Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
III
16 Let death take them;
let them go down alive to Sheol,(A)
for evil is in their homes and bellies.
17 But I will call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.
18 At dusk, dawn, and noon
I will grieve and complain,
and my prayer will be heard.(B)
19 He will redeem my soul in peace
from those who war against me,
though there are many who oppose me.
20 God, who sits enthroned forever,(C)
will hear me and afflict them.
Selah
For they will not mend their ways;
they have no fear of God.
21 He stretched out his hand at his friends
and broke his covenant.
22 Softer than butter is his speech,
but war is in his heart.
Smoother than oil are his words,
but they are unsheathed swords.(D)
23 Cast your care upon the Lord,
who will give you support.
He will never allow
the righteous to stumble.(E)
Chapter 6
Mordecai’s Reward from the King. 1 That night the king, unable to sleep, asked that the chronicle of notable events be brought in. While this was being read to him, 2 the passage occurred in which Mordecai reported Bigthan and Teresh, two of the royal eunuchs who guarded the entrance, for seeking to assassinate King Ahasuerus.(A) 3 The king asked, “What was done to honor and exalt Mordecai for this?” The king’s attendants replied, “Nothing was done for him.”(B)
4 [a]“Who is in the court?” the king asked. Now Haman had entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest to the king that Mordecai should be impaled on the stake he had raised for him.(C) 5 The king’s attendants answered him, “Haman is waiting in the court.” The king said, “Let him come in.” 6 When Haman entered, the king said to him, “What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to reward?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” 7 So he replied to the king: “For the man whom the king wishes to honor 8 there should be brought the royal robe the king wore and the horse the king rode with the royal crest placed on its head. 9 The robe and the horse should be given to one of the noblest of the king’s officials, who must clothe the man the king wishes to reward, have him ride on the horse in the public square of the city, and cry out before him, ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king wishes to honor!’”(D) 10 Then the king said to Haman: “Hurry! Take the robe and horse as you have proposed, and do this for the Jew Mordecai, who is sitting at the royal gate. Do not omit anything you proposed.”(E) 11 So Haman took the robe and horse, clothed Mordecai, had him ride in the public square of the city, and cried out before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king wishes to honor!”
12 Mordecai then returned to the royal gate, while Haman hurried home grieving, with his head covered.(F) 13 When he told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you are beginning to fall, is of Jewish ancestry, you will not prevail against him, but will surely be defeated by him.”
Esther’s Second Banquet. 14 While they were speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the banquet Esther had prepared.
Chapter 7
1 So the king and Haman went to the banquet with Queen Esther. 2 Again, on this second day, as they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Whatever you ask, Queen Esther, shall be granted you. Whatever request you make, even for half the kingdom, shall be honored.”(G) 3 Queen Esther replied: “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, I ask that my life be spared, and I beg that you spare the lives of my people. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated. If we were only to be sold into slavery I would remain silent, for then our distress would not have been worth troubling the king.”(H) 5 King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who and where is the man who has dared to do this?”(I) 6 Esther replied, “The enemy oppressing us is this wicked Haman.” At this, Haman was seized with dread of the king and queen.
30 What then shall we say? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have achieved it, that is, righteousness that comes from faith;(A) 31 but that Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, did not attain to that law?(B) 32 Why not? Because they did it not by faith, but as if it could be done by works.(C) They stumbled over the stone that causes stumbling,[a] 33 as it is written:
“Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion
that will make people stumble
and a rock that will make them fall,
and whoever believes in him shall not be put to shame.”(D)
Chapter 10
1 [b]Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on their behalf is for salvation.(E) 2 I testify with regard to them that they have zeal for God, but it is not discerning.(F) 3 For, in their unawareness of the righteousness that comes from God and their attempt to establish their own [righteousness], they did not submit to the righteousness of God.(G) 4 For Christ is the end[c] of the law for the justification of everyone who has faith.(H)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.