Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

7 The psalm of David which he sung to the Lord for the words of Chusi the son of Jemini. [2 Kings 16.]

² O Lord my God, in thee have I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.

³ Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is no one to redeem me, nor to save.

⁴ O Lord my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands:

⁵ If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies.

⁶ Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust.

⁷ Rise up, O Lord, in thy anger: and be thou exalted in the borders of my enemies. And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast commanded:

⁸ And a congregation of people shall surround thee. And for their sakes return thou on high.

⁹ The Lord judgeth the people. Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence in me.

¹⁰ The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought: and thou shalt direct the just: the searcher of hearts and reins is God.

¹¹ Just is my help from the Lord: who saveth the upright of heart.

¹² God is a just judge, strong and patient: is he angry every day?

¹³ Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword: he hath bent his bow and made it ready.

¹⁴ And in it he hath prepared the instruments of death, he hath made ready his arrows for them that burn.

¹⁵ Behold he hath been in labour with injustice; he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.

¹⁶ He hath opened a pit and dug it; and he is fallen into the hole he made.

¹⁷ His sorrow shall be turned on his own head: and his iniquity shall comedown upon his crown.

¹⁸ I will give glory to the Lord according to his justice: and will sing to the name of the Lord the most high.

2 After this, when the wrath of king Assuerus was appeased, he remembered Vasthi, and what she had done and what she had suffered:

² And the king's servants and his officers said: Let young women be sought for the king, virgins and beautiful,

³ And let some persons be sent through all the provinces to look for beautiful maidens and virgins: and let them bring them to the city of Susan, and put them into the house of the women under the hand of Egeus the eunuch, who is the overseer and keeper of the king's women: and let them receive women's ornaments, and other things necessary for their use.

⁴ And whosoever among them all shall please the king's eyes, let her be queen instead of Vasthi. The word pleased the king: and he commanded it should be done as they had suggested.

⁵ There was a man in the city of Susan, a Jew, named Mardochai, the son of Jair, the son of Semei, the son of Cis, of the race of Jemini,

⁶ Who had been carried away from Jerusalem at the time that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon carried away Jechonias king of Juda,

⁷ And he had brought up his brother's daughter Edissa, who by another name was called Esther: now she had lost both her parents: and was exceeding fair and beautiful. And her father and mother being dead, Mardochai adopted her for his daughter.

⁸ And when the king's ordinance was noised abroad, and according to his commandment many beautiful virgins were brought to Susan, and were delivered to Egeus the eunuch: Esther also among the rest of the maidens was delivered to him to be kept in the number of the women.

⁹ And she pleased him, and found favour in his sight. And he commanded the eunuch to hasten the women's ornaments, and to deliver to her her part, and seven of the most beautiful maidens of the king's house, and to adorn and deck out both her and her waiting maids.

¹⁰ And she would not tell him her people nor her country. For Mardochai had charged her to say nothing at all of that:

¹¹ And he walked every day before the court of the house, in which the chosen virgins were kept, having a care for Esther's welfare, and desiring to know what would befall her.

¹² Now when every virgin's turn came to go in to the king, after all had been done for setting them off to advantage, it was the twelfth month: so that for six months they were anointed with oil of myrrh, and for other six months they used certain perfumes and sweet spices.

¹³ And when they were going in to the king, whatsoever they asked to adorn themselves they received: and being decked out, as it pleased them, they passed from the chamber of the women to the king's chamber.

¹⁴ And she that went in at evening, came out in the morning, and from thence she was conducted to the second house, that was under the hand of Susagaz the eunuch, who had the charge over the king's concubines: neither could she return any more to the king, unless the king desired it, and had ordered her by name to come.

¹⁵ And as the time came orderly about, the day was at hand, when Esther, the daughter of Abihail the brother of Mardochai, whom he had adopted for his daughter, was to go in to the king. But she sought not women's ornaments, but whatsoever Egeus the eunuch the keeper of the virgins had a mind, he gave her to adorn her. For she was exceeding fair, and her incredible beauty made her appear agreeable and amiable in the eyes of all.

¹⁶ So she was brought to the chamber of king Assuerus the tenth month, which is called Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷ And the king loved her more than all the women, and she had favour and kindness before him above all the women, and he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vasthi.

¹⁸ And he commanded a magnificent feast to be prepared for all the princes, and for his servants, for the marriage and wedding of Esther. And he gave rest to all the provinces, and bestowed gifts according to princely magnificence.

⁸ Be mindful that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen again from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel.

⁹ Wherein I labour even unto bands, as an evildoer; but the word of God is not bound.

¹⁰ Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with heavenly glory.

¹¹ A faithful saying: for if we be dead with him, we shall live also with him.

¹² If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us.

¹³ If we believe not, he continueth faithful, he can not deny himself.