Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
A Prayer for Deliverance
140 [a]Deliver me, Lord, from evil people,
preserve me from violent men,
2 who craft evil plans in their minds,
inciting wars every day.[b]
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
the venom of vipers is on their lips.
4 Protect me, Lord, from the control of evil people,
from violent men who have planned to trip me.
5 The arrogant have laid a trap for me;
they have spread a net with ropes,
lining it with snares along the way.
6 So I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
listen to my voice
as I plead for mercy, Lord.
7 Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have protected my head in the time[c] of battle.
8 Never grant, Lord, the desires of the wicked;
never condone their plans
so they cannot exalt themselves.
9 May those who surround me discover
that the trouble they talk about falls on their own head!
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be cast into fire,
and into miry pits, never to rise again.
11 Let not the slanderer[d] become established in the land.
May evil quickly hunt down the violent man.
12 I know that the Lord will act on behalf of the tormented,
providing justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name,
while the upright live in your presence.
Esther Goes before the King
5 On the third day, Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace in front of the king’s quarters.[a] The king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the building. 2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she won his favor, and the king extended to Esther the gold scepter that he was holding. Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter. 3 The king asked her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even if it’s half of the kingdom, it will be given to you.”
4 Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet I’ve prepared for him.”
5 The king responded, “Bring Haman quickly so we may do what Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6 While they were drinking wine,[b] the king asked Esther, “What’s your petition? It will be given to you. What’s your request? Up to half of the kingdom, and it will be done.”
7 Esther answered, “This is my petition and my request: 8 If I’ve found favor with the king and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and to honor my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I’ll prepare for them tomorrow, and then I’ll do what the king has said.”
Haman’s Plan to Kill Mordecai
9 Haman went out that day pleased and happy, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and that he did not stand up and tremble in his presence, Haman was furious with Mordecai. 10 Haman restrained himself, went to his house, and sent for[c] his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 Then Haman told them about his splendid wealth, the number[d] of his sons, all the ways the king had honored[e] him, and that he had promoted him above all the other officials and ministers[f] of the king.
12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther brought no one except me with the king to the banquet that she held. Furthermore, I (along with the king) have also been invited by her tomorrow. 13 But all this does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
14 Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said, “Have a pole made 50 cubits[g] high, and then in the morning speak to the king and have Mordecai hanged[h] on it. Then go with the king to the banquet happy.” This advice pleased Haman, and he had the pole made.
Live in the Messiah
18 Little children, it is the last hour. Just as you heard that an antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They left us, but they were not part of us, for if they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. Their leaving made it clear that none of them was really part of us.
20 You have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things.[a] 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because lies don’t come from truth. 22 Who is a liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Messiah?[b] The person who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. The person who acknowledges the Son also has the Father.
24 What you have heard from the beginning must abide in you. If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 The message that the Son[c] himself declared to us is eternal life.
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