Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁶ But I cried to thee, Lord; and the Lord saved me. (But I shall cry to thee, Lord; and the Lord will save me.)

¹⁷ In the eventide, and [the] morrowtide, and in midday (and at midday), I shall tell, and show (him); and he shall hear my voice.

¹⁸ He shall again-buy my soul in peace from them, that nigh to me; for among many they were with me. (And he shall deliver my soul unto peace again, from those who come against me; for there were many against me.)

¹⁹ God shall hear; and he that is before the worlds shall make them low. For changing is not to them, and they dreaded not God; (God shall hear; and he who was before the worlds, shall humble them. For changing is not to them, and they do not fear God;)

²⁰ he holdeth forth his hand in yielding. They defouled his testament, (indeed, they put forth their hands, against those who be at peace with them. They have broken their promise, or their covenant,)

²¹ the cheers thereof were parted from ire; and his heart nighed. The words thereof were softer than oil; and they be darts. (their words were smoother than butter; but battle was in their hearts. Their words were softer than oil; but they were as sharp as darts.)

²² Cast thy care, or thought, [(or) busyness,] on the Lord, and he shall fully nourish thee; and he shall not give [into] without end fluttering to a just man. (Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and he shall nourish and protect thee; yea, he shall not allow the righteous to be moved, or shaken.)

²³ But thou, God, shalt lead them forth; into the pit of death. Men-quellers and beguilers shall not have half their days; but, Lord, I shall hope in thee. (But murderers and deceivers shall not have half their days; for thou, God, shalt lead them forth, into the pit of death. But, O Lord, I shall put my trust in thee.)

6 The king led that night without sleep, and he commanded the stories and the books of years of former times to be brought to him. And when those books were read in his presence, (That night the king went without sleep, and he commanded that the stories of former times, that is, The Books of the Years, or The Official Annals, be brought to him. And when those books were read before him, to help him get to sleep,)

² men came to the place, where it was written, how Mordecai had told (of) the treasons of Bigthan(a) and Teresh, honest servants (the honest and chaste servants), coveting to strangle king Ahasuerus. (they came to the place, where it was written, how Mordecai had told of the treason of Bigthana and Teresh, the king’s eunuchs, who desired, or plotted, to strangle King Ahasuerus.)

³ And when the king had heard this, he said, What honour and meed got Mordecai for this faithfulness? And his servants and ministers said to him, Utterly he took no meed. (And when the king had heard this, he said, What honour and reward did Mordecai receive for this loyalty? And the servants who ministered to the king said to him, He received utterly no reward for what he did.)

⁴ And anon the king said, Who is in the hall? Soothly Haman had entered into the inner hall of the king’s house, to make suggestion to the king, that he should command Mordecai to be hanged on the gibbet, which was made ready to him. (And then hearing something, the king asked, Who is that in the courtyard? For it was now early morning, and Haman had just come into the outer courtyard of the palace, to suggest to the king, that he should command that Mordecai be hanged on the gallows, which was now prepared for him.)

⁵ And the servants of the king said to him, Haman standeth in the hall. And the king said, Enter he in. (And the king’s servants said to him, Haman standeth in the courtyard. And the king said, Let him come in.)

⁶ And when Haman was come in, the king said to him, What oweth to be done to the man, whom the king desireth to honour? (And when Haman had come in, the king said to him, What ought to be done for the man, whom the king desireth to honour?) And Haman thought in his heart, and he guessed, that the king was about to honour no other man but (he) himself, Haman;

⁷ and he answered, The man, whom the king coveteth to honour, (and so he answered, The man, whom the king desireth to honour,)

⁸ oweth to be clothed in the king’s clothes, and to be set on the horse which is of the king’s saddle, and to take the king’s diadem, that is, his crown, upon his head; (ought to be clothed in the king’s robes, and to be put on a horse which is of the king’s saddle, and to wear the king’s crown on his head;)

⁹ and the first, or chief, of the princes and of the strong men of the king, he (should) hold his horse, leading him, and go he by the streets of the city, and cry he, and say, Thus he shall be honoured, whom the king will honour. (and then one of the king’s most honoured princes, or leaders, should lead his horse through the city square, and he should cry, and say, Thus shall he be honoured/He is worthy of this honour, whom the king desireth to honour.)

¹⁰ And then the king said to Haman, Haste thou thee, and when the king’s clothing, and his horse, is taken to thee, do thou, as thou hast spoken, to Mordecai, the Jew, that sitteth before the gates of the palace; and be thou ware, that thou leave not out, (or) undone, any thing of these (things), which thou hast now spoken. (And then the king said to Haman, Now hasten thou thee, and when the king’s robes, and his horse, be brought to thee, do thou, just as thou hast spoken, for Mordecai, the Jew, who is in attendance at the royal court; and be thou ware, lest thou leave anything undone, of all these things, of which thou hast now spoken.)

