Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Esther’s Plea
7 Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. 2 And the king said to Esther on the second day also [a]as they drank their wine at the banquet, “(A)What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? (B)Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” 3 Then Queen Esther replied, “(C)If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; 4 for (D)we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, (E)to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the [b]trouble would not be commensurate with the [c]annoyance to the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus [d]asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, [e]who would presume to do thus?” 6 Esther said, “(F)A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.
9 Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, “Behold indeed, (A)the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai (B)who spoke good on behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10 (C)So they hanged Haman on the [a]gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, (D)and the king’s anger subsided.
The Feast of Purim Instituted
20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day [a]of the same month, annually, 22 because on those days the Jews [b]rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was (A)turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a [c]holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and (B)sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
Praise for Rescue from Enemies.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
124 “(A)Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
(B)Let Israel now say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (C)swallowed us alive,
When their (D)anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the (E)waters would have engulfed us,
The stream would have [a]swept over our soul;
5 Then the (F)raging waters would have [b]swept over our soul.”
13 Is anyone among you (A)suffering? (B)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to (C)sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for (D)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [a](E)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the (F)prayer [b]offered in faith will [c](G)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will (H)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [d]they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, (I)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be (J)healed. (K)The effective [e]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was (L)a man with a nature like ours, and (M)he prayed [f]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for (N)three years and six months. 18 Then he (O)prayed again, and (P)the [g]sky [h]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brethren, (Q)if any among you strays from (R)the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that [i]he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will (S)save his soul from death and will (T)cover a multitude of sins.
Dire Warnings
38 (A)John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and (B)we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 (C)For he who is not against us is [a]for us. 41 For (D)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink [b]because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
42 “(E)Whoever causes one of these [c]little ones who believe to stumble, it [d]would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he [e]had been cast into the sea. 43 (F)If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into [f](G)hell, into the (H)unquenchable fire, 44 [[g]where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] 45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into [h](I)hell, 46 [[i]where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] 47 (J)If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into [j](K)hell, 48 (L)where their worm does not die, and (M)the fire is not quenched.
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but (N)if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you [k]make it salty again? (O)Have salt in yourselves, and (P)be at peace with one another.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.