the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
October 13 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Esther 3-4
Chapter 3
Haman's Plan to Kill the Jews
1 After all this took place, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite.(a) He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all the other officials.(b) 2 The entire royal staff at the King's Gate(c) bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.(d) 3 The members of the royal staff at the King's Gate asked Mordecai, "Why are you disobeying the king's command?" 4 When they had warned him day after day(e) and he still would not listen to them, they told Haman to see if Mordecai's actions would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down or paying him homage, he was filled with rage.(f) 6 And when he learned of Mordecai's ethnic identity, Haman decided not to do away with[a] Mordecai alone. He planned to destroy all of Mordecai's people, the Jews,(g) throughout Ahasuerus's kingdom.(h)
7 In the first month, the month of Nisan,[b] in King Ahasuerus's twelfth year,[c](i) Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman for each day in each month, and it fell on the twelfth month,(j) the month Adar.[d](k) 8 Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, "There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom,(l) yet living in isolation. Their laws are different from everyone else's and they do not obey the king's laws.(m) It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them.(n) 9 If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction, and I will pay 375 tons of silver to[e] the accountants for deposit in the royal treasury."(o)
10 The king removed his signet ring(p) from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jewish people.(q) 11 Then the king told Haman, "The money and people are given to you to do with as you see fit."
12 The royal scribes were summoned(r) on the thirteenth day of the first month, and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded. It was intended for the royal satraps,(s) the governors of each of the provinces, and the officials of each ethnic group and written for each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language.(t) It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus(u) and sealed with the royal signet ring.(v) 13 Letters were sent by couriers(w) to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people—young and old, women and children—and plunder their possessions on a single day,(x) the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.[f]
14 A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples so that they might get ready for that day. 15 The couriers left, spurred on by royal command, and the law was issued in the fortress of Susa.(y) The king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Susa was in confusion.(z)
Chapter 4
Mordecai Appeals to Esther
1 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.
Psalms 106:1-23
Chapter 106
Psalm 106
Israel's Unfaithfulness to God
1 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the
Lord
, for He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.(a)
2 Who can declare the
Lord
's mighty acts
or proclaim all the praise due Him?(b)
3 How happy are those who uphold justice,
who practice righteousness at all times.(c)
4 Remember me,
Lord
,
when You show favor to Your people.(d)
Come to me with Your salvation
5 so that I may enjoy the prosperity
of Your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of Your nation,
and boast about Your heritage.(e)
6 Both we and our fathers have sinned;
we have done wrong and have acted wickedly.(f)
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp
the significance of Your wonderful works
or remember Your many acts of faithful love;
instead, they rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.(g)
8 Yet He saved them because of His name,
to make His power known.(h)
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
He led them through the depths as through a desert.(i)
10 He saved them from the hand of the adversary;
He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.(j)
11 Water covered their foes;
not one of them remained.(k)
12 Then they believed His promises
and sang His praise.(l)
13 They soon forgot His works
and would not wait for His counsel.(m)
14 They were seized with craving in the wilderness
and tested God in the desert.(n)
15 He gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease among them.(o)
16 In the camp they were envious of Moses
and of Aaron, the
Lord
's holy one.(p)
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it covered the assembly of Abiram.(q)
18 Fire blazed throughout their assembly;
flames consumed the wicked.(r)
19 At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped the cast metal image.(s)
20 They exchanged their glory[a][b]
for the image of a grass-eating ox.(t)
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who did great things in Egypt,(u)
22 wonderful works in the land of Ham,[c]
awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.(v)
23 So He said He would have destroyed them—
if Moses His chosen one
had not stood before Him in the breach
to turn His wrath away from destroying them.(w)
Revelation 13
Chapter 13
The Beast from the Sea
1 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea.(a) He[a] had 10 horns and seven heads. On his horns were 10 diadems,(b) and on his heads were blasphemous names.[b](c) 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like a bear's, and his mouth was like a lion's mouth.(d) The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads appeared to be fatally wounded,[c] but his fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.[d](e) 4 They worshiped the dragon(f) because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast?(g) Who is able to wage war against him?"
5 A mouth was given to him to speak boasts and blasphemies.(h) He was also given authority to act[e][f] for 42 months.(i) 6 He began to speak[g] blasphemies against God: to blaspheme His name and His dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And he was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. He was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.(j) 8 All those who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book[h] of life(k) of the Lamb who was slaughtered.[i](l)
9 If anyone has an ear, he should listen:(m)
10 If anyone is destined for captivity,
into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed[j] with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.(n)
This demands the perseverance[k] and faith of the saints.(o)
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb,[l](p) but he sounded like a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 He deceives those who live on the earth(q) because of the signs that he is permitted to perform on behalf of the beast,(r) telling those who live on the earth to make an image[m] of the beast who had the sword wound and yet lived. 15 He was permitted to give a spirit[n] to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he requires everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark[o] on his right hand or on his forehead,(s) 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast's name or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom:[p](t) The one who has understanding must calculate[q] the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man.[r] His number is 666.[s]
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