Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Hymn of Thanksgiving

A song of David.

⁷ It was in the first month of the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ rule. That is the month of Nisan. Pur (that is, the lot) was thrown before Haman. The lot was used to choose a day and a month. So the twelfth month, the month of Adar, was chosen.

⁸ Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain group of people in all the areas of your kingdom. They are scattered among the other people. They keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all the other people. And they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not right for you to allow them to continue living in your kingdom. ⁹ If it pleases the king, let an order be given to destroy those people. Then I will pay 375 tons of silver to those who do the king’s business. They will put it into the royal treasury.”

¹⁰ So the king took his signet ring off and gave it to Haman. Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, was the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹ Then the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are yours. Do with them as you please.”

¹² On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal secretaries were called. They wrote out all of Haman’s orders. They wrote to the king’s governors and to the captains of the soldiers in each area. And they wrote to the important men of each group of people. The orders were written to each area in its own form of writing. And they were written to each group of people in their own language. They were written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with his signet ring. ¹³ Letters were sent by messengers to all the king’s empire. They stated the king’s order to destroy, kill and completely wipe out all the Jews. That meant young and old, women and little children, too. The order said to kill all the Jews on a single day. That was to be the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which was Adar. And it said to take all the things that belonged to the Jews. ¹⁴ A copy of the order was to be given out as a law in every area. It was to be made known to all the people so that they would be ready for that day.

¹⁵ The messengers set out, hurried by the king’s command. At the same time the order was given in the palace at Susa. And the king and Haman sat down to drink. But the city of Susa was in confusion.

²² “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs God did through him. You all know this, because it happened right here among you. ²³ Jesus was given to you, and you killed him. With the help of evil men you nailed him to a cross. But God knew all this would happen. This was God’s plan which he had made long ago. ²⁴ God raised Jesus from death. God set him free from the pain of death. Death could not hold him. ²⁵ For David said this about him:

²⁹ “Brothers, I can tell you truly about David, our ancestor. He died and was buried. His grave is still here with us today. ³⁰ David was a prophet and knew what God had said. God had promised David that he would make a person from David’s family a king just as he was.^{[a] 31} David knew this before it happened. That is why he said:

David was talking about the Christ rising from death. ³² So Jesus is the One who God raised from death! And we are all witnesses to this. ³³ Jesus was lifted up to heaven and is now at God’s right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to Jesus as he promised. So now Jesus has poured out that Spirit. This is what you see and hear. ³⁴ David was not the one who was lifted up to heaven. But he said:

³⁶ “So, all the people of Israel should know this truly: God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. He is the man you nailed to the cross!”