Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Jehovah implored to defend the psalmist against the wicked.
Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto Jehovah, concerning the words of Cush a Benjamite.
7 O Jehovah my God, in thee do I take refuge:
Save me from all them that pursue me, and deliver me,
2 Lest they tear my soul like a lion,
Rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Jehovah my God, if I have done this;
If there be iniquity in my hands;
4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me
(Yea, I have delivered him that without cause was mine adversary;)
5 Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it;
Yea, let him tread my life down to the earth,
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 Arise, O Jehovah, in thine anger;
Lift up thyself against the rage of mine adversaries,
And awake for me; thou hast commanded judgment.
7 [a]And let the congregation of the peoples compass thee about;
And over them return thou on high.
8 Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples:
Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and to mine integrity [b]that is in me.
9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous:
For the righteous God trieth the minds and [c]hearts.
10 My shield is with God,
Who saveth the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
Yea, a God that hath indignation every day.
12 [d]If a man turn not, he will whet his sword;
He hath bent his bow, and made it ready;
13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death;
He maketh his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity;
Yea, he hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
15 He hath made a pit, and digged it,
And is fallen into the ditch which he made.
16 His mischief shall return upon his own head,
And his violence shall come down upon his own pate.
17 I will give thanks unto Jehovah according to his righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of Jehovah Most High.
3 And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. 4 Then the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king. 5 And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king’s provinces: 6 for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred? 7 Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. 8 Write ye also [a]to the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring; for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.
9 Then were the king’s scribes called at that time, in the third month, which is the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and princes of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, a hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language. 10 And he wrote the name of king Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, riding on [b]swift steeds that were used in the king’s service, bred of the stud: 11 wherein the king granted the Jews that were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, 12 upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. 13 A copy of the writing, [c]that the decree should be given out in every province, was published unto all the peoples, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14 So the posts that rode upon swift steeds that were used in the king’s service went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment; and the decree was given out in Shushan the palace.
15 And Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan shouted and was glad. 16 The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor. 17 And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness and joy, a feast and a good day. And many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen upon them.
19 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: 2 for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his [a]servants at her hand.
3 And a second time they [b]say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goeth up [c]for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. 5 And a voice came forth from the throne, saying,
Give praise to our God, all ye his [d]servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great.
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying,
Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. 7 Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)