Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
16 But I call upon God,
and the Lord will save me.(A)
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he will hear my voice.(B)
18 He will redeem me unharmed
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.(C)
19 God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah
will hear and will humble them,
because they do not change
and do not fear God.(D)
20 My companion laid hands on a friend
and violated a covenant with me[a](E)
21 with speech smoother than butter
but with a heart set on war,
with words that were softer than oil
but in fact were drawn swords.(F)
22 Cast your burden[b] on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.(G)
23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the lowest pit;
the bloodthirsty and treacherous
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.(H)
Esther’s Banquet
5 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, opposite the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne inside the palace opposite the entrance to the palace.(A) 2 As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won his favor, and he held out to her the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.(B) 3 The king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even to half of my kingdom, it shall be given you.”(C) 4 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet that I have prepared for the king.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.(D) 6 While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”(E) 7 Then Esther answered, “This is my petition and request: 8 If I have won the king’s favor, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and then I will do as the king has said.”(F)
Haman Plans to Have Mordecai Hung
9 Haman went out that day happy and in good spirits, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was infuriated with Mordecai;(G) 10 nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. Then he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh,(H) 11 and Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the ministers of the king.(I) 12 Haman added, “Even Queen Esther let no one but myself come with the king to the banquet that she prepared. Tomorrow also I am invited by her, together with the king.(J) 13 Yet all this does me no good so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”(K) 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a pole fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hung on it; then go with the king to the banquet in good spirits.” This advice pleased Haman, and he had the pole made.(L)
16 Therefore, do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food or[a] drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths.(A) 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the body belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, initiatory visions,[b] puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,[c] 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with a growth that is from God.(B)
Warnings against False Teachers
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental principles[d] of the world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations,(C) 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings.(D) 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.[e]
The New Life in Christ
3 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.(E)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.