Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 140

Prayer for Rescue

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

Mordecai Appeals to Esther

4 When Mordecai learned all that had occurred,^(A) he tore his clothes,^(B) put on sackcloth and ashes,^(C) went into the middle of the city, and cried loudly and bitterly.^{(D) 2} He only went as far as the King’s Gate,^(E) since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate. ³ There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict^(F) came. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.^(G)

⁴ Esther’s female servants and her eunuchs came and reported the news to her, and the queen was overcome with fear.^(H) She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear so he could take off his sackcloth, but he did not accept them. ⁵ Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to her, and dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what he was doing and why.^{[a] 6} So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the King’s Gate. ⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened as well as the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay the royal treasury for the slaughter of the Jews.^(I)

⁸ Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa ordering their destruction, so that Hathach might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and command her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead with him personally for her people.^{(J) 9} Hathach came and repeated Mordecai’s response to Esther.

¹⁰ Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to tell Mordecai, ¹¹ “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard^(K) and who has not been summoned—the death penalty.^(L) Only if the king extends the gold scepter will that person live.^(M) I have not been summoned to appear before the king^(N) for the last^[b] 30 days.” ¹² Esther’s response was reported to Mordecai.

¹³ Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace. ¹⁴ If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place,^(O) but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”^(P)

¹⁵ Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days,^(Q) day or night. I and my female servants will also fast^(R) in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law.^(S) If I perish, I perish.”^{(T) 17} So Mordecai went and did everything Esther had ordered him.

A Living Hope

³ Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.^(A) According to His great mercy,^(B) He has given us a new birth^(C) into a living hope^(D) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead^{(E) 4} and into an inheritance that is imperishable,^(F) uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven^(G) for you. ⁵ You are being protected by God’s power^(H) through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.^{(I) 6} You rejoice in this,^[a] though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials^{(J) 7} so that the genuineness of your faith^(K)—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire^(L)—may result^(M) in^[b] praise, glory, and honor^(N) at the revelation of Jesus Christ.^{(O) 8} You love Him,^(P) though you have not seen^(Q) Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice^(R) with inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ because you are receiving the goal of your^[c] faith, the salvation of your souls.^[d]