Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 7
Prayer for Justice
A Shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush,[b] a Benjaminite.
1 Yahweh my God, I seek refuge in You;(A)
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me(B)
2 or they[c] will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.[d](C)
3 Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice on my hands,(D)
4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me(E)
or have plundered[e] my adversary without cause,(F)
5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground(G)
and leave my honor in the dust.(H)
6 Rise up, Lord, in Your anger;
lift Yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;(I)
awake for me;[f](J)
You have ordained[g] a judgment.(K)
7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around You;(L)
take Your seat[h] on high over it.(M)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;(N)
vindicate me, Lord,
according to my righteousness and my integrity.[i](O)
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,(P)
but establish the righteous.(Q)
The One who examines the thoughts and emotions[j]
is a righteous God.(R)
10 My shield is with[k] God,(S)
who saves the upright in heart.(T)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who shows His wrath every day.(U)
12 If anyone does not repent,
God[l] will sharpen His sword;(V)
He has strung[m] His bow and made it ready.(W)
13 He has prepared His deadly weapons;
He tips His arrows with fire.(X)
14 See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,
conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.(Y)
15 He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.(Z)
16 His trouble comes back on his own head,
and his violence falls on the top of his head.(AA)
17 I will thank the Lord for His righteousness;
I will sing about the name of Yahweh the Most High.(AB)
3 Then Esther addressed the king again.(A) She fell at his feet, wept, and begged(B) him to revoke the evil of Haman the Agagite,(C) and his plot he had devised against the Jews.(D) 4 The king extended the gold scepter(E) toward Esther, so she got up and stood before the king.
5 She said, “If it pleases the king, and I have found approval before him, if the matter seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his sight,(F) let a royal edict be written. Let it revoke the documents the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces.(G) 6 For how could I bear to see the disaster that would come on my people?(H) How could I bear to see the destruction of my relatives?”(I)
7 King Ahasuerus said to Esther the Queen and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have given Haman’s estate to Esther,(J) and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked[a] the Jews.(K) 8 You may write in the king’s name whatever pleases you(L) concerning the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring.(M) A document written in the king’s name and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”(N)
9 On the twenty-third day of the third month(O) (that is, the month Sivan),[b] the royal scribes were summoned. Everything was written exactly as Mordecai(P) ordered for the Jews, to the satraps,(Q) the governors, and the officials of the 127 provinces from India[c] to Cush.(R) The edict was written for each province in its own script, for each ethnic group in its own language,(S) and to the Jews in their own script and language.
10 Mordecai wrote in King Ahasuerus’s name and sealed the edicts with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers,(T) who rode fast horses(U) bred from the royal racing mares.
11 The king’s edict gave the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate every ethnic and provincial army hostile to them, including women and children, and to take their possessions as spoils of war.(V) 12 This would take place on a single day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar.[d](W)
13 A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples(X) so the Jews could be ready to avenge themselves against their enemies on that day. 14 The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses at the king’s urgent command. The law was also issued in the fortress of Susa.(Y)
15 Mordecai went from the king’s presence clothed in royal purple and white, with a great gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen.(Z) The city of Susa shouted and rejoiced,(AA) 16 and the Jews celebrated[e] with gladness, joy, and honor.(AB) 17 In every province and every city, wherever the king’s command and his law reached, joy and rejoicing took place among the Jews. There was a celebration and a holiday.[f](AC) And many of the ethnic groups of the land professed themselves to be Jews because fear of the Jews(AD) had overcome them.
Celebration in Heaven
19 After this I heard something like the loud voice of a vast multitude in heaven, saying:
Hallelujah!(A)
Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,
2 because His judgments are true[a] and righteous,(B)
because He has judged the notorious prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality;
and He has avenged the blood of His slaves
that was on her hands.(C)
3 A second time they said:
Hallelujah!
Her smoke ascends forever and ever!(D)
4 Then the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God,(E) who is seated on the throne, saying:
Amen! Hallelujah!(F)
5 A voice came from the throne, saying:
Praise our God,
all His slaves, who fear Him,
both small and great!(G)
Marriage of the Lamb Announced
6 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters,(H) and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying:
Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty,
has begun to reign!
7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory,(I)
because the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His wife has prepared herself.
8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.(J)
For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.(K)
9 Then he[b] said to me,(L) “Write: Those invited to the marriage feast(M) of the Lamb are fortunate!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
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