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Psalm 118

1  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; ♦︎
   his mercy endures for ever.
2  Let Israel now proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
3  Let the house of Aaron now proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
4  Let those who fear the Lord proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
5  In my constraint I called to the Lord; ♦︎
   the Lord answered and set me free.
6  The Lord is at my side; I will not fear; ♦︎
   what can flesh do to me?
7  With the Lord at my side as my saviour, ♦︎
   I shall see the downfall of my enemies.
8  It is better to take refuge in the Lord ♦︎
   than to put any confidence in flesh.
9  It is better to take refuge in the Lord ♦︎
   than to put any confidence in princes.
10  All the nations encompassed me, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
11  They hemmed me in, they hemmed me in on every side, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
12  They swarmed about me like bees;
      they blazed like fire among thorns, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
13  Surely, I was thrust to the brink, ♦︎
   but the Lord came to my help.
14  The Lord is my strength and my song, ♦︎
   and he has become my salvation.
15  Joyful shouts of salvation ♦︎
   sound from the tents of the righteous:
16  ‘The right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds;
      the right hand of the Lord raises up; ♦︎
   the right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds.’
17  I shall not die, but live ♦︎
   and declare the works of the Lord.
18  The Lord has punished me sorely, ♦︎
   but he has not given me over to death.
19  Open to me the gates of righteousness, ♦︎
   that I may enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20  This is the gate of the Lord; ♦︎
   the righteous shall enter through it.
21  I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me ♦︎
   and have become my salvation.
22  The stone which the builders rejected ♦︎
   has become the chief cornerstone.
23  This is the Lord’s doing, ♦︎
   and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24  This is the day that the Lord has made; ♦︎
   we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25  Come, O Lord, and save us we pray. ♦︎
   Come, Lord, send us now prosperity.
26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; ♦︎
   we bless you from the house of the Lord.
27  The Lord is God; he has given us light; ♦︎
   link the pilgrims with cords
      right to the horns of the altar.
28  You are my God and I will thank you; ♦︎
   you are my God and I will exalt you.
29  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; ♦︎
   his mercy endures for ever.

Haman Undertakes to Destroy the Jews

3After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the officials who were with him. ²And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did obeisance to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance. ³Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, ‘Why do you disobey the king’s command?’ ⁴When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance to him, Haman was infuriated. ⁶But he thought it beneath him to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur—which means ‘the lot’—before Haman for the day and for the month, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day^* of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. ⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, ‘There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them. ⁹If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued for their destruction, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, so that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.’ ¹⁰So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹The king said to Haman, ‘The money is given to you, and the people as well, to do with them as it seems good to you.’

12 Then the king’s secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring. ¹³Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, giving orders to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. ¹⁴A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation, calling on all the peoples to be ready for that day. ¹⁵The couriers went quickly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

5For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— ³if indeed, when we have taken it off^* we will not be found naked. ⁴For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— ⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰For all of us must appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. ¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. ¹³For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. ¹⁵And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;^* even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,^* we know him no longer in that way. ¹⁷So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,^* not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. ²⁰So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.