Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Confidence in Judgment
16 As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
17 Evening, morning, and noon I cry out and I sigh,
and he hears my voice.
18 In peace he redeems my life from the assault against me,
even when many are against me.
19 God will hear, and he will punish them— Interlude
yes, he is seated on his throne from eternity!
—because they never change, and they do not fear God.
The Traitor’s Treachery
20 The traitor reaches out his hand against those at peace with him.
He breaks his agreement.[a]
21 His flattery is as smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart.
His words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn daggers.
God’s Solution
22 Place your burden on the Lord,
and he will support you.
He will never allow the righteous to fall.
23 But you, O God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction.
Bloody and deceitful men will not live half their days.
But as for me, I will trust in you.
6 That night the king could not sleep, so he ordered that the chronicles,[a] the record of the memorable events of his reign, be brought to him. These accounts were read to the king.
2 They found the account about the incident when Mordecai had reported Bigthan[b] and Teresh, the king’s two eunuchs who had controlled access to the entrance to the palace, who had tried to assassinate King Xerxes.
3 The king said, “What honor and recognition has been given to Mordecai for this?”
Then the servants of the king who were attending him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”
4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Just then Haman had come to the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
5 The king’s servants said to him, “Look, Haman is standing in the court.” The king said, “Have him come in.”
6 When Haman came in, the king said to him, “What should be done to honor the man with whom the king is pleased?”
Haman said in his heart, “Who could there be that the king would be more pleased to honor than me?”
7 Haman said to the king, “The man whom the king is pleased to honor 8 should be clothed with garments that the king has worn. He should be given a horse on which the king has ridden, and crowned with a crown that has been on the king’s head. 9 These clothes and this horse should be delivered by one of the highest ranking noblemen of the king. They should dress up the man whom the king is pleased to honor and let him ride on the horse in the public square of the city. Walking in front of him, they will proclaim, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is pleased to honor.”
10 The king said to Haman, “Hurry! Take the clothing and the horse just as you have said, and do this for Mordecai the Jew, who sits in the gatehouse of the king. Do not leave out a thing from whatever you have said.”
11 Haman took the clothing and the horse, clothed Mordecai, had him ride through the public square of the city, and proclaimed before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is pleased to honor.”
12 Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his home, mourning, with his head covered. 13 Haman reported all this to Zeresh his wife and to all his friends.
His advisors and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent,[c] you will not overcome him. Instead, you will surely fall before him.”
14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
7 So the king and Haman went to the feast with Queen Esther.
2 On the second day, when they were again drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be given to you. What are you seeking? Up to half of the kingdom—it’s yours.”
3 Queen Esther responded, “My King, if I have found favor in your eyes, and if it pleases the king, I am asking that my life be spared, and I am seeking the lives of my people, 4 because I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we were merely being sold to be male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, because that would not have been bad enough to be a reason to bother the king.”
5 King Xerxes spoke up. He said to Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is this person who has the audacity to do this?”
6 Esther said, “This hateful enemy is this evil Haman!” Haman was terrified in the presence of the king and the queen.
The Majority of Jews Rejected Justification by Faith
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who were not pursuing righteousness, have obtained righteousness, a righteousness that is by faith. 31 But Israel, while pursuing the law as a way of righteousness, did not reach it. 32 Why? Because they kept pursuing it not by faith, but as if it comes by works.[a] They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 Just as it is written:
Look, I am putting a stone in Zion over which they will stumble
and a rock over which they will fall.
The one who believes[b] in him will not be put to shame.[c]
Prayer for Israelites to Believe
10 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 Indeed, I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but it is not consistent with knowledge. 3 Since they were ignorant of the righteousness from God and sought to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness from God. 4 For to everyone who believes, Christ is the end of the law, resulting in righteousness.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.