the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
Click here to join the effort!
Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
December 23 - Old & New Testament
csb
Esther 9,10
Victories of the Jews
1 The king's command and law(a) went into effect on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month,(b) the month Adar.[a] On the day when the Jews' enemies(c) had hoped to overpower them, just the opposite happened. The Jews overpowered those who hated them.(d) 2 In each of King Ahasuerus's provinces(e) the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who intended to harm them.[b] Not a single person could withstand them; terror of them(f) fell on every nationality.(g)
3 All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the royal civil administrators[c](h) aided the Jews because they were afraid of Mordecai.(i) 4 For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace,(j) and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.(k)
5 The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them.(l) They did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the fortress of Susa(m) the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, 7 including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. 10 They killed these 10 sons(n) of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews.(o) However, they did not seize[d] any plunder.(p)
11 On that day the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa was reported to the king. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, "In the fortress of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men, including Haman's 10 sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will also be done."(q)
13 Esther answered, "If it pleases the king, may the Jews who are in Susa also have tomorrow(r) to carry out today's law,(s) and may the bodies of Haman's 10 sons(t) be hung on the gallows."(u) 14 The king gave the orders for this to be done, so a law was announced in Susa, and they hung the bodies of Haman's 10 sons. 15 The Jews in Susa assembled again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar(v) and killed 300 men in Susa, but they did not seize[e] any plunder.(w)
16 The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves, and got rid of[f] their enemies. They killed 75,000[g] of those who hated them,(x) but they did not seize[h] any plunder. 17 They fought on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar and rested on the fourteenth, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing.
18 But the Jews in Susa had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. They rested on the fifteenth day of the month, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing.(y) 19 This explains why the rural Jews who live in villages observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a time of rejoicing and feasting. It is a holiday when they send gifts to one another.(z)
20 Mordecai(aa) recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all of King Ahasuerus's provinces, both near and far. 21 He ordered(ab) them to celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar every year 22 because during those days the Jews got rid of[i](ac) their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday.(ad) They were to be days of feasting,(ae) rejoicing, and of sending gifts to one another and the poor.
23 So the Jews agreed to continue the practice they had begun, as Mordecai had written them to do. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews,(af) had plotted against the Jews to destroy them. He cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.(ag) 25 But when the matter was brought before the king,(ah) he commanded by letter that the evil plan Haman had devised against the Jews return on his own head(ai) and that he should be hanged with his sons on the gallows.(aj) 26 For this reason these days are called Purim, from the word Pur.(ak)
Because of all the instructions in this letter as well as what they had witnessed and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews bound themselves, their descendants, and all who joined(al) with them to a commitment that they would not fail to celebrate these two days each and every year according to the written instructions and according to the time appointed. 28 These days are remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim will not lose their significance in Jewish life[j] and their memory will not fade from their descendants.(am)
29 Queen Esther daughter of Abihail,(an) along with Mordecai the Jew,(ao) wrote this second letter with full authority(ap) to confirm the letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters with messages of peace and faithfulness to all the Jews who were in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, 31 in order to confirm these days of Purim at their proper time just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and just as they had committed themselves and their descendants to the practices of fasting(aq) and lamentation.(ar) 32 So Esther's command confirmed these customs of Purim, which were then written into the record.
Mordecai's Fame
1 King Ahasuerus imposed a tax throughout the land(a) even to the farthest shores.[a](b) 2 All of his powerful and magnificent accomplishments(c) and the detailed account of Mordecai's great rank to which the king had honored him,(d) have they not been written in the Historical Records of the Kings of Media and Persia?(e) 3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus,(f) famous among the Jews, and highly popular with many of his relatives.(g) He continued to seek good for his people and to speak for the welfare of all his descendants.(h)
Revelation 14
Chapter 14
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and there on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with Him were 144,000 who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads.(a) 2 I heard a sound[a] from heaven like the sound of cascading waters(b) and like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was also like harpists playing on their harps.(c) 3 They sang[b] a new song(d) before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders,(e) but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed[c] from the earth. 4 These are the ones not defiled with women, for they have kept their virginity.(f) These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were redeemed[d][e] from the human race as the firstfruits(g) for God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.(h)
The Proclamation of Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying high overhead,(i) having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.(j) 7 He spoke with a loud voice: "Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."
8 A second angel[f] followed, saying: "It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen,[g] who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality,[h] which brings wrath."(k)
9 And a third angel[i] followed them and spoke with a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink the wine of God's wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger.(l) He will be tormented with fire and sulfur(m) in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, 11 and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever.(n) There is no rest[j] day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name. 12 This demands the perseverance[k] of the saints,(o) who keep God's commands and their faith in Jesus."[l]
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed."(p)
"Yes," says the Spirit, "let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!"
Reaping the Earth's Harvest
14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man[m](q) was seated on the cloud, with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 15 Another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out in a loud voice to the One who was seated on the cloud, "Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe."(r) 16 So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the sanctuary in heaven. 18 Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, "Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from earth's vineyard, because its grapes have ripened." 19 So the angel swung his sickle toward earth and gathered the grapes from earth's vineyard, and he threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.(s) 20 Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses' bridles for about 180 miles.[n](t)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
