Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for Israel
83 O God, do not keep quiet. Do not be quiet, O God, and do not hold Your peace. 2 For, look, those who hate You are making much noise. Those who fight against You have honored themselves. 3 They make bad plans against Your people. They plan against those You care for. 4 They say, “Come, let us destroy them as a nation. Let the name of Israel be remembered no longer.”
9 Do to them as You did to Midian, and to Sisera and Jabin at the river of Kishon. 10 They were destroyed at Endor. They were spread over the field.
17 Let them be ashamed and afraid forever. Let them be put to shame and lost. 18 Then they may know that You alone, Whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.
Haman Is Put to Death
7 So the king and Haman came to eat with Esther the queen. 2 And the king said again to Esther on the second day, as they drank their wine at the special supper, “What do you want to ask of me, Queen Esther? It will be done for you. What do you want? You would be given as much as half the nation.” 3 Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it please the king, I ask that my life and the lives of my people be saved. 4 For I and my people have been sold, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be done away with. If we had only been sold as men and women servants, I would have kept quiet. For our trouble is not to be compared with the trouble it will make for the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would do such a thing?” 6 Esther said, “This sinful Haman hates us very much!” Then Haman was very afraid in front of the king and queen. 7 The king got up from drinking the wine very angry, and went into his garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther. He knew that the king planned to punish him. 8 When the king returned from his garden to the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the bed-like seat where Esther was lying. Then the king said, “Will he even trouble the queen while I am in the house?” As the king spoke the words, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbonah, one of the king’s servants helping the king, said, “See, there is a tower made for hanging people at Haman’s house, thirteen times taller than a man. Haman had it made for hanging Mordecai who spoke good and helped the king!” And the king said, “Hang Haman on it.” 10 So they hanged Haman on the tower that he had made for Mordecai. Then the king’s anger became less.
Faithful Servants and Servants Who Are Not Faithful
45 “Who is the faithful and wise servant whom his owner has made boss over the other servants? He is to have food ready for them at the right time. 46 That servant is happy who is doing what his owner wants him to do when he comes back. 47 For sure, I tell you, he will make him boss over all that he has. 48 But if that servant is bad, he will think, ‘The owner will not come soon.’ 49 He will beat the others. He will eat and drink with those who are drunk. 50 The owner will come on a day and at an hour when the servant is not looking for him. 51 The owner will punish the servant and will give him his place with those who pretend to be someone they are not. There will be loud crying and grinding of teeth.
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