Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Esther 2
1Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he
remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. 2Then
the king's personal attendants proposed, "Let a search be made for
beautiful young virgins for the king. 3Let the king appoint
commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls
into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of
Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty
treatments be given to them. 4Then let the girl who pleases the king
be queen instead of Vashti." This advice appealed to the king, and he
followed it.
5Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the
tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of
Kish, 6who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king
of Judah. 7Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought
up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as
Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own
daughter when her father and mother died.
8When the king's order and edict had been proclaimed,
many girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai.
Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had
charge of the harem. 9The girl pleased him and won his favor.
Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He
assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and
her maids into the best place in the harem.
10Esther had not revealed her nationality and family
background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 11Every day
he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther
was and what was happening to her.
12Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes,
she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the
women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. 13And
this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take
with her from the harem to the king's palace. 14In the evening she
would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the
care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She
would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by
name.
15When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had
adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for
nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the
harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. 16She
was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month
of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to
any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the
other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead
of Vashti. 18And the king gave a great banquet, Esther's banquet,
for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the
provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
19When the virgins were assembled a second time,
Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. 20But Esther had kept
secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do,
for she continued to follow Mordecai's instructions as she had done when he was
bringing her up.
21During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king's
gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway,
became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22But
Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported
it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23And when the report was
investigated and found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a gallows.
All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
Psalm
54
1For the
director of music. With stringed instruments. A [maskil] of David. When the
Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, "Is not David hiding among us?"
Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might. 2Hear my
prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. 3Strangers are
attacking me; ruthless men seek my life-- men without regard for God. [Selah] 4Surely
God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. 5Let evil
recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them. 6I
will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, O LORD, for
it is good. 7For he has delivered me from all my troubles, and my
eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
Colossians
3:18-25
18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the
Lord.
19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with
them.
20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this
pleases the Lord.
21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will
become discouraged.
22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and
do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with
sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do,
work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since
you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is
the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be
repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
Colossians
4:1-6
1Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and
fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and
thankful. 3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our
message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in
chains. 4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5Be
wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let
your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may
know how to answer everyone.
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