¹¹ And then Haman took the king’s cloak and his palfrey, and he went forth, and cried before Mordecai, (who was) clothed in the king’s clothing, (leading him) in the chief street of the city, and set upon his palfrey, (saying,) He is worthy (of) this honour, whomever the king will honour. (And then Haman took the king’s robes and his horse, and he clothed Mordecai in the king’s clothing, and put him on the king’s horse; and then leading him through the city square, he cried as he went before him, He is worthy of this honour, whom the king desireth to honour.)

¹² And after this Mordecai turned again to the gate of the palace, and Haman hasted to go into his house, mourning, and with his head covered. (And after this Mordecai returned to the royal court, and Haman hastened to go to his house, mourning, and with his head covered.)

¹³ And he told to Zeresh, his wife, and to his friends all things that had befallen to him. To whom the wise men, which he had in counsel, and his wife, answered, If Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, is of the seed of Jews, thou shalt not be able to against-stand him, but thou shalt fall in his sight. (And he told his wife Zeresh, and his friends, all the things that had befallen him. And the wise men, whom he had in counsel, and his wife, answered, If Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, is a descendant of the Jews, then thou shalt not be able to stand against him, but thou shalt utterly fall before him.)

¹⁴ Yet while they spake these things, the honest servants and chaste of the king came after Haman (the honest and chaste servants of the king came for Haman), and they compelled him to go anon to the feast, which the queen had made ready. (And yet while they spoke these things, the king’s eunuchs came for Haman, and they compelled him to come at once to the feast, which the queen had prepared.)

7 Therefore the king and Haman entered to the feast, to drink with the queen. (And so the king and Haman went to the feast, to dine with the queen.)

² And the king said also to Esther in the second day, after that he was hot of the wine, Esther, what is thine asking of me, that it be given to thee, and what wilt thou be done? Yea, though thou ask the half part of my realm, thou shalt have it. (And on the second day, after that he was hot from the wine, the king said again to Esther, Esther, what is thy asking of me, that it be given to thee, and what wilt thou be done for thee? Yea, if thou ask for half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it!)

³ To whom she answered, O! king, if I have found grace in thine eyes (if I have found favour before thee), and if it pleaseth thee, give thou my life to me, for which I pray thee now, and also the life of my people, for the which I beseech thee.

⁴ For I and my people be given, that we be defouled, and strangled, and that we perish; O! why not had we rather been sold into servants and servantesses, for that evil might have been suffered, and I, (now) wailing, should have been still; but now our enemy is present, whose cruelty turneth against the king. (For I and my people have been sold into slaughter, so that we be strangled, and destroyed, and that we utterly perish; O! why had we rather not been sold into slavery, yea, both men and women alike, for that evil might have been endured, and I, instead of wailing, would now be silent; and even now our enemy is present here, and his cruelty turneth against even the king.)

⁵ And king Ahasuerus answered, and said, Who is this, and of what power, that he be (so) (fool)hardy to do such things?

⁶ And Esther said, Our worst adversary and enemy is this Haman. The which thing when he heard, he was astonished at once, and he was not sufficient to bear the semblance, or the indignation, of the king and of the queen. (And Esther said, Our adversary and our enemy is this wicked Haman! And when Haman heard this, he was stunned, and he was not able to bear the indignation of both the king and the queen.)

³⁰ Therefore what shall we say? That heathen men that followed not rightwiseness, have gotten rightwiseness [have caught rightwiseness], yea, the rightwiseness that is of faith.

³¹ But Israel following the law of rightwiseness, came not perfectly to [into] the law of rightwiseness.

³² Why? For not of faith, but as of works. And they spurned against the stone of offence [Soothly they offended against the stone of offence, or spurning],

³³ as it is written, Lo! I put a stone of offence in Sion, and a stone of stumbling; and each that shall believe in it, shall not be confounded. [as it is written, Lo! I put a stone of spurning in Sion, and a stone of offence; and each that shall believe into it, shall not be confounded, or shamed.]

10 Brethren, the will of mine heart and my beseeching is made to God for them into health.

² But I bear witnessing to them [Forsooth I bear witnessing to them], that they have the love of God, but not after knowing.

³ For they not knowing God's rightwiseness [For they unknowing God's rightwiseness], and seeking to make steadfast their own rightwiseness, be not subject to the rightwiseness of God.

⁴ For the end of the law is Christ, to rightwiseness to each man that believeth.