Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Haman Hanged Instead of Mordecai
7 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, (A)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 (B)sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as (C)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 (D)enemy is this wicked Haman!”
So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
9 Now (A)Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! (B)The [a]gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke (C)good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.”
Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”
10 So (D)they (E)hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.
20 And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, 21 to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, 22 as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of (A)sending presents to one another and gifts to the (B)poor.
The Lord the Defense of His People
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
124 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our (A)side,”
(B)Let Israel now say—
2 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (C)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have [a]gone over our soul;
5 Then the swollen waters
Would have [b]gone over our soul.”
Meeting Specific Needs(A)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him (B)pray. Is anyone cheerful? (C)Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, (D)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. (E)And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 [a]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (F)The effective, [b]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man (G)with a nature like ours, and (H)he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed (I)again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Bring Back the Erring One
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone (J)turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way (K)will save [c]a soul from death and (L)cover a multitude of sins.
Jesus Forbids Sectarianism(A)
38 (B)Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, (C)for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For (D)he who is not against [a]us is on [b]our side. 41 (E)For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Jesus Warns of Offenses(F)
42 (G)“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me [c]to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43 (H)If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life [d]maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to [e]hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 [f]where
(I)‘Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into [g]hell, [h]into the fire that shall never be quenched— 46 where
(J)‘Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into [i]hell fire— 48 where
Tasteless Salt Is Worthless
49 “For everyone will be (M)seasoned with fire, (N)and[j] every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 (O)Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? (P)Have salt in yourselves, and (Q)have peace with one another.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.