Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁶ But I will call upon the Lord to save me—and he will. ¹⁷ I will pray morning, noon, and night, pleading aloud with God; and he will hear and answer. ¹⁸ Though the tide of battle runs strongly against me, for so many are fighting me, yet he will rescue me. ¹⁹ God himself—God from everlasting ages past—will answer them! For they refuse to fear him or even honor his commands.

²⁰ This friend of mine betrayed me—I who was at peace with him. He broke his promises. ²¹ His words were oily smooth, but in his heart was war. His words were sweet, but underneath were daggers.

²² Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall. ²³ He will send my enemies to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will not live out half their days. But I am trusting you to save me.

⁷ The king jumped to his feet and went out into the palace garden as Haman stood up to plead for his life to Queen Esther, for he knew that he was doomed. ⁸ In despair he fell upon the couch where Queen Esther was reclining, just as the king returned from the palace garden.

“Will he even rape the queen right here in the palace, before my very eyes?” the king roared. Instantly the death veil was placed over Haman’s face.

⁹ Then Harbona, one of the king’s aides, said, “Sir, Haman has just ordered a 75-foot gallows constructed, to hang Mordecai, the man who saved the king from assassination! It stands in Haman’s courtyard.”

“Hang Haman on it,” the king ordered.

¹⁰ So they did, and the king’s wrath was pacified.

8 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king that he was her cousin and foster father.^{[a] 2} The king took off his ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai appointing him Prime Minister;^[b] and Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.

³ And now once more Esther came before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop Haman’s plot against the Jews. ⁴ And again the king held out the golden scepter to Esther. So she arose and stood before him, ⁵ and said, “If it please Your Majesty, and if you love me, send out a decree reversing Haman’s order to destroy the Jews throughout the king’s provinces. ⁶ For how can I endure it, to see my people butchered and destroyed?”

⁷ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the palace of Haman, and he has been hanged upon the gallows because he tried to destroy you. ⁸ Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews, telling them whatever you want to in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring so that it can never be reversed.”^[c]

^9-10 Immediately the king’s secretaries were called in—it was now the 23rd day of the month of July—and they wrote as Mordecai dictated—a decree to the Jews and to the officials, governors, and princes of all the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 in all: the decree was translated into the languages and dialects of all the people of the kingdom. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed the message with the king’s ring and sent the letters by swift carriers—riders on camels, mules, and young dromedaries used in the king’s service. ¹¹ This decree gave the Jews everywhere permission to unite in the defense of their lives and their families, to destroy all the forces opposed to them, and to take their property. ¹² The day chosen for this throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus was the 28th day of February!^{[d] 13} It further stated that a copy of this decree, which must be recognized everywhere as law, must be broadcast to all the people so that the Jews would be ready and prepared to overcome their enemies. ¹⁴ So the mail went out swiftly, carried by the king’s couriers and speeded by the king’s commandment. The same decree was also issued at Shushan Palace.

¹⁵ Then Mordecai put on the royal robes of blue and white and the great crown of gold, with an outer cloak of fine linen and purple, and went out from the presence of the king through the city streets filled with shouting people. ¹⁶ And the Jews had joy and gladness and were honored everywhere. ¹⁷ And in every city and province, as the king’s decree arrived, the Jews were filled with joy and had a great celebration and declared a holiday. And many of the people of the land pretended to be Jews, for they feared what the Jews might do to them.

⁴³ “There is a saying, ‘Love your friends and hate your enemies.’ ⁴⁴ But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too. ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. ⁴⁷ If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that. ⁴⁸ But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.