Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
140 Lord, rescue me from evil people;
protect me from cruel people
2 who make evil plans,
who always start fights.
3 They make their tongues sharp as a snake’s;
their words are like snake poison. Selah
4 Lord, guard me from the power of wicked people;
protect me from cruel people
who plan to trip me up.
5 The proud hid a trap for me.
They spread out a net beside the road;
they set traps for me. Selah
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Lord, listen to my prayer for help.
7 Lord God, my mighty savior,
you protect me in battle.
8 Lord, do not give the wicked what they want.
Don’t let their plans succeed,
or they will become proud. Selah
9 Those around me have planned trouble.
Now let it come to them.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Throw them into the fire
or into pits from which they cannot escape.
11 Don’t let liars settle in the land.
Let evil quickly hunt down cruel people.
12 I know the Lord will get justice for the poor
and will defend the needy in court.
13 Good people will praise his name;
honest people will live in his presence.
Esther Speaks to the King
5 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s palace, facing the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the doorway. 2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, he was pleased. He held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand, so Esther went forward and touched the end of it.
3 The king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What do you want to ask me? I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”
4 Esther answered, “My king, if it pleases you, come today with Haman to a banquet that I have prepared for you.”
5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly so we may do what Esther asks.”
So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared for them. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Now, what are you asking for? I will give it to you. What is it you want? I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”
7 Esther answered, “This is what I want and what I ask for. 8 My king, if you are pleased with me and if it pleases you, give me what I ask for and do what I want. Come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will answer your question about what I want.”
Haman’s Plans Against Mordecai
9 Haman left the king’s palace that day happy and content. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and saw that Mordecai did not stand up or tremble with fear before him, Haman became very angry with Mordecai. 10 But he controlled his anger and went home.
Then Haman called together his friends and his wife, Zeresh. 11 He told them how wealthy he was and how many sons he had. He also told them all the ways the king had honored him and how the king had placed him higher than his important men and his royal officers. 12 He also said, “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to come with the king to the banquet she gave. And tomorrow also the queen has asked me to be her guest with the king. 13 But all this does not really make me happy when I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”
14 Then Haman’s wife, Zeresh, and all his friends said, “Have a seventy-five foot platform built, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and be happy.” Haman liked this suggestion, so he ordered the platform to be built.
Reject the Enemies of Christ
18 My dear children, these are the last days. You have heard that the enemy of Christ is coming, and now many enemies of Christ are already here. This is how we know that these are the last days. 19 These enemies of Christ were in our fellowship, but they left us. They never really belonged to us; if they had been a part of us, they would have stayed with us. But they left, and this shows that none of them really belonged to us.
20 You have the gift[a] that the Holy One gave you, so you all know the truth.[b] 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth but because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.
22 Who is the liar? It is the person who does not accept Jesus as the Christ. This is the enemy of Christ: the person who does not accept the Father and his Son. 23 Whoever does not accept the Son does not have the Father. But whoever confesses the Son has the Father, too.
24 Be sure you continue to follow the teaching you heard from the beginning. If you continue to follow what you heard from the beginning, you will stay in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.