Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord [b]concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
[d]Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to [e]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [f]him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue [g]my soul and overtake [h]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. [i]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the rage of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [j]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [k]them return on high.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[l](M)Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tries the hearts and [m]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [n]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [o]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and [p]made it ready.
13 He has also prepared [q]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [r]his own pate.
Vashti’s Successor Sought
2 After these things (A)when the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and (B)what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s attendants, who served him, said, “(C)Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. 3 Let the king appoint overseers in (D)all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of (E)Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and (F)let their cosmetics be given them. 4 Then let the young lady who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the matter pleased the king, and he did accordingly.
5 Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew whose name was (G)Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 6 (H)who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is (I)Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and [a]face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
Esther Finds Favor
8 So it came about when the command and decree of the king were heard and (J)many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the custody of (K)Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s [b]palace into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. 9 Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her (L)cosmetics and [c]food, gave her seven choice maids from the king’s palace and transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem. 10 (M)Esther did not make known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had instructed her that she should not make them known. 11 Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and how she fared.
12 Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women— 13 the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she [d]desired was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go in and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the [e]custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not again go in to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.
15 Now when the turn of Esther, (N)the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she did not request anything except what (O)Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women, [f]advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal palace in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Esther Becomes Queen
17 The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that (P)he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then (Q)the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his princes and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts (R)according to the king’s bounty.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, (A)risen from the dead, (B)descendant of David, (C)according to my gospel, 9 [a]for which I (D)suffer hardship even to (E)imprisonment as a (F)criminal; but (G)the word of God (H)is not imprisoned. 10 For this reason (I)I endure all things for (J)the sake of those who are chosen, (K)so that they also may obtain the (L)salvation which is in (M)Christ Jesus and with it (N)eternal glory. 11 (O)It is a trustworthy statement:
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