Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
16 As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.
17 (A)Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For (B)there were many against me.
19 God will hear, and afflict them,
(C)Even He who abides from of old. Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.
20 He has (D)put forth his hands against those who (E)were at peace with him;
He has broken his [a]covenant.
21 (F)The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.
The King Honors Mordecai
6 That night [a]the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring (A)the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of [b]Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”
And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”
4 So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered (B)the outer court of the king’s palace (C)to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
5 The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.”
And the king said, “Let him come in.”
6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than (D)me?” 7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and (E)a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal [c]crest placed on its head. 9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then [d]parade him on horseback through the city square, (F)and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ”
10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”
11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”
12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman (G)hurried to his house, mourning (H)and with his head covered. 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against (I)him but will surely fall before him.”
14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to (J)the banquet which Esther had prepared.
Haman Hanged Instead of Mordecai
7 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, (K)at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”
3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4 For we have been (L)sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as (M)male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”
5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?”
6 And Esther said, “The adversary and (N)enemy is this wicked Haman!”
So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
Present Condition of Israel
30 What shall we say then? (A)That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, (B)even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, (C)pursuing the law of righteousness, (D)has not attained to the law [a]of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, [b]by the works of the law. For (E)they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
(F)“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And (G)whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Israel Needs the Gospel
10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for [c]Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness (H)that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of (I)God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own (J)righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For (K)Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.