Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.(A)
17 I complain and groan morning, noon, and night,(B)
and he hears my voice.(C)
18 Though many are against me,
he will redeem me from my battle unharmed.(D)
19 God, the one enthroned from long ago,(E)
will hear and will humiliate themSelah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.(F)
20 My friend(G) acts violently
against those at peace with him;(H)
he violates his covenant.(I)
21 His buttery words are smooth,
but war is in his heart.
His words are softer than oil,
but they are drawn swords.(J)
Esther Approaches the King
5 On the third day,(A) Esther dressed in her royal clothing and stood in the inner courtyard(B) of the palace facing it. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom,[a] facing its entrance. 2 As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she gained favor with him. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.(C)
3 “What is it, Queen Esther?” the king asked her. “Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be given to you.”(D)
4 “If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet(E) I have prepared for them.”
5 The king said, “Hurry, and get Haman so we can do as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared.
6 While drinking the[b] wine,(F) the king asked Esther, “Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be done.”
7 Esther answered, “This is my petition and my request: 8 If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and perform my request,(G) may the king and Haman come to the banquet I will prepare for them.(H) Tomorrow I will do what the king has asked.”
9 That day Haman left full of joy and in good spirits.[c](I) But when Haman saw Mordecai at the King’s Gate, and Mordecai didn’t rise or tremble in fear at his presence, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.(J) 10 Yet Haman controlled himself and went home. He sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh(K) to join him. 11 Then Haman described for them his glorious wealth and his many sons. He told them all how the king had honored him and promoted him in rank over the other officials and the royal staff.(L) 12 “What’s more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she had prepared. I am invited again tomorrow to join her with the king. 13 Still, none of this satisfies me since I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King’s Gate all the time.”
14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows seventy-five feet[d] tall.(M) Ask the king in the morning to hang Mordecai on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.” The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows constructed.(N)
16 Therefore, don’t let anyone judge(A) you in regard to food and drink(B) or in the matter of a festival or a new moon(C) or a Sabbath day.[a] 17 These are a shadow(D) of what was to come;(E) the substance is[b] Christ.(F) 18 Let no one condemn[c] you(G) by delighting in ascetic practices(H) and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated(I) by empty notions of their unspiritual[d] mind. 19 They don’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body,(J) nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God.
20 If you died with Christ(K) to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: 21 “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”? 22 All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines. 23 Although these have a reputation for wisdom(L) by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.[e](M)
The Life of the New Man
3 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.(N)
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