Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 7^[a]

Appeal to the Divine Judge

¹ A plaintive song of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush,^[b] a Benjaminite.

³ Then Esther spoke with the king again, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to revoke the evil plot that Haman, the Agagite, had set up against the Jews. ⁴ Then the king extended the golden scepter to Esther, and she arose and stood before him.

⁵ “If it pleases your majesty,” she said, “and seems the right thing to do, and if I have found favor with you so that you love me, let an order be issued to overrule the letters that Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote for the destruction of the Jews in all the royal provinces. ⁶ For how can I bear to see the evil that is about to fall on my people, and how can I behold the destruction of my race?”

⁷ King Ahasuerus then said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, “Now that I have given Esther the property of Haman, and he has been hanged on the gibbet because he attacked the Jews, ⁸ you may write another edict in the king’s name on behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document that is written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”^[a]

⁹ Then on the twenty-third day of the third month, Sivan, the king’s scribes were summoned. They wrote out all Mordecai’s words to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and nobles of the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. These words were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also in the script and language of the Jews. ¹⁰ Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed the letters with the king’s signet ring, and sent them via mounted couriers, riding speedy royal horses. ¹¹ The king’s edict gave the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves as well as to destroy, kill, and annihilate, along with their wives and children, every armed group of any nation and province that should attack them, and to seize their goods as spoil.

Chapter E

A Copy of the Edict.^[b]1 This is a copy of the edict:

“King Ahasuerus the Great to the governors of the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces extending from India to Ethiopia, and to all our loyal subjects: Greetings!

² “Many people who have been the recipients of ever-increasing honors through the bountiful kindness of their benefactors tend to grow ever more arrogant.³ Not only do they plot to injure our subjects but, as their power tends to increase their insolent behavior, they even begin to scheme against their very benefactors.⁴ Not only do they make it impossible for others to experience gratitude, but they are so inundated in their own arrogance that the concept of goodness has become meaningless to them, and they even believe that they will escape the all-seeing God and his justice, which hates evil.

⁵ “In addition, it often happens that the deceitful schemes of friends who have been entrusted with the administration of public affairs⁶ influence their benefactors to become unwitting accomplices of theirs in the shedding of innocent blood. Thus, the sincere desire of rulers to achieve only the good of their subjects is thwarted by deceitful trickery.⁷ History is replete with stories of such evil, but never more so than at the present when we examine the evil wrought in our midst through the criminal deeds of those officials who disgraced their office of authority by their wicked conduct.⁸ From this moment on we shall direct all of our efforts to ensure the peace and tranquillity of all our subjects in the kingdom,⁹ revising our policies as necessary and giving equitable treatment in adjudicating matters that are brought before us.

¹⁰ “In this regard, Haman, son of Hammedatha, a Macedonian^[c] without a trace of Persian blood or of the kindness that is part of our heritage, was the recipient of our hospitality.¹¹ He so completely enjoyed the goodwill that we extend to all nations that we regarded him as our father before whom all should bow down, and we proclaimed him to rank second in line to the royal throne.¹² However, unworthy of this dignity, Haman with unrestrained arrogance undertook to deprive us of our kingdom and our life.¹³ By acts of deceit he insisted that it was essential for us to order the destruction of Mordecai, our savior and constant benefactor, and of Esther, our innocent royal consort, together with their whole race.¹⁴ By such measures he sought to render us vulnerable and to transfer the sovereignty now enjoyed by the Persians to the Macedonians.

¹⁵ “However, we have determined that the Jews, who were marked for extermination by this thrice-wicked man, are no evildoers. On the contrary, they are governed by the most righteous laws¹⁶ and are children of the Most High, the living God of sovereign majesty who has ensured for us as well as for our ancestors the continuing prosperity of our kingdom.

¹⁷ “Therefore, I command you to ignore the letters sent by Haman, son of Hammedatha,¹⁸ for he who wrote them has been hanged, together with his entire household, at the gates of Susa. God, the ruler of the universe, has inflicted upon him the punishment he so richly deserved.

¹⁹ “Instead, post copies of this letter in every public place and permit Jews to be governed by their own laws.²⁰ Furthermore, ensure that on the day scheduled for their annihilation, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, they will receive your aid to defend themselves against their assailants in a time of oppression.²¹ For God, who rules over all things, has changed that day for his chosen people from a day of destruction to a day of joy.²² And therefore you, too, must include among your commemorative feasts this day as one for rejoicing,²³ so that both today and in the future it may be for us and for all loyal Persians a memorial of deliverance and a reminder of destruction for those who plot against us.

²⁴ “Any city or province that does not observe this edict shall be mercilessly destroyed by fire and sword. It will be made unaccessible not only to all people, but also to wild animals and birds forever.”

(Chapter 8)

¹³ A copy of the text of the edict to be issued as law in every province was made known among all peoples of every nationality so that the Jews might be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.^[d]

¹⁴ The couriers, riding the royal horses, sped forth in haste at the king’s command. And the edict was also promulgated in the citadel of Susa.

¹⁵ Mordecai departed from the king’s presence vested in royal garments of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and purple robe of fine linen, and the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. ¹⁶ For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, exaltation and triumph. ¹⁷ In every province and in every city, wherever the king’s edict arrived, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with banqueting and feasting. And many of the peoples of that land became Jewish, for they were seized with the fear of the Jews.

Chapter 19

Song of Victory and Wedding Day of the Lamb.^{[a] 1} After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting:

³ Once again they shouted:

⁴ The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, and they cried:

⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

⁶ And I heard what seemed to be the sound of a vast multitude, like the sound of a torrential stream or of great peals of thunder, crying out:

(The fine linen represents the righteous deeds of the saints.)

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed^[c] are those who are invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.’ ” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”