Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
In You I Have Taken Refuge
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Yahweh my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Lest he tear [b]my soul (C)like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to him who [c]is at peace with me,
Or have (F)plundered my adversary without cause,
5 Let the enemy pursue [d]my soul and overtake [e]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And cause my glory to dwell in the dust. [f]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Yahweh, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the fury of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [g]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the congregation of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [h]them return on high.
8 Yahweh (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Give justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tests the hearts and [j]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [k]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [l]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and prepared it.
13 He has also prepared [m]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and gives birth to falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [n]his own skull.
3 Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept, and implored him to [a]repeal the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his scheme which he had devised against the Jews. 4 (A)And the king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king. 5 Then she said, “(B)If it seems good to the king, and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am good in his eyes, let it be written to turn back the (C)letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to cause the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces to perish. 6 For (D)how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the perishing of my kinsmen?”
The King’s Decree Avenges the Jews
7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, (E)I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the [b]gallows because he had sent forth his hand against the Jews. 8 Now you write to the Jews, according to what is good in your eyes, in the king’s name, and (F)seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a written decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring (G)may not be turned back.”
9 (H)So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third [c]day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces which extended (I)from India to [d]Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to (J)every province according to its script, and to every people according to their tongue as well as to the Jews according to their script and their tongue. 10 And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring and sent letters by the hand of couriers on (K)horses, riding on steeds sired by the [e]royal stud. 11 [f]In them the king gave the Jews who were in each and every city the right (L)to assemble and to make a stand for their lives, (M)to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish the entire military force of any people or province which would act as their adversaries, including little ones and women, and (N)to plunder their spoil, 12 on (O)one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar). 13 (P)A copy of that which was written down to be given as law in each and every province was revealed to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14 The couriers, hurried and hastened by the king’s word, went out, riding on the royal steeds; and the law was given out at the citadel in Susa.
15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king (Q)in royal robes of [g]blue and fine white, with a large crown of gold and (R)a garment of fine linen and purple; and (S)the city of Susa cried aloud and was glad. 16 For the Jews there was (T)light and gladness and joy and honor. 17 And in each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s word and his law reached, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a [h](U)holiday. And (V)many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.
Hallelujah!
19 After these things I heard something like a (A)loud voice of a great crowd in heaven, saying,
“(B)Hallelujah! (C)Salvation and (D)glory and power belong to our God; 2 (E)because His (F)judgments are (G)true and righteous; for He has judged the (H)great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has (I)avenged the blood of His slaves shed by her hand.” 3 And a second time they said, “(J)Hallelujah! (K)Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” 4 And the (L)twenty-four elders and the (M)four living creatures (N)fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “(O)Amen. (P)Hallelujah!” 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying,
“(Q)Give praise to our God, all you His slaves, (R)you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like (S)the voice of a great crowd and like (T)the sound of many waters and like the (U)sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“(V)Hallelujah! For the (W)Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and (X)give the glory to Him, for (Y)the marriage of the Lamb has come and His [a](Z)bride has made herself ready.” 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in (AA)fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the (AB)righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then (AC)he *said to me, “(AD)Write, ‘(AE)Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “(AF)These are true words of God.”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.