Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Protection from the Wicked
Psalm 140
1 For the music director: a psalm of David.
2 Rescue me, Adonai, from the evil man.
Protect me from the violent men—
3 who devise evil in their heart—
every day they stir up wars.
4 They sharpen their tongue like a serpent’s
—viper’s venom is under their lips.[a] Selah
5 Keep me safe, Adonai, from the clutches of the wicked.
Protect me from the man of violence who planned to push me off my feet.
6 The proud have hidden a trap and cords for me.
They spread out a net by the path.
They set snares for me. Selah
7 I said to Adonai: “You are my God!”
Hear, Adonai, the sound of my supplications.
8 God my Lord, the strength of my deliverance,
You shield my head in the day of battle.
9 Grant not, Adonai, the desires of the wicked.
Do not let their evil plan succeed,
or they will exalt themselves. Selah
10 As for the head of those surrounding me,
may the mischief of their lips overwhelm them.
11 Let burning coals fall upon them.
May they be cast into the fire, into deep pits,
never to rise again.[b]
12 May a slanderer not endure in the land.
May calamity hunt down a violent man.
13 I know Adonai will vindicate the poor,
and secure justice for the needy.
14 Surely, the righteous ones will praise Your name.
The upright will dwell in Your presence.
If I Perish!
4 When Mordecai learned all that was done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city crying out in a loud and bitter voice. 2 He went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one could enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 In each and every province where the king’s edict and law came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many put on sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, the queen was greatly distressed. She sent clothes for Mordecai to put on so he would remove his sackcloth, but he refused. 5 So Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to find the cause and reason for this.
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 to him, even the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him a written copy of the decree, which had been distributed in Shushan, for their annihilation, to show to Esther and to explain it to her. He instructed her to go in to the king, to beg his favor and plead before him on behalf of her people. 9 Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said.
10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him instructions for Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces fully understand that for anyone, man or woman, who approaches the king in the inner courtyard without being summoned, he has one law—that he be put to death, unless the king extends his golden scepter permitting him to live. But I have not been summoned to come to the king for 30 days.” 12 So they conveyed Esther’s words to Mordecai.
13 Mordecai told them to reply to Esther with this answer, “Do not think in your soul that you will escape in the king’s household more than all the Jews. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place—but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows whether you have attained royal status for such a time as this?”
15 Esther sent this to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go! Gather together all the Jews who are in Shushan and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast in the same way. Afterwards, I will go in to the king, even though it is not according to the law. So if I perish, I perish!”
17 So Mordecai left and did all that Esther commanded him.
A Message of Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! In His great mercy He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the dead. 4 An incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance has been reserved in heaven for you. 5 By trusting, you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 You rejoice in this greatly, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. 7 These trials are so that the true metal[a] of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua. 8 Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. And even though you don’t see Him now, you trust Him and are filled with a joy that is glorious beyond words, 9 receiving the outcome of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.