Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

138 Lord, with all my heart I thank you. I will sing your praises before the armies of angels.^{[a] 2} I face your Temple as I worship, giving thanks to you for all your loving-kindness and your faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.^{[b] 3} When I pray, you answer me and encourage me by giving me the strength I need.

⁴ Every king in all the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for all of them shall hear your voice. ⁵ Yes, they shall sing about Jehovah’s glorious ways, for his glory is very great. ⁶ Yet though he is so great, he respects the humble, but proud men must keep their distance. ⁷ Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will bring me safely through them. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me. ⁸ The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever. Don’t abandon me—for you made me.

¹⁹ Later the king demanded a second bevy of beautiful girls.^[a] By that time Mordecai had become a government official.

²⁰ Esther still hadn’t told anyone she was a Jewess, for she was still following Mordecai’s orders, just as she had in his home.

²¹ One day as Mordecai was on duty at the palace, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh—who were guards at the palace gate—became angry at the king and plotted to assassinate him. ²² Mordecai heard about it and passed on the information to Queen Esther, who told the king, crediting Mordecai with the information. ²³ An investigation was made, the two men found guilty, and impaled alive.^[b] This was all duly recorded in the book of the history of King Ahasuerus’ reign.

3 Soon afterwards King Ahasuerus appointed Haman (son of Hammedatha the Agagite) as prime minister. He was the most powerful official in the empire next to the king himself. ² Now all the king’s officials bowed before him in deep reverence whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow.

^3-4 “Why are you disobeying the king’s commandment?” the others demanded day after day, but he still refused. Finally they spoke to Haman about it to see whether Mordecai could get away with it because of his being a Jew, which was the excuse he had given them. ^5-6 Haman was furious but decided not to lay hands on Mordecai alone, but to move against all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, and destroy all of them throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

¹⁵ This prayer meeting went on for several days. During this time, on a day when about 120 people were present, Peter stood up and addressed them as follows:

¹⁶ “Brothers, it was necessary for the Scriptures to come true concerning Judas, who betrayed Jesus by guiding the mob to him, for this was predicted long ago by the Holy Spirit, speaking through King David. ¹⁷ Judas was one of us, chosen to be an apostle just as we were. ¹⁸ He bought a field with the money he received for his treachery and falling headlong there, he burst open, spilling out his bowels. ¹⁹ The news of his death spread rapidly among all the people of Jerusalem, and they named the place ‘The Field of Blood.’ ²⁰ King David’s prediction of this appears in the Book of Psalms, where he says, ‘Let his home become desolate with no one living in it.’ And again, ‘Let his work be given to someone else to do.’