◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Psalm 124 (Escaped from the snare of the fowler); Esther 3:1-15 (Haman plans to destroy the Jews); Matthew 5:13-20 (You are salt and light) (New English Translation)

Prev Day

September 25, 2021

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

September 2021
Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30

Return to today's reading

Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 124

Psalm 124^[a]

A song of ascents;^[b] by David.

124 “If the Lord had not been on our side”—
let Israel say this.—
²if the Lord had not been on our side,
when men attacked us,^[c]
³they would have swallowed us alive,
when their anger raged against us.
⁴The water would have overpowered us;
the current^[d] would have overwhelmed^[e] us.^[f]
⁵The raging water
would have overwhelmed us.^[g]
⁶The Lord deserves praise,^[h]
for^[i] he did not hand us over as prey to their teeth.
⁷We escaped with our lives,^[j] like a bird from a hunter’s snare.
The snare broke, and we escaped.
⁸Our deliverer is the Lord,^[k]
the Creator^[l] of heaven and earth.

Esther 3

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3 Some time later^[a] King Ahasuerus promoted^[b] Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position^[c] above that of all the officials who were with him. ²As a result,^[d] all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate were bowing and paying homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded. However, Mordecai did not bow,^[e] nor did he pay him homage.

³Then the servants of the king who were at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you violating the king’s commandment?” ⁴And after they had spoken to him day after day^[f] without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted.^[g] Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew.^[h]

⁵When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing or paying homage to him, he^[i] was filled with rage. ⁶But the thought of striking out against^[j] Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed^[k] of the identity of Mordecai’s people.^[l] So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai)^[m] who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year^[n] of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur^[o] (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month.^[p] It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).^[q]

⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people^[r] that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants^[s] throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them.^[t] ⁹If the king is so inclined,^[u] let an edict be issued^[v] to destroy them. I will pay 10,000 talents of silver^[w] to be conveyed to the king’s treasuries for the officials who carry out this business.”

¹⁰So the king removed his signet ring^[x] from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who was hostile toward the Jews. ¹¹The king replied to Haman, “Keep your money,^[y] and do with those people whatever you wish.”^[z]

¹²So the royal scribes^[aa] were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps^[ab] and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring. ¹³Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that^[ac] they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children,^[ad] on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day^[ae] of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions. ¹⁴A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants,^[af] so that they would be prepared for this day. ¹⁵The messengers^[ag] scurried forth^[ah] with the king’s order.^[ai] The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar.^[aj]

Footnotes

Esther 3:1 tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”
Esther 3:1 tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.” sn The promotion of Haman in 3:1 for reasons unexplained contrasts noticeably with 2:19-23, where Mordecai’s contribution to saving the king’s life goes unnoticed. The irony is striking.
Esther 3:1 tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”
Esther 3:2 tn Heb “and” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). Other modern English versions leave the conjunction untranslated here (NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).
Esther 3:2 sn Mordecai did not bow. The reason for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman is not clearly stated here. Certainly the Jews did not refuse to bow as a matter of principle, as though such an action somehow violated the second command of the Decalogue. Many biblical texts bear witness to their practice of falling prostrate before people of power and influence (e.g., 1 Sam 24:8; 2 Sam 14:4; 1 Kgs 1:16). Perhaps the issue here was that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, a people who had attacked Israel in an earlier age (see Exod 17:8-16; 1 Sam 15:17-20; Deut 25:17-19).
Esther 3:4 sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.
Esther 3:4 tn Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; NASB “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”
Esther 3:4 sn This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 2:10, 20.
Esther 3:5 tn Heb “Haman.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. Repeating the proper name here is redundant according to contemporary English style, although the name is repeated in NASB and NRSV.
Esther 3:6 tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”
Esther 3:6 tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.
Esther 3:6 tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.
Esther 3:6 tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (ʿam, “people”) to עִם (ʿim, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.
Esther 3:7 sn This year would be ca. 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.
Esther 3:7 tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).
Esther 3:7 tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.tn Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so KJV, NASB).
Esther 3:7 tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.
Esther 3:8 tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.
Esther 3:8 tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”
Esther 3:8 tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”
Esther 3:9 tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.”
Esther 3:9 tn Heb “let it be written” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “let it be decreed.”
Esther 3:9 sn The enormity of the monetary sum referred to here can be grasped by comparing this amount (10,000 talents of silver) to the annual income of the empire, which according to Herodotus (Histories 3.95) was 14,500 Euboic talents. In other words Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money was to come (in large measure) from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.
Esther 3:10 sn Possessing the king’s signet ring would enable Haman to act with full royal authority. The king’s ring would be used to impress the royal seal on edicts, making them as binding as if the king himself had enacted them.
Esther 3:11 tn Heb “the silver is given to you”; NRSV “the money is given to you”; CEV “You can keep their money.” C. A. Moore (Esther [AB], 40) understands these words somewhat differently, taking them to imply acceptance of the money on Xerxes’ part. He translates, “Well, it’s your money.”
Esther 3:11 tn Heb “according to what is good in your eyes”; NASB “do with them as you please.”
Esther 3:12 tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).
Esther 3:12 tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”
Esther 3:13 tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
Esther 3:13 tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
Esther 3:13 tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”
Esther 3:14 tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).
Esther 3:15 tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”
Esther 3:15 tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).
Esther 3:15 tn Heb “with the word of the king.”
Esther 3:15 sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.

Matthew 5:13-20

Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt^[a] of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor,^[b] how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people! ¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵People^[c] do not light a lamp and put it under a basket^[d] but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.^[e] ¹⁸I^[f] tell you the truth,^[g] until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter^[h] will pass from the law until everything takes place. ¹⁹So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others^[i] to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law^[j] and the Pharisees,^[k] you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!

Footnotes

Matthew 5:13 sn Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer (BDAG 41 s.v. ἅλας a), or as a preservative. If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away. With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.
Matthew 5:13 sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its flavor since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested that the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens; under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca. a.d. 90), recounts how when he was asked the question “When salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?” is said to have replied, “By salting it with the afterbirth of a mule.” He was then asked, “Then does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” to which he replied: “Can salt lose its flavor?” The point appears to be that both are impossible. The saying, while admittedly late, suggests that culturally the loss of flavor by salt was regarded as an impossibility. Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In this case the saying by Jesus here may be similar to Matt 19:24, where it is likewise impossible for the camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle.
Matthew 5:15 tn Grk “Nor do they light.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general.
Matthew 5:15 tn Or “a bowl”; the Greek word refers to any container for dry material of about eight liters (two gallons) capacity. It could be translated “basket, box, bowl” (L&N 6.151).
Matthew 5:17 tn Grk “not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Direct objects (“these things,” “them”) were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but have been supplied here to conform to contemporary English style.
Matthew 5:18 tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
Matthew 5:18 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
Matthew 5:18 tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.” sn The smallest letter refers to the smallest Hebrew letter (yod) and the stroke of a letter to a serif (a hook or projection on a Hebrew letter).
Matthew 5:19 tn Grk “teaches men” ( in a generic sense, people).
Matthew 5:20 tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
Matthew 5:20 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

New English Translation (NET)

Prev Day

Top

Next Day

Use the calendar to view readings from this devotional.

Log in to read this devotional and:

Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 124[a]

A song of ascents;[b] by David.

Footnotes

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

Footnotes

Salt and Light

Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets

Footnotes

Psalm 124^[a]

A song of ascents;^[b] by David.