Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
16 But I will call to God for help.
The Lord will make me safe.
17 I will weep and cry to him,
morning, noon and night.
He will listen to what I say.
18 I have very many enemies
who attack me all the time.
But God will rescue me and keep me safe.
19 God has always ruled everything as king.
He will listen to me,
and he will punish my enemies.
Selah.
They refuse to change their thoughts,
and they do not respect God.
20 But my friend has turned against his own friends.
He has not been a true friend,
as he promised to be.
21 He speaks a message of peace,
but he is really thinking about war.
His words are easy to listen to,
but they hurt like sharp knives.
22 Take your problems to the Lord.
He will take care of you.
He will never let his own people fall.[a]
23 And as for wicked people,
you, God, will send them to their graves.
They will go down into the deep hole of death
while they are still young.
That is what will happen to those cruel people,
who kill and cheat others.
But I will trust in you, God.
The king remembers Mordecai
6 That night the king could not sleep. He asked a servant to bring the kingdom's history book. He asked the servant to read the book to him.
2 The history book included a report of how two of the king's eunuchs wanted to kill King Xerxes. Their names were Bigthana and Teresh. The report said that Mordecai had told the king about this.[a] 3 When the king heard this, he asked his servant, ‘When Mordecai saved my life, what great honour did we give to him?’ The king's servants replied, ‘We did not do anything for him.’
4 The king said, ‘Who is now in the palace yard?’
Haman had just arrived at the palace. His men had built the wooden tower. Now he wanted to ask the king to hang Mordecai on it to kill him. 5 The king's servants said to the king, ‘Haman is in the palace yard.’ The king said, ‘Bring him here to me.’
6 Haman came in to the king's room. The king asked him, ‘If I want to give great honour to a man, what should we do for that man?’
Haman thought to himself, ‘I am sure that I am that man. The king must want to give me honour.’ 7 So Haman replied to the king, ‘This is what you should do for that man, if you want to give him honour. 8 Your servants should bring some royal clothes that you yourself have worn. They should bring a horse that you yourself have ridden on as king. They should put a special crown on the horse's head to show that it belongs to you. 9 Then give the clothes and the horse to one of your royal officers. Tell the officer to put the king's clothes on the man that you want to give honour to. Then the officer must put the man on the king's horse. He must lead him through all the streets of the city. As he goes, the officer must shout, “This is what the king does for a man that he want to give honour to!” ’
10 The king said to Haman, ‘That is a good idea! Go quickly! Get my clothes and my horse. Go and do everything that you have suggested. Do it for the Jew, Mordecai, who sits at the king's gate. Be careful to do for him everything that you said.’
11 So Haman took the king's clothes and the king's horse to Mordecai. He put the king's clothes on Mordecai. Then he led Mordecai on the horse through all the streets of the city. Haman went in front and he shouted, ‘Look! This is what the king does for a man that he want to give honour to!’
12 After this, Mordecai returned to sit at the king's gate. But Haman hurried back home. He covered his face because he was ashamed and upset. 13 He told his wife, Zeresh, and his friends about everything that had happened to him. Then his advisors, as well as his wife, said to him, ‘It seems that you have already lost some of your power to Mordecai. If he really is Jewish, you will never win against him. He will destroy you completely.’
14 While they were speaking, the king's eunuchs arrived. Very quickly they took Haman to the special meal that Esther had prepared.
Haman dies
7 King Xerxes and Haman went to the meal that Queen Esther had prepared. 2 This was the second day that they ate a special meal together. While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, ‘Queen Esther, what do you want me to do for you? I will give you whatever you want. Even if you want half of my kingdom, I will give it to you.’
3 Queen Esther replied, ‘Sir, I hope that you are pleased with me. If you agree, I ask you to save my life. Also save the lives of my people. That is what I ask you to do. 4 Someone has sold me and my people as if we are animals. Now they will kill us and completely destroy us all. If we had been sold to become slaves, I would not have spoken to the king. It would not have been important enough for that.’
5 Then King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, ‘Who is this man? Who would even think of anything like that? Where is he?’
6 Esther replied, ‘The enemy of our people is this wicked man Haman!’
Then Haman became very afraid, as he sat there with the king and the queen.[b]
30 So, we must think about what all this means. The Gentiles were not trying to become right with God. But some of them have now become right with him. God has accepted them as right, because they have believed in Jesus Christ. 31 But Israel's people tried to find a law that would make them right with God. But they failed to become right with God. 32 They failed because they refused to believe in Christ. Instead, they were trying to do certain things so that God would accept them. Because of that they fell to the ground. Their feet hit the stone which causes people to fall. 33 It says this in the Bible:
‘Look, I am putting a special stone in Zion.
That stone will cause people to fall to the ground.
It is a rock that will make them fall down.
But anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed.’[a]
10 My Christian friends, I want God to save Israel's people. I want that very much. I pray to God that he will save them. 2 I can say this about them: They really want to serve God well. But they do not understand the right way to do this. 3 They have not understood the way that God accepts people. Instead, they tried to make their own way to become right with God. They refused to accept God's way that would make them right with him. 4 God gave his Law to Israel's people for a purpose. But Christ has finished that purpose. So now, every person who believes in Christ becomes right with God.
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