Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
16 I call upon God,
and the Lord will deliver me.
17 Morning, noon, and night,
I mulled over these things
and cried out in my distress,
and he heard my voice.
18 He calmly ransomed my soul from the war waged against me,
for there was a vast crowd who stood against me.
19 God, who is enthroned from long ago,
will hear me and humble them.
Because they do not repent,
they do not fear God.
20 Each of my friends[a] raises his hand against his allies;
each of my friends[b] breaks his word.[c]
21 His mouth is as smooth as butter,
while war is in his heart.
His words were as smooth as olive oil,
while his sword is drawn.
22 Cast on the Lord whatever he sends your way,
and he will sustain you.
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
23 But you, God, bring them down to the Pit of corruption;[d]
bloodthirsty and deceitful people will not live out half their days.
But I put my full confidence in you.
7 The king got up from the banquet in anger and went out to the palace garden, while Haman stood there begging Queen Esther to spare his life,[a] because he realized that the king intended to harm him.[b]
8 When the king returned to the banquet hall from the palace garden, Haman was prostrate on the couch where Esther was. The king asked, “Will this man[c] even assault the queen with me in the house?” The king had no sooner spoken than they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, observed, “Look there! A pole is standing 50 cubits[d] high at Haman’s house that he prepared for Mordecai, whose report benefitted[e] the king!”
The king said, “Hang[f] him on it.” 10 So they hanged[g] Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai, and then the king’s anger subsided.
The Promotion of Mordecai
8 That day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the property[h] of Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people, and Mordecai came into the king’s presence because Esther had told him how Mordecai[i] was related to her. 2 The king took off his signet ring that he had taken from Haman and gave it to Mordecai. Esther then put Mordecai in charge of Haman’s property.[j]
Esther Asks that the Jewish People be Spared
3 Then Esther spoke to the king again and fell at his feet. She wept and pleaded with him for mercy to overturn the evil plan devised[k] by Haman the Agagite and his plot against the Jewish people. 4 The king extended the golden scepter to Esther, and she got up and stood before the king. 5 She said, “If it pleases the king, and if I’ve found favor with him, and if the matter is proper in the king’s opinion, and if I’m pleasing to the king, let an order be issued[l] revoking the letters devised by Hammedatha the Agagite’s son Haman, which ordered[m] the destruction of the Jewish people throughout the king’s provinces. 6 Indeed, how can I bear to see this disaster happen to my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my kinsmen?”
7 King Ahasuerus told Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I’ve given Haman’s property[n] to Esther, and they have hanged[o] him on the pole because he tried to harm[p] the Jewish people. 8 Now, in the name of the king, you write what seems good to you concerning the Jewish people, and seal it with the king’s signet ring, for a document written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be revoked.”
9 The king’s scribes were summoned at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, which is the month Sivan, and everything that Mordecai commanded the Jewish people, the regional authorities,[q] the governors, and the provincial officials of the 127 provinces from India to Cush[r] was written down for each province according to its script, for each people according to their language, and for the Jewish people according to their script and language. 10 He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He sent the letters by couriers on horseback, riding steeds especially bred for the king.[s]
11 What the king granted the Jewish people in every town was the right[t] to assemble and defend themselves,[u] to annihilate, kill, and destroy every armed force of a people or a province that was hostile to them, including children and women, and to plunder their property.[v] 12 Throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the one day for the Jewish people to do this was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. 13 A copy of the document was to be issued as law in each and every province and published for all people, indicating that the Jewish people were to be ready to take vengeance on their enemies on that day. 14 The couriers, mounted on the royal steeds, left quickly, urged on by the king’s command. The edict was also issued in Susa the capital.
The Jewish People Celebrate the King’s Edict
15 Mordecai left the king’s presence in royal robes of blue and white, wearing a large golden crown and a purple robe made of fine linen; and the city of Susa shouted with joy. 16 For the Jewish people, there was light and joy, gladness and honor. 17 In each and every province, and in each and every city, in the places where the king’s order and edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jewish people, along with a festival and a holiday. Many of the people of the land became[w] Jews, because they had come to fear the Jewish people.
Teaching about Love for Enemies(A)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor’[a] and hate your enemy. 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you will become children of your Father in heaven, because he makes his sun rise on both evil and good people, and he lets rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? 47 And if you greet only your relatives, that’s no great thing you’re doing, is it? Even the unbelievers[b] do the same, don’t they? 48 So be perfect,[c] as your heavenly Father is perfect.”[d]
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