Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
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.
9 In addition, Harbona, one of the eunuchs present with the king, said, “You know, there is a gallows seventy-five feet high standing by the house of Haman, which he made for Mordecai, the person who spoke up for the benefit of the king.” The king said, “Hang[a] him on it.”
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
20 Mordecai wrote these things down. Then he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, 21 to call upon them to celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar every year, 22 because those were the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies. This was the month which was changed from sorrow to gladness for them and from a day of mourning to a holiday. They were to make those days into days of feasting and joyful celebration, sending portions of food to their neighbors and gifts to the poor.
Psalm 124
The Lord Is on Our Side
Heading
A song of the ascents. By David.
The Lord Is on Our Side
1 Unless it was the Lord who was for us—
let Israel say—
2 unless it was the Lord who was for us
when people[a] rose against us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger burned against us.
4 Then the waters would have submerged us.
The torrent would have swept our lives away.
5 Then the wild waters would have swept us away.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not let us be prey for their teeth.
7 We have escaped with our lives
like a bird out of the fowlers’ snare.
The snare has been broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Pray
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call the elders of the church, and they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, in order that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is able to do much because it is effective. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the land produced its harvest.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 let it be known that the one who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not try to stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil about me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Amen I tell you: Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, will certainly not lose his reward.
Do Not Cause Little Believers to Fall Into Sin
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall into sin,[a] it would be better for him if he were thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around his neck. 43 If your hand causes you to fall into sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed, than to have two hands and go into hell,[b] into the unquenchable fire, 44 ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’[c] 45 If your foot causes you to fall into sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell,[d] 46 ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 47 If your eye causes you to fall into sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,[e] 48 ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good. But if the salt loses its flavor, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.