Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 124
The Lord Is on Our Side
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 If the Lord had not been on our side(A)
when men attacked us,(B)
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger against us.(C)
4 Then the waters would have engulfed us;
the torrent would have swept over us;
5 the raging waters would have swept over us.(D)
Haman’s Plan to Kill the Jews
3 After all this took place, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite.(A) He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all the other officials.(B) 2 The entire royal staff at the King’s Gate(C) bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.(D) 3 The members of the royal staff at the King’s Gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” 4 When they had warned him day after day(E) and he still would not listen to them, they told Haman to see if Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down or paying him homage, he was filled with rage.(F) 6 And when he learned of Mordecai’s ethnic identity, Haman decided not to do away with[a] Mordecai alone. He planned to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews,(G) throughout Ahasuerus’s kingdom.(H)
7 In the first month, the month of Nisan,[b] in King Ahasuerus’s twelfth year,[c](I) Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman for each day in each month, and it fell on the twelfth month,(J) the month Adar.[d](K) 8 Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom,(L) yet living in isolation. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws.(M) It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.(N) 9 If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction, and I will pay 375 tons of silver to[e] the accountants for deposit in the royal treasury.”(O)
10 The king removed his signet ring(P) from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jewish people.(Q) 11 Then the king told Haman, “The money and people are given to you to do with as you see fit.”
12 The royal scribes were summoned(R) on the thirteenth day of the first month, and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded. It was intended for the royal satraps,(S) the governors of each of the provinces, and the officials of each ethnic group and written for each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language.(T) It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus(U) and sealed with the royal signet ring.(V) 13 Letters were sent by couriers(W) to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people—young and old, women and children—and plunder their possessions on a single day,(X) the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.[f]
14 A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples so that they might get ready for that day. 15 The couriers left, spurred on by royal command, and the law was issued in the fortress of Susa.(Y) The king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Susa was in confusion.(Z)
Believers Are Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.(A)
14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.(B) 15 No one lights a lamp(C) and puts it under a basket,[a] but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.(D) 16 In the same way, let your light shine[b] before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.(E)
Christ Fulfills the Law
17 “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.(F) 18 For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter[c] or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.(G) 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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