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 request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your wish? (B)Up 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 request, and my people as my wish; 4 for (D)we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, (E)killed, and eliminated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have kept silent, because the distress would not be sufficient reason to burden the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus [b]asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, [c]who would presume to do such a thing?” 6 And 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 stood before the king, said, “Indeed, behold, (A)the wooden gallows standing at Haman’s house [a]fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai (B)who spoke good in behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10 (C)So they hanged Haman on the wooden 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 grief into joy, and from mourning into a [c]holiday; that they were to 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 say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When people 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 flooded over us,
The stream would have [a]swept over our souls;
5 Then the (F)raging waters would have [b]swept over our souls.”
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 of faith will [b](G)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will (H)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [c]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)A [d]prayer of a righteous person, when it is [e]brought about, 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 sky [g]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brothers and sisters, (Q)if anyone among you strays from (R)the truth and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will (S)save his soul from death and (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 the one 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 shall by no means lose his reward.
42 “(E)Whoever causes one of these [c]little ones who believe in Me to [d]sin, it is better for him if a heavy millstone is hung around his neck and he [e]is thrown into the sea. 43 And (F)if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed, than, having your two hands, to go into [f](G)hell, into the (H)unquenchable fire.[g] 45 And if your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life without a foot, than, having your two feet, to be thrown into [h](I)hell.[i] 47 And (J)if your eye is causing you to sin, throw it away; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be thrown into [j](K)hell, 48 (L)where their worm does not die, and (M)the fire is not extinguished. 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, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.