Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of degrees of David.

¹ ¶ If the LORD had not been for us, now may Israel say,

² If the LORD had not been for us, when men rose up against us,

³ then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us;

⁴ then the waters would have overwhelmed us; the flood would have gone over our soul;

⁵ then the proud waters would have gone over our soul.

⁶ ¶ Blessed be the LORD, who did not give us as a prey to their teeth.

⁷ Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare has broken, and we are escaped.

⁸ Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made the heaven and the earth.

1 ¶ Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces)

² That in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan, the palace,

³ In the third year of his reign, he made a banquet unto all his princes and his slaves, having before him the power of Persia and Media, the governors and princes of the provinces,

⁴ to show them the riches of the glory of his kingdom and the honour of beauty of his greatness for many days, even one hundred and eighty days.

⁵ And when these days were expired, the king made a banquet unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, for seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace.

⁶ There were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble; the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of porphyre and of marble and of alabaster and of blue.

⁷ And they gave them drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another) and royal wine in abundance, according to the power of the king.

⁸ And the drink was according to this law: let no one constrain themselves; for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house that they should do according to the will of each one.

⁹ Likewise Vashti, the queen, made a banquet for the women in the royal house of King Ahasuerus.

¹⁰ ¶ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs that served in the presence of Ahasuerus, the king,

¹¹ to bring Vashti, the queen, before the king with the crown of the kingdom, to show the people and the princes her beauty, for she was fair to behold.

¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s word by his eunuchs; therefore, the king was very wroth, and his anger burned in him.

¹³ Then the king asked the wise men, who knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew about the law and rights,

¹⁴ and the next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and who sat first in the kingdom;)

¹⁵ What shall we do unto Queen Vashti according to law because she has not performed the decree of King Ahasuerus by the eunuchs?

¹⁶ And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti, the queen, has not only committed iniquity against the king, but also against all the princes and against all the people that are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.

¹⁷ For this deed of the queen shall be known abroad unto all the women so that they shall despise their husbands, saying, King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti, the queen, to be brought in before him, but she did not come.

¹⁸ And now the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the deed of the queen shall say this unto all the king’s princes, and there shall be much contempt and wrath.

¹⁹ If it pleases the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it not be altered, That Vashti come no more before King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.

²⁰ And this sentence which the king shall make shall be heard throughout all his empire, although it is great, and all the wives shall give their husbands honour, from the greatest to the least.

²¹ And this word pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan;

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled, and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.

¹⁴ And beholding the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

¹⁵ ¶ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

¹⁶ saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them is manifest to all those that dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷ But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them that from now on they speak to no man in this name.

¹⁸ And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹ Then Peter and John answered and said unto them, Judge whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God.

²⁰ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

²¹ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way how they might punish them because of the people, for everyone glorified God for that which was done.

²² For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shown.

²³ ¶ And being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the princes of the priests and the elders had said unto them.

²⁴ And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, thou art the God, who hast made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them,

²⁵ who (in the Holy Spirit) by the mouth of thy servant David (our father) hast said, Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things?

²⁶ The kings of the earth were present, and the princes were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.

²⁷ For of a truth against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together (in this city),

²⁸ to do that which thy hand and thy counsel had determined beforehand must be done.

²⁹ And now, Lord, behold their threatenings and grant unto thy slaves that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

³⁰ that thou might stretch forth thine hand so that healings and signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy slave Jesus.

³¹ And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.