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.
Esther’s Request of the King
5 On the third day, Esther put on her royal apparel and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she found favor in his eyes, so the king held out to Esther the golden scepter in his hand and Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter.
3 Then said the king to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? Whatever you request, even as much as half of the kingdom, it will be given to you.”
4 So Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”
5 The king replied, “Bring Haman quickly so we may do what Esther said.” Then the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your request? It will be granted to you. Whatever you request, even as much as half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”
7 Esther answered and said, “My petition and my request is this: 8 if I have found favor in the king’s eyes and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and my request, then let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them—and then I will do as the king requests.”
Gallows for Mordecai
9 Haman went out that day happy and in good spirits. However, when Haman saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, and he did not rise or tremble before him, Haman was filled with rage against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.
He sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and how the king had promoted him and exalted him above the other officials and servants of the king. 12 Haman added, “And that’s not all! Queen Esther invited only me to accompany the king to a banquet that she prepared. And she has also invited me along with the king tomorrow. 13 Yet all this does not satisfy me, as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
14 Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Let them set up a gallows 50 cubits high, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go happily with the king to the banquet.” This idea delighted Haman and he ordered the gallows to be built.
Anointed People Cling to the Anointed One
18 Children, it is the last hour. Just as you heard that the anti-messiah is coming, even now many anti-messiahs have come—by this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They left us, but they didn’t really belong to us. If they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us so it became clear that none of them belongs to us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
Father and Son Come as One
22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? This one is the anti-messiah—the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; the one who acknowledges the Son also has the Father.
Live in the Anointed One
24 As for you, let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will continue to live in the Son and in the Father. 25 Now this is the promise that He Himself has promised us—eternal life.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.