Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

83 The song of the psalm of Asaph. God, who shall be like thee? God, be thou not still, neither be thou peaced. (God, be thou not silent. Yea, God, be thou not still, nor hold thy peace.)

² For lo! thine enemies sounded; and they that hate thee raised the head. (For lo! thy enemies have raised a ruckus; and those who hate thee have raised up their heads in revolt, or in defiance.)

³ They made a wicked counsel on thy people; and they thought against thy saints. (They made wicked plans against thy people; yea, they thought together against thy saints.)

⁴ They said, Come ye, and lose we them from the folk; and the name of Israel be no more had in mind. (They said, Come ye, and let us destroy their nation; and then the name of Israel shall no more be remembered.)

⁹ Make thou to them as to Midian, and Sisera; as to Jabin, in the strand of Kison. (Do thou to them like thou did to the Midianites, and to Sisera; and to Jabin, at the Kishon Stream.)

¹⁰ They perished in Endor; they were made as a turd of earth. (They perished at Endor; they were made like a turd upon the earth.)

¹⁷ Be they ashamed, and be they troubled into the world of world (Be they ashamed, and let them be troubled forever); and be they shamed, and perish they.

¹⁸ And know they, that Lord is name to thee; thou alone art the Highest in every land. (And then they shall know, that The Lord is thy name; and that thou alone art the Most High in all the earth.)

7 Therefore the king and Haman entered to the feast, to drink with the queen. (And so the king and Haman went to the feast, to dine with the queen.)

² And the king said also to Esther in the second day, after that he was hot of the wine, Esther, what is thine asking of me, that it be given to thee, and what wilt thou be done? Yea, though thou ask the half part of my realm, thou shalt have it. (And on the second day, after that he was hot from the wine, the king said again to Esther, Esther, what is thy asking of me, that it be given to thee, and what wilt thou be done for thee? Yea, if thou ask for half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it!)

³ To whom she answered, O! king, if I have found grace in thine eyes (if I have found favour before thee), and if it pleaseth thee, give thou my life to me, for which I pray thee now, and also the life of my people, for the which I beseech thee.

⁴ For I and my people be given, that we be defouled, and strangled, and that we perish; O! why not had we rather been sold into servants and servantesses, for that evil might have been suffered, and I, (now) wailing, should have been still; but now our enemy is present, whose cruelty turneth against the king. (For I and my people have been sold into slaughter, so that we be strangled, and destroyed, and that we utterly perish; O! why had we rather not been sold into slavery, yea, both men and women alike, for that evil might have been endured, and I, instead of wailing, would now be silent; and even now our enemy is present here, and his cruelty turneth against even the king.)

⁵ And king Ahasuerus answered, and said, Who is this, and of what power, that he be (so) (fool)hardy to do such things?

⁶ And Esther said, Our worst adversary and enemy is this Haman. The which thing when he heard, he was astonished at once, and he was not sufficient to bear the semblance, or the indignation, of the king and of the queen. (And Esther said, Our adversary and our enemy is this wicked Haman! And when Haman heard this, he was stunned, and he was not able to bear the indignation of both the king and the queen.)

⁷ And the king rose up wroth, and from the place of the feast he entered into a garden beset about with trees. And Haman rose up for to pray Esther, the queen, for his life; for he understood (the) evil made ready of the king to him. (And the king rose up enraged, and left the place of the feast to go out into the garden beset about with trees. And Haman rose up to beg Queen Esther for his life; for he understood that the king now intended evil for him.)

⁸ And when the king turned again from the garden, and had entered into the place of the feast, he found that Haman had fallen down upon the bed, wherein Esther lay. And the king said, Also he will oppress the queen, while I am present, in mine house. And the word was not yet gone out of the king’s mouth, and anon men covered the face of Haman. (And when the king returned from the garden, and came back to the place of the feast, he found that Haman had fallen down on the couch, where Esther lay. And the king said, He will even assail the queen, while I am present, here in my own house! And the word was not yet gone out of the king’s mouth, when at once some of his servants came, and covered Haman’s face.)

⁹ And Harbonah, one of the honest servants and chaste (one of the honest and chaste servants), that stood in the service of the king, said, Lo! a tree having fifty cubits of height standeth in the house of Haman, which he had made ready to Mordecai, that spake (good) for the king, and made known his traitors. To whom the king said, Hang ye Haman in that tree. (And Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who stood in the king’s service, said, Lo! a gallows fifty cubits in height standeth at Haman’s house, which he had prepared for Mordecai, who did good for the king, by making known his traitors. To whom the king said, Hang ye up Haman on those gallows!)

¹⁰ Therefore Haman was hanged in the gibbet, which he had made ready to Mordecai, and the ire of the king rested. (And so Haman was hanged on the gallows, which he had prepared for Mordecai, and then the king’s anger was assuaged.)

⁴⁵ Who guessest thou is a true servant and prudent [Who guessest thou is a faithful servant and prudent], whom his lord ordained on his household, to give them meat in time?

⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he shall come [when he come], shall find so doing.

⁴⁷ Truly I say to you, for on [upon] all his goods he shall ordain him.

⁴⁸ But if that evil servant [shall] say in his heart, My lord tarrieth to come,

⁴⁹ and beginneth to smite his even-servants [and shall begin to smite his even-servants], and to eat, and drink with drunken men;

⁵⁰ the lord of that servant shall come in the day [in] which he hopeth not, and in the hour that he knoweth not,

⁵¹ and shall part him (in pieces), and put his part with hypocrites; there shall be weeping, and grinding of teeth [there shall be weeping, and beating together of teeth].