Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 122[a]
A song of ascents;[b] by David.
122 I was glad because[c] they said to me,
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
2 Our feet are[d] standing
inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a city designed
to accommodate an assembly.[e]
4 The tribes go up[f] there,[g]
the tribes of the Lord,
where it is required that Israel
give thanks to the name of the Lord.[h]
5 Indeed,[i] the leaders sit[j] there on thrones and make legal decisions,
on the thrones of the house of David.[k]
6 Pray[l] for the peace of Jerusalem.
May those who love her prosper.[m]
7 May there be peace inside your defenses,
and prosperity[n] inside your fortresses.[o]
8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you.”
9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God
I will pray for you to prosper.[p]
The King Has Haman Executed
7 So the king and Haman came to dine[a] with Queen Esther. 2 On the second day of the banquet of wine the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your petition? Ask for up to half the kingdom, and it shall be done.”
3 Queen Esther replied, “If I have met with your approval,[b] O king, and if the king is so inclined, grant me my life as my request, and my people as my petition. 4 For we have been sold[c]—both I and my people—to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation. If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, for such distress would not have been sufficient for troubling the king.”
5 Then King Ahasuerus responded[d] to Queen Esther, “Who is this individual? Where is this person to be found who is presumptuous enough[e] to act in this way?”
6 Esther replied, “The oppressor and enemy is this evil Haman!”
Then Haman became terrified in the presence of the king and queen. 7 In rage the king arose from the banquet of wine and withdrew to the palace garden. Meanwhile, Haman stood to beg Queen Esther for his life,[f] for he realized that the king had now determined a catastrophic end for him.[g]
8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet of wine, Haman was throwing himself down[h] on the couch where Esther was lying.[i] The king exclaimed, “Will he also attempt to rape the queen while I am still in the building?”
As these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Harbona,[j] one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Indeed, there is the gallows that Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke out on the king’s behalf. It stands near Haman’s home and is 75 feet[k] high.”
The king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So they hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The king’s rage then abated.
9 I, John, your brother and the one who shares[a] with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that[b] are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.[c] 10 I was in the Spirit[d] on the Lord’s Day[e] when[f] I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches—to Ephesus, Smyrna,[g] Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 I[h] turned to see whose voice was speaking to me,[i] and when I did so,[j] I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man.[k] He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt[l] around his chest. 14 His[m] head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow,[n] and his eyes were like a fiery[o] flame. 15 His feet were like polished bronze[p] refined[q] in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar[r] of many waters. 16 He held[s] seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His[t] face shone like the sun shining at full strength. 17 When[u] I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but[v] he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 18 and the one who lives! I[w] was dead, but look, now I am alive—forever and ever—and I hold the keys of death and of Hades![x] 19 Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things.[y] 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this:[z] The seven stars are the angels[aa] of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
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