. 9 And let the clothing and the horse be given to the man[s] by the officials of the king’s nobles; let them cloth the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him ride on his horse through the public square of the city, and let them proclaim before him, ‘Thus, it will be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor.’” 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Quickly, take the clothing and the horse, just as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the gate of the king; you must not leave out anything from what you have said.” 11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai and let him ride through the public square of the city; and he proclaimed before him, “Thus, it is done to the man whom the king wishes to honor.”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the gate of the king, and Haman rushed to his house mournful and with his head covered. 13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends all that had happened to him. And his advisers and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is from the descendants of the Jews,[t] you will not prevail against him, but will certainly fall before him.” 14 As they were still speaking with him the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Esther’s Banquet
7 So the king and Haman went to dine[u] with Queen Esther. 2 And the king again said to Esther, on the second day while they were drinking,[v] “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It will be given to you. What is your request? It will be given to you—even half the kingdom.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, and she said, “If I have found favor in your eyes,[w] O king, and if it is good to the king, let my life be given to me at my petition and my people at my request; 4 I and my people have been sold to be destroyed and killed, to be annihilated. If we had been sold as male and female slaves I would have kept quiet, because this[x] is not a need sufficient to trouble the king.”[y] 5 And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who gave himself the right to do this?”[z] 6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman!” And Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
Haman is Hanged
7 The king rose in his anger from the banquet[aa] and went to the palace garden, and Haman stood to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he realized that the king was determined to make an end to his life.[ab] 8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall,[ac] where Haman was lying prostrate on the couch that Esther was on, and the king said, “Will he also molest the queen with me in the house?” As the words[ad] went from the king’s mouth they covered Haman’s face. 9 And Habrona, one of the eunuchs in the presence of the king, said, “Look, the same gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai who spoke good for the sake of the king stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10 And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the anger of the king was abated.
Varieties of Spiritual Gifts
12 Now concerning spiritual gifts,[a] brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the speechless idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed,” and no one is able to say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, 5 and there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord, 6 and there are varieties of activities, but the same God, who works all things in all people. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is beneficial to all. 8 For to one is given a word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another a word of knowledge by the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another[b] gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another[c] miraculous powers[d], to another[e] prophecy, to another[f] distinguishing of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, to another[g] interpretation of tongues. 11 But in all these things one and the same Spirit is at work, distributing to each one individually just as he wishes.
Unity in the Midst of Diversity
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body, although they[h] are many, are one body, thus also Christ. 13 For by[i] one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free persons, and all were made to drink one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” not because of this is it not a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body, not because of this is it not a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body just as he wanted. 19 And if they all were one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body.
21 Now the eye is not able to say to the hand, “I do not have need of you,” or again, the head to the feet, “I do not have need of you.” 22 But by much more the members of the body which are thought to be weaker are necessary, 23 and the parts of the body which we think to be less honorable, these we clothe with more abundant honor, and our unpresentable parts come to have more abundant presentability, 24 but our presentable parts do not have need of this. Yet God composed the body by giving more abundant honor to the part which lacked it, 25 in order that there not be a division in the body, but the members would have the same concern for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer together; if a member[j] is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Human Wickedness and God’s Love
For the music director. Of David, the servant of Yahweh.[a]
36 An oracle: the wicked has rebellion
in the midst of his[b] heart.
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his eyes,
hating to detect his iniquity.[c]
3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit.
He has ceased to have insight and to do good.
4 He plans sin on his bed.
He puts himself on a way that is not good.
He does not reject evil.
5 O Yahweh, your loyal love extends into the heavens,
your faithfulness unto the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,[d]
your judgments like the great deep.
You save man and beast, O Yahweh.
7 How precious is your loyal love, O God,
and the children of humankind
take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They are refreshed with the fullness[e] of your house,[f]
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Prolong your loyal love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart.
11 Do not let a foot of pride come against me,
nor let a wicked hand make me to wander homeless.
12 There doers of evil have fallen;
they are thrust down and not able to rise.
21 He who pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life, righteousness, and honor.
22 To a city of warriors, the wise ascends,
and he will bring down the stronghold—its object of trust.
